ktmeng/mec huggingface dataset:
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Even within the conveyance of Lennie’s character, Steinbeck is constantly using animals to foreshadow certain events within the book, and that when they happen, the reader can notice similarities between what happened to the animal and what the animal normally does. As previously mentioned, a bear’s paws are the most dangerous part of its body, and having Lennie’s hands compared to a bears paws warns the reader of something that might happen, and that he could very well be dangerous, as is discovered further on in the book.” …
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Jesus Christ, somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself…” Without knowing it, George is foretelling exactly how Lennie is going to die- shot in the head quickly and, if not left for George to kill him, ruthlessly. When Candy’s dog died, it was a mirror image of what was going to happen to Lennie, but not only did it foreshadow this to the reader, but it also allows the reader to understand better why George killed Lennie the way he did. They were both killed physically in the exact same way- back of the head, no pain, and a quick, easy death. But looking into it further, Lennie’s death was a much gentler death then Candy’s dog ‘s death. Lennie was killed by George, in the comforting surroundings of the brush near the river, being told about the dream, one last time before he died, contented and blissful. Candy’s dog was killed by a stranger that had no compassionate feeling for the dog, and so did nothing to make sure that he was at peace before the death, just during the initial impact of the bullet.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The scene depiction at the beginning is important, as it is that place where Lennie will eventually die. They make the brush seem like such a peaceful natural place, that Lennie seems to be finally at peace when he dies. The scenery around which Lennie dies is very important, as it is another comparison the Candy’s dog. Candy’s dog was in a reasonably recognisable environment but it wasn’t peaceful, or particularly welcoming for him, it was just the most convenient place at the time. This was the same will Lennie’s death except form the fact that George told the story of his dream, one last time to make sure that George was at the peak of his happiness when he joined the deceased. The animals larking about silently tiptoe around the brush, as if they know what a serene dwelling it was. At the beginning of the first segment, the descriptions of the environment around them is very tranquil and all the animals seem to live in harmony with each other but in the last segment of the book, it doesn’t work so well, an you start to see that wildlife can never be that perfect, and for wildlife to be excitant, death is a necessity.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

‘Of Mice and Men’ was always centered on this dream that George, Lennie and later on Candy all had and shared with each other, and of course animal make up a cast majority of this dream. George always described the place vividly to Lennie, the most descriptively when taking both to Lennie and Candy, using animals like a schoolchild to make the place seem more lifelike. ”An’ we could have a few pigs…An’ when the salmon run up river we could catch a hundred of ‘em an’ salt ‘em down…Ever; Sunday we’d kill a chicken or a rabbit. Maybe we’d have a cow or a goat…
Topic: of-mice-and-men

An’ we’d keep a few pigeons to go flyin’ around the win’mill like they done when I was a kid…We’d have a setter dog and a couple stripe cats…” The imagery by George is so vivid you can tell that he was basing it of something that he knew and had experienced, which make you think that everything that he described is exactly what he used to have- the pigeon represent a sense of normalcy, the poultry animals represent food and having plenty, and the more domestic animals represent the love that George thrives fro, and meaning that he might not just want pets in the house.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The Title ‘ Of Mice and Men’ came from the quote ’the best laid schemes of mice and men, often go awry.” When this quote is used next to the novel itself, even the title was a hint of what could happen within the story, without even knowing the setting or the characters themselves. The best laid plan of Lennie and George is that if Lennie does something, he should go to the Brush, but inside George is hoping that the bribe of looking after the rabbits will be enough for Lennie. They two always had a less then ideal Plan B, where if a went astray, Lennie would go to the Brush and then the two can run off together to a new place. But soon this dream becomes to crumbling to crumble to pieces as George finally realises that he and Lennie cant do this for much longer, so he kills him, and put Lennie at peace.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Therefore, George must be very direct to ensure that Lennie understands and can take orders so that there will not be any problems or confusion. In the beginning of the novella Lennie carries around a dead mouse and George has to scowl him to get him to give it up. “You gonna give me that mouse or do i have to sock you?” (Steinbeck 8). George acts like a father to Lennie because he has to, Lennie does not know any better and needs that parental like guidance.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

As a result of George’s authoritative nature and giving up part of his life to care for Lennie, he is often resentful. George loves Lennie but he is a constant nuisance to him. When George gets frustrated he expresses his true feelings about his life. “… God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy…” (Steinbeck 11). George feels that if Lennie was not around and if he did not have to care for him, he would be able to live a better life.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

George is the more dominant one. We can see this, by the way George reprimands Lennie for disobeying instructions, “you wasn’t gonna say a word”. This dialogue, foreshadows Lennie’s lack of mental power, to follow George’s instructions. Curley, The Boss and George are all connected because they have power over someone. In the Novella, The boss is in control of everything. Also he answers to no one. “Hey, what’s your stake in this guy”. This dialogue is between George and The Boss, he is questioning George on his power over Lennie. This quote shows that he can control who works for him and who doesn’t. He can fire someone just because he doesn’t like them.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Hopes and dreams help people survive even if they never become real. How true is this for the characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’? The novel ‘Of mice and Men’ was written by John Steinbeck and is set in Salinas and Soledad California in the 1930s when life was hard for so many people because of the great depression. A major theme of John Steinbeck’s novel ‘of mice and men’ is the American dream and the drive to attain it.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

There are two major themes in ‘of mice and men’ novel that is foreshadowed by the reference to Robert Burns’ poem called “To a mouse” the word mouse within the title means loneliness and dreams. (BBC Bitesize, 2014:2) This poem contains the lines, “The best laid plans of mice and men/ often go awry” Most of the main characters in “Of Mice and Men” harbour dreams and have plans that never come true. George, Lennie, and Candy all share a doomed dream of buying their own farm and living off the land.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Each of the characters plans go askew not because they give up on them but because the forces beyond their control destroyed each one of them. Due to the bleak economic outlook of the Great Depression coming to terms with your broken dreams was the reality nearly everyone in America faced. The American Dream is written into the Declaration of Independence: “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Topic: of-mice-and-men

With these protections, any American, regardless of class, religion, gender, and eventually race, could always strive—and even sometimes succeed—at improving himself via wealth, education, or labour. (SparkNotes, 2014). George and Lennie’s dream about owning a farm and living off the “fatta the lan” (Steinbeck, 1965:16) symbolises this dream. In the novel “Of Mice and Men” shows that the American Dream became an illusion and a trap for the poor migrant workers during the Great Depression. Every single one of the ranch workers in the novel dream of life, liberty and happiness but not one of them ever gets is. When Crooks hears of George and Lennie’s dream of owning their farm he says “Nobody ever gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.” (Steinbeck, 1965:84). Although the ranch workers dreams may not be realised, the novel suggest that in order for a person’s life to be full and meaningful it has to contain some sort of dream.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

At the end of the novel George and Lennie never achieved their dream but it did hold their remarkable friendship together throughout the story, for them this dream was real even if it was just there imagination because kept Lennie happy and it stopped George from becoming a mean and lonely guy like the other ranch workers. The dream gives them life, even if life never allows them to achieve their dreams. This novel explores the changing aspects of male friendship during this period this is shown when Lennie asks George to tell him why they are not like the other ranchers; George tells him “we got a future Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place….With us it ain’t like that. We got a future…. An’ why? Because…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.” (Steinbeck, 1965:15) this is George’s way of saying he and Lennie are different to the other workers.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

It could also be suggested that the word ‘future’ could be a metaphor for something bright and so much greater then what they have got now, which could be linked to their version of the American Dream and to ‘live off the fatta the lan’. (Steinbeck, 1965:16) this could almost suggest a biblical meaning like a promised land where all their dreams could come true. This dream helps George and Lennie to endure the hardship they face each day and to help them not to give in to despair. Usually the men who worked on these ranches would have no family, friends so therefore no future. Their friendship strikes the other ranch workers as odd due to their dependency on each other. This makes the boss and Curley suspicious and Slim observes that ranch workers rarely travel together because they’re scared of each other. Although most of the men in the novel are completely alone they still all crave true friendship.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

As Crooks, perhaps the novel’s most solitary character because of his black skin puts it, “A guy needs somebody—to be near him.” (Steinbeck, 1965:82) All the characters in the novel long for friendship and kindness but yet they all live in fear of one another. This is shown with the tough shooting of Candy’s dog which makes it clear that during the Great Depression if you are useless, old or weak you will certainly be destroyed because the strong and the useful will fight for survival. All the workers on the ranch would constantly try to make themselves look strong especially if they feeling weak. The fear of the weak being overrun by the strong could explain why Curley likes to fight a larger men then he is “Curley’s pretty handy. He done quite a bit in the ring. He’s a light weight and he’s handy” (Steinbeck, 1965:29) and it could also be why Crooks tells Lennie that George is going to abandon him. Then Curley’s wife threatens to have Crooks lynched. Each of these characters tries to appear strong by asserting power over one another. This fear of being the strongest explains why the other characters in novel find it hard to understand George and Lennie’s friendship because they see being the strongest as a fight for survival.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

In ‘Of Mice and Men’ it has two different visions of women in it the first is the male character view and the second is the novel’s view of women. The male characters view on women which is they tend to view the women with fear and negatively labelling them as dangerous sexual temptresses. The male workers often referred to Curley’s wife with insulting words like a “tart” (Steinbeck, 1965:31) and “jail bait” (Steinbeck, 1965:36). George and Lennie have a friend in prison “on account of a tart” (Steinbeck, 1965:63) plus they have had their own troubles twice as a result from a woman. The first the women from Weeds and the second is Curley’s wife. Although she plays into her role as sexy temptress throughout the novel until the last part of it where is a victim. Curley’s wife craves the attention of the men on the ranch because she’s desperately lonely so she flaunts her power over the men because she herself feels weak. There are a number of symbols within the novel that have different meanings these are George and Lennie’s farm, the rabbits that Lennie keeps talking about, Candy’s old dog and also Lennie’s puppy.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The dream of owning a farm for George and Lennie is a symbol of the American Dream. This fantasy of owning their own farm leads George, Lennie and the other ranch workers such as Candy and Crooks to indulge in the dream of living “off the fatta the lan” (Steinbeck, 1965:16). George’s rich description of the farm’s lavish plants and animals also makes it seem like a symbol of paradise. While Lennie dreams of tending to the rabbits on the farm that he and George hope to own one day. This dream forms Lennie’s complete innocence. Lennie enjoys touching anything that has a soft fur such as rabbits and mice due to this love of touching soft things leads to his fate.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

This symbolise not just innocence but also Lennie’s downfall of innocence in the harsh world that he lives. The next symbol is Candy’s old but once powerful sheepdog. For Carlson killing Candy’s dog makes it clear that during the Great Depression those who was strong would only survive. The way that Carlson kills Candy’s dog in the back of the head with just a single gunshot is foreshadowing how George will kill Lennie in the end. The link between Lennie and Candy’s dog is that they are powerless, innocent and doomed from the start. The symbol of Lennie’s puppy shows how dependent Lennie is on George, just as the puppy is dependent on Lennie. The puppy symbolise the fate of the weak in the face of the strong.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The novel ‘Of Mice and Men’, written by John Steinbeck is a truly fascinating novel based upon the theme of dreams. This novel was published in 1937, which was towards the end of ‘The Great Depression’ that hit the United States. The novel was set in Soledad, California, during the same time period as published. This was an era in which the economy collapsed; many Americans lost their jobs, therefore leading into a lot of poverty and despair. Although many people were depressed, this was also the era of dreams.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The whole novel is based around dreams, as well as decisions that were made according to these dreams. The author, John Steinbeck has emphasized this by the plot of the novel, the character’s personalities, as well as their actions. The plot of the novel is based on two characters that were chasing their dreams. These characters are Lennie and George, who left a town called Weed because they got in trouble. They were searching for a job, in order to get better paid, which will help them achieve their dream, ‘The American Dream’.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Page 47 of chapter 3 gives an insight why the characters Lennie and George left Weed. It turns out Lennie was accused of raping a woman, George said “Well, that girl rabbits in an’ tells the law she been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie… An’ that night we scrammed outta there.” The characters left Weed because Lennie was in trouble. However, he didn’t want to go to jail; he’d rather chase his dream, which he shares with his lifelong pal George. So instead they make the decision to leave Weed, and head to Soledad.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The characters’ personalities are affected by their dreams, and so are their actions. Their dreams weaken them, which results in them doing things that they end up regretting just for the sake of attempting to make their dream come true. Although dreams can be a source of strength for the characters, they contribute a great deal in their weaknesses, which is what leads to their fatal actions. In chapter five, Lennie and Curley’s wife were confessing their dreams to one another. Curley’s wife stayed longer than she should have with Lennie, because he was a man and during that time period women were not permitted to interact with men, especially if the woman was married. However, she made that decision because she dreamed of having a friendship.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Lennie said, “Well, I ain’t supposed to talk to you or nothing.” “I get lonely,” She said “You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad, How’d you like not to talk to anybody?” (Chapter five, page 98). Clearly Curley’s wife felt extremely lonely, empty, and sad. Even though she made a bad decision, she chose to stay longer and risk the consequences in order to achieve one of her desirers, even if it was for a little while. It was her weakness, and when she got a chance she grasped it without thinking. It was almost as though she lost her sanity.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Later through that chapter, Lennie physically hurt Curley’s wife. She screamed, thus he made the decision to cover her mouth in attempt to stop her from screaming. He feared if George hears her screaming and finds out so he would get mad. Consequently, Lennie wouldn’t be able to join George in owning some land, tending rabbits, and living their dreams. “She screamed then, and Lennie’s other hand closed over her mouth and nose”. Lennie said “Oh! Please don’t do that!” George’ll be mad… George gonna say I done a bad thing. He ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits… You gonna get me in trouble jus’ like George says you will.” “And she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her then, and he was angry with her… he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.”(Chapter 5, page 103). Lennie killed Curley’s wife, because he didn’t want her to stand in the way of his dreams. Due to the fact that his dream blinded him, he couldn’t differentiate between what’s right or wrong. He chose his actions carelessly. Achieving his dream was his priority, so much so that he sacrificed a human being for nothing to stand in his way. Not only did dreams have a key role in the novel, dreams also played an important role in the characters’ lives.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Dreams were a crucial part of the characters’ lives. The characters were not living the life they craved, and it is safe to say that a few of them were depressed. However, their dreams were a source of motivation to them. In chapter one, on page 15, George said “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. . . With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.” It can be noted through this quote, the fact that George truly believes in his dream, and how it will keep him motivated. Not only does it make him not want to give up on his dreams, it also makes him strive and work harder to achieve his goals.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Moreover, having dreams, and goals, brought the characters happiness. This is because their dreams give them an image of a better life, and what it would be like. In chapter one, George and Lennie were feeling down and they were upset over the limited amount of food they had, but then they cheer themselves up by reminding themselves of the bright future that would lay ahead for them. George said “Someday- we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs, and –” “An’ live off the fatta the lan’” Lennie shouted. “we’ll have a vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in winter, we’ll just say the hell with goin’ to work” said George (chapter one, page 16). George and Lennie spoke with enthusiasm; this indicates how much happiness their dreams bring them. Obviously, dreams had a major impact on the characters’ lives; therefore they were a major aspect of the novel. Not only do dreams impact the characters’ lives, but they also affect several characters in the novel.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Dreams had a role in molding the characters. They had an effect on the characters personalities, behavior, dialogue, as well as their decisions. As stated before, characters made their dreams their priority; this automatically changed the way they thought. Therefore, their behavior changed. The characters only said what would benefit them, and eventually tried to refrain from saying anything that could cause trouble, so that impacted their dialogue. Their dreams also affected their decisions because they either didn’t want to cause trouble so they decided not to do some things, while other characters were blinded by their dreams so they made reckless decisions while trying to achieve their dreams. George’s personality was affected by his dreams.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

One can see this by his behavior and his dialogue. For example, in chapter 2 (page 28) when Curly lashes at George because he was answering all of the questions that were asked to Lennie, Curly rudely says “By Christ, he’s gotta talk when he’s spoke to. What the hell are you getting’ into it for?” George didn’t lash back at him, instead he replied coldly; this symbolizes George’s patience towards people, even the rudest people just for the sake of his dream. If he stirred up a fight with Curly just to gain back his dignity he would have gotten fired from his job, but instead he spoke coldly because he couldn’t risk losing his dream or doing anything that could possibly threatens it.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Another character whose personality has been affected by his dreams was Crooks. However, unlike the others, Crooks’ personality is greatly affected. Crooks’ dream has a different effect on him. It brings him misery, because he once had everything and now he lost it all. Although, he has accepted that fact that his dream is unattainable, he may still have a little bit of hope. However he has accepted his fate better than the rest of the characters who seem to be unable to accept the reality that their dreams would most likely not come true. As a result, he is bitter and he has isolated himself from everyone. It has drastically affected his personality and his attitude towards life.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

He knows he won’t have his ‘Happily ever after’; therefore he doesn’t look forward to what the future would bring. “ I ain’t a southern Negro… I was born right here in California. My old man had a chicken ranch, ‘bout ten acres. The white kids come to play at our place, an’ sometimes I went to play with them, and some of them was pretty nice. My ol’ man didn’t like that. I never knew till long later… but now I know ” (Chapter 4, page 79). Although this quote starts off as a happy story, it doesn’t have a happy ending. In fact, it’s heartbreaking. Nevertheless from this quote, it can be understood that Crooks had a taste of ‘The American Dream’, but then he lost it. In addition, the color of his skin puts him down even though he was literate, and educated. Crooks wanted to belong somewhere, he wanted to have friends, he wanted for life to be as simple as it was when he was younger, but he knows that the odds aren’t in his favor. That’s why he isn’t the nicest person, and he has isolated himself from everyone else. In chapter four when Lennie came to see Crooks, at first he shut Lennie out, because of the rules he had to oblige and because he knows what it feels like to have friends and loose them.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

As one of his dreams was to have a friend, he compromised and he let Lennie accompany him while the others were gone. “Lennie smiled helplessly in an attempt to make friends. Crooks said sharply “You got no right to come in my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me… I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my room” “Why ain’t you wanted” Lennie asked. “”Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all stink to me… well, what do you want?” “Nothing- I just seen you light. I thought I could jus’ come in an’ set.” Crooks stared at Lennie… Crooks scowled, but Lennie’s disarming smile defeated him. “Come on in and set a while” Crooks said “Long as you won’t get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down.” (Chapter 4, pages 77-78).
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Finally, the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a truly spectacular novel by John Steinbeck. The theme of dreams was very important during the course of the novel. All the main events in the novel were caused in relation to someone’s dream, and the sacrifices they had to make in order to achieve it. Additionally, dreams were equally important because they played a big role in the characters’ lives. The characters in the novel use dreams to motivate them through their tough lives, and through the great depression. The characters were also greatly affected by their dreams. For some of the characters, their dream was their weakness and they would literally kill to achieve it. For others it was a source of happiness, while for many of the characters their dream was both their weakness and their source of happiness. All of these three points are what made the theme of dreams such an important part of the novel. The theme of dreams is what makes the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ so fascinating. Dreams controlled all of the main events, as they were significant in the lives of the characters, their behavior, their ups and downs, as well as their fates.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

How does Steinbeck present different types of power and powerlessness in ‘’Of Mice and Men’’? In the book ‘’Of Mice and Men’’ Steinbeck uses different types of power and powerlessness to show the personalities of the characters. He uses the idea of power to show difference in all the characters and how their differences change each individual life in the ranch. Steinbeck portrays many strengths and weakness in a wide spectrum. In the pecking order of the ranch, Curley has most power, and is a bully.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

His wife has no identity, and is terribly lonely, but she too hurts others using manipulation. Cruelty and abuse of power characterises most of the novel, with the most noticeable exception of George and Lennie. Lennie shows extreme power in his strength. He is like an animal as it says ‘’snorted’’ and ‘’paws’’. He is portrayed like a bear but shows, although he has the strength to crush Curley’s hand on page 69-71, he has no control of his mind and lacks confidence and has to rely on George such as a domestic animal would towards his owner.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Furthermore he is described as ‘’a huge man…large, pale eyes’’ and also ‘’dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws’’. Steinbeck uses his physical power to show he is dangerous to the other characters such as Curley’s wife who Lennie kills. Steinbeck shows that when Lennie starts to panic his power gets worse consequently fatal for Curley’s wife. Also he cannot think for himself and crushes Curley’s hand because he is told to by George.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Throughout the novel Steinbeck presents the character of Curley’s wife in a number of ways. Initially he tells us that she is a beautiful girl who is lonely and she is the only female on the ranch. Steinbeck explains that she is presented as a sexual object for Curly. Even though she is the boss’s son’s wife, she is still low in the hierarchy within the ranch. She clearly uses her sexuality as a weapon and is seen as a sexual predator. Curley’s wife uses sexual power to get what she wants as a woman in the 1930’s would have little economic or social power and even when as you find out toward the end of the book and the death of Curley’s wife she only acts like this so she can finally have the attention she is missing out on. Unfortunately her sexuality has no impact on the farm because everyone is scared of being friendly or seen with her due to her husband’s power. She is flirtatious ‘‘you guys seen Curly anywhere?’’
Topic: of-mice-and-men

She asks this just to be able to enter the stable to be with the men and this is used a decoy to get her to be able to socialise with the men. Steinbeck is giving the reader a negative image of her, almost as a sex slave. We see this negativity in other character’s description of her: She is said to be a ‘’tart’’ and a ‘’tramp’’ by George and Candy. She also wears a lot of make-up: ‘’heavily made up’’ and also dresses up: ‘’cotton house dress…red mules’’. Steinbeck shows her to stand seductively ‘’body thrown forward’’. Lennie who is captured by her sexual nature and states over and over after first meeting her ‘’she’s purty’’. Moreover, during alternate situations she uses her power to manipulate others as she does when in Crooks’ room. She uses the power of being a white female to be racist towards Crooks.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

She knows Crooks cannot hurt or say anything against her because of the unfairness and punishment towards blacks, such as in the Scottsboro trial, and uses this to her advantage to take out all the hurt she has been feeling by being ignored on the ranch and only been given attention when she shows her sexuality. She also manipulates Lennie into talking with her by making him feel pity for her by telling him how lonely she feels ‘’I get awful lonely’’ and ‘’I never get to talk to nobody’’. In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck mainly presents Curley as a mean person who wants authority on the ranch. Although this makes Curley a more hated character, Steinbeck makes it clear to the reader that Curley is only mean as a result of being lonely.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

This loneliness of Curley was typical of men on ranches in 1930s America. Curley wants to get more authority on the ranch. When we first see Curley, he is described as closing his hands “into fists” and stiffening his back “into a slight crouch” after looking at Lennie, showing the reader that Curley wants more authority over him. This makes the reader feel slightly uneasy as it hints that Curley may do something which will affect George and Lennie’s dream later in the novel. Also by Steinbeck saying that Curley has ‘’tight curly hair’’ it makes me feel he is being presented as an uptight, angry character. Curley feels intimidated by the sheer size of Lennie and feels Lennie is competition that he must beat in order to show his toughness and in case Lennie tries to win over Curley’s wife. Steinbeck also presents Curley as being an aggressive character. For example, Curley is quick to pick a fight with Lennie in Chapter three of the novel. Steinbeck uses words like “slashed” to describe Curley’s strength and aggressiveness.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The reader feels anger towards Curley at this point as he attacks Lennie only because he is bigger in build. Curley is also shown to only use his wife as when she dies Curley does not seem to show any love or respect for his wife as in staying with her when she is found dead or even going to her and his first thought is Lennie. He only shows hatred for Lennie and wants to hurt Lennie. I think Steinbeck made this character to show how others actions and how they react to them can affect a dream or hope you have. For example Curley’s attitude towards Lennie and his wife subsequently leads to neither of them achieving their dream. In conclusion Steinbeck shows power in strength, where you are on the hierarchy and in sexuality of women. Steinbeck represents human nature in the commendable and unfavourable qualities people had during the depression in the 1930’s. Steinbeck shows that human nature changed considerably and mostly for the worse during this period of the great depression. People looked up to and were more frightened of big men such as Lennie and Curley but more critical and abusive towards woman as they thought they were merely sexual objects as Steinbeck shows in the attitude towards Curley’s wife by the ranchers.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

“bunnies” symbol of liberty and assurance. -” he’s jus’ like a kid”– Slim describes him perfectly -” why do you got to get killed?”– Lennie no understanding of actions or consequences. “its mean here”– Lennie too innocent to handle extreme environment -hallucination of Aunt Clare: main moral figure in his life. Informs him between right and wrong and about effect.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Informed private. (had “books”) 1905 tho! 25 years out of dates shows futility of his circumstance. -” scoundrels was a happy, aloof male” Steinbeck does not aim to victimize/generalize Scoundrels. He’s 3 dimensional; understands his worth. BUT has no power to change his fate. -area of Crooks in ranch (barn) symbolizes his distance the other males. Explicitly: segregation, metaphorically: emotional distance/loneliness -” they’ll connect ya up with a collar, like a dog”- Crooks.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

When Crooks finally finds someone weaker than him, he feels he should destroy them. Connects to his own injustice. Suffering leads to ruthlessness. -” hard for Scoundrels to conceal his enjoyment with anger” shows his desperation for contact. He has become hardened by his discomfort however lets his guard down at times. -” drew into himself” scoundrels forces to accept his injustice. Helpless in his fate.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

-“fingernails were red”  symbol of danger, sexuality, blood, passion. Stoplight! She will be cause of danger later in novel. -“rolled clusters, like sausages” –> childlike, naïve little girl. Contrasts with red. -“heavily made up”  suggest she’s hiding the true here. Underneath surface there is hidden personality: loneliness, desperate, need, kindness. Puts on front of sexuality and flirtatiousness. ALSO conveys men on the ranch only care about sex from women. -“what a tramp” –George  hypocritical view towards women. Has sex with prostitutes but calls her a tart??? da fuq +!! Objectification. Ironic cuz what she really wants is human contact not sex. The men don’t even consider that she could have more complexity other than wanted a man physically. -ranch is a patriarchal environment.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

-“you give me a good whore house every time” –> although they want to achieve their dream, they waste their money on prostitutes and booze. Cycle of pain and desperation, a temporary void of loneliness and boredom that has to be filled. -“every damn on of ‘em’s got a little piece of land in his head” –Crooks –> Crook’s knows reality of American Dream. Faced this for long long time due to racism. -“they left all the weak ones here” –Curley’s wife  themes of novella come full circle. Oppression of minorities.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

‘Of Mice and Men’ is a short novel by John Steinbeck, which is set in 1930s America. At this time in American History they were suffering from a hard hitting economic depression. This book is set on a ranch in Soledad, California. Throughout this novella, Steinbeck addresses key theme, for example discrimination, loneliness and the American Dream. Curley’s wife is a complex character. She is the only woman on the ranch. Curley’s wife is used as a plot device by Steinbeck to explore themes like discrimination and attitudes toward women in the 1930s.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Although, she is thought of as a ‘tart’ at the beginning, throughout the novel we develop our opinion of Curley’s wife. Steinbeck introduces us to Curley’s wife through the opinion of Candy. His views and opinions are misogynistic, when he calls her a ‘tart’, making the reader prejudiced towards Curley’s wife before we even meet her. Candy mentions that she ‘got the eye’ explaining that she is being flirtatious and immoral as we are told that she is flirt with other men straight after we are told that she married to Curley.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Candy makes us anticipate her entrance ‘Wait till you see Curley’s wife’, Steinbeck uses this technique to make the reader want to read on and find out more. When Curley’s wife is first introduced we gain a biased impression from her description ‘She wore a cotton house dress and red mules’ reinforcing our original opinion of a ‘tart’. The clothing she wears is also incongruous on a working ranch and expensive during the economic depression showing that she wants to impress.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

She is high maintenance as ‘She had full roughed lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up’ showing to the reader that she has to look perfect before leaving the house and needs to look pretty to the men. Steinbeck fully describes the actions of Curley’s wife. This shows physical awareness the men have towards her, ‘She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward’ Steinbeck’s description of Curley’s wife actions is not only to describe the men’s physical awareness of the character but to show the desperation of Curley’s wife and other women in the 1930s.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Throughout the speech between George and Curley’s wife, she doesn’t sustain eye contact, ‘She looked at her fingernails’ this implies that she is trying to flirt with her eyes. This use of body language is in a flirtatious and provocative way. When Curley’s wife enters ‘The rectangle of sunshine in the door way is cut off’ Steinbeck uses this blocking light to suggest that Curley’s wife is an obstacle, to Lennie’s and George’s ‘light’ which is referring to their dream. This means we do not like Curley’s wife as she poses a threat. The fact that George calls Curley’s wife ‘tramp’ makes us immediately dislike her as we trust George’s opinions. As her appearance is described first this suggests that others judge her on the way she looks and her appearance is regarded as her most important feature. This idea is developed through Curley’s wife’s sexuality which is evident in her obvious flirting when she moves so that ‘her body was thrown forward’ and speaks ‘playfully’. Through Curley’s wife actions, Steinbeck suggests that her sexuality is the only form of power she has and is the only way she knows to gain attention. The first entrance for Curley’s wife lives up to and confirms the impressions created by Candy.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Although initially we believe what Candy said, as the novella progresses more of her character is revealed. When Slim finds Curley’s wife, at the end of her first entrance ‘She was suddenly apprehensive’ which could suggest that Curley’s wife is scared of Curley and suggests that he is aggressive towards her linking to the theme of violence. The reader is apprehensive of Curley’s wife and the damage she may cause. The men of the ranch think she is ‘jailbait’, and they are scared that they may lose their job. The reader agrees with what the men on the ranch think as she may lead to the downfall of George and Lennie. At this point in the novel, Curley’s wife is seen with contempt and there is little sympathy for her. The repetition of the colour ‘red’ suggests danger and passion, supported by similarities between her and the girl in Weed. Not only is Curley’s wife described as a floozy, but also as threatening. When she enters the barn where Crook and Candy are, they are both afraid and ‘were scowling down away from her eyes’ this prevention of eye contact could be seen that she is exerting power over the men. She exercises her power by threatening to hang Crooks, ‘I could get you stung up on a tree so easy’, this links to the theme of violence as she acts meanly and cruelly which reflects the social hierarchy of the time. She goes from being bullied by the men to bullying the ‘weak ones’.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Curley’s wife gets frustrated by their unresponsive behaviour towards her. She is used to highlight the racist society and to show the status of black people at that time in America. The reader maybe apprehensive toward Curley’s Wife, yet it is obvious that she may be lonely. Curley’s wife has too much time on her hands ‘Her face was heavily made up’ this is shown by how much make up she is always wearing. None of the men on the ranch will talk to her as they are scared that they may be tempted ‘Maybe you better go along to your own house now’ The reason they don’t talk to her is that they are scared that they could get into trouble with Curley. Steinbeck does this to show how isolated women were in the 1930s. Even though Curley’s wife has only been married two week we get told that Curley is at the ‘Cat house’ and isn’t with his new wife with would suggest that he has no time for her and a lack of love. When she is in the barn with Crooks, Candy and Lennie ‘talkin’ to a bunch of bindle stiffs –a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep- an ‘liken’ it because they ain’t nobody else’ this show she will go to great lengths to talk to somebody and will even talk to the ‘weak ones’ when nobody is around. When she is alone in the barn with Lennie, she expresses her loneliness ‘I get awful lonely’ she does this to gain sympathy from the reader, although she is telling the one person who won’t understand what she is saying.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Curley’s wife is the only women on the ranch and this could link to her loneliness. This links to one of Steinbeck theme, loneliness and how Curley’s wife being female means that she is constantly segregated and isolated because of her gender. As the reader reads on we start to realise that Curley’s wife isn’t what we expected. We start to see that she is more of a victim. Her name Curley’s wife suggest that she is a possession of Curley’s ‘Curley’s is even cockier’n ever since he got married’ this suggest that she is something that Curley can show off to the other men on the ranch. Also Slims dog and Aunt Clara all have name but Curley’s wife doesn’t which even more suggests that she is object in society. She is also married to Curley who isn’t spends his Saturday evening in the ‘Cat house’ which does suggest that Curley has no love for his new wife. Curley’s wife has an innate understanding of society. She understands her positions and knows what she can and can’t do. ‘nobody’d listen to you’ they are all helpless as society is harsh and what Curley’s wife says applies to all of them in the barn. Curley’s wife is only flirtatious and mean to men because it is the only way she knows who to talk to men.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Although she is portrayed as a victim and as lonely, we still see as manipulative when she talking to Lennie nears the end of the novel. As Curley’s wife describes to use the reason why she is married to Curley it come apparent that she married Curley to get away from her Mother and then she wants to use Lennie to get away from Curley, Steinbeck has used this to make the reader feel that Curley’s wife is naive and has poor judgement. The reader can tell that Curley’s wife has thought through what she wants Lennie to do and she thinks that she can use him to her advantage. In this section she is being manipulative ‘you can break his other han’’ She can see that Lennie can stand up to Curley even if it is only to a basic level. Although you could argue that Curleys’s wife was described as a ‘girl’ which suggests innocence and naivety. She is in some ways like Lennie in that she doesn’t think before the action. The clothes she wear can be seen as to be dressing up to look like idols and is hiding under her makeup. If this is all true then Curley’s wife suffered a horrid death which she doesn’t deserve the death she was given. Throughout the novella, Steinbeck looks at the idea of the ‘American Dream’, like George and Lennie, Curley’s wife has a dream and that was to be in the ‘pitchers’.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Her dream is to be actress but is it really the idea of being an actress or the reason was that she wanted the money so she would be able to buy the clothes but not to do the work. She met a man who said she could be in the movies but never got letter, she blames her mother for never getting letter but it is possible that the men never actually was from the movies and if he was at the movies then why was he a unknown riverside dance. Also the fact that we are told about the nasal voice ‘Her voice had a nasal, brittle quality’ show to the reader that she is deluded and that she will never make her dream but has them to keep going in what is a miserable life. Men are prejudice towards Curley’s wife on the way in which she looks. Steinbeck’s initial portrayal of Curley’s wife shows her to be a mean and seductive temptress, and alive she is the connection to Eve, she brings evil in to men’s lives. She is also blamed for many of the action of Curley’s and she is thought of only by how she looks not by how she is. The final scene for Curley’s wife is her death. When she is getting murdered, the sympathy lies with Lennie. Steinbeck did this to create more sympathy from the reader for Curley’s wife.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

This is what Steinbeck has been leading up throughout the book and to the downfall of the relationship between George and Lennie. HEr beauty is shown though when she is dead ‘she was very pretty and simple’, this creates more sympathy from the reader by showing how simple and pretty she was. Also the to link with the description the word ‘girl’ is used, to create innocence. The reader perception of her has changed ‘Ache for attention all gone’ Steinbeck wrote this to make the readers realise the abnormality of what has been done and how we can only see her innocence, simplicity and beauty. The final description of Curley’s wife shows us the girl beneath what the world she lived in made her.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Although we see this different side to Curley’s wife, Candy still has his misogynistic opinion of Curley’s wife, ‘Ever’body knowed you’d mess things up’ this show that Candy blames Curley’s wife for what has happened even though Lennie was the one who murdered Curley’s wife. Candy’s lack of sympathy towards her creates more sympathy from the reader. Steinbeck does this to show that Women got blamed for what the men did even if they had nothing to do with it. In conclusion, Curley’s wife was in fact the victim of her society and although some of her action were in some ways indecent for a newly married women it, in some way this shows how much she was actually a victim. Also she was job copying the action and dressing like the actors which she idolised. I personal believe that Curley’s wife was not all to blame for her actions and therefore she did not deserve the death that she got as it was harsh a brutal.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

George and lennie’s relationship is unusual from the rest, as they both have each other, while the rest of the raanch workers are alone. They say “we travel around together” which shows that they always have each others side. The rest of the ranch workers fidn their frienship really weird, because they have never experienced it themselves. I think that Steinbeck is trying to show that relationships were hard to build back in the 1930, hence there werent’ many around.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Steinbeck could be showing that relatiosnhips don’t last forever, as george killed lennie in the end. Perhaps people knew this hence why they didn’t try to build relationships because they knew what the outcome would be like. There’s more pain in knowing and caring for someone then killing them, than just killing someone without knowing them. Carlson doesn’t undertand this pain, and just continues killing. In the end George is left alone, he’s given up hope on the american dream.