ipl-logo

The Role Of Hope In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

855 Words4 Pages

Throughout the Great Depression unemployment was at an all time high. Around 13 to 15 million men were without work. This left workers to hop from city to city in hopes of finding a job. Only optimism could make men move forward, especially in the face of such dark times. Of Mice and Men is a touching story written by John Steinbeck. In this book, there are many characters that are living through the Great Depression. When people think about living back then, it makes them wonder how those men got by. Of Mice and Men shows in many ways that having dreams will give hope and meaning to life. Aspiration plays a large role in this book, It teaches the characters not to dwell on their current situation.
One character whose new found hope changes him is Candy. Before he meets Lennie and George, he is hopeless about his situation. The older man works as a swamper ie; a janitor. He only has one hand, which makes him the least useful on the ranch and the most likely to be fired. …show more content…

Him and Lennie's friendship is essentially based off of plans for their future. The two are constantly trying to find a steady job with a good pay. Once that is achieved, they hope to someday live a prosperous life on their own. One example of George talking about his aspirations is when he is with Lennie, "Sure," said George. "All kin's a vegetables in the garden, and if we want a little whisky we can sell a few eggs or something, or some milk. We'd jus' live there. We'd belong there.”( Steinbeck 57). Having to work exhausting jobs one after the other is a tiresome job in itself. Envisioning that all that hard work will lead to something great gives George motivation to keep on trying. Lennie can also be a burden to George, but the truth is they need each other to keep their dreams alive. If George did not have his friend’s wishful thinking, he would be like most other ranch men that waste all their money on booze and whore

Show More
Related
1142 Words | 5 Pages

The relationship between George and Lennie is like a big brother little brother situation where George protects and takes care of lennie. They both share a dream of not being the loneliest guys in the world. George is more like a caretaker for Lennie and must be like his protector, Because when George told Lennie

Read More
164 Words | 1 Pages

Lennie cares about George. Lennie always wanted to be with George because, he needed a companion, but he may have trusted him a bit too much. “I turn to Lennie and say jump in and he jumps, couldn’t swim a stroke. He damn near drowned. "(Steinbeck, 40)

Read More
816 Words | 4 Pages

Dreaming Through the Hardships During the hard times of the Great Depression, many people were out of work or losing their jobs. Many worked as farm hands on ranches for some extra cash and usually a few free meals. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, there are a few men working on a farm in Soledad, California doing just this.

Read More
1471 Words | 6 Pages

This book presents an accurate portrayal of life during the Great Depression in which many topics are introduced such as mental and physical disabilities, the American Dream, and race. Learning about these topics through a narrative can give students an understanding of the social and economic implications during that time. As said by Allison L. Baer, an associate professor at the University of Findlay, "[b]y reading...trade books[books intended for general readership], students collaboratively gain understanding as they delve into issues and topics more broadly and deeply"(284). Reading a piece of literature that incorporates important parts of history can create more of an impact of the reader due to the storytelling nature; students may be more inclined to understand the historical context of the book when they are more connected to the characters. Although the main focus of Of Mice and Men is not on the Great Depression, the setting of the book is during that time period, so glimpses into the life of the characters, who represent men looking for work and striving for the American Dream, are shown.

Read More
516 Words | 3 Pages

Despite George being his caregiver, Lennie treats him as a close friend and confidante, showing an unwavering commitment to their shared dream of owning a farm. Lennie's constant desire to please George and make him proud highlights his selflessness and his willingness to prioritize the needs of others over his own.

Read More
1627 Words | 7 Pages

In the poem, To a Mouse, Robert Burns states, “The best laid schemes of mice and men/ Go often askew/ And leave us nothing but grief and pain” (Burns). Burns wrote about an incident where he accidentally ruined a mouse’s home while plowing a field. During the early 1900s, the Great Depression, one of the biggest economic slumps in the history of the United States, was taking place. It resulted in many people being unemployed, lonely, and stuck in poverty.

Read More
516 Words | 3 Pages

During most of the story we can tell that Lennie focuses on things like his dream of tending the rabbits; and he is always trying to make George happy, for example by letting him have all of the imaginary ketchup so George could eat his beans with it. It’s safe to say that George can find Lennie a bit annoying at times. What will help us understand why Lennie and George are such good friends it this quote: “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you.” What this means is that Lennie need someone to look after him, and George need someone to care

Read More
731 Words | 3 Pages

In simple terms, dairy is any food made from the milk products of animals, or produced in the mammary glands. Lactose is a type of sugar contained in any mammal’s milk and all humans are born with an intolerance to it. This is caused when the body does not produce enough of the lactase enzyme to break down the lactose. Ironically, milk, cream, butter, cheese and yogurt are all derived from dairy. (http://thedietplate.com/dairy)

Read More
822 Words | 4 Pages

Of Mice and Men, written by award-winning author John Steinbeck, narrates the story of two displaced migrant ranch workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, who travel together from place to place in search of new job opportunities and a chance to achieve their shared dream of settling down on their own piece of land, where they can finally work for themselves. To fulfil their dream, they are given an opportunity to make some well-deserved money by working on a ranch in Soledad, California along with the other ranch hands, who are all trying to make a living for themselves. Life is especially hard for them because the plot takes place during America 's Great Depression, which lasted from the Stock Market Crash of October 1929 until 12 years later when World War II began. But even in America, the land of the free, the land of freedom, the land of opportunity, George and Lennie’s struggle for their little piece of the American dream is frequently emphasised as impossible and unrealistic. Their chances of achieving the dream is lowered dramatically by the problems they run into in Weed.

Read More
249 Words | 1 Pages

Of Mice and Men is a great book to read, this might be because of the great characters John Steinbeck created. Perhaps it is because of the setting being during The Great Depression or maybe it’s just because of the amazing plot the book has. Steinbeck paints the readers a vivid picture of the time period in his novel. With his novel we can see how hard it was for some to have a normal life. This time period is especially hard for people who had no family or no job, but the people who had it especially hard during this time were African American.

Read More
605 Words | 3 Pages

Despair Among People During the Great Depression People who face great odds will hang on to hope, however, many will lose it to the cruel reality they live in. This is the story told in the novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck. In this novel, Lennie and George are traveling bindle stiffs who experience the losses that come with the Great Depression, and the hope of others that is dashed by the death of one person. This theme of hope and loss is shown through Curley's wife, Candy, and George.

Read More
985 Words | 4 Pages

1929. The New York Wall Street stock market collapses and the dollar becomes worthless. Unemployment is high and men are in dire need for jobs. Taking into consideration that “Of Mice And Men” is set in 1929 in all this chaos, one would think that the harsh conditions facing working men would overpower all else. However Steinbeck shows us the fear of isolation is worse.

Read More
715 Words | 3 Pages

The relationship between the characters George and Lennie is a strong example of friendship in this novel. George and Lennie had been friends since they were kids; Lennie has always relied on George to get him out of tough situations since he is mentally challenged. When George and Lennie had arrived at the ranch the boss was wondering why Lennie couldn’t speak for himself; and that is when George had to step in, “George said, ‘He’s my … cousin. I told his old lady I’d take care of him.

Read More
906 Words | 4 Pages

Every time any character in the story gets attached or close to one another, something bad happens between the relationship and goes wrong. George is a very practical man. He gets the relationship between him and Lennie in a very practical way rather than being emotional. He can even kill another person just for his

Read More
877 Words | 4 Pages

Dreams can be very persuasive and uplifting as well as discouraging, in the right moments. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck introduces the readers to a story of dreams and how those dreams can affect you and others. Steinbeck explains through his novel how dreams can give reasons for people to succeed in life, how they can draw others in and encourage others or how dreams can stray away from reality and how the dreamer can get lost in their own fantasies and never accomplish their dreams at all. Dreams have the power to change lives by giving hope.

Read More

More about The Role Of Hope In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Related Topics

Open Document