Perfect Personality In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

A perfect personality includes being compassionate towards the people around you. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, contains a paucity of this important characteristic. The main characters, George Milton and Lennie Small are hobos, traveling the country in search of a job during the Great Depression. Lennie suffers from a mental-disability so George looks after him. They settle on a farm and meet Candy and Slim, two farmhands, and Curley and his wife, children of the boss. Lennie and George face many obstacles, including numerous fatalities, which eventually ends with the death of Lennie by George. Most of the workers on the farm are careless about others. John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing, diction, and mood to demonstrate the cruel nature

Most eminent is the situation between Crooks, the stable buck, and Curley’s wife. After being foully spoken to by the farmhands and Crooks, Curley’s wife verbally attacks the only person considered below her, Crooks: “‘Listen, N***er,’ she said. ‘You know what I can do to you if you open your trap” (Steinbeck 78). Despite the abolishment of slavery occurring years ago, Curley’s wife calls Crooks a slave without a second thought at how he feels. Steinbeck’s carefully-selected words reveal how tough life was during the Great Depression with the distinct separation of social-classes. In addition, Curley’s wife herself remains unnamed due to the author’s intention of portraying women as they were seen during the Depression. After learning about Curley’s wife for the first time, George strictly tells Lennie: “Don’t you even take a look at that b**ch. I don’t care what she says and what she does. I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her” (Steinbeck 32). The men at the farm treat her like a ruthless object ready to get them in trouble. They do not realize the loneliness Curley’s wife endures because of the lack of women on the farm. The author use of diction makes the reader further recognize the sadistic side in human

A widely accepted opinion about the characters is that Curley is callous. Since their first meeting, Curley has had a natural disliking for Lennie. The climax of their relationship happens when Curley picks a fight with Lennie. He cusses at Lennie and throws punches at a mentally-challenged person. The fight soon turns and Curley is the one fighting for himself, “Curley was white and shrunken by now, and his struggling had become weak” (Steinbeck 62). Considering the unfairness of Curley’s attack and his cocky attitude, readers feel no remorse when his hand is crushed by Lennie and the feeling of callousness remains the same. Furthermore, after Lennie is killed by George, a farmhand asks Curley, “Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin them two guys” (Steinbeck 105). His question makes readers realize the lack of compassion many workers during the Great Depression had for others. The mood goes from dislike to pity since the farmhand and Curley both fail to understand the definition of love and friendship. Steinbeck, therefore, uses mood to give readers the full effect of mean