ipl-logo

The Significance Of The Pivotal Moment In Of Mice And Men

1311 Words6 Pages

Of Mice and Men: John Steinbeck Pivotal Moment Essay John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, explores the story of two migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small during the period of the Great Depression in the United States. The two men are quite contrasting with George being “small and quick and dark of face” whereas Lennie, who is a large, unintelligent man. Throughout the novel, the characters experience conflict however, remain unified as they dream of owning a ranch in the future. A pivotal moment in the novel occurs in chapter five when Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife marked by “And she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror... and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.”(91) The pivotal moment is significant for George as it sets the end of his dream, influences him to kill his companion, Lennie and also changes him as he comes in a state of realization of how lonely he will become without his companion. Primarily, the pivotal moment of Lennie killing Curley’s wife impacts George as his dream of owning a ranch …show more content…

This shows that George cares about Lennie and because Lennie killed Curley’s wife he is put in this situation. In addition, even after all of the unacceptable things Lennie has done, George isn’t disappointed at Lennie and rather kills him for the betterment for Lennie. Lennie says, “"I thought you was mad at me, George." "No," said George. "No, Lennie, I ain't mad. I never been mad, and I ain' now. That's a thing I want ya to know."”(106) This indicates the idea that George isn’t angry at Lennie for killing Curley’s wife and does not kill him because of his anger towards him as he shatters his dream. The quote explicitly portrays George’s benevolence towards Lennie as seen throughout the

Open Document