The novel Of Mice and Men was written by John Steinbeck as a novella or a book that could easily be adapted to a play. Knowingly or not, within his book, "Steinbeck creates a world where people are prevented from being their true selves, and in the rare instances when they reveal a more authentic self, they face negative consequences"(McMurray). Elizabeth McMurray has written a literary criticism to prove this thought process and in my opinion, her essay was correct. The way the book was written, including setting and dialogue styles, proves that the characters in the classic novel are playing characters similar to actors in a play, rather than acting as themselves. One of the many reasons that the characters Of Steinbeck's novel can be …show more content…
Not even George can escape acting as somebody who he is not. "George also takes a part in the play. Even in front of his traveling companion, George preforms, acts as if Lennie is a burden"(McMurray 1). George acts as though he resents Lennie and the tasks he must undertake to keep him around, "God A'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work an' no trouble"(Steinbeck 11). He may do this to avoid revealing his real feelings of friendship towards Lennie, as well as repress the knowledge that without Lennie, the American dream is unattainable for George. As well as pretending not to care about Lennie, George also plays a role for others, "On the ranch with the other men, George plays the part of a guy just bucking barley all his life"(McMuray 1). In reality, George has dreams and ambitions, like most if not all the men on the ranch, but he keeps this concealed so none of the others can do anything to sabotage the dream. Even when Candy offers to fund the majority of the ranch required to complete the dream, George is skeptical whether or not to let him
Steinbeck explores different types of strength and weakness throughout the novel. The first, and most obvious, is physical strength. As the novel opens, Steinbeck shows how Lennie possesses physical strength beyond his control, when he cannot help killing mice. Physical strength is very important for men like George and Lennie. Curley, as a symbol
Of Mice and Men, a book written by John Steinbeck, is a story about two men that are migrant workers during the Great Depression going to the Salinas Valley in California looking for work. One of the two men was named George he was a shorter man and he was the smart one of the group. The other of the two men was Lennie. Lennie is a child-minded adult that was big in size and very strong and because if his child’s mind he wasn’t able to know his strength. This book has a movie adaptation released in 1992 and was directed by Gary Sinise.
The mice and men movie was very spot on it was exactly how I pictured it in the book from the liting and the sounds and dust and the music in the begging you could tell what was happening right from the start if you read the book with the lady running and screaming everything was perfect from the train and when he found that dead mouse it was just perfect the acting was great even the yes lennie you can tend the rabbits was
The world is a dark place full of deceit, lying, and prejudice. Maintaining one's inner child is a feat within the dreadful interior of society. Sadly, majority of people are stripped of this virtuous and naive essence and left seeing the world how it truly is. Children possess the exceptional quality of remaining innocent in even the hardest of times. They are also able to continue to be immature through difficult situations.
Throughout Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck makes his characters complex and makes their actions hard to understand. For example, throughout some points of the book George is grouchy, at other points of the book George is courteous.
The story of Of Mice and men takes place in John Steinbeck’s birth town Salinas, a town in California close to the Salinas River and Salinas Valley. Being born and raised in an agricultural society managed by Capitalism, Steinbeck witnessed the effects it had on the working class. Jay Parini, the writer of John Steinbeck – A Biography, tells us that John Steinbeck sifted through his whole life, all of his experiences, while writing this book. So of course when Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men it easily assumed that he was greatly influenced by his own experiences and personal interactions with migrant laborers. (Parini)
As society becomes increasingly more politically correct and liberal, novels that contain controversial or offensive topics have been regularly challenged, and disputed against. Schools have progressively began to censor and ban the novels they once offered in their reading curriculums, and it has become a contentious topic of discussion. Novellas such as Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, have sparked debates across the country as to whether or not they should be banned from schools due to the profanity, the sexist themes, the racism, and the advanced or inappropriate subject matters. While it may seem that these topics in Of Mice and Men may be too inappropriate for a young student to be exposed to, these topics actually positively
The Novel, “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, was published during the 1930s, though it is still a topic of discussion today. Teachers and Professors have been arguing about the novel, they debate whether the book should be taught in school. Due to its excessive profanity, some teachers are not willing to teach it. The book should be taught in school because it teaches a valuable lesson of social and personal responsibility.
Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men is an American literary classic. The novel was written by John Steinbeck in 1937. It tells a story of Lennie and George, two men looking for work during the time of the Great Depression. The novel reveals that Lennie has a mental illness and George is held responsible for taking care of him. Being set in the mid 1930’s , many people did not understand mental illnesses, hence the actions and strong language of the characters.
That ain't no good.”’ (41) George has no family and is on his own with Lennie, to who he has become a full-time caretaker to. Even when surrounded by many men on the ranch, George still feels alone. “‘Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.
The book has a lot of foreshadowing. From foreshadowing, readers were able to see similarities and differences between characters. Steinbeck showed loneliness, how the weak survive and different personalities in a family by using characters. George and Candy need company. Candy keeps his dog with him because he is lonely.
Second of all, John Steinbeck used foreshadowing to influence the characters. George and Lennie have a dream to buy a small piece of land and live free, but everybody keeps calling him nuts. " 'Go on, George! Tell about what we're gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it. Tell
The ending of the novella of Mice and Men, specifically the failure of the plan for the farm and the death of Lennie - is inevitable because Steinbeck wanted to challenge his 1930's readers about the injustices in American society during the Depression. He uses the ranch as a metaphor for American society, where people are marginalised based on artificial barriers and where the vulnerable are treated with cruelty. A "happy" ending where the dream of the farm was fulfilled would have shown that there was no problem with society and how it was run. This would have reduced the impact on Steinbeck's readers and wouldn't have opened their eyes to what he felt society had become. The tragic ending is inevitable to show the political intention Steinbeck
Steinbeck portrays George as a person who has values defines who he is. Steinbeck had shown that George values companionship, responsibility, and loyalty while he fosters Lennie. Steinbeck shows how George’s value system influences George’s moral and ethical decisions when George shows his care for Lennie,
The novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck is set in America in the 1930’s and it describes the lives of migrant farmers as they go from farm to farm looking for jobs. It also shows the loneliness of the characters and the hard work that they put in. The main characters of the book are Lennie, a man-child, and George, a small man but very powerful character that takes care of Lennie in their journey. Also when they get to the farm they meet the bosses wife who is very lonely and looks for company in the workers. Steinbeck uses characterization to bring his characters to life using various techniques.