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Mentality In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is about the lives of working men on a ranch during the Great depression. John Steinbeck was highly capable of capturing the lives and thoughts of working men during the Great Depression, also bringing in the suffrage of mentality and how it was viewed by others in that era. However, there was one character, Slim, who fully understood the concept of a corrupted mentality and how one should deal with that dilemma. When it is stated “His hands, large and lean, were as delicate in their action as those of a temple dancer” (Steinbeck 33-34) the author is showing that though he is a skinner, his hands seem rather sophisticated and set off a soothing mood. From this evidence, it is shown that if one closely …show more content…

For the majority, these workers were not well educated or else they would have found a county job or such a career similar to that. Slim is one of those workers on ranches, but he is not ignorant, comparable to other workers. He is actually quite intelligent for when he and the other men find Curley’s wife dead, he is the only one to knows what to do. When “Slim went quietly over to her, and he felt her wrist. One lean finger touched her cheek, and then his hand went under her slightly twisted neck and his fingers explored her neck” (Steinbeck 96), he showed his intelligence by feeling for her pulse and her broken neck. Though numerous people today know these types of actions as simple knowledge, it was not so simple during the Great Depression. It was the beginning of the nineteenth century and around that time, only doctors and well educated people knew to look for those signs when it is likely someone is dead. None of te other men knew what to do and didn’t truly know if she was actually dead. Slim was the only one who was able to confirm that fact. Since he is both caring and intelligent, one may understand that he is also trustworthy as

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Scarseth states,”Theme is Slim, calm, reasonable, compassionate, the real leader of men.” Scarseth is trying to show that even though the ranch workers may seem like stereotypical characters, they have depth and complexity. Slim appears as a nice guy, but it isn’t until later that the reader realizes how much of a good friend and leader he is and that he is willing to help anyone. I agree with this point because Slim is there for George through hard times,”Slim twitched George’s elbow. ”Come on, George.

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954 Words | 4 Pages

Of Mice and Men tells a story based in California during the 1930s; of two men who have very different characteristics, but share the same goal. The men, George and Lennie, are migrant workers. At their new job, they meet many individuals: Candy, who is very old and cleans the bunkhouse; Curley, who is the boss’s son; Curley's wife, Crooks, the stable hand; and Slim, who is known as the “prince of the ranch.” Though they recently started, their new job quickly goes downhill. John Steinbeck’s book is carefully written and often uses hints to foretell what will happen next.

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1007 Words | 5 Pages

Imagine if you were working very hard on a ranch and you only got paid $50 a month. Well, this was the life during the Great Depression. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, George Milton, a ranch worker and one of the main protagonists, is a small, wiry, quick-witted man. He has to take care of his friend Lennie Small, a mentally disabled man who has the perception and social skills of a 5-year-old. However, Lennie is exceptionally strong and he is very hard-working on the ranch.

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666 Words | 3 Pages

The novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck is a gripping tale of two men and their lives during the Great Depression. George Milton and Lennie Small are two migrant workers who travel together finding work. They take on a new job “bucking barley” at a ranch in central California for the ranch owner and his son. While working at the ranch they encounter Curley the ranch owner’s son and his wife, a flirtatious woman. The story reaches a climax when Lennie unintentionally kills Curley’s wife and runs back to the Salinas River just as George instructed.

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Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck takes place in the state of California. The story tells about the journey of two migrant workers named George and Lennie. At the end of the story, George is faced with a very difficult decision. George ends up doing what he thinks is the correct choice, which leads to the death of his best friend, Lennie.

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819 Words | 4 Pages

(Steinbeck 60) This essay is about the novel Of Mice and Men that of which takes place in California around the time of the dust bowl. Many of the characters in this novel may have impairments that may be physical or mental that make work on a ranch difficult for them. Lennie is dull, Curley is short, Crooks has a crooked back, and Candy is missing his right hand all these characters have to learn to live with these impairments and keep working hard so they don’t lose their

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641 Words | 3 Pages

On December 7, 1941 the Japanese fulfilled their attack on Pearl Harbor and this became the onset of the World War II for the United States. For the next few years the United States was fighting the war to destroy fascism in Europe and to get the Japanese out of the Pacific Coast. Many changes occurred which can be observed in the experiences of some groups and their home front experience. Although… Freedom during the war took on many definitions for the American people, for some groups freedom was denied all together. While women experienced expansions in their economic freedom, Japanese Americans experienced limitations in all aspects of their lives.

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Slim, one of the most respected and admirable characters in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, is a static character who is always present during the most crucial moments in the story. Slim is the ideal Western man, he is understanding, strong, and is remarkable at his job. In the ranch, Slim is described as having “a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound manner that all talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject”(33). Because of his fairness in his decisions and ideals in equality, Slim is always held in great regard.

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967 Words | 4 Pages

It is common knowledge that all stereotypes, both positive and negative, are detrimental to everyone’s self-esteem and confidence, but biases that are ingrained in society are hard to resolve. Often times, people gravitate toward those similar to them because of their bias, which only allows the cycle of ignorance to continue. This cycle of ignorance introduces negativity into the world and people are more likely to judge others and themselves too harshly. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, he discusses how people’s feelings of superiority over others only allow stereotypes to remain. Steinbeck’s story follows two migrant workers, George and Lennie, as they try to make a living during the Great Depression.

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Steinbeck once again returns to his biological perception of the human. “The attack on us set in motion the most powerful species drive we know - that of survival” (Steinbeck). “By attacking us, they destroyed their greatest ally, our sluggishness, our selfishness, and our disunity” (Steinbeck). Steinbeck alludes self-critically to the American maneuvering and indifference during the first two years of WWII.

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1725 Words | 7 Pages

In the novella, Of Mice and Men, the author John Steinbeck illustrates a ranch in the 1930’s during the great depression where those who fit into mainstream society run the show, and those deemed “outcasts” are rendered useless. Steinbeck depicts characters with setbacks that diminish their value in the eyes of society, and contrasts them to characters that have no difficulties conforming to the norm. Crooks, being a black man isolated by his race, and Candy, a elderly man limited by his age and missing limb are examples of Steinbeck characters that experience hardships because of the differences. The poor treatment of Crooks and Candy by the other characters, and their chronic unhappiness in a place that doesn’t value them, comments on how

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968 Words | 4 Pages

Laura Berger Ms. Tenore English 8 03/20/23 Powerlessness on the Ranch Can one’s weaknesses sometimes affect their social, intellectual, or economic power? In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the characters prove to have less power on the ranch because of the weaknesses they have. At the start of the novella, Lennie and George venture to a ranch in Soledad, California after encountering a catastrophe that forced them to leave their previous job. Over the time they spend there, they get firsthand insight and knowledge of how ranch workers’ weaknesses can render them powerless in different ways, and how these weaknesses prove themselves to be a disadvantage for them.

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715 Words | 3 Pages

In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the era of the Great Depression in the 1930’s is revealed through a simple story of ranch workers who hope to improve their lives. Migrant workers, George and Lennie, have a friendship that is based on trust and protection. The other workers lack the companionship and bond that these two men have. In the novel, the absence and presence of friendship is the motivation for the characters’ actions.

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307 Words | 2 Pages

In the 1930’s having mental problems was seen as being unbright. People back then did not understand what being mentally challenged was they would treat them like any other person which would make it hard on the person who had the challenges. In the book george stays with Lennie so he doesn't get into trouble.

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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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