Chapter Five Constructed Response John Steinbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men” was inspired by Robert Burn’s poem “To a Mouse.” This means his novel has a similar meaning to Burn’s poem: animals have no dreams, but still experience melancholic feelings along with the human dreamers. The title “Of Mice and Men” is also a quote straight out of “To a Mouse.” Steinbeck’s “mouse” can be represented by his character Lennie. Lennie is given animal-like traits. Some examples on page 3 are how Lennie is “like a horse,” and has “big paws.” George also says he’ll “put you [Lennie] in a cage” on page 11. Lennie is often forgetful of his past like how mice only focus on the present. On page 9, George tells Lennie “Lady huh? Don’t even remember who that lady was. That was your own aunt Clara.” The only difference between Lennie and the mouse is that Lennie does have a dream. He focuses on getting the “dream ranch” with George. The men in “Of Mice and Men” relate to the men in “To a Mouse.” Men have a past, a present, and a future, but most of all they have a fear of their futures. …show more content…
The mouse planned on building it’s house and staying for the winter, but man destroyed it’s house. Now, the mouse will focus on rebuilding his house. Lennie, George, and Candy planned on having their “dream ranch,” but Lennie screwed it up. Candy was the most upset. He blamed Curley’s wife, and yelled at her dead body saying “Ever’body knowed you’d mess things up.” Overall, these men, excluding Lennie, were left with nothing to look forward to. Lennie did not know he messed up the dream house plan, and even at the end, didn’t have a past. This is represented by his desire for the dream house, and forgetfulness of the past on page 106. He says, “Le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now.” Lennie focused on the dream house rather than what he just did, like the mouse focused on rebuilding his house rather than how it was just
As previously mentioned, the portrayal of George is through his strengths, but as Steinbeck sinks deeper into the story, his flaws start to appear, leading to the climax. Steinbeck begins every chapter with descriptive and vivid diction to set the scene, one that will become blemished by the contrast of the continued story. One could compare George to a mouse, just as the title of the novella, Of Mice and Men. A mouse, compared to Man, retains innocence, just as George is at the novella's beginning. He notices Lennie is not improving because of his continuous errors, causing them to flee and find another job.
At the beginning of John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”, Lennie is characterized as unintelligent and untrustworthy. In the first to chapters of the story Lennie is shown as a character that constantly keeps things from his friend George, even though he is very obedient when given an order. In the first few pages of the story it is found that he is hiding a dead mouse in his pocket, when told that it should be thrown away he denies its existence. George looked sharply at him. “What’d you take outta that pocket?”
There is a significance between the poem, "To a Mouse," by Robert Burns and, "Of Mice and Men," by John Steinbeck. The poem," To a Mouse", is about a mouse that builds a nest in the winter, in a wheat field, only for it to be destroyed by a plough. The novel, Of Mice and Men is about two friends, George and Lennie, who are ranch workers during the Great Depression. When the plough man destroyed the mouse 's warm place, he faced nothing but grief and pain. In the text, "The best laid schemes of mice and men.
It was very clear from the beginning of the story Lennie is not the smartest of the other men in Of Mice and Men. Lennie forgets most of what is told to him. However there is one thing Lennie will never forget, his dream to live on the fatta the land and tend to the rabbits. “You got it by heart. You can do it yourself.”
Like the mouses it ends up dying. He tries to cover it up but of course curley 's wife come to try and get in his heart. She talks about her dreams then lets Lennie touch her hair. Of course She tries to flees when he doesn 't let go and her neck breaks. George and candy find her and Candy is astonished.
Cruelty of the World The cruelty of life remains in an endless cycle. Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, illustrates the harsh life of migrant workers during the Great Depression. Through his use of tone, foreshadowing, and imagery, Steinbeck shows an honest and cruel world that is never changing. Steinbeck’s tone throughout Of Mice and Men is very honest and to the point, much like life.
The novella ‘of Mice and Men’ was written by John Steinbeck in the 1930s. It is set in a difficult period of time when America was sunk in deep depression. However, themes of loyalty shine brightly throughout the novella. He shows that even though Americas economy is in tatters, loyalty can still be as prominent. There were also distinct themes of disloyalty, mainly between characters.
In contrast, chapter six demonstrates the book closing with a grim end, with their dreams crushed. In chapter one, George recited the story of their future plans to Lennie to pick up their hopes. In chapter six’s instance, he used it to calm and distract Lennie from his breakdown, before shooting him. Due to the circumstances leading to this chapter, it's clear that their dream cannot continue no matter what. It was a pipe dream, unable to come true in a dark reality.
The book Of Mice and Men is full of puzzling examples of the human condition, from Lennie and his mental disability to Curley only caring about his social appearance. With characters like these two, the book exploits the human condition that concerns circumstances life has given you. John Steinbeck brings to life what being a laborer in the American depression meant to the men and one woman who had enough personality to stand out. Steinbeck shows the human condition of men while they survive in the American depression.
Of Mice and Men; A Literary Analysis “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that 's why,” says George in the book Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck wrote this book about two boys who took care of each other mentally and physically throughout. They endure many journeys together and are able to suffice over very little. They show the strength in friendships in many dissimilar ways and make diligent decisions that some may never be able to make. Of Mice and Men is not only about two friends and their journey together, but as well as giving one a deeper meaning of the book, such as showing the nature of their dreams, the characters as archetypes, and if the killing of Lennie is justified in the end.
Although Lennie loves mice, he is inept at handling feeble creatures. George notices the mouse and addresses it by saying that: “‘That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie...you’ve broke it pettin’ it’” (Steinbeck 9). The euphemism that George uses for death suggests that the mouse’ death was not intentional, nor sadistic. Lennie roots his intentions in kindness, but his strength overpowers this emotion.
“The unavoidable truth is, however, that Lennie, be he innocent “natural,” uncontrollable id, or simply a huge child, is above all dangerous.” (Owens) Children are known for having tempers. They have trouble expressing their feelings in words. Lennie is a lot like this and with his enormous strength, it is difficult to control him. Of Mice and Men shows many thematic ideas that relate to the world today even though it is set in the 1930’s.
Of Mice And Men John Steinbeck’s novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ published in the 1930’s employs carefully considered narrative techniques that effectively inject sympathy within the reader. The chain of events are foreshadowed through speech, Death and Lennie Small. Curlys Wife soon becomes the instrument who destroys the dream. Steinbeck demonstrates this through various techniques including of foreshadowing, realism, symbolism, circular structure, significance of the title and setting.
Lennie is excited about them because they'll be furry and silky to the touch, but it also is known that Lennie tends get a little too rough with whatever he pets. This also acts as a distinct parallel to the very unattainability of Lennie and George's dream in the sense that it is so impossible to achieve the perfect lifestyle without a complication coming in the way. This is much like how Lennie’s ideal life involves possessing an abundance of rabbits to pet, where in all reality this can never happen, since Lennie is incapable of being gentle with any soft, cuddly animal that he desires. In the end, the reasons that displayed animal symbolism included Candy's dog getting shot, which foreshadowed future events, the origin and meaning of Of Mice and Men, and the theme of rabbits.
Of mice and men is a prominent book read by most high school students for a long time. Of mice and men is a book written by John Steinbeck. In the book George and Lennie had to run out of weed, so they looked for a ranch to work on. Lennie had issues with liking soft things that lead to him killing Curley's’ Wife and a puppy. To express that the american dream is impossible to achieve Steinbeck uses conversations, conflicts, and events.