Of Mice and Men: Analysis of Major Characters Lennie Although Lennie is among the principal characters in Of Mice and Men, he is perhaps the least dynamic. He undergoes no significant changes, development, or growth throughout the story and remains exactly as the reader encounters him in the opening pages. Although Steinbeck’s insistent repetition of these characteristics makes Lennie a rather flat character, Lennie’s simplicity is central to Steinbeck’s conception of the novella. George Like Lennie, George can be defined by a few distinct characteristics. Unlike Lennie, however, George does change as the story progresses. Candy One of the book’s major themes and several of its dominant symbols revolve around Candy. For a brief time, however, the dream of living out his days with George and Lennie on their dream farm distracts Candy from this harsh reality. Curley’s wife Of Mice and Men is not kind in its portrayal of women. Despite Steinbeck’s rendering, Curley’s wife emerges as a relatively complex and interesting character. Crooks
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. Overcome with thirst, the two stop in a clearing by a pool and decide to camp for the night. As the two converse, it becomes clear that Lennie has a mild mental disability, and is deeply devoted to George and dependent upon him for protection and guidance. 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.
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. Nearly all of the characters, including George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife, admit, at one time or another, to having a profound sense of loneliness and isolation. Each desires the comfort of a friend, but will settle for the attentive ear of a stranger. 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. Motifs The Corrupting Power of Women
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. Critical and commercial success did not come for another six years, when Tortilla Flat was published in 1935, at which point Steinbeck was finally able to support himself entirely with his writing. In his acceptance speech for the 1962 Nobel Prize in literature, Steinbeck said: Critical opinions of Steinbeck’s work have always been mixed.
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). Early man widely believed that mental illness was the result of supernatural phenomena such as spiritual or demonic possession, sorcery, the evil eye, or an angry deity and so responded with equally mystical, and sometimes brutal, treatments. 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). Blue, Amy V. Okasha, A.
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. This is when the story is told from the point of view of a third-person limited narrator, who knows only the thoughts and feelings of a single character, while other characters are presented only externally. 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
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. The stock market crash in 1929 only served to exacerbate this already tenuous economic situation. Many independent farmers lost their farms when banks came to collect on their notes, while tenant farmers were turned out when economic pressure was brought to bear on large landholders. At the same time, the increase in farming activity placed greater strain on the land. Todd and Sonkin also held recording sessions with a few Mexican migrants living in the El Rio Farm Security Administration (FSA) camp. Robin A.
Surviving the Dust Bowl . American Experience . WGBH Schedule Shop About the Series Sign up for Newsletter Contact Us Podcasts For Teachers Corporate Sponsorship Terms of Use Privacy Policy Additional Funding Provided By: Website ©1996-2012 WGBH Educational Foundation. This site is produced for PBS by WGBH. Full Website 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. Treasury didn’t have enough cash to pay all government workers. 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.
John Steinbeck American writer (1902–1968) John Ernst Steinbeck ( STYNE-bek; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception".[2] He has been called "a giant of American letters Most of Steinbeck's work is set in central California, particularly in the Salinas Valley and the California Coast Ranges region. Early life Steinbeck graduated from Salinas High School in 1919 and went on to study English literature at Stanford University near Palo Alto, leaving without a degree in 1925. In 1930, Steinbeck met the marine biologist Ed Ricketts, who became a close friend and mentor to Steinbeck during the following decade, teaching him a great deal about philosophy and biology.[16] Ricketts, usually very quiet, yet likable, with an inner self-sufficiency and an encyclopedic knowledge of diverse subjects, became a focus of Steinbeck's attention.
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