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Suffering In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Sometimes you cant prevent your suffering or the suffering of others. In the novella “Of Mice And Men” by John Steinbeck alot of the charecters have situation inflicted suffering for example Lennie suffers from a mental disorder and he did not get to choose to have it. Since Lennie has a bourden that also effects other chericters i the novel like George. George, Lennies and, Crooks’ suffering is all inflicted ba a cirten situation that is impossibal or very hard to get out of. Lennies suffering is situation inflicted because he cant control weather he is mentally challenged or not. Lennie usually dosen’t realize what hes’ doing until he’s already done it. This is part of hus bourden because he always gets in trouble, for example lennie killing Curly’s wife. “He looked down at her, and carefully he removed his hand from her mouth, and she lay still. I dont want ta hurt you, he siad, but georg’ll be mad if you yell. He lifted her arm and let it drop, for a moment he seemed bewilderd and then he whisperd in fright. I done a bad thing. I done a bad thing.”(steinbeck 91) …show more content…

George’s suffering is not exactly like lennie's because all george has to do is get rid of lennie but, as you will see in this quote Lennie takes everything literally and George is always wondering what will lennie do next. “I was feelin’ pretty smart. I turns to lennie and says, ‘jump in.’ An’ he jumps. Couldn't swim a stroke.”(Steinbeck 40) Even the most illogical things a person can do, lennie will do without thinking twice. That's what makes it so hard for george because he knows Lennie could be easily manipulated at any point. But in the end it all turns out sort of good for

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Lennie’s handicap forces him to obey his conscience. He has little perception of right and wrong. John Steinbeck stresses this through the difficulties George and Lennie face as migrant workers in the great depression. Due to Lennie’s handicap it is difficult for him to know what he is doing wrong when he is making a mistake. “I did a real bad thing.

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1041 Words | 5 Pages

I say this because everytime Lennie does something “bad” he always connects his actions to the way that George will perceive him after. “Might jus’ as well spend all my time tellin you things and then you forget em, and i tell you again.” (4). “ Tried and tried,

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1056 Words | 5 Pages

This shows how hard George was working for Lennie. Lennie wants to be good to George and help him, but cannot help it when he does these bad things due to his mental challenges. He knows that he is hard on George and tries his best. Many times he has said, “George you want I should go away and leave you alone?” (12).

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715 Words | 3 Pages

On page 39 George says ”He’s dumb as hell, but he ain’t crazy”. This is a small part that shows that Lennie has a mental disability. He isn’t very smart and he can’t talk by himself. He has George always telling him what to do. George also protects him from the people that would make a big deal out of finding out what really is wrong with Lennie.

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729 Words | 3 Pages

According to the text “All the time he coulda had such a good time if it wasn’t for you. he woulda took his pay and raised hell in the whore house, and he coulda set in a pool room an’ played snooker, but he gotta take care of you” (Page#101, Steinbeck). This basically proves and enforces the reality that Lennie influences almost every part of Georges life. This also shows that George could have had a good life, even a better life if his dream of being able to take care of Lennie did not become a burden upon himself and influenced his life so greatly. Everything that George did or tried to do was always influenced by Lennie’s wellbeing.

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1163 Words | 5 Pages

Survival is often introduced as a concept of endurance, persistence and perseverance, a textbook idea about simply living or dying. At the inception of human life, merely surviving was imperative and existence was something that humans fought for on a daily basis. But, as we flourish independently, as societies and as a race, the concept of survival is warped, and growth as an individual, as well as coping with everyday hardships and not just traditional examples of adversity such as poverty and destitution are prime examples of survival. In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the reader is presented with the idea that survival is not synonymous to staying alive, and moreover, that cultural and societal struggles shape self in accordance with the way we face them. Survival of the fittest is the primordial notion that only the fit have the power and strength to live, and more importantly, thrive in their environment.

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880 Words | 4 Pages

Lennie’s strength and his childish mind is his biggest struggle that affects many people on the ranch and himself. Lennie is overprotective of George and about being with him he would do anything for the guy, so when Crooks tells him, “S’pose he gets killed or hurt so he can’t come back. ”(71) Lennie then contradicts his opinion”This ain’t true. George ain’t got hurt.

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652 Words | 3 Pages

“ (Steinbeck 47). It is true that George did not know

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867 Words | 4 Pages

Sympathy is feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else’s misfortune and understanding between people and common feelings. In the book Of Mice and Men a lot of characters in the book are treated badly by each other making us feel sympathy for them. I believe there are three main characters that deserve pity and sorrow from the reader and they are George, who deserves sympathy because he is always looking out for Lennie and making sure he is okay. Curley’s wife deserves pity and sorrow also because she is often getting mistreated by her husband and other people around her. Lennie deserves the most pity because he has a disability that does not allow him to function regularly like everyone else.

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685 Words | 3 Pages

Imagine, a small, nearly silent hospital room filled with quiet apprehension about what is about to happen; the silence masked only by soothing voices trying to bring the room to a state of peace. A man lies in bed, only kept alive by the life support that his been sustaining him for days. Then in a moment, the life support is gone and so is the man, released in a harsh act prompted by mercy, compassion, and good intentions. In John Steinbeck’s book, Of Mice and Men, a another situation is prompted by compassion, but the result is a cruel act. Lennie attempts to show caring and tenderness to Curley’s wife, but it leads to her death in an example of situational irony.

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725 Words | 3 Pages

In the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck there is a ranch in the town of Soledad, California during the great depression. One important character of the story, a swamper named Candy, has an old dog that Carlson, a ranch hand, wanted the dog put down because he was in the way and was suffering in pain. The reason for killing the dog is that he is suffering in pain. He has no teeth, can barely walk, and he is blind along with if Carlson killed the dog it would be a painless death and Slim, a mule skinner who works on the ranch, agreed that the dog should die seeing how slim's opinions were law.

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1388 Words | 6 Pages

Le's get that place [the ranch] now’ ‘ Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta,’” (Steinbeck 106).

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443 Words | 2 Pages

“-I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would” (Steinbeck 78). George wanted a better life someday for himself and for Lennie, but deep down he knew Lennie’s limitations and accepted that the dream was never meant to be.

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1469 Words | 6 Pages

This relates back to naturalism, because Lennie gets himself into a situation that he cannot control. He does not understand that he has to be very careful with the puppy because it is so small, and he does not know his own strength. “What is clear is that Lennie’s body wins out over his mind repeatedly,- in the end with tragic consequences”(Keener 1215). Lennie is very kind- hearted, and never wants to hurt anyone. This quote explains that Lennie’s strength wins over his intentions.

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573 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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