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Relationship between george and lennie essay
Relationship between george and lennie essay
Relationship between george and lennie essay
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John Steinbeck, author of Of Mice and Men, clearly and sharply creates his characters so that they can be interpreted - without surrendering individuality - as various archetypes. Steinbeck uses archetypes to enhance the fact that these characters do not belong in a normal society. On page 13, George says, “guys like us...are the loneliest guys in the world.” They move from ranch to ranch looking for jobs but never “belong [to] no place.” A normal society contains people engaging with the trends and agreeing with the mainstream; contrarily, these characters are similar to outcasts.
Archetypes are a manifestation of how our minds envision the roles of characters, these characters come in the form of the hero, villain, temptress, damsel, monster, and mentor. In the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, we follow the story of two men who struggle to pull through to survive horrible times, on their journey they come across other characters that fulfill the roles of the archetypes. The archetype in discussion is the villain archetype which is the evildoer of a story usually a person who commits a crime against society or against a couple of people. One character in particular that fills the archetype of the villain is Curley, he has an aura of evil that resonates from his attitude and his actions, which triggers people
The characters in “Of Mice and Men” have memorable personalities that we all can relate to due to their set archetypes. John Steinbeck uses these common and generalized in order to have the readers relate more to his characters. This allows the reader to experience the story and feelings of the characters much better and lets the reader to connect to the character’s feelings, or force the reader to form opinions that aligns with those of the main protagonist(s). In “Of Mice of Men”, readers are initially introduced to Curley’s Wife with words such as “tart”, and having “the eye”. Which, even if readers do not know what that means, it may be inferred through diction that she is overly flirty, or a “tramp”.
In “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck uses a range of techniques to help the reader understand and feel sympathetic to the outcasted, sad characters in the novel. Steinbeck describes the state of the outcasts, which are Curley’s wife, Crooks and Candy,and in which they are discriminated against the others in the ranch. Steinbeck refers to the characteristics of the outcasts in society to make the readers feel sympathy and understand that the stereotypical categories they are put under are not always true. Steinbeck draws on emotional language to show the reader that the stereotypical categories the characters are being put under are not always veracious. “...Why can’t I talk to you?
Steinbeck once again returns to his biological perception of the human. “The attack on us set in motion the most powerful species drive we know - that of survival” (Steinbeck). “By attacking us, they destroyed their greatest ally, our sluggishness, our selfishness, and our disunity” (Steinbeck). Steinbeck alludes self-critically to the American maneuvering and indifference during the first two years of WWII.
“Keeping our eyes on journey's end is what we need - the place where we see at last the world that is greater than the world, the new creation that cannot be contained in present thought or social order or piety.” Parents tell their kids that dreams come true, but the societal order in the world ends childrens’ dreams early. Societal order plays a big role in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Starting at a lake with the hopes of a decent life, Lennie and George find a job on a nearby ranch. A quick turn in the story brings Lennie and George back to the start, and unfortunately, a fatal blow ends their dream.
Additionally, because migrant workers received extremely low wages, their working conditions were
Emma Siu English 9 Ms. Mueller April 19, 2017 Two Truths, One Lie: Steinbeck’s attempt in displaying historical and cultural elements through Of Mice and Men Picture, constantly living in fear that someone could come barging in the middle of the night, coming to lynch you. Picture, not living at all, being cooped up in a house all day, not being able to do anything and living a life of boredom. In the early 1930’s, the Great Depression is in its mits and racial minorities are fearful for their lives, women’ role in society is miniscule and the mentally challenged are being institutionalized. Throughout John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, he accurately represents the historical and cultural elements presented in the 1930’s, including:
In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck employs the modernist concept of Social Darwinism in order to distinguish between characters who survive and characters who succumb to the abuses of society. Social Darwinism, in short, is the theory that the Darwinian laws of natural selection account for the social hierarchy of society. Just like how favorable characteristics allow animals to survive in the wild, favorable attributes allow an individual to thrive in society. Social Darwinism champions the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’, implying that only the strong will survive and thrive, and the weak will be left behind. In his novel, Steinbeck applies Social Darwinism in order to create a social hierarchy between the characters of his novel,
People were uncomfortable and cramped together. They were built near rivers so that it was an easy water source. The unemployment rate of Americans ranged from thirteen to fifteen million people. (History.com Staff Page 1) Americans were fatigued from the horrible living conditions. People lost their jobs, and soon after they lost their homes.
In 1920 when the 19th amendment was passed allowing women to vote, many women thought that Gender Inequality was coming to an end. Soon after, the Great Depression happened, and everyone was focused on that. Life for women was especially hard then because they had to live in a world full of poverty and discrimination. Throughout Of Mice and Men we see this through Curley’s Wife. She just wants to fit in and talk to the men without thinking she wants something, or being called rude names.
When the ranchers went to town and left the outcasts behind, Crooks’s character and role in society are developed through the dialogue between the people who are left behind along with him. Soon after Lennie walks into Crooks’s room, Candy joins the men in the stable which Crooks protests as he tries ”to conceal his pleasure with anger” (Steinbeck 75). Being African American has given Crooks a hard life, as he does not get to take part in the activities of the other ranchers like heading to town or playing cards. At the time, many African Americans suffered from the same problems of isolation from society, for there was no civil rights movement to give them equal respect, pay, or authority as other people. Even today, racism is a major issue
In the book, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, one possible theme is “It’s important to live in the present but also dream about the future.” I have pulled five quotes that portray this theme. They all explain how both Lennie and George dream, but that Lennie is the big day dreamer. They both want to work towards living and owning their own ranches with a lot of rabbits. My first quote focuses on how George is always helping Lennie and giving him advice.
In the novel “Of Mice and Men” John Steinbeck portrays the theme of social injustice throughout the story in the lives of several characters that include Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and the stable buck, Crooks. All of these characters are mistreated in some way, shape or form. The hardships that these characters faced help guide us to see the social injustice that is prevalent in the story. Lennie is a victim of social injustice due to the fact that he is mentally disabled. He is not treated fairly when he was accused of rape.
The book Of Mice and Men is full of puzzling examples of the human condition, from Lennie and his mental disability to Curley only caring about his social appearance. With characters like these two, the book exploits the human condition that concerns circumstances life has given you. John Steinbeck brings to life what being a laborer in the American depression meant to the men and one woman who had enough personality to stand out. Steinbeck shows the human condition of men while they survive in the American depression.
