Of Mice and Men: Themes, Motifs & Symbols Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Predatory Nature of Human Existence Of Mice and Men teaches a grim lesson about the nature of human existence. In scenes such as this one, Steinbeck records a profound human truth: oppression does not come only from the hands of the strong or the powerful. Fraternity and the Idealized Male Friendship One of the reasons that the tragic end of George and Lennie’s friendship has such a profound impact is that one senses that the friends have, by the end of the novella, lost a dream larger than themselves. Ultimately, however, the world is too harsh and predatory a place to sustain such relationships. The Impossibility of the American Dream Most of the characters in Of Mice and Men admit, at one point or another, to dreaming of a different life. Motifs Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. The Corrupting Power of Women
The Great Depression - Facts & Summary Hoover, a Republican who had formerly served as U.S. secretary of commerce, believed that government should not directly intervene in the economy, and that it did not have the responsibility to create jobs or provide economic relief for its citizens. In 1932, however, with the country mired in the depths of the Great Depression and some 15 million people (more than 20 percent of the U.S. population at the time) unemployed, Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt won an overwhelming victory in the presidential election. By Inauguration Day (March 4, 1933), every U.S. state had ordered all remaining banks to close at the end of the fourth wave of banking panics, and the U.S. Roosevelt took immediate action to address the country’s economic woes, first announcing a four-day “bank holiday” during which all banks would close so that Congress could pass reform legislation and reopen those banks determined to be sound.
Of Mice and Men: Plot Overview Two migrant workers, George and Lennie, have been let off a bus miles away from the California farm where they are due to start work. George is a small, dark man with “sharp, strong features.” Lennie, his companion, is his opposite, a giant of a man with a “shapeless” face. The next day, the men report to the nearby ranch. The next day, George confides in Slim that he and Lennie are not cousins, but have been friends since childhood. Slim goes to the barn to do some work, and Curley, who is maniacally searching for his wife, heads to the barn to accost Slim. The next night, most of the men go to the local brothel. Lennie flees back to a pool of the Salinas River that George had designated as a meeting place should either of them get into trouble. When the other men arrive, George lets them believe that Lennie had the gun, and George wrestled it away from him and shot him.
GCSE Bitesize: The Depression Of Mice and Men: Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men | Book Summary & Study Guide | CliffsNotes John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is a parable about what it means to be human. Steinbeck's story of George and Lennie's ambition of owning their own ranch, and the obstacles that stand in the way of that ambition, reveal the nature of dreams, dignity, loneliness, and sacrifice. Ultimately, Lennie, the mentally handicapped giant who makes George's dream of owning his own ranch worthwhile, ironically becomes the greatest obstacle to achieving that dream. Written by: John Steinbeck Type of Work: novel Genres: parable; Great Depression First Published: 1937 Setting: a ranch Main Characters: George Milton; Lennie Small; Candy; Curley; Curley's wife; Slim; Crooks Major Thematic Topics: nature of dreams; barriers; powerlessness; fate; Christian influences; classical influences; natural influences; loss of paradise; my brother's keeper; ephemeral nature of life Motifs: nature; loneliness; animalism versus humanity Major Symbols: characters; locations; animal imagery; George's card game; hands
Of Mice and Men: Context John Steinbeck was born in 1902 in Salinas, California, a region that became the setting for much of his fiction, including Of Mice and Men. As a teenager, he spent his summers working as a hired hand on neighboring ranches, where his experiences of rural California and its people impressed him deeply. In 1919, he enrolled at Stanford University, where he studied intermittently for the next six years before finally leaving without having earned a degree. For the next five years, he worked as a reporter and then as caretaker for a Lake Tahoe estate while he completed his first novel, an adventure story called Cup of Gold, which was published in 1929. In his acceptance speech for the 1962 Nobel Prize in literature, Steinbeck said: . . . the writer is delegated to declare and to celebrate man’s proven capacity for greatness of heart and spirit—for gallantry in defeat, for courage, compassion and love. Critical opinions of Steinbeck’s work have always been mixed.
Of Mice and Men: Key Facts full title · Of Mice and Men author · John Steinbeck type of work · Novella genre · Fiction; tragedy language · English time and place written · Mid-1930s; Pacific Grove and Los Gatos ranch, California date of first publication · 1937 publisher · Covici, Friede, Inc. narrator · Third-person omniscient climax · Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife in the barn protagonists · George and Lennie antagonists · Curley; society; the cruel, predatory nature of human life setting (time) · 1930s setting (place) · South of Soledad, California point of view · The story is told from the point of view of a third-person omniscient narrator, who can access the point of view of any character as required by the narrative. falling action · Lennie runs away from the barn; the men return and find Curley’s wife dead; Curley leads a mob of men to search for and kill Lennie; George finds Lennie in the clearing and, while retelling the story of life on their farm, shoots him in the back of the head.
The History of Mental Illness: From "Skull Drills" to "Happy Pills" The limitlessly varied personalities of human beings have fascinated both scientists and fellow members of society throughout the existence of humankind. Of particular interest has been what happens when man’s mind turns against him, and what can be done, if anything at all, to reverse this tragic event. Attempts to treat mental illness date back as early as 5000 BCE as evidenced by the discovery of trephined skulls in regions that were home to ancient world cultures (Porter 10). Trephining (also referred to as trepanning) first occurred in Neolithic times. In ancient Mesopotamia, priest-doctors treated the mentally ill with magico-religious rituals as mental pathology was believed to mask demonic possession (Alexander 19). Figure 1: A depiction of treppaning from the painting Cutting the Stone (circa 1494) by Hieronymus Bosch. In all of these ancient civilizations, mental illness was attributed to some supernatural force, generally a displeased deity. Blue, Amy V. Houston, R.A.
15 Things You Might Not Know About 'Of Mice and Men' You probably spent some time as a teenager reading John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men. Even if you know about Lennie and George’s heartbreaking pursuit of life, liberty, and a hutch full of rabbits, there are a few things you might have missed about the iconic story during English class. Although he was a Stanford University graduate and had published five books by the time he wrote Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck had more in common with his itinerant main characters than readers might have expected. In the same New York Times article, Steinbeck recalled a fellow laborer on whom Lennie Small’s arc was based: “Lennie was a real person. The stage intrigued Steinbeck as much as prose did, and the book shares similarities with both media. Around eight months after its initial publication, Of Mice and Men made its way to the stage, opening in New York in November of 1937. Of Mice and Men proves that with such prevalence comes backlash.
The Migrant Experience - Voices from the Dust Bowl: the Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection, 1940-1941 | Collections | Library of Congress A complex set of interacting forces both economic and ecological brought the migrant workers documented in this ethnographic collection to California. Following World War I, a recession led to a drop in the market price of farm crops and caused Great Plains farmers to increase their productivity through mechanization and the cultivation of more land. This increase in farming activity required an increase in spending that caused many farmers to become financially overextended. At the same time, the increase in farming activity placed greater strain on the land. Although the Dust Bowl included many Great Plains states, the migrants were generically known as "Okies," referring to the approximately 20 percent who were from Oklahoma. Todd and Sonkin also held recording sessions with a few Mexican migrants living in the El Rio Farm Security Administration (FSA) camp. California was emphatically not the promised land of the migrants' dreams. Robin A.
Of Mice and Men - Critical Reception | Steinbeck in the Schools | San Jose State University Setting | Character Census | Plot Synopsis | Critical ReceptionCultural References | Key Terms and Concepts Published in 1937, Of Mice and Men is remembered as one of Steinbeck's most important and influential novels. Chronicling a few days in the lonely lives of two migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, Of Mice and Men shows the devastating impact that the Great Depression had on many American's ability to succeed financially. As Megan Chaudet points out in "20th Centrury American Best Sellers," many of the contemporary reviews of Of Mice and Men "were extremely positive and considered the new novel well up to par with [Steinbeck's] previous novels." While overall the reception of Of Mice and Men was overwhelmingly positive, staunch debunker of Steinbeck, Edmund Wilson, criticized the novel for "Steinbeck's preoccupation with biology," which "led him 'to present life in animal terms'" (Meyer).
Of Mice and Men Point Of View by x0ellison0x, November 02, 2012 Although most sites will say that the point of view for Of Mice and Men is third-person omniscient, it is really third-person limited. 5 Comments 84 out of 173 people found this helpful Of mice and men by macbride14, November 28, 2012 Of mice and men is a fantastic book and film, it really shows how hard it was to live back then. 3 Comments 65 out of 150 people found this helpful A good read, but sad by Alfred_F_Jones, February 02, 2013 We read the novel for my 9th grade English class, and I'm supposed to be writing and essay about it right now, but oh well. The shot book got me attached to the characters, and I almost cried at the end, but I was in class. Overall I'd give it an 9 out of 10
Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men is a novella[1][2] written by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it tells the story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression in California, United States. Based on Steinbeck's own experiences as a bindlestiff in the 1920s (before the arrival of the Okies he would vividly describe in The Grapes of Wrath), the title is taken from Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse", which read: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley." (The best laid schemes of mice and men / Often go awry.) Required reading in many schools,[3] Of Mice and Men has been a frequent target of censors for vulgarity and what some consider offensive and racist language; consequently, it appears on the American Library Association's list of the Most Challenged Books of 21st Century.[4] Plot summary Lennie accidentally kills his puppy while stroking it.