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

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Men and Men
Humanity. It is such a powerful word, and often used to describe the world in a positive way. It’s ironic how humanity is actually full of terrible things, such as racism, stereotypes, and hostility. John Steinbeck’s brilliantly written book, Of Mice and Men, proves this. The book is about Two guys, George and Lennie, that are migrant farm workers in the 1930’s. Lennie has a mental disability that makes him have memory loss, low mental intelligence, and acts like a child. He is a huge, exceedingly strong man with a love for soft things. He is constantly getting into a lot of trouble (acidental murder), and his best friend George has to protect him. Steinbeck’s purpose of making Lennie have a mental disability/disorder is to demonstrate how screwed up society is. …show more content…

People are often greedy and careless. When Slim saw that George and Lennie traveled around together, he was surprised. “I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy...Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other” (Steinbeck,35). This powerful quote explains that human kindness that is so often thought of humanity, is rare. George is looking after Lennie as if they were brothers, which surprises many. A lot of the guys at the ranch just care about making money and moving on in life. Most don’t care about the other guys, so seeing George and Lennie together was bizarre. Racism is also huge in the book. Countless times Crooks was isolated, becuse he is black. This is a new concept for Lennie which makes him curious. “Why ain’t you wanted...cause I’m black” (Steinbeck,68). In this conversation between Lennie and Crooks, Lennie acts just like a little kid. He doesn’t understand the world, and has to learn what a corrupt place it is. With Lennie’s limited knowledge, he sees right past stereotypes and racism, which makes the reader love Lennie even more. Readers get to experience learning about humanity, through a pair of brand-new

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Steinbeck shows how labeling and stereotyping influence how people look at the world by saying someone is one thing, without knowing everything about them. Since George may not fully realize that Lennie has trouble understanding the main point of things, George stereotypes Lennie as stupid. When George is annoyed with Lennie, Lennie thinks George is angry about, ‘“ I was only foolin’ George. I don’t want no ketchup. I wouldn’t eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me.”’

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George who portrays himself as Lennie's family throughout the book tries his best

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In modern society, most men follow the social construct of masculinity. Although men care about other men, social norms force them to repress emotions and feelings. However, in John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, the characters George and Lennie defy this stereotype. Despite typical conventions, both men travel together and care for one another. Steinbeck uses the bond between these characters to reveal that true companionship could endure difficulties and hardships.

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The True Nature of Mankind Of Mice and Men by American author, John Steinbeck, is the story of a special companionship between two men, George and Lennie. It begins when they escape a lynch mob in search for a new place to work so they are able to achieve their dream of buying a ranch. They do not want just any ranch; a ranch with rabbits for Lennie to tend to, a ranch for George to grow all the food that they could possibly need, and a ranch with a beautiful big house and stove. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck conveys the struggles of the trying times through George, Lennie, and their fellows using many different rhetorical devices to prove that the true nature of mankind has the inability to accept their actions right, wrong, or indifferent.

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By giving Lennie these childish and animalistic qualities, Steinbeck is illustrating how his immaturity causes him to get into trouble and distances him from the other workers. Although, through all of Lennie’s mistakes, George stays with him because he needs his companionship as much as Lennie does as it brings them both hope and strength in their desperate situations as migrant workers during the

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Has society really made it our job to be our brother’s keeper? John Steinbeck wrote a book named Of Mice and Men in 1937. This book is about two migrant workers who start working on a small farm. The worker’s names are George and Lennie.

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George even lies that he and Lennie were cousins so The Boss wouldn’t suspect anything showing that George is ashamed of Lennie but also cares about him. George tries many ways to cope with Lennie’s mind, strategies such as making Lennie repeat what he said and punish him by reminding Lennie what his dream is and how George can ruin that dream for him. Unfortunately none of these strategies successfully ‘fixed’ Lennie but instead made him scared and traumatized by George. By using little events where George stands up for Lennie, Steinbeck drives the story to be more suspenseful because readers become aware that George will do whatever it takes to protect Lennie, building up tension and question of what else will George do and how far will he go to keep Lennie

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”(72) he can’t believe that something like that would happen to George that will leave him alone. After George had scolded him had replies ”If you don 't want me I can go off an’ find a cave. I can go away any time”(13). He requests that it would better off for George and everyone else if he is alone, even though he wants someone to talk to and be with. None of the other people really like Lennie on the farm and especially when the climax of the story happened he was dreadfully hated.

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Lennie and George’s relationship and their development throughout the story is shown through these ideas: dreams and reality, the nature of home, and the difference between right and

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With Lennie’s mental disability, fending for himself is not always possible thus he has to rely on George’s help for everyday tasks. “‘What you gonna say tomorrow when the boss asks you questions? … I ain 't gonna… say a word’” (Steinbeck 15). This quote exemplifies Lennie’s dependency on George.

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In the novella, John Steinbeck employs figurative language and symbolism throughout the story to compare Lennie to different animals, dehumanizing him. To begin with, Lennie was always an unusual human being. He would act abnormally compared to others when it came to activities. He would show

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John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a short novel that packs a punch and really looks back at America’s past and mistakes. Steinbeck paints a picture of the late 1920s and early 1930s through two men, George and Lennie. George looks after the mentally challenged Lennie and must take action by soon ending Lennie’s life. The characters in the novel all struggle with heartbreaking conflicts but, no one else suffers more than Lennie and George. These conflicts are often supported imagery in the text.

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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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