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How Does Steinbeck Create Tension In Of Mice And Men

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1. What effect does the opening of Of Mice and Men achieve? Review definitions for tone, diction, and setting, and then apply these concepts to the opening paragraphs of the story. The opening of Of Mice and Men Steinbeck describes the setting in which George and Lennie enter as a beautiful, natural place. His description of the setting creates a calm peaceful mood because of the way he uses words and figurative language. He makes this place serene and human less and then George and Lennie come in and make it their “home”. We can sense the tone of the novel even from the very beginning, when we learn that the setting of the story is the town of Soledad. Already you can set the tone: doomed, sad, tragic, and helpless. Being that the novel's characters are field workers, we will not expect the language to be complex. George's use of insults to call Lennie show a very simple sentence structure filled with often mispronounced or incomplete words. Lennie's character uses language that would fit a man who is mentally challenged, and is constantly …show more content…

In regard to the internal conflict, George feels responsible for Lennie. He made a promise to Lennie's aunt, which forces George to care for Lennie. This conflict is highlighted through Lennie's, inevitable, getting into trouble. The problems that Lennie cause force George to feel held back and unable to move on for him. In the end, George must come to terms with what is best for Lennie. “...If I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble. No mess at all, and the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want....” This, contrasts with the fact that because he is "stuck" with Lennie he has to suffer the consequences of Lennie's incapabilities, and this led ultimately to the end of it Lennie. George wanted more; a place to call his own but in the book it does not

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John Steinbeck in his novella, Of Mice and Men, utilizes multiple writing strategies to develop his central idea. Numerous different main concepts can be taken from the novella. One that is extremely prominent is the perception of the “american dream,” working diligently to achieve one’s goals and objectives. Steinbeck reinforces this central idea by applying imagery, figurative language, strongly into the entirety of the novella, but especially applying it in the first chapter.

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587 Words | 3 Pages

“God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want….” (pg 11) This is George describing how much life was easier if he traveled alone without Lennie, and how he could spend his money on whatever he wanted and not worry what Lennie spent his on.

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923 Words | 4 Pages

For the entire duration of the story George is taking care of Lennie who portrays a lack of ability to take of himself, George through the book implies to the reader without Lennie he could have better chances in life but as George says these things and constantly brags to Lennie about how he could leave him he continues to stay with Lennie and not pursuing opportunities that would be more convenient and better without Lennie in return weighing George down because he does not leave. In the book, the author wrote “if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an no trouble. No mess ' all, and when the end of the month come I coul' take my fifty bucks and go into town and get what‘ ever I want. Why, I could stay in a cat house night.

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606 Words | 3 Pages

In Of Mice And Men, by John Steinbeck, many people suffer, but George suffers the most, more than anybody. Even though Candy suffers because his dog died and he has no more friends or family, I believe that George suffered the most in of mice and men because he had to kill his best friend and he gets punished for whatever Lennie does wrong since they are tied at the hip. George suffers more than anybody in the story, even candy. Even though Candy had his best friend killed he was not there to see the dog die.

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1237 Words | 5 Pages

George and Lennie’s future was not determined by their own efforts but was instead determined by society. Society deemed their dreams unrealistic and therefore impossible. Society made Lennie a burden, in turn killing George’s spirit and rendering him a man of loneliness. After George came to know that Lennie killed Curley's wife, both he and Lennie share a heartfelt last moment together that encompasses George’s true acceptance of the matter: “Lennie said, ‘I thought you was mad at me,

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748 Words | 3 Pages

In the novella Of Mice and Men by the author John Steinbeck, George Milton and Lennie Smalls deal with the pitfalls of migrant work while employed as ranch hands in the midst of the Great Depression. Steinbeck explores the theme of brotherhood through George’s responsibilities towards Lennie, Lennie’s downfall, and the ranch hands’ camaraderie. Throughout the work, John Steinbeck proves that brotherhood cannot outstand all of life’s challenges and necessary decisions. First, George’s dedication to Lennie shows an example of brotherhood in the plot.

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794 Words | 4 Pages

In Lennie’s situation, since he has disabilities, he does not have the function to communicate his thoughts and can only use his imagination to express his emotion. Instead of being able to bluntly announce ideas he use the future as a passageway and specifically talks about leaving or living on his own to help George out and to show what he is willing to do in life. In conclusion, the accusation that George dominated Lennie’s life and took it without judgement is not entirely true, for Lennie put his own life in George’s hands. The fact that Lennie conveys he will sacrifice his comfort and move away, to meet George’s desires, is showing that Lennie would let him make important decisions, including the control of his

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f Mice and Men Essay - Essays and Analysis Critical Context and Evaluation print Print document PDF list Cite link Link Of Mice and Men is one of the most widely assigned modern novels in high schools because of both its form and the issues that it raises. John Steinbeck’s reliance on dialogue, as opposed to contextual description, makes the work accessible to young readers, as does his use of foreshadowing and recurrent images. Equally important is the way in which he intertwines the themes of loneliness and friendship and gives dignity to those characters, especially Lennie and Crooks, who are clearly different from their peers. By focusing on a group of lonely drifters, Steinbeck highlights the perceived isolation and sense of “otherness”

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223 Words | 1 Pages

Personally, this was my favorite chapter due to the fact it revealed a lot about the characters, especially Lennie. For example, George reveals why he stays with Lennie even though his life would be very different without him.  Another thing that I observed, and loved, was how the author not only incorporated the true backstory and history of the two, but also included the future they have planned.   However, in regards to their future, hearing the plans in detail brought feelings of sorrow towards Lennie and George because, having read the book, I know that those plans don’t happen.

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906 Words | 4 Pages

Every time any character in the story gets attached or close to one another, something bad happens between the relationship and goes wrong. George is a very practical man. He gets the relationship between him and Lennie in a very practical way rather than being emotional. He can even kill another person just for his

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1187 Words | 5 Pages

Lennie is triggered when certain things happen, like when he kills the mouse, he goes into another state of mind. When Lennie is not triggered he is described as an innocent, kind person or as others would say he is a big baby. Not many people see Lennie’s aggression except for George. George tries to handle Lennie 's anger with trying to demand him to do this or that but it never helps Lennie in the long run.

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873 Words | 4 Pages

When the book Mice and Men starts, We meet two of the main characters named Lennie Small, and George Milton. Lennie acts as if he is a lunatic. George acts if he was Lennies father. The men are heading towards a ranch in order to work. We learn Lennie is fascinated with touching the softness of items such as a dress, which got them ran out of their last home.

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1006 Words | 5 Pages

The Process of Elimination Temptation The darkest, most fickle and most destructive aspect of the human psyche is temptation. As the instigator of evil, it inveigles the mind into fulfilling its deepest desires while paying no heed to the longstanding consequences. It provokes lying, hurting and killing, all of which we observe Macbeth executing in William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth. By further analysing the actions and motives of Macbeth, I questioned the most devious human aspect.

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573 Words | 3 Pages

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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605 Words | 3 Pages

Although described as a rather large man, Lennie’s role between the two men is very childlike. Lennie is treated like a child by George because Lennie does not have the maturity or mental capability to make decisions for himself. For example, George must continuously remind Lennie of the spot he must come to if in trouble because Lennie cannot focus long enough to process this information. Lennie is also fairly unintelligent and blindly loyal to George. This loyalty is seen when George tells Lennie to jump into a river, and Lennie obeys even though he is unable to swim.

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