Similarities Between Of Mice And Men And The Outsiders

Georgia Cook

11/24/15

8C FRIES

Companion or Competition?

Humans are connected with one another through simple gravity-like forces that are ubiquitous and powerful, but in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, the characters isolate themselves. While the english poet John Donne once said that “No man is an island”, his contemporary John Milton believed that “Solitude sometimes is best society”. So, which is true? In both books the characters act as if they are“islands”, but this does not create the “best society”.The characters’ detached isolation toward one another causes them to end up feeling empty and disconnected. In both Of Mice and Men and The Outsiders characters build mental barriers to protect themselves

Characters on the ranch see marriage as a relationship recognised by law and a sparkly ring. Throughout the book Curley and Curley 's wife are scared of each other 's power and status on the ranch. In addition the couple feels a need impress one another and a need for the other’s attention. Curley’s wife uses “her eye” to flirt with other men to keep Curley on his toes. On the other hand Curley is always itching to fight bigger and stronger men than himself; trying to prove his worth for his beautiful wife. The couple fails to admit to each other that they are not in love for fear of losing their power and status as individuals. Curley’s marriage is revealed to be a sham through his wife’s conversation with Lennie, “Well, I ain’t told this to nobody before. Maybe I oughtn 't to. I don’ like Curley.” (pg. 89 Steinbeck) With this Curley 's wife attempts to explain for the first time her unhappy marriage to Curley. In The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Cherry Valance 's relationship with Bob is portrayed similarly: Bob is always drinking and Cherry hates Bob 's personality and impulsive actions, but she seems too scared to break up with him because she might lose her status in the gang. In both books the characters need to obtain a certain status which prevents them from expressing their feeling towards each other and, as a result, they end up indulging superficial

For a brief moment Ponyboy Curtis makes a human connection only to realize it can’t last. In The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton there are two gangs the soc’s, a rich upper class gang too preppy to care, and the greasers a gang that feels too much yet has too little. Ponyboy Curtis, a greaser, convinces himself he is alone except for his gang until he meets Cherry Valance. She is a soc, the group that Ponyboy had always been taught to hate. Like Slim, she is understanding and described as a god in the eyes of Ponyboy. Cherry’s recognition of Ponyboy being “more than just a greaser” leaves Ponyboy thinking about how the two gangs aren 't so different, “We aren 't in the same class. Just don’t forget that some of us watch the sunset too” (pg 46 S.E. Hinton). Ponyboy’s conversation with Cherry fulfills him briefly until he realizes they are in different gangs and cannot stay