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In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck tells the story of two best friends living life on the run, struggling to keep a steady job working as ranch hands. George and Lennie are faced with many obstacles throughout the course of this book, beginning with Lennie and his slow mindedness, George is always side by side with Lennie, practically holding his hand to coach him through life. The story begins with the two men running away from Weed, the ranch they were previously employed at; we later find that George and Lennie had to flee after Lennie had touched a ladies dress and made her feel uncomfortable. Upon arrival at the new ranch, George had told Lennie to stay away from Curley’s wife, Lennie disobeyed George and similar trouble has followed them.…
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The 1930s novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was written during the Great Depression, a time of many financial complications and hopelessness for the American population. It takes place in rural northern California in the town of Soledad, which was where the author grew up. Steinbeck uses his memories and recollections to paint an incredibly vivid landscape in each scene mentioned in the story. Of Mice and Men follows the seemingly futile journey of George Milton and Lennie Small on their quest to make a better life for themselves. Getting to their goal does have its complications, however. Even the differences between the two main characters cause conflict. Along the way, they come face to face with difficulties including an overly flirtatious woman, a violent, pugnacious man who happens to be the boss’s son, and Lennie’s inability to realize his own strength. Steinbeck nearly perfectly creates an atmosphere that conveys mood, reveals theme, and builds dynamic characters.…
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‘Of Mice and Men’ is a novel which pursues the plight of two migratory workers who are looking for more work after the developmentally challenged Lennie gets them into trouble at the last job. The text is set in 1930s California during the depression, in a rural town with limited social and economic prospect. Steinbeck encourages the reader to empathise with the characters, which positions the reader to better understand the hardships faced in this context. A main feature of this text is the recurring motif of george and lennie's dream farm. The farm represents freedom from all the pair's current hardships, a place where they can be self sufficient, and free from the social constraints that exist due to lenny's disability. By including this dream farm, Steinbeck hopes to assist the reader in understanding the social attitudes towards disabilities. Another value that can be taken from the novel is the concept of the inauspicious outcomes for the carer of a…
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Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck) is a novel overflowing with friendship, colorful characters, vivid detail and yet a tragic storyline. George and Lennie are two guys that travel the country looking for work during the depression era. Given that Lennie is "not quite right", George must be accountable for Lennie's actions and take care of him. Throughout several sequence of events, George gives himself up to care for Lennie and his needs. Although the two do have a dream to buy a farm, George doesn't achieve it for reasons that may or may not be related to Lennie's mistakes. George is a rather tragic character because he could be very successful if he didn't have to look out for Lennie.…
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Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men portrays the American Dream through the journey of two close friends, Lennie and George, as they seek to achieve their personal aspirations. Along the way, they encounter a number of hardships that challenge their ability to reach their dreams. Steinbeck further introduces to the world the idea of the “American Dream” by utilizing Lennie and George’s life experiences traveling throughout the United States in their pursuit of happiness to enlighten others of the hardships of the Great Depression.…
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In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the main characters George Milton and Lennie Small experiences many difficult situations which involves violence and barbarous behavior. This book was published during the Great Depression. After reading the novel, George and Lennie are at times the cause of the violence while also being the sheep of Curley, who finds barbarous behavior as a source of entertainment and he does this by bullying the ranch workers and whom is socially beneath him. Steinbeck illustrates the barrenness of the ranch life using the main characters, George and Lennie talk about how different their lives. The ranch is a world without love and in which friendship is viewed as remarkable as described by Steinbeck.…
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The novel, Of Mice and Men, was written by John Steinbeck and is set in the Salinas Valley of northern California on a small ranch somewhere around the 1930’s. The novel is about the adventure of two men, George and Lennie, in hopes of achieving their dream to, “live off the fatta the lan’.” In the process of obtaining their dream, they are faced with a numerous amount of road blocks. The biggest road block would be when Lennie kills Curley’s wife, at this moment in the story all hopes of their dream have been put to rest. Steinbeck uses characterization in the novel to express empathy for a number of characters including Crooks, Lennie, and Curley’s wife.…
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John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is the story of George and Lennie, two migrant travelers in pursuit of their vision of owning a farm. However Lennie is mentally challenged and by accident kills the wife of the man they are working for leading to the death of Lennie and therefore…
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‘Of Mice and Men’ General Overview • The story is set in California in the 1930’s during the Great Depression and it main characters are two wandering farm workers called George and Lennie. • George is small, quick and intelligent. • By contrast Lennie is slow and simpleminded. • They travel around together in search of work. • They have a dream of a place of their own – a small ranch where they can live and work on their own.…
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Jobless, homeless, and unable to support themselves, many farmers during the 1930’s moved west in search of better life. In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, readers observe how dreams keep people motivated; especially through tough times. Steinbeck’s characters George Milton and Lennie Small, search for work in the struggling agricultural market of California. Although there are many hardships that the men face, both George and Lennie have a dream that they are determined to accomplish. Despite Lennie’s lack of social boundaries and the hardships of the Great Depression, it is the dream that they have together that keeps them motivated.…
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John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men focuses on the hardships of life in America during the Great Depression in 1930. In many ways, this novella conveys a negative message. Ordinary people are vulnerable, and their dreams always fail. The ranch workers feel lonely without a family or friend. However, on the other hand, the story is not completely hopeless as long as people have a goal that they are working for, they do maintain their hope. Although the two main protagonists feel isolated, they still have each other. Therefore, while this story is despairing, there is still hope.…
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Imagine being discriminated for the color of you're skin, having you're dreams shattered right before you're eyes, stuck in a place all alone, or losing the closest friend that you have. John Steinbeck does a wonderful job of portraying all of these themes in his book Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck sets his book up during the great depression, there he illustrates the themes of broken dreams, friendship, racism, and loneliness. The main characters are George and Lennie, two migrant workers that stick together for the entirety of the novella. The most important thing that John Steinbeck portrays in his book is the need and desire for companionship all people have.…
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Of Mice and Men follows the “unlikely pair” George and Lennie as they “cling together in the face of loneliness and alienation” in the 1930’s (Steinbeck,1937). Like most single men during the economically struggling 1930s, both were migrant laborers in the American west vegetable fields, with other laborers, as they work hard to earn enough money to achieve their dream of being independent and owning an acre of land and a shack (Steinbeck, 1937). However, to other laborers on the ranch, George and Lennie’s companionship is considered out of place and suspicious, since most either consider others as competition, “dead weight”, or feel that they are more likely to succeed independently; even the ranch owner asks George “…what stake you got in this guy? You takin’ his pay away from him?” and George expresses that he is not to which the Boss replies: “Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is.” (Steinbeck, 1937, p. 22). This conveys that the Boss was perplexed by George and Lennie’s affiliation that he became suspicious of George taking advantage of Lennie being mentally challenged, rather than reasoning that George and Lennie just do not want to be by themselves. Steinbeck also utilizes this novel to reflect on how loneliness impacted minor characters to juxtapose the advantages…
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The daily struggle of the working class, fear of loneliness and the reality of putting all your energy into plans that fail are the different themes relating to John Steinbeck 's novel, "Of Mice and Men". The characters depicted by the author are individuals who are constantly facing one obstacle after another. The book illustrates different conflicts such as man versus society, man versus man, man versus himself and idealism versus reality. The book 's backdrop is set in the Salinas, California during the depression. The two main characters include two men, George and Lennie. Supportive characters include a few ranch hands, Candy, Crooks, Curly, Slim and Carlson.…
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In this novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck exposes the American Dream as unattainable through his settings, symbolization, and characters.…
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