15 March,2024
Table of Contents
Of Mice and Men, a novel published in the year 1937 written by John Steinbeck describes the incident of Lennie Small and George Milton who are the two migrant ranch workers from the Salinas Valley of California (CliffsNotes, 2023).. The story explores the great depression due to the United States’ economic deterioration resulting in several people losing their job and becoming homeless. In this tough time when every man is for himself only Lennie and George stood strong for each other (SparkNotes, 2023). The main idea of the story describes loneliness, friendship, isolation, and the struggle to fulfill their dreams to own a farm at this time of financial disturbances.
John Steinbeck, born in the year 1902 on the 27th of February is an American novelist and regarded as one of the greatest significant figures of American literature He used to stay in Monterey Country in California and worked as a manual laborer for quite a long time along. He has been honored with the 1962 Nobel Prize for Literature. As a young man, while working on the migrant farms, he gathered relevant information which later helped him as material to pen down some of his greatest works in the form of “Of Mice and Men, East of Eden and The Grapes of Wrath.
The novel discusses the consequences of the Wall Street crash and the great depression. In the year 1920, America was doing well in terms of the economy by building houses, food products, etc. A large amount of money was distributed to various businesses assuming they would make money in the coming future. During the 1920s, America’s economy took a positive turn by building several new houses, machinery, and products including food. Huge amounts of money were given to new businesses that seemed like they are going to make a lot of money. But the negative side was that there were not many people who bought things which in turn things become very cheap and businesses faced huge losses. Several people were forced to leave work and among them, the working-class farmers faced the consequences on a broader aspect. The two friends needed to travel long miles across America to find a job and not give up on life due to the harsh reality of their existence.
The main character of the novel involves George Milton who is a dark-faced, small, quick-witted sharp eyes man. He is known to be a good and helpful man who is liked by all and known as the only best friend of another main character of the novel known as Lennie Small. He is described as a huge, mentally challenged man who likes soft things such as velvet cloth or furry animals. He behaves like a kid and does not understand anything quickly. Lennie travels with George in search of work and has huge respect for his best friend.
The opening scene of the novel showed the arrival of two friends-George and Lennie at a ranch near Soledad, California. Both of them looked tired and helpless as they had been walking miles in search of work (CliffsNotes, 2023). George warned Lennie to remain quiet when they arrive the next day as Lennie is a mentally disabled person. They have a dream to own their farmland in the future where they would be independent and free.
Concerning taking care of Lennie, George’s mind is found to be on two different sides. On one side, he believes that if Lennie was not a part of his life, he could have done so many other activities like shooting pool, drinking what he likes, visiting the town, and having his own life and freedom (CliffsNotes, 2023). He sometimes gets angry with Lennie when he does not get the firewood and rather goes to the dead mouse. But every time after doing so he feels guilty and blames himself for scolding his friend. George acts like a parent to Lennie who genuinely helps Lennie and look out for him. As George knows that Lennie has great affection for soft things, therefore, he promises Lennie that whenever they will own a ranch of their own, he will get him a rabbit to take care of the animal.
The idea of the American dream is very common but not many people are aware of it and what exactly the term defines. Through this novel, it has been understood that ownership over land and home is considered to be an American dream. When both of them sat near a river to take a rest after completion of a long distance, George recalls their dream and desire of owning a land of their own which later became the central idea throughout this novel (CliffsNotes, 2023). If they could achieve the dream, they would be free from the current lifestyle struggle, gain stability and overcome hardship but it was not an easy task to fulfill such a huge dream relating to the financial turmoil.
This part of the chapter analysis introduces other ranch workers along with two extremely contrasting characters known as Candy, an old swamper who happened to be a tall, crooked old man. He lost his right hand in a ranch accident due to which he always remains isolated and scared that if he cannot help properly with the cleaning task he would be thrown away. His character is represented as a fragile, vulnerable old man and also what happens to people in American society when they get old. He has a dog who is always there for him like a companion and a friend.
On the other side of the story, Slim is a skilled mule driver and a man of dignity and strength and respected by all on the ranch (Lasting relationships in John Steinbeck’s of mice and men, 2023). His physical attributes define him as an ageless and tall man who is capable enough to drive ten to twenty mules. Slim is extremely skill full in his job and known as the prince of the ranch.
In search of work, when both of them reach the ranch, they have been encountered several discriminations from other ranch workers. Their friendship seems to be suspicious and questioned on a different level. George was blamed by their boss if he is using Lennie and wondered why would he take care of him who is not even stable enough. Apart from the boss both Candy and Slim also doubted them and tried to know if they have any other form of relationship (Lasting relationships in John Steinbeck’s of mice and men, 2023). George tried to explain that they traveled together. This discrimination made the situation hard for them and difficult to build trust and communicate with other workers which is a common problem for the migrant workers.
Curley who is happened to be the son of the boss is a thin young man, with curled hair and brown eyes and is portrayed as a negative character. He is a boxer who is always fighting to prove his masculinity. Being a privileged person, he treats people very badly including his wife who is nothing but just a possession. He is such an evil character that he does not allow his wife to interact with anyone and also does not allow her to have a name rather than just being known as Curley’s wife.
The relationship between George and Lennie comes from very different aspects of two completely different personalities. Their companionship and motives behind caring for each other have been questioned several times (CliffsNotes, 2023). In this chapter, George explains to Slim about their relationship as Slim wanted to know why they both are always together. He said that after the death of Lennie’s aunt, he started to live with him. Initially, he used to like spending time with Lennie as he could crack jokes on him and Lennie would laugh without understanding that George is making fun of him. But one day after a serious incident which landed Lennie in danger George promises to himself that he won’t crack any further jokes (The consequences of death in John Steinbeck’s of mice and men, 2023).
George confides in Slim and discusses why he takes care of his friend Lennie. He said that, though he is a strong man he is not a mean person. Being mentally ill, he has no idea of his strength. He also informed Slim about Lennie’s problem related to weed and how it got him into trouble and compelled them to leave their job. George does not want Lennie to face any kind of trouble no matter how much difficult it is for him to sometimes handle Lennie.
In this particular novel, the concept and the degree of feeling loneliness are very common and related to different characters. The theme of loneliness is highlighted mainly through Curley’s wife, Candy, and Crooks’ character. Apart from being with the dog, Candy always feels a sense of isolation and loneliness and later when the dog died, he struggled a lot to cope with the situation. The character of Curley’s wife is very heart-wrenching as being the only female on the ranch and a wife of such a man who does not allow her to talk to anybody or use a name of her own. Racial discrimination is again a very common factor due to which Crooks always felt lonely. Being the only black man on the ranch, he was not allowed to make a connection with others and always need to stay in his room.
The particular character in the novel describes a man who looks after the horses and he is named Crooks because of having a crooked back as he was kicked by a horse. He has always been treated as a slave and left alone in his room because of his black skin color indicating the discrimination that exists in society. He was not allowed to interact with others and so, he was always left with books to be his only companion. Despite these factors, he has portrayed himself as an independent, intelligent, and proud man. The human tendency of feeling superior to others is very common which is seen when Crook tried to scare Lennie by saying that George will leave him and call him stupid and nuts. He also wants to leave independently without any fear.
Lennie one day enters Crook’s room to look for a puppy where Crook while talking to Lennie shared that he also has the desire to live what is called as American Dream. He said that he always keeps his room clean and tidy as no one comes to his room and always long for beautiful companionship. He has a strong desire for having his land and independence but also, he cannot ignore the fact of such a harsh condition migrant workers usually feel indicating that it is not easy to achieve such huge dreams. He wanted to be a part of Lennie and George’s dream of having their land. He feels everyone has a dream of their own but not necessarily it comes true especially if financial burden is an issue.
Dreams, aim, and hope are important aspects of a person’s life, and through this particular novel, John Steinbeck portrayed the dreams and wishes of various characters. The phrase “American dream” was first introduced by James Truslow which explains to live a better, independent, and good life. Similarly, George and Lennie hope that someday they would also have a farm of their own. According to George by fulfilling the dream he can gain security while to Lennie it is about his bonding with his friend and taking care of the pet and rabbits as this will provide him a sense of relief (The role of hopes and dreams in of Mice and men, 2023). Candy, a character of an age-old ranch also shares the same dream of owning a land as he believes this would help him gain security during this later phase of life. The author showed the dream of Crook to be able to return to his childhood as his family was enough stable and have land which also has chicken. But he refuses to take that action because he was a black man and he believed that society will not accept him. Another character Curly’s wife, who is portrayed as an isolated character wishes to become a famous and glorious Hollywood actress. She believes through this she can connect with several people and help her in getting out of the lonely life that she leads.
Curley’s wife, the only female character presented by John Steinbeck in his novel “Of Mice and Men” considers herself to be the most beautiful woman but an utterly isolated character in the novel. She uses a lot of makeup with no proper dressing style, wears red shoes, and has red fingernails. Her character is misunderstood in the context that she tries to flirt with other ranches to make her husband feel bad about it who does not respect her enough and considers her as just his possession (. AntiStudy, 2023). The author showed this character as evil and mean who always create trouble in men’s life by attracting them in such a manner they can’t avoid.
Lennie is extremely fond of Curley’s wife and finds her very attractive. To this, George always warns and reminded him of the previous incident and tries to prevent him from getting into trouble. He was alone in the barn when Curley’s wife came in and started a conversation with him but Lennie was still thinking what would happen if George came to know about the dead pup. When Lennie expressed his liking for soft things, she allowed him to feel her hair which is soft and silky. But because of his big fingers, he created a mess which made her very angry and arrogant. Then all of a sudden, she started to shout and Lennie tried to stop her by covering her mouth with his hands. Soon after some time, he realized that she is dead and now he tried to cover her from getting caught.
Tension has been a part of the novel from the very beginning with a girl accusing Lennie that he tried to do her wrong which eventually made him lose his job, then his habit of killing the mouse. Lennie has an extreme fondness for soft things which let him in trouble several times (Use of foreshadowing in of mice and men, 2023). He killed Curley’s wife, the puppy. All these together lead to the turning point of the particular novel and the characters.
In this novel, George was put in a situation where he had to take the difficult situation of killing his best friend for his betterment. After Lennie killed Curley’s wife George realized that not every time it is possible for him to save his friend and Lennie cannot be dependent on someone to protect him for his actions. George’s decision can be justified by saying that it is better to kill and let his best friend die peacefully rather than let him in the hands of Curly and his men.
Two best friends George and Lennie shared their dream of owning a land together where they can have their life. To fulfill the dream the two boys travel around America in search of a job but as the story proceeds, due to various circumstances, Lennie’s childlike character, and his unavoidable mistakes forced his best friend to kill him. The dream of having a land has been shattered over time.
The novel “Of Mice and Men” teaches about the basic human needs that every individual desire to have. The wish to live without comfort is what every human being asks for. People cannot survive alone which can be learned from Curley’s wife’s character and also from Crook who admits that it is very hard to live without human interaction. Each character has its flaws yet none of them fails to dominate people who are weaker in comparison to them. This is one of the cruel human tendencies every individual more or less possesses such as Crook’s insulting Lennie for being dependent on George.
It can be concluded that the novel explores the very beauty, reality, dreams, and hopes of life which allow a person to survive. Each character and situation can be a lesson for the readers about the good and bad sides that life throws at us (The role of hopes and dreams in of Mice and men, 2023). One cannot be dependent on anyone for life as this is humanly not possible to look after that person. Everyone can dream and wish to have life in their way but not every time everything becomes a reality.
Without dreams and aim one cannot have a purpose to live a life. It would be considered meaningless. Having a dream helps a person to become determined and work accordingly to achieve that dream, such as in George and Lennie’s constant search for work, traveling across miles. Humans always need support which can be seen through Candy’s, Crook’s, and Curley’s wife’s character. Respect and dignity in society are other important factors that every human being wish to have no matter what position they hold in life. For every character involved in the novel human dignity act as the central part of their life.
The impact of the novel can be seen in how the author delivers a powerful message related to racial discrimination and raised a voice related to how age-old people are treated in American society. He tries to explain the consequences of economic burden which can destroy human life to a great extent.
Hi, my name is Jacob Thompson. I am a PhD in English Literature, I started writing and blogging from a young age, and most of my write-ups are based on real experiences. As far as my blogs are concerned, I write blogs on English writing and Literature writing. I have been working part-time as a writing expert for MyAssignmenthelp.com for 7+years now. Helping students overcome English writing hurdles and get steps closer to their academic goals makes me as happy as playing with my kitty “Alice”. Yes, I am a cat-lover if you are still wondering!
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