In “A Teachable Good Book: Of Mice and Men,” Thomas Scarseth focuses on the simple, but the tragic complexity of the novella, Of Mice and Men. Scarseth addresses the reality of the work, how it is true to the time period and the environment the characters are set in but also reveals the tragedy. The characters are all good people trying to achieve their dreams, but bad things happen on the way. He also points out that the world the characters live in is limited, as well as their abilities. The physical limitations of the world are the real tragedy that kills the possibility of their dreams coming true.
American statesman and former president of the United States, John Adams questioned if it, “Is the jealousy of power, and the envy of superiority, so strong in all men, that no considerations of public or private utility are sufficient to engage their submission to rules for their own happiness?” But fails to challenge if ambition, thoughts, and the barrier of vulnerability are commonalities that contribute to the constant need for power. Both ideas are prevalent in Of Mice and Men, a story that takes place in the times of the great depression and is ruled by men who are constantly striving to be superior than the rest. Specifically, throughout the book John Steinbeck illustrates how people often use power and predatory instinct to take advantage of others to combat the reality of their own
In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, Crooks behaves the way he does because of the discrimination he has faced throughout his life. In chapter four, we get a description of his belongs, which includes, “ a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of California civil code for 1905” (66). Since his copy of the civil codes is so worn, it demonstrates how often Crooks is flipping through the pages and frequently checking what his rights are. The date, 1905, shows how long he has had this book in his possession. Crooks has had to debate and battle for his rights so that others don’t get an unfair advantage because of their race, or he gets taken advantage.
Others may argue that since we live in a democracy. society provides us personal freedom to choose what we want, and equal opportunities to achieve these desires if you work hard enough, but I believe that society does not give everyone equal opportunities to achieve their success. Steinbeck illustrates this idea in his novel “Of Mice and Men.” Curley's wife illustrates the point that society does not give everyone equal opportunities or personal freedom. The author shows unequal opportunities towards woman with Curley’s wife, when Lennie says, “Well George says you’ll get us in a mess.
John Steinbeck’s, Of Mice and Men, is a compelling story that has captured and embodied the struggle and loneliness felt by many during the Great Depression. While desire for the American Dream is prominent in the novel, Steinbeck is able to demonstrate the wants from different social classes through the construction of characters such as George Milton and Curley’s wife. With these characters, Steinbeck successfully displays the difference in ideas, values and attitudes of certain social classes in the 1930’s and the illustrates the rarity of achieving the American Dream. Steinbeck wrote this novel during the Great Depression, when America was suffering greatly by the disastrous crash of the stock market. From this point in time, separation of the different classes became
When looking to the classic novel Of Mice and Men, multiple groups are discriminated against. By examining the discriminations, we see how the discriminations deeply affect the characters. It has an impact upon them throughout the story. Although the early 1900’s may have been a dark and scary time for America. None of us truly know the impact it had back then,but by reading Of Mice and Men.
When viewed through a Marxist lens, the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck highlights the the inequality of life between the classes, and shows that members of the lower class need to embrace
Discrimination is real and still here in this country it started with the white man moving indians out of their homes so the white men can work to build buildings and homes for the people they thought deserved it our founding fathers are the reason this country is hated by most countries. The reason black people are still harassed today by white people the law the corrupt justice system look most people are in prison or jail because of weed some for other more serious crimes but now look the drug is legal in almost all of America and those people are still locked up waiting for release that is what is known as discrimination because the hate is pushed toward one group the people that call themselves stoners. Weed is a plant and white and black are just colors cracker and negro are just labels to put one racial group
Oppression can be described as one of the most important feelings that have been portrayed few times in this novel as George faces a lot of problems with his life after Jim died. Psychologically, George has experienced so many problems that caused him to feel the pressure from outside world more and more which lead him to act in a different mood from a different setting. One of the problems that he faces is an inability to feel a sense of belonging. Furthermore, George suffering from chronic depression triggered by the death of his lover and also he desperately struggling to find comfort as he does not have interactions and meaningful relationships with other
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.
Life is known to throw all sorts of unwanted and unfair events into the life of every person on Earth. People have now just accepted the fact that life is unfair sometimes and there is nothing to do about it. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the theme of life being unfair is shown through George’s struggles with Lennie and the struggles Candy faces. Throughout his life, George experiences the unfairness of life through his burden of having to take care of Lennie.
The problem with the widened wealth gap is that the inequality may harm the quality. Meaning that those in the higher classes see it as you can use the money with no restrictions. However, economist believe that the “relationship between inequality and economic freedom, with the possibility that policies that are meant to reduce inequality will reduce economic freedom, which will then only make inequality worse.”
As my ISP novel I have chosen to read the story “Of mice and men” by John Steinbeck. I am interested in this novel because it shows the reality of life during the Great Depression and the lessons gotten from the story are still relevant in today's society. The main theme of the novel is the impossibility of achieving the American dream. I will be analyzing the story though the Marxist point of view and proving how the author uses minor characters to reveal the main message to the reader
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.
Introduction All over the world, there is an obvious contrast between the living standards and lifestyle of the rich and the poor. Moreover, there is a large gap between the populations of poor and wealthy. This is known as the Wealth Gap, and it is caused by Wealth Inequality. Wealth Income/Inequality is defined as “The unequal distribution of assets within a population.” Wealth is defined as more than just the amount of income a person has, but instead the value of a person’s assets.
