Tragedy In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

“A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in appropriate and pleasurable language;... in a dramatic rather than narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish a catharsis of these emotions.” Even before Aristotle had created this definition for tragedy, people had been drawn to them and still are. Why watching characters experience such horrid pain appeals to people is difficult to answer, though Aristotle described it well; tragedies lead to a catharsis, or release of painful repressed emotions, in this case through the characters’ experience of these emotions. From watching Hamlet go insane after his father’s death, to Leonardo DiCaprio dying

An example of one of these themes is in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men; when people are faced with difficulties, they often create unrealistic dreams to cope with these difficulties, even though they are often met with despair later. This theme is shown when Curley’s wife is being rude to Lennie, Candy, and Crooks. Eventually Candy stands up to her: “But a change came over old Candy. He stood up suddenly and knocked his nail keg over backward,” (Steinbeck 79). By writing of a change coming over “old” Candy, Steinbeck suggests that he is no longer acting old, and is more energetic and youthful. He proceeds to tell off Curley’s wife and discuss the farm, which he, George, and Lennie, discuss buying even though it is very unlikely they would actually purchase it. He is energized and motivated to speak out because of an unrealistic dream, showing the dream helping him cope with difficulties. Another example of this theme being shown in Of Mice and Men is right before George kills Lennie. George wants to kill Lennie so that Curley would not do it in a more painful way and Lennie could be happy before he dies. Immediately before George shot Lennie, “Lennie begged, ‘Le's do it now. Le's get that place [the ranch] now’ ‘Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta,’” (Steinbeck 106). This shows the dream is extremely unrealistic; they clearly would not get the ranch since Lennie is about to die. Because George wants Lennie to enjoy his last minutes and chose to spend them discussing the ranch, Steinbeck also shows the dream still helps them cope through difficulties.This theme is applicable in the real world, as people often have similar problems which are seemingly impossible to surpass. By having a dream, realistic or unrealistic, dealing with these problems can seem more accomplishable in the present. Very different themes occur throughout