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Fate In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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One of the longstanding questions among humankind is whether our lives are controlled by fate or personal choice. Many theories have been developed by scientists, theorists, the general population, and authors from several generations. One of the most controversial writers of his time, John Steinbeck analyzes this idea from his point of view in his novella, Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck contributes to the perspective that despite dedication and determination, most situations are beyond our control and fate is inevitable in the end. This theme is consistently demonstrated through Lennie throughout the book. Lennie, a disabled worker who travels with George, his caretaker and only friend, is a timid and religiously obedient companion due to a …show more content…

He has no real control over his actions. At one point in the story, Lennie is told by George it’s okay to hurt Curley, one of the other characters, so Lennie grabs Curley’s hand and proceeds in accidentally breaking it. “Suddenly Lennie let go his hold. He crouched cowering against the wall. ‘You tol’ me to, George,’ he said miserably. . . ‘I didn’t wanta,’ Lennie cried. ‘I didn’t wanta hurt him’”(Steinbeck 64). Immediately following the event, Lennie feels guilt and confusion at why people would be angered at him. He feels as though he has not made the choice to break Curley’s hand, but rather has been forced to do it by George. Lennie has no sense of individuality or sense of self-control due to his disability, he does not know when to stop and suffers an extreme loss of control. No matter how hard he tries, he is physically unable to release Curley until after Curley’s hand is shattered because his brain cannot comprehend this idea of decision-making. This shows how situations can have an absence of personal control and can affect a person’s personality and mood because of it. Continuingly, perhaps the most obvious example of inevitable fate in the text is near the closure of the book.

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This proves that Lennie is innocent and that Curley is the one who caused his own unfortunate incident in the bunkhouse. The quotation shows that George is even more to blame than Lennie is because George was the one that told him to do it, and that Lennie proclaimed that he did not want to hurt

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Throughout Steinbeck’s naturalistic novel, Of Mice and Men, He portrays two distinctively different men struggling to persevere and survive in an otherwise cruel world. Two migrant workers, George and Lennie thrive off the company of one another and the impossible dream that one day, they will acquire land and make a contented life for themselves. Through their friendship and constant hope for a better life, George and Lennie learn how to survive and cling to aspiration during the harsh Depression era. Steinbeck uses symbolism, irony, and characterization in his classic novel to illustrate the undying hope found in a desperate situation. Steinbeck uses symbolism to portray how people find hope in the direst situations.

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In the past, Lennie has gotten in trouble for being unable to control himself, which can be seen when he touched the girl’s dress, causing him and George to have to leave. Lennie is unable to control himself when he is stressed out or angry, such as when Curley’s wife died, “Lennie began to cry with fright. ‘Oh! Please don't do none of that,’ he begged. ‘George gonna say I done a bad thing.

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Curley used this as an excuse to kill Lennie. He really wanted to kill Lennie because he destroyed his hand though. Curley said he was going to blow Lennie's guts out and make him suffer and be in pain. George prevented this by shooting Lennie in the back of the head and ending him quickly. George killed lennie because if he didn’t, Curley would have made him suffer.

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In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses the dreams and fates of Lennie, Crook, and Curley’s Wife, in order to illustrate that the American dream is not possible for all social classes. When talking to Lennie, Crooks says “I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room.” P.65. This is the dream that Crooks wants.

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After all the anger that George has shown towards Lennie, he utters these words now so Lennie can die with a sense of peace. George does not want to pull the trigger, but he knows that the further consequences of Lennie’s actions will only worsen. To save Lennie from Curley’s wrath, possible imprisonment, and perhaps years of suffering, George takes Lennie’s

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Survival is often introduced as a concept of endurance, persistence and perseverance, a textbook idea about simply living or dying. At the inception of human life, merely surviving was imperative and existence was something that humans fought for on a daily basis. But, as we flourish independently, as societies and as a race, the concept of survival is warped, and growth as an individual, as well as coping with everyday hardships and not just traditional examples of adversity such as poverty and destitution are prime examples of survival. In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the reader is presented with the idea that survival is not synonymous to staying alive, and moreover, that cultural and societal struggles shape self in accordance with the way we face them. Survival of the fittest is the primordial notion that only the fit have the power and strength to live, and more importantly, thrive in their environment.

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Despair Among People During the Great Depression People who face great odds will hang on to hope, however, many will lose it to the cruel reality they live in. This is the story told in the novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck. In this novel, Lennie and George are traveling bindle stiffs who experience the losses that come with the Great Depression, and the hope of others that is dashed by the death of one person. This theme of hope and loss is shown through Curley's wife, Candy, and George.

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(pg. 22). Since Lennie is mentally challenged and can’t think fast enough, he relies on George to tell him what to do. Curley had turned on Lennie by punching him; and protect himself, Lennie had grabbed Curley’s hand and crushed with his own hand. Lennie felt bad for what he did so George

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Throughout the novel Lennie went through many different events that could have made him act in many different ways. Almost in every situation Lennie acted the same way. The way Lennie acts is innocent at first, but then something triggers he eventually. His main triggers were the softness of things and George. The softness of objects was more of a mental trigger than a physical trigger.

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“No matter how much sometimes you dare to dream, send happy thoughts into the universe, no matter what you do some of your dreams will never come true” (Unknown). In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, at the time of the Great Depression, two men, George and Lennie, venture to California in hopes to find work. Because Lennie is wanted for raping a woman, George and Lennie must escape the “law” by fleeing to the next town. Through the character of Lennie, Steinbeck shows that issues outside the control of an individual often limit the achievement of his dreams. “‘But he never hurt her.

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This relates back to naturalism, because Lennie gets himself into a situation that he cannot control. He does not understand that he has to be very careful with the puppy because it is so small, and he does not know his own strength. “What is clear is that Lennie’s body wins out over his mind repeatedly,- in the end with tragic consequences”(Keener 1215). Lennie is very kind- hearted, and never wants to hurt anyone. This quote explains that Lennie’s strength wins over his intentions.

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The book Of Mice and Men is full of puzzling examples of the human condition, from Lennie and his mental disability to Curley only caring about his social appearance. With characters like these two, the book exploits the human condition that concerns circumstances life has given you. John Steinbeck brings to life what being a laborer in the American depression meant to the men and one woman who had enough personality to stand out. Steinbeck shows the human condition of men while they survive in the American depression.

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George and Lennie, prominent characters in the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, are migrant workers—men who move from place to place to do seasonal work— who end up in California and are faced with numerous problems. Set in the era of the great depression, the story of Lennie and George, two very different men who have formed a family-like union, takes place on a farm where Lennie struggles to stay out of trouble. Having committed an unintentional, harmful act, Lennie is faces severe consequences; and George must decide to make a necessary decision which changes the mood of the entire novel. By the comparison and contrast of George and Lennie, unique characters who are very different from each other, the reader can better acquaint himself

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