Themes in of Mice and Men Essay Example 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. Crooks seems at his strongest when he has nearly reduced Lennie to tears for fear that something bad has happened to George, just as Curley’s wife feels most powerful when she threatens to have Crooks lynched In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men there are a lot of themes. The themes consist of friendship, loneliness, discrimination and dreams. All of these themes are important, and play immense role in the outcome at the end 19/4/ · The characters that reflect the idea of the primary theme of the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck are Candy and Curley. The novel’s primary theme is described as the negative effects of loneliness and being an outcast in blogger.comted Reading Time: 3 mins
The Theme of Loneliness in Of Mice and Men: [Essay Example], words GradesFixer
The Predatory Nature of Human Existence Of Mice and Men teaches a grim lesson about the nature of human existence. Each desires the comfort of a friend, but will settle for the attentive ear of a stranger. The characters are rendered helpless by their isolation, and yet, of mice and men themes essay, even at their weakest, they seek to destroy those who are even weaker than they. In scenes such as this one, Steinbeck records a profound human truth: oppression does not of mice and men themes essay only from the hands of the strong or the powerful.
The novella suggests of mice and men themes essay the most visible kind of strength—that used to oppress others—is itself born of weakness. Fraternity and the Idealized Male Friendship. The farm on which George and Lennie plan to live—a place that no one ever reaches—has a magnetic quality, as Crooks points out.
After hearing a description of only a few sentences, Candy is completely drawn in by its magic. Crooks has witnessed countless men fall under the same silly spell, and still he cannot help but ask Lennie if he can have a patch of garden to hoe there.
The men in Of Mice and Men desire to come together in a way that would allow them to be like brothers to one another. Given the harsh, lonely conditions under which these men live, it should come as no surprise that they idealize friendships between men in such a way. Ultimately, however, the world is too harsh and predatory a place to sustain such relationships, of mice and men themes essay.
Lennie and George, who come closest to achieving this ideal of mice and men themes essay brotherhood, are forced to separate tragically. 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. Before the action of the story begins, circumstances have robbed most of the characters of these wishes. What makes all of these dreams typically American is that the dreamers wish for untarnished happiness, for the freedom to follow their own desires.
Their journey, which awakens George to the impossibility of this dream, sadly proves that the bitter Crooks is right: such paradises of freedom, contentment, and safety are not to be found in this world. The Corrupting Power of Women The portrayal of women in Of Mice and Men is limited and unflattering. We learn early on that Lennie and George are on the run from the previous ranch where they worked, due to encountering trouble there with a woman.
George berates Lennie for his behavior, but is convinced that women are always the cause of such trouble. Their enticing sexuality, he believes, tempts men to behave in ways they would otherwise not. Dissatisfied with her marriage to a brutish man and bored with life on the ranch, she is constantly looking for excitement or trouble.
In one of her more revealing moments, she threatens to have the black stable-hand lynched if he complains about her to the boss. Her insistence on flirting with Lennie seals her unfortunate fate. Loneliness and Companionship Many of the characters admit to suffering from profound loneliness. George sets the tone for these confessions early in the novella when he reminds Lennie that the life of a ranch-hand is among the loneliest of lives.
Men like George who migrate from farm to farm rarely have anyone to look to for companionship and protection. The fact that they admit to complete strangers their fear of being cast off shows their desperation.
In a world without friends to confide in, strangers will have to do. Each of these characters searches for a friend, someone to help them measure the world, as Crooks says. In the end, however, companionship of his kind seems unattainable. For George, the hope of such companionship dies with Lennie, and true to his original estimation, he will go through life alone. Of Mice and Men offers limited, rather misogynistic, descriptions of women who are either dead maternal figures or prostitutes.
When she confronts Lennie, Candy, of mice and men themes essay Crooks in the stable, she admits to feeling a kind of shameless dissatisfaction with her life. Her vulnerability at this moment and later—when she admits to Lennie her dream of becoming a movie star—makes her utterly human and much more interesting than the stereotypical vixen in fancy red shoes. Steinbeck does not give her a name because he wants to reflect her complete lack of individual indentity.
I think that you can see this symbolized in the fact that she is never even given a name in this book. That shows, to me, that she has essentially had who she is taken away by marrying Curley. As jealous as he is, he would never let his wife become anything. She is locked into a rural social structure of the s California farm life, and by the common stereotypes and social views of women and their role at that time.
She is certainly portrayed as disadvantaged for her choice of husbands, as Curley is both abusive and unloving.
Steinbeck also takes care to portray her as a character who is consumed by loneliness and hopelessness. She wants things as simple as someone to talk to, but has a husband with a personality that is half anger and half jealousy. She is just one of several sympathetic characters in this novel, of mice and men themes essay. Free Essays Topics Essay Checker Hire Writer Login. Free essay samples Flashcards Themes in of Mice and Men. Themes in of Mice and Men 2 February Hire verified writer.
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Of Mice and Men Themes Loneliness
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19/11/ · Of Mice and Men, a novella written by John Steinbeck, is a tragedy incorporating a hero with a tragic flaw, a climax, and a tragic resolution. The title of the novella, “Of Mice and Men”, is the first clue to Steinbeck’s specific cultural issues. The title is a Estimated Reading Time: 4 mins In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men there are a lot of themes. The themes consist of friendship, loneliness, discrimination and dreams. All of these themes are important, and play immense role in the outcome at the end Themes in of Mice and Men Essay Example 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. Crooks seems at his strongest when he has nearly reduced Lennie to tears for fear that something bad has happened to George, just as Curley’s wife feels most powerful when she threatens to have Crooks lynched
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