ipl-logo

John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men And Migrant Workers

1170 Words5 Pages

Of Mice and Men and Migrant Workers

The Great Depression is remembered as one of the most painful and rough times in the American history. Society, which was already highly hierarchic, grew even bigger gaps amongst social groups and created new ones. One of the most famous was migrant workers. In Of Mice and Men; John Steinbeck effectively used the themes of politics, moral dilemmas and friendship to realistic represent how migrant workers society looked like during the Great Depression.

The most clear way in which Steinbeck expressed the struggles of migrant workers was by their political and economical views. Their biggest idea was that having a piece of land, no matter the size, would make their lives a lot better. “Everybody wants …show more content…

One of these characters is Candy. He is put through hard times such as the decision of killing his dog or not, were neither of his options are appealing. “I ought to shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog” (Steinbeck 60). In this specific part of the novel you can clearly see how if they have an obstacle or they consider something a burden, they will make it disappear no matter the emotional attachments to it. This quote represent the remorse of the circumstances and decisions made due to big conflicts and the disapproval to what society is making them go through, without blaming anyone but themselves. A lot of things can be inferred about this passage. One of them is the pain behind his words and the feeling of loneliness that is carried out through the book. However, the biggest loss in the book is not Candy’s dog but Lennie’s life. This is a huge part of the novel, and how Steinbeck gives an end to this book. At this specific moment, Slim is asking George for an explanation of what happened after they find Lennie’s body. “An’ you got it away from him and you took it an’ you killed him?” (Steinbeck 104). Everyone can agree that this is the biggest conflict presented in the novel. Should George keep taking care of Lennie or should he just get rid of this burden? At the end of the book he has no option but to say goodbye to his friend. The question changes in should I let them kill him or should I kill him myself, just like Candy had to decide with his dog’s life. Steinbeck is trying to represent what types of problems are presented to citizens during the Great Depression, especially migrant workers and explains why they normally would choose not to go in

Show More
Related

Community In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

750 Words | 3 Pages

John Steinbeck has been a pillar of American literature for decades. His work, especially Grapes of Wrath and The Harvest Gypsies, helped to shed light on some of the issues that plagued California, and the rest of the United States during the Great Depression. His works accentuate the theme of the importance of community, especially when those with the power to help don 't. These novels take place during the Great Depression, a time when there were very few jobs, little stability, widespread poverty, and diminished hopes for the future. This era sets the stage on which these stories take place. During these harsh times, many people turned to the government or banks for help, but they were turned down by the banks because they wanted a profit, or they bankrupted, and the government 's resources were stretched so low they could only help few people.

Read More

How Does Steinbeck Present Motivation In Of Mice And Men

508 Words | 3 Pages

Steinbeck additionally displays the american dream and motivation by showing how George kills Lennie at the end. For example, when George found Lennie by the river and was going to kill Lennie they stated “Go on,” said Lennie. “How’s it gonna be. We gonna get a little place.” “Well have a cow,” said George.

Read More

Lennie's Decision In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

641 Words | 3 Pages

All of us will be presented with an important choice at least once in our lives. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, George is confronted with a very difficult choice after Lennie accidently kills Curley’s wife: let Lennie live but have him be put through the pain of being executed by hanging, or end his life quickly and painlessly. John Steinbeck clearly expresses his own feelings about this decision and the resulting actions through many characters. Steinbeck first portrays his feelings through George when he discovers Curley’s wife’s body. “I should of knew.

Read More

Was George Justified In Of Mice And Men

499 Words | 2 Pages

Of Mice and Men Essay In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George makes a decision in which he decides what is better for everyone. This decision has him kill his childhood friend. George’s actions were justified because he considered everyone his decision might affect. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George’s actions were justified because he saved Lennie from torture, not ever experiencing happiness, and he did what benefitted society and Lennie.

Read More

Of Mice And Men Candy Symbolism

296 Words | 2 Pages

Steinbeck uses symbolism to relate the dog and Candy to Lennie and George. The author states, “At last Candy said softly and hopelessly, “Awright-take ‘im ( 47). Candy has finally accepted the fact that his dog has to die. He can no longer protect the dog from the others and his time has come. This is like Lennie and George because when Lennie kills Curley's wife, George has to accept the fact that Lennie has to die.

Read More

How Is George Justified In Of Mice And Men

600 Words | 3 Pages

Taking someone’s life is nearly impossible to justify. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, George had to make a tough decision when he killed his best friend, Lennie, to save him from a more painful death. The story takes place during the Great Depression in California, and follows two unlikely friends, Lennie, a extremely strong yet mentally disabled man and, George, who is much smarter and the leader of the two. George and Lennie are migrant workers, and after losing their previous job, have come to the ranch where the story takes place to find work. After Lennie accidentally murders Curley’s wife, he runs away, and a band of the workers assemble to punish Lennie, with Curley, an aggressive and prideful character as the leader.

Read More

Of Mice And Men Rhetorical Analysis

937 Words | 4 Pages

By giving Lennie these childish and animalistic qualities, Steinbeck is illustrating how his immaturity causes him to get into trouble and distances him from the other workers. Although, through all of Lennie’s mistakes, George stays with him because he needs his companionship as much as Lennie does as it brings them both hope and strength in their desperate situations as migrant workers during the

Read More

Of Mice And Men Lonliness Quotes

753 Words | 4 Pages

Candy's dog eventually gets shot for no reason, other than the fact that the others do not like him. The dog was hated by the other men living on the farm. The sense of feeling that others do not like you is one of the main contributes to lonliness in the world today. Steinbeck attempts to allow readers to recognize this, and change their actions and words towards others to prevent this lonely state in

Read More

Old Age In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

474 Words | 2 Pages

This quote demonstrates how when you cannot help out anymore, you are no use to society. Since all Candy’s dog does is make Candy happy, the workers feel that his life does not add enough value to the ranch. Steinbeck tries to tell us that this may be the case for Candy soon because he is also very old and he does not do much to help around the ranch.

Read More

Tough Decisions In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

979 Words | 4 Pages

John Steinbeck’s novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a tragic story that takes place during the great depression where two workers/companions ,George and Lennie, work on a ranch together. There they overcome many obstacles to get closer to achieving their dream of living on a farm together; More so tending the rabbits for Lennie. Because Lennie has a mental illness, George is obligated be by his side and make sure he doesn't get himself into any trouble. In order to do the right thing in life, one must make tough decisions that may not seem understandable. Candy who is a fellow worker at the ranch owns a very old dog that depends on him to live.”

Read More

John Steinbeck Symbolize Curley's Wife

568 Words | 3 Pages

He got kicked in the back by a horse/ that is why he is called Crooks. He tries to get at Lennie by saying what would you do if George never returned/ how would u like staying all alone in a barn. In conclusion John Steinbeck symbolizes his characters in certain ways like how Lennie depends on George. John wants the American dream to seem foolish by having George and Lennie talk about owning their own land and living off of the land. Candy wanted to go in on the plan because he was going to have to go somewhere else because they might have kicked him off of the ranch because he couldn’t sweep any more.

Read More

Of Mice And Men Migrant Workers Essay

671 Words | 3 Pages

For example, Lennie and George have to travel to a different country because Lennie has consequences of petting a girl’s dress, but George yells “we got to hide in a irrigation ditch all day with guys lookin’ for us, and we got to sneak out in the dark and get outta the country” (Steinbeck 11). George and Lennie constantly have to move because they are looking for work or are running away from problems. They cannot stay attached to any person or thing because eventually, they will have to move. The isolation causes them to feel lonely, resulting in the unfulfillment of their lives. Additionally, In Steinbeck’s excerpt of “The Harvest Gypsies,” isolation and constant traveling are shown as well.

Read More

Comparing The Great Depression In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

866 Words | 4 Pages

Sometimes we do things that we really don’t want to do but it seems like it is necessary. At the end of this book George had to make the painfully hard choice to shoot his best friend, and when the other guys found out they helped George by supporting his decision and helping him cope with the grief by telling him that, "A guy got to sometimes" (Steinbeck 106). Then letting us know that in those though times many people had to make choices that had extreme outcomes. It was very crucial to include all the events in this story because they helped show the hold that the American Dream had on

Read More

Symbolism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

531 Words | 3 Pages

Steinbeck uses symbolism of the death of Candy's dog to relate to the death of Lennie because it both shows that they

Read More

How Did Ancient Greek Influence Today

869 Words | 4 Pages

Many of the roots of modern intellectual ideas and philosophies have stemmed from the ideas and philosophies of the ancient Greeks. While many other cultures had some impact, the Greeks most definitely had the most influence on modern math and science. Most notably, “the three Athenians that would come to dominate philosophy for the next 2000 years: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle”(p8). These three philosophers, along with many others from in or around ancient Greece set the foundation for Western intellect today. The communication abilities and location of ancient Greece allowed them to not only gather information about the ideas of diverse cultures around the world but also to have skepticism about the information and determine what was true.

Read More

More about John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men And Migrant Workers

Related Topics

Open Document