Of Mice And Men Theme Analysis

The novella Of Mice and Men contains a number of different themes throughout the literary work. Throughout the chapters, the reader learns the themes of friendship, dreams, loneliness, among others, the three of which will be analyzed in this essay. Of Mice and Men is a novella written by John Steinbeck that takes place during the 1930s in Soledad, California. In the story, two men named George and Lennie search for opportunities during the Great Depression. The experiences that they go through can be concluded as a theme of one or multiple. For the first theme of the novella, friendship is what looking out for each other is like. Lennie has a mental disability, usually leading his companion to look after him because of it. In Chapter 2, George covers him up for Lennie to his boss, being not “much of a talker”, even when the boss asks, “then why don’t you let him answer,” then adding “What are you trying to put over?” But despite this, in Chapter 3, while

In Chapter 1, George and Lennie discussed their dream ranch, with George saying that “we’ll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens,” but later adds “red and blue and green rabbits, Lennie. Millions of them,” making it seem unrealistic and unlikely to happen. The theme recurs in Chapter 5, when Curley’s wife was supposed to be in a show and also movies to become a star, but was later denied to be casted for apparently being “on’y fifteen.” For George and Lennie, the dream will never happen for Lennie because of what happens to him at the end of the story in Chapter 6, where while rephrasing their conversation from the beginning, George shot Lennie in the head, but it was either that or Lennie goes into the mob’s hands. The dreams of the characters faltered due to their characteristics, as Lennie’s mental disability led to his death, and Curley’s wife was marginalized for being a