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Of Mice And Men Hell Essay

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It is a dog eat dog world in a capitalistic society, and there is no way to get out of where you are. It is that way because of that fact that everyone fends for themselves and that is it. There is no plausible reason or way to move up in the social hierarchy. Whereas the system is more manageable today, and there are more ways to change your social status. In the book Of Mice And Men, the author, John Steinbeck, succeeded in showing many of the different ways someone can be trapped in their life. Two of the ways Steinbeck shows this idea is through the themes of Hell, and you have to be born rich or marry rich.
Capitalism is like Hell. It is like Hell for people in lower social standings. For some people, they dream to escape their current …show more content…

These dreams give them something to numb the pain of reality. On page 32, Lennie told George, "I don't like this place, George. This ain't no good place. I wanna get outa here." The bunkhouse represents Hell in their world. Even Lennie, who is mentally handicapped, realized this and feels like the bunkhouse is not a good place. The bunkhouse is a representation of Hell because it is not anything like the heaven Steinbeck described in the opening scene of the book. The heaven he described in the first scene was very natural, serine, and peaceful. Whereas the bunkhouse is very square and cage-like. In fact, the bunkhouse was the complete opposite representation of heaven, from a human’s perspective. The bunkhouse is similar to a prison or a cage. When people are in Hell they are often trapped, similar to in a cage. At one point, Slim, the god-like worker, had to make the decision of what puppies would live and die. This shows that not even God, the opiate of the masses, could …show more content…

If someone is not born rich and does not marry rich, it is practically impossible to break out of the system and get ahead. On page 89, Curley's Wife talks to Lennie, “Well I ain't told this to nobody before. Maybe I ought’n to. I don’ like Curley. He ain't a nice fella.” In the story, Curley's Wife decides to marry Curley to succeed in the world. She was not born rich, so the only way for her to get a leg up in the world was to marry rich. She once had a dream, but at some point she knew marrying him was her only option to get out of the cycle and move up. Curley married his Wife because she was pretty, and flaunted it. She was trying to draw attention. Other people do not get the chance to marry rich or succeed in the world. Even though they are smart and have other positive attributes. On page 74, Crooks talks to Lennie, “ Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I have read plenty of books out here. Nobody ever gets to heaven and nobody gets no land.” Crooks is the stable boy, and he is smart, but he is black and crippled. He was not born into a wealthy life, and there was a slim chance he would marry into one. Crooks works very hard, and the other workers realize that. They know he will not get caned until he can not work anymore. Crooks is a hard worker, but he does not get rewarded for it. The negatives outweigh the positives in this situation.

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In Baltimore, there were two distinct communities, the poor black communities, and the affluent, green grass, white communities. Both very different. As a result of being born African American, Coats had to confine living in black neighborhoods, never being able to live in a white neighborhood. There was almost an invisible law that kept people of dark skin from ever being able to move into a white neighborhood. That said, people living

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According to research, “Many people were beginning to feel that the American dream… was fraudulent” (Great). As the world fought its hardest against the people of this time, including Crooks, they began to give up on the idea of the American dream. Crooks acknowledges that because of his race he may never get that ideal life. Hence, his feeling of inability to do what he wants makes him

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The bunkhouse may represent suspicion and the very harsh life of the migrant workers. Throughout the text, the bunkhouse becomes a place of misery, despair, and anger. All of the men in the bunk are working towards the same goal of making it off the farm and making some money. Though some of them have a different attitude towards that such as crooks, who understands the harsh reality they are living in... “I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain't wanted in my room.” (68) Crooks is very direct and almost harsh in the way he treats Lennie.

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What Curley’s wife says in this quote further exemplifies how she is misunderstood and simply lonely. She is not trying to cause trouble by talking to other people and is just trying to interact with other men since she feels lonely and not because she wants to flirt with them. In addition to her isolation, the conflict between her wanting to live a desirable life and her inability to do such, is evident in the novel as she expresses her dissatisfaction with her life with Lennie and talks about her failed dreams and aspirations to become an actress, saying “"Well, I ain't told this to nobody before. Maybe I ought'n to. I don'like Curley.

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(p38) The way Steinbeck describes the bunkhouse indicates their lonely lives. Also by only having two shelves for their personal belongings shows their lonely insecure lives. Crooks has a better facility than any of the other ranch workers since he has a desk. Crooks does not appreciate this because he is alone and isolated from the rest, like Curley’s wife and in some way Candy.

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For example, Crooks wants to be treated equally. When Lennie first presents Crooks with the idea of his dream farm with George, Crooks shows interest and asks if he could join them. After Crooks rebuttals in disbelief over Lennie and George’s dream farm, Crooks inquiries, “... If you … guys would want a hand to work for nothing-just his keep, why I’d come an’ lend a hand. I ain’t so crippled I can’t work like a son-of-a-bitch if I want to” (76). Although Crooks did not have a prior dream that was known, his wish to escape and live a life of luxury demonstrates the desire to live another life.

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The words “whitewashed” and “unpainted” suggest that the bunks were made very quickly. It also suggests that in building them, the builders were more focused on having somewhere for people to live while they worked, than on the appearance of the bunks. This makes the readers sympathetic towards George and Lennie because they were forced to live in a place that was boring and unfinished just so they could make enough money to survive on. Steinbeck characterizes the bunks as boring and unfinished because the room is very “unpainted” and dreary. Steinbeck included this to criticize the living situations and lack of privilege people in poverty had during the dust bowl.

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In this quote it shows how Curley’s wife’s dream of becoming a movie star is crushed. She married Curley to get away from her mother who she thought was stealing her letters. Her dream of becoming actress has failed because she chose to take the quick way out and marry Curley. She no longer a dream to aim for, other than somehow escaping from her horrible husband Curley, “I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella.

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(Steinbeck 68). This quote explains to the reader that since Crooks is black the others on the ranch wont allow him to accompany them. Crooks had gotten used to being alone and separated from the other characters on the ranch. The novella strongly displays the intolerance of characters for differences that the characters can

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When Lennie questions why Crooks is all alone in the stable, Crooks responds, "'Cause I'm black. They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me,"’ (Steinbeck 69). Crooks is segregated into a small and lonely room where he has no company and only himself.

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In John Steinbeck’s rather infamous novel, there was a heavy handed message that classism creates problems and a false consciousness caused by the American Dream, that one can eventually achieve success with sheer determination and hard work, does more harm than good. This is due to the fact that it leads to competition between citizens in the same class (mostly proletariat) who all want to climb to the top of the metaphorical food chain. Some attempt to achieve their goal through shady means, like commodification- or some may try to go at it alone, believing in the ideology of rugged individualism, thinking that they can reach their goal without any help. This impacts society by enforcing the idea that we’ll stay in the class system that we were born into unless we’re willing to sacrifice our morals and the things we care about.

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Crook’s character is being discriminated due to his skin color which soon caused him to be disregarded. Although at a certain point, Crooks stood up but no good has come to him. Challenging discrimination is strenuous, however it is necessary in order for an individual to advance. One of the most lousy assumption made during the novel’s time period is the hierarchy between the color of men.

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While Crooks, a victim of racial prejudice, expresses his isolation openly, he also socializes with other workers on the job and while playing horseshoes with them. Curley’s wife, on the other hand, cannot talk to anyone without suffering the consequences of a jealous husband: “ I get so lonely,’ she said. “you can talk to people , but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anybody?”

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Curley’s wife had a dissimilar dream than the others, to be famous; however, this, just like the men 's dream, did not transpire. Curley’s wife talks to the men—Crooks, Lennie, and Candy — about her dreams of being famous " I tell ya I could of went with shows. Not jus ' one, neither. An ' a guy tol ' me he could put me in pitchers…" She was breathless with indignation. " —Sat 'iday night.

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He is desperate, like everyone else, to be stable. Crooks is another character who is weaker than others and is discriminated because of

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