Friendship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
In English class we recently read Of Mice and Men. I had read it before, but that that was a few years ago, and I didn’t really understand it then. I was surprised to learn that I actually like the book, and looked forward to reading it. This essay is about friendships and the ways in which Steinbeck illustrates them in his novel. This is a very traditional five-paragraph essay, and I personally like my creative writing better, but. . . Enjoy!
Friendships Throughout Time
“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same” –Anonymous. Friends are truly so important in our lives. This has been true all throughout history, although sometimes friendships were encouraged more than others. The conditions during the Great Depression simultaneously fostered and discouraged friendships. John …show more content…
. . I hardly never seen two guys travel together” (p.39). Nowadays it is rare to find someone traveling by themselves, so when Slim said this, the lack of friendship became immediately apparent. The thought that it would be surprising to find two people traveling together definitely is a sad thought, especially when considering, “I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. . . After a long time they get mean” (p.40). To have no company for such a long time that one would turn mean is a very sobering thought. Slim’s comment and George’s response show that friendships really weren’t very common during the Great Depression. It was also really tough for racial or religious minorities. Crooks had no friends, “there wasn’t another colored family for miles around. And now there ain’t a colored man on this ranch” (p.69). He knew he couldn’t be friends with white people and he was such a minority that there just weren’t people that he could have been friends with. The absence of friendship was a big theme in Of Mice and
Friendships Throughout Time
“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same” –Anonymous. Friends are truly so important in our lives. This has been true all throughout history, although sometimes friendships were encouraged more than others. The conditions during the Great Depression simultaneously fostered and discouraged friendships. John …show more content…
. . I hardly never seen two guys travel together” (p.39). Nowadays it is rare to find someone traveling by themselves, so when Slim said this, the lack of friendship became immediately apparent. The thought that it would be surprising to find two people traveling together definitely is a sad thought, especially when considering, “I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. . . After a long time they get mean” (p.40). To have no company for such a long time that one would turn mean is a very sobering thought. Slim’s comment and George’s response show that friendships really weren’t very common during the Great Depression. It was also really tough for racial or religious minorities. Crooks had no friends, “there wasn’t another colored family for miles around. And now there ain’t a colored man on this ranch” (p.69). He knew he couldn’t be friends with white people and he was such a minority that there just weren’t people that he could have been friends with. The absence of friendship was a big theme in Of Mice and