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What Is The Conflict In Of Mice And Men

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in Of Mice and Men, a tragic novella by John Steinbeck takes place in Salinas Valley California during The Great Depression. In this story, we follow George and Lennie who are migrant workers pursuing The American Dream in Salinas Valley, California. Lennie, who does not know his Herculean strength, is childlike due to the fact of his mental disability; George is more of a parental figure, and they travel together looking for employment. They are hired onto a Ranch where the Rancher’s son, Curley, runs the ranch cruelly. The conflict of this story is that Lennie's disability makes him unaware of his strength resulting in the accidental deaths of mice, a dog, and Curley’s wife. As a result of these events, George is forced to kill Lennie in …show more content…

Curley is violent towards Lennie which leads them to have a fight resulting in Curley getting hurt more than Lennie (Steinbeck 63). In other words, Curley, being a lightweight boxer, believes that he has more authority over anyone, and that makes his ego be more prone to hurt so will gives him reasons to fight with anyone than to begin conversations with his wife, which can lead to his wife being more disobedient in him telling her not to talk to anyone. While Curley is most to blame for his wife's death since he is aggressive, he is also guilty of neglecting her. Curley is more concerned about what people think of him. As a result of his large ego, Curley’s wife seeks friendships with other men on the farm. This conflicts with the workers and Curley because Curley expects his wife to be …show more content…

Steinback is saying that Curley's wife is incapable of starting a conversation because Curley is the one in control of her life, and if she starts talking to anyone that makes her feel extremely lonely. We saw this when she found Lennie in the barn which led to her being more solace around Lennie instead of always being scared and not afraid of what Curley is capable of doing like hurting others."Well, I ain't told that to nobody before. Maybe I ought to. I don't like Curley. He ain't a nice fella’’ (Steinbeck 89). Curley’s wife insisted on George keep on talking so she does not get bored and start a nice calming conversation so she can feel like she is talking to someone and not be lonely and also make her feel like she is not invisible to others except Curley. This would also feel like she is irrelevant to anyone because Curley is making her feel like she is not a value to society by limiting her actions on the

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932 Words | 4 Pages

She is constantly searching for her husband, hoping that she can turn “any of you boys seen Curley” into a conversation starter (38). In some cases it works, but she is usually quickly shut out. The only time she manages to get in more than a few words with the men is in the barn with Lennie, where Steinbeck reveals a side of her not seen elsewhere in the book. Throughout the rest of the story she is put together and composed, a mirage sent from Old Hollywood, but here she is blatantly upset, wondering “what’s the matter with me?”(43). A part of her shines through that isn’t usually seen.

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658 Words | 3 Pages

Did you know in the 1950’s the people of the mentally disabled community were mistreated in our world? The people that were mentally disabled were isolated from the outside world, shocked several times, and locked up and let them starve to death. The book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is about the main characters George and Lennie, who migrate from one place to the other in search of a new job. The story took place during the Great Depression, and the story mostly took place in Soledad. George did the wrong thing by killing Lennie because he could of run away, let Curley find Lennie, or followed his and Lennie's American Dream.

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669 Words | 3 Pages

John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, takes place in California on a ranch in the Salinas Valley during the Great Depression. During this time, the United States of America was in a period of economic decline and people were living in poverty. From these hardships, weaknesses arise in different characters in the novel. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck utilizes the deaths of Candy’s dog, Curley’s wife, and Lennie to reveal that weaker people are eradicated because they cannot defend themselves against others.

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This becomes relevant during the tragic ending to the book when Curley hunts down Lennie and vows to kill him. Curley’s dislike of men larger then him only amplifies his rage for Lennie killing his wife. Question’s for the Author: Why does Curley have so much ownership over his wife? Why does Lennie disobey George and speak when he is not supposed to?

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211 Words | 1 Pages

There is multiple conflicts throughout this book, each one involving a different character. Every chapter, there was a new conflict which was the plot of that chapter. From the beginning of the book, when they met the boss, to the end where Lennie was shot by George. One of the main conflicts of this book is when Curley thinks Lennie is laughing at him, but Lennie really isn’t. Since Curley is known as a boxer, he enjoys ruffling someone’s feathers; also, Curley likes to always talk about himself and be the center of attention all the time.

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1369 Words | 6 Pages

She is called Curley’s wife because Steinbeck wanted to show that she is useless and is lonely and is named after her husband. To show that it is like property to Curly rather than a wife. She and Lennie meet for the first time after both are alone in the barn. George always told Lennie to never talk to her because she is trouble and will create trouble. In a few previous chapters ago, Lennie touched a girl's dress to feel how soft it feels because likes the feeling.

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781 Words | 4 Pages

However, in the conflict towards the end of the book, Curley’s wife had told Lennie to feel her hair. She asked him to stop soon after, but he would not. Curley’s wife started to scream and Lennie held on in fear of getting into trouble. Steinbeck wrote, “Lennie began to cry with fright. ‘Oh, please don’t’ Lennie said, ‘You gonna get me in trouble jus’ like George says you will.

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George had to kill him to save everyone even though it was very hard to do. Every man encounters obstacles and things that will hurt them to the point where it eventually could kill them. Lennie killing Curley’s wife implies that every man faces challenges and you have to push through and live your best

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Of Mice and Men, set in California’s Salinas Valley, depicts the world of the migrant worker, a world in which Steinbeck himself had lived, and the workers’ search for independence. Steinbeck was critical of what he perceived as the United States’ materialism, and his work echoes his convictions about the land and its people. Like the characters in his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939), Of Mice and Men’s George and Lennie dream of a piece of land to call their

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1094 Words | 5 Pages

He ran furiously out of the barn. Carlson said, “[he’ll] get [his] Luger,” and he ran out too. ``When Curley first met Lennie he immediately disliked him because how Lennie was bigger and stronger than Curley. But He was more enraged by the fact that Lennie was the reason that his wife died which caused Him wanting Lennie dead or experienced the worst type of pain. Even though because of his cognitive disability he doesn’t realize the harm that he is causing.

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506 Words | 3 Pages

( Steinbeck 53) George's point is that Curley's Wife can get them in deep trouble. He believes that for the fact he thinks that if Curley finds out that somebody is talking to her then they would be in serious trouble, which can involve a fight. Even if it can be even more like death. In addition to Curley's Wife being isolated all time it then led to her

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However, it is important to note that the harsh and unforgiving environment of the ranch fosters a culture of survival, where individuals are often driven to act aggressively to protect themselves or assert dominance. Curley is known to be a small, aggressive man with a confrontational demeanour, throughout the novel Steinbeck shows the reader how Curley’s insecurities about his height have caused him to hate bigger people, such as Lennie. Swammper tells George this right after we meet Curely, saying that “ he's mad at [ Big People ] because he ain't a big guy “, while it is not stated why he hates big guys exactly, besides that he’s not a big guy, the way Steinbeck depicts Curley, a theory could be he’s intimidated by people who are stronger than him. As the son of the boss, Curley could view himself as an important person, who needs to be respected, such can be seen when he tells Lennie to “ answer when you're spoke to “ or when he starts a fight with Lennie because Lennie was laughing while he was talking. His violent actions and cocky behaviour could also be caused by his possessiveness over his wife or the fact that he can pick fights without facing consequences.

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888 Words | 4 Pages

In Shakespeare 's Hamlet, King Hamlet is unexpectedly killed. When King Hamlet 's ghost visits his son, the ghost tells Prince Hamlet, that his death was intentional. Spurred on by his father, he resumes to immediately plan for revenge. Prior to his seek for revenge, King Claudius had wed Hamlet 's mother, Gertrude, causing an already forming animosity between the uncle and nephew, to thicken. Polonius, Claudius ' court advisor, had a daughter, Ophelia, who was to become Hamlet 's love interest.

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There are two reasons Curley wants to kill Lennie. The first reason is because he is a big guy, and Curley hates big guys. The second reason is because Lennie killed his wife. It states in “Of Mice and Men” that “Curley gon’ta wanta get ‘im lynched. Curley’ll get ‘im killed.”

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833 Words | 4 Pages

The couple fails to admit to each other that they are not in love for fear of losing their power and status as individuals. Curley’s marriage is revealed to be a sham through his wife’s conversation with Lennie, “Well, I ain’t told this to nobody before. Maybe I oughtn 't to. I don’ like Curley.” (pg. 89 Steinbeck)

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