ipl-logo

Of Mice And Men Context Essay

1588 Words7 Pages

The novella Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck in 1937, is a book set in 1930s America, specifically in California. This story is fascinating in various facets, and I will explore one particular aspect throughout this essay. There were many characters throughout the novel who each had a dream, but many of these dreams were broken by conflicts due to other characters, the social context, setting, or some other factor. I think this can help us to understand what actually matters in life, and how the social context can change this. The way George reacts to Lennie after he accidentally kills Curley’s wife is a conflict that shatters George’s dreams. In the time of the Great Depression, owning land was near impossible for many people, especially …show more content…

“George said reverently, ‘Jesus Christ! I bet we could swing her.’” When Lennie kills Curley’s wife, Curley becomes mad and sets out to kill Lennie. “He worked himself into a fury. ‘I'm gonna get him. I'm going for my shotgun. I'll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself.’” Here, George has no option but to go along with this. This is emotionally devastating for George, because Lennie and him had always dreamed of a little place they would own and live in. This is broken by the fact that Lennie earned the enmity of almost the entire ranch. This makes it almost impossible for George to even imagine that they would live in a place of their own with this troubled incident in their past. In this text, the idea of owning land is a motif. Almost everything that George and Lennie did was focussed on buying land of their own. This is the American Dream. This was an outlook back in the Depression era, which revolved around the idea that owning land was everyone’s wish and hope. However, it is often called the Illusion of the American Dream because it is often not feasible at all. This was because not many people could afford to pay the associated expenses with owning a

Show More
Related
544 Words | 3 Pages

All this does, is prove once again that George made the right decision. Killing Lennie was the kindest thing George could’ve done for him. Curley is always trying to start fights, so when Lennie, a very large man, shows up at the ranch he tried to assert his dominance. Lennie ends up crushing his hand, which makes Curley hate him even more. It just adds to the flames when Curley finds his wife dead in the barn.

Read More
162 Words | 1 Pages

In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, two men named George and Lennie are migrant workers during The Great Depression. George is a small man that is quick with his mind, whereas Lennie is mentally disabled and has a tremendous physique. George has taken on the role of being Lennie’s caretaker after his Aunt Clara died, and they travel together working from ranch to ranch around the Salinas Valley. After a mishap in Weed involving Lennie, George and him had no choice but to flee south and find work elsewhere. They dream of purchasing a piece of land of their own to raise livestock, cultivate crops and live in a small,nice house where they live by their own terms.

Read More
417 Words | 2 Pages

To start it off, George only killed Lennie so he was not capable of suffering. In the book, Curley is looking for Lennie and says, “I’m gonna get him. I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the big son-of-a-b*tch myself.

Read More
858 Words | 4 Pages

George and Lennie are bindlestiffs fighting to survive during the difficult times of the Great Depression. They run into several hardships, but they always lean back onto each other, especially at the end of the novel. The ending of the story signifies George’s strength in love for Lennie as a result of their past history, their pursuit of the dream, and the foreshadowing of the events that occur during the novel.

Read More
1295 Words | 6 Pages

Have you ever had somebody be so mean to you, that it just sticks with you? In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck exhibits the idea that discrimination can have long-term effects on others; therefore, resulting in emotional damage that can impact people’s way of life and how they respond to others in difficult situations. That said, Steinbeck utilizes the elements of characterization to show these ideas throughout the novel. In the novel “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck uses the setting to express the theme of dreams and aspirations. We can start to see the theme express itself when George and Lennie reveal their dream.

Read More
747 Words | 3 Pages

Theme essay-of mice and men “Of mice and men” is a book written by john steinbeck set in america during the great depression. The book is about 2 itinerant farm workers trying to get through the depression and make a life for themselves. In the book there are a few main themes and these are the loneliness of characters which leads to meanness and dreams which get destroyed. In the book there are many characters who are very lonely and can't get away from their loneliness. The book is so much about loneliness that even the small town the story is set in is called “soledad” this shows that even the place they live represents loneliness.

Read More
711 Words | 3 Pages

Of Mice and Men is about Lennie and George in which Lennie decided to feel a girls skirt because he liked the type of material. So George went with Lennie to escape and not get in trouble and decided to go to a bunkhouse where they work and are provided with food and a place to live. George and Lennie are best friends and so they went together. Lennie has the mind of a 6 year old and needs to be with George. When quit their jobs, George planned out a dreamland of how they will live when they get enough money to move to their own house.

Read More
961 Words | 4 Pages

Ever since the day that George almost killed Lennie by asking him to jump into the river, George promised “Well, I ain’t done nothing like that no more” (40). Time and time again, George and Lennie went over another promise that they had each other’s backs, stating that having each other is what made them different from other workers on the farms and ranches. The responsibility weighed on George to always watch over Lennie, and that love and sense of protection for Lennie is what caused George to kill him. Upon discovering the death of his wife, Curley threatened multiple times to shoot Lennie in the gut (97). After having his hand broken so easily by Lennie, George was well aware that Curley would make sure Lennie died suffering.

Read More
945 Words | 4 Pages

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”

Read More
515 Words | 3 Pages

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th century political, religious, intellectual, and cultural upheaval initiated by Protestant Reformers who started to question some of the Catholic Church’s teachings and principles. It was during the Reformation that a major branch in Christianity called Calvinism, which emphasized the rule of God over all things, was created and became more popular. Other similar religious branches such as Anglicanism, Anabaptism, and Lutheranism were created as well during the Reformation; however, Calvinism differs from the other branches in some aspects. To start with, Calvinism is named after John Calvin, a very influential French theologian and pastor.

Read More
928 Words | 4 Pages

In the story no one loves Lennie except for George, and as Lennie says,” I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you,”(14). Over the course of the story George teased Lennie about how he could easily leave him, but he never does. Also all the other people on the ranch note how strange it is for the two to stick together. George also shares a dream with George of buying a farm. At the end of the story Lennie kills Curley’s wife and runs away because of the fear he has of what will happen to him.

Read More
942 Words | 4 Pages

Lennie and George’s relationship and their development throughout the story is shown through these ideas: dreams and reality, the nature of home, and the difference between right and

Read More
790 Words | 4 Pages

John Steinbeck's novella 'Of Mice and Men' contains various important themes. One of the significant themes of this novella is hope, friendship and loneliness, determination that empowers a man to endeavour with a feeling of self-esteem. In this novella, Loneliness is presented to be one of the dominant themes. The composer outlines the depression of ranch life in the mid 1930's and shows how individuals headed from town to town in an attempt to discover kinship keeping in mind the end goal was to escape from forlornness.

Read More
737 Words | 3 Pages

Of Mice and Men; A Literary Analysis “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that 's why,” says George in the book Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck wrote this book about two boys who took care of each other mentally and physically throughout. They endure many journeys together and are able to suffice over very little. They show the strength in friendships in many dissimilar ways and make diligent decisions that some may never be able to make. Of Mice and Men is not only about two friends and their journey together, but as well as giving one a deeper meaning of the book, such as showing the nature of their dreams, the characters as archetypes, and if the killing of Lennie is justified in the end.

Read More
776 Words | 4 Pages

George and Lennie have a shared dream, they dream of a better life. They discuss this dream together before the first day on the ranch – “OK. Some day – we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and …” They dream of a small farm with a patch of land which they own by themselves.

Read More

More about Of Mice And Men Context Essay

Open Document