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How Does Steinbeck Present The Theme Of Masculinity In Of Mice And Men

1419 Words6 Pages

“ Of mice and men” One of the greatest classical novels of all times, written by John Steinbeck, resonates with generations of audiences which preaches the range of insular concerns through the outset of his novel, as he imitates the hardships and struggles caused by the moral decline of the 1930’s societal epoch. Steinbeck proves so, through his expert characterisation and character trajectory through the story of two itinerant workers, George and Lennie and various other characters, in order to employ the range of literary techniques and ideas pertaining to the notions of companionship, gender representation and racism. Steinbeck adeptly works to provide a confrontational approach to his othering and oppressive society as he provides responders …show more content…

Curley’s appearance is small and thin juxtaposed with Lennie who is big and tall. Curley gets violent and aggressive with Lennie, evident in the dialogue, “Curley likes a lot of little guys. He hates big guys.” alludes to inferiority complex, to Curley’s idea of having power of small guys like himself, however as he confront Lennie, his attitude becomes aggressive and he attacks Lennie, which reveals Curley’s toxic masculinity, in the need to assert power or dominance over lennie, as he feels inferior due to his insecurities, as society’s expectations has made him feel less of himself. Therefore, such preconceived notions of society’s norms about gender roles are effectively confronted through Steinbeck’s 1930’s novella, his purpose is to confront the social expectations of femininity and masculinity through applying an anthropological lens encountering the human condition of othering those who don’t meet up to such social standards. Steinbeck’s 1930’s novella is mimetic of the 1930’s segregational society, as he efficiently provides an anthropological insight into the cyclical nature of the human condition to innately other those with …show more content…

Such an approach is seen as Crooks is given a different room on the ranch separated from everyone else, as he is a black man. His loneliness caused by such harsh discriminations is evident in “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody.”. racism coupled with the need for a companion allows readers to feel a sense of pathos for crooks. However, unfortunately the cause of Crook’s loneliness is the racism and segregational society he lives in. Steinbeck reveals that racism in the 1930’s zeitgeist had created a lonely environment for people who were colored as they were ostricized for the color of their

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In John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men”, Lennie and George travel together to work. They discuss the trouble they experience with Lennie's touching things he shouldn't and how that forces them to run, hide, and constantly search for work. Throughout the book, Steinbeck gives just a small picture of all the trouble Lennie has caused and how George continues to guide him to get by. A problem with a girl leads us to chapter 1 and 6, and how they share in setting, but George and Lennie's interactions differ. The similarities and differences of chapter 1 and 6 show how Lennie and George's cohesive friendship with a bright future develops into a loving bond that had to end.

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