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

Lennie and George both dream of having their own land. When George tells his story about their dream farm, Lennie eagerly responds with, “Tell about what we’re gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove. (Steinback, p.g. 14)” The reason he cares about rabbits is because he likes to pet soft things, but he tends to kill whatever he pets. Lennie is aware of this. At the end of the story, Lennie hallucinates a gigantic rabbit that tells him he, “ain’t fit to lick the boots of no rabbit. You’d forget ’em and let ’em go hungry. (Steinback, p.g. 102)” This is all said in 67Lennie’s voice, showing that he knows that he will never get his dream. These rabbits symbolize self-sufficiency and this story shows that this will not be achieved by Lennie and will still be nothing but a dream.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

This shows the character herself feels irrelevant in the open field. She feels that she is unwanted and no one considers her so no one would need to know her name. Curley’s Significant other is likewise basically familiar with different people as “Curley’s Better half”, I recognize that Steinbeck does this to show that Curley, her cherished one, is liable for her, in that breaking point countless different women in 1930 in various conditions.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

In any case, Steinbeck doesn’t simply use the outline of what she is wearing, he other than altogether delineates her exercises. This is to show the physical thought the men have towards her. ‘She put her hands behind her back and slanted toward the door frame so her body was flung forward’ Steinbeck’s layout of Curley’s Significant other’s exercises, I recognize, is to outline the men’s physical thought, regardless to show the uneasiness of Curely’s Life partner and the women during the 1930s.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Steinbeck shows the men’s reactions towards her as exchanging off utilizing language. Definitely, when George from the start meets her he responds to her ‘all of a sudden’. I think this is to show the repulsiveness men have towards Curley’s Life partner. I feel Steinbeck not only does this to make us feel empathy towards Curley’s Significant other and women during the 1930s, yet adjacent to towards men during the 1930s as they should be inconceivably cautious and compromising so they can keep their occupations.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

John Steinbeck uses different structures to show Curley’s Significant other and women during the 1930s. I fell Steinbeck uses Curley’s Loved one as a depiction of boorish direct during the 1930s. Steinbeck shows the character of Curley’s Significant other as manipulative, in any case, I feel he basically does this to make us feel empathy for Curley’s Loved one and women during the 1930s.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

I in like manner feel that Steinbeck uses Curley’s valued one as a reflection on men during the 1930s as they are manipulative yet scorn Curley’s life accomplice since she is manipulative; they don’t comprehend that it is them that made her so in any case. I feel that ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a perfect depiction of the treatment of individuals during the 1920s.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Naturalism was rampant during the 1930’s. The characters tended to be poor and hopeless. The authors themselves tended to be pessimists. The genre merely reflected the thoughts and circumstances of society. Black Tuesday crushed the nation and the once fertile fields of the Midwest were not yielding enough crops to feed the hungry and poor nation. With its bundle of lonely bindle stiffs and unattainable dreams, Of Mice and Men fits perfectly into this desolate and dreary genre and yet did not belong at all.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The book covers the trifecta of prejudices featured in the genre: women, African Americans, and the mentally handicapped. What makes Of Mice and Men atypical is that the plights of its characters cause the reader to question their beliefs attached to these groups rather than reinforcing the prejudices like typical Naturalism literature. In the novel, Steinbeck creates a proud black man, a woman as capable of emotion as men, and a lovable mentally handicapped man. These portrayals cause the same emotional connection to form between the reader and the profiled characters like Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Lennie as the bond between the other characters and the reader.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

During the time of the novel’s publication, society made African Americans out to be dumb buffoons. Their speech was unsophisticated and broken. Even beloved characters such as “Mammy” in Gone with the Wind, were cartoonish and distorted. In the book, which was written merely a year before Of Mice and Men, Mammy is described as “a huge old woman with the small, shrewd eyes of an elephant. She was shining black, pure African, devoted to her last drop of blood to the O’Haras” Mammy merely fit the mold of set by hundreds of characters before her, stemming even so far as Uncle Tom from Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Steinbeck wrote Crooks differently. He was a proud man standing among a sea of meek, timid African Americans personalities commonly featured in writing. Crooks was capable of conversing with as eloquent of a tongue as his fellow workers and was educated, but he knew his place in society. He longed to be bunked with the other ranchers and he knew he had a right to equal accommodations because Section 51 states of hi “mauled” California Civil Code of 1905 (70), “All citizens within the jurisdiction of this state are entitled to the full and equal accommodations”. Yet he knew that because of the “Separate but Equal” laws that he would never be accommodated in the same quarters as the other ranchers (A Brief History). The ranch hands hurled racial slurs at his misshapen spine and only weathered his presence on Sunday afternoons when his horseshoe playing skills (46). Regardless of his ill treatment, he endured because he had nowhere else to go.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

He was an African American in America during an era where few jobs are present. Preference was given to white men for the rare open positions. Because of racism exhibited by most of America’s employers, African Americans unemployment rate compared to whites was two or three times as high (Lynch). In addition, Crooks had a debilitating back injury that prevented him from searching for any other job. Employers would have passed over him for another young man that could perform more laborious tasks than simply mucking stables and fitting horses with shoes. He was lucky to have the job given to him.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

These circumstances created a lonesome curmudgeon. He found it easier to embitter himself against the actions of others and to push them away than to allow himself to hope for a friend. He was jealous of the camaraderie of the other ranch hands and yet when Lennie came to him when all the other men were at the cathouses, he became more concerned about Lennie invading his living space than being able to have someone to talk with. After he overcame his immediate reaction and he realized that he had someone who would talk with him, Crooks began to talk about his past.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

He was not always alone. He had a family and a ranch, but that is in the past and now he is the only one of his kind on a ranch where no one deigns to interact with him. Through this conversation, the reader gains insight on Crooks desperate need for companionship when Crooks begins to falsify a future in which George does not come back for Lennie (71-75). Ironically, Crooks did not want to feel alone in feeling alone. Misery loves company.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Steinbeck displayed racism throughout the novel in the form of derogatory phrases, but he did not mold Crooks in the standard of African Americans that blotted the pages of literature in the past. Steinbeck showed how a “sub-human” could have human emotions. Crooks had the capacity to feel lonely and bitter. The reader realizes that the only difference between the ranchers and Crooks is the color of his skin.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

She is not portrayed as women of the period are typically described as in literature. Typically, they were either a warm and caring mother or a desolate prostitute (McGehee). When she meets George and Lennie, she is isolated. The town and other women are miles away. The men will not even have a simple conversation with her for fear of the son of the ranch owner catching them (29). She has no one to turn to. Unlike Crooks, Curley’s wife reaches out to the ranchers with an attempt to be friendly, but they frequently refuse her attempts. This hardened her: a quality not normally portrayed in a prominent young wife in literature. She becomes callous and lashes out in anger in order to protect herself from the hurt and loneliness caused by the men. They decided how she was to be treated rather than how she would like to be treated.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Moments before her death, the reader learns more about what shaped Curley’s wife’s life. Steinbeck burdened her with shattered dreams and loneliness. He gave her true emotions. Emotions that all of the male characters feel. She feels bitterly because they know their dreams are largely unattainable while Curley’s wife allowed hers to pass her by for this deplorable future. She could have lived her American dream. She could have lived a life of luxury. She could have been in pictures. However, it is merely a fantasy to help her cope with life now. “Even in pursuit of her personal vision, she has no solid notion of herself as a worthwhile person. Her dream is to become a cinematic image that occupies no space in the real world. (Hadella)”
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The heartbreak felt for Curley’s wife cause them to rethink their prejudice against women. Women should not have a hedge placed around them, secluding them from the outside world regardless of what society believes. By attempting to protect her, Curley’s wife was hurt worse. Curley’s wife experienced the same emotions as the men and more and yet she could not express them because no one would let her. The one person who allowed her to be herself was her downfall.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Groups began forming across the nation with the goal of eradicating “feeble-minded” people through sterilization, increasing the fear and stigmatism of mentally handicapped people. Society began to view mentally disabled people as dangerous, unfit for society, and a drain on the American economy (Remsburg). The education systems proved this belief by moving the “mildly retarded” in separate classes and the “severely retard” were removed from school all together (Minnesota). This made it harder for people like Lennie get jobs and increased the amount of fear delegated to people who are different.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

When George and Lennie first meet the ranch owner, George commands Lennie to “jus stand there and don’t say nothing,” (6) George was concerned that Lennie would reveal his mental capacity before he was given the chance to prove himself. Yet it was when Lennie speaks that he captured the reader’s heart. He was pure and child-like, eager to please. He was not the menace to society that eugenic clubs led America to believe. All he wanted in his life was to be gentle and to pet soft things.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

As Curley attacked him, Lennie begs George to help him like a child reaching out to a parent in time of need. When George almost sadistically tells him to defend himself, Lennie almost instantly obeys his order, staring with wide, terror-filled eyes at what he has done (66-67). This reaction proves how peaceful and gentle Lennie truly wants to be and the reader begins desperately wanting Lennie to live, to achieve his dream, but, as the title foreshadows, this could not happen.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

If it were not for the prejudices held against Lennie, he might have had a chance to survive. He might have been able to defend himself to the law enforcement in Weed. He might have also been given leeway for his treatment of Curley’s wife if he could have explained himself, but George knew that if Curley caught Lennie, then either he would kill or institutionalize him. George performed a great mercy on Lennie by killing him. He allowed Lennie the brief moment to live his dream and take care of his rabbits before he removed him from the world that would deny him and force a worse fate upon him.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

By simply incorporating the characters into the plot, Steinbeck, whether intentional or not, draws attention to the intense feelings of the characters resulting from the harsh treatment and discrimination of their real-world counterparts. The reader must then concede that they are as capable of hurt as white men and should be treated as such. Richard Hart says in his article published in the Steinbeck Review, “If an author approaches a story with honesty and renders characters in their totality without bias, the moral issues emerge on their own” Steinbeck makes no direct criticisms on the social construct and yet, by giving his characters life, the story demands the issue to the forefront of the reader’s mind leading them to reevaluate their own prejudices.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

We’ve all heard the saying, You can’t have a rainbow without a little rain. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, this principle is applied to the relationships between thecharacters. The novel tells the tale of two companions, George and Lennie, who are travellingtogether looking for work and find themselves among many lonely characters. Steinbeckcompares companionship to loneliness in order to show the reader that one cannot fullyunderstand happiness without first knowing sadness. The author provides the reader with manyexamples of lonesome characters, including Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Candy.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

He does this inorder to highlight the great friendship between George and Lennie.The author uses Crooks’ solitude in contrast to the other friendships. When Crooks andLennie are in the barn, Crooks explains to Lennie that a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick(73), clearly referring to himself. Steinbeck’s goal is to make the character of Crooks appearopposite to George and Lennie’s characters.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

A guy needs somebody — to be nearhim (72). Crooks’ room is said to have many personal belongings lying around unorganized.By creating such a messy image of Crooks’ room, Steinbeck demonstrates that being alone,Crooks could leave his things about (66). Crooks’ isolation is aggravated by him beingAfrican-American. Crooks, a lonely character, is used as a counterexample of the relationshipbetween George and Lennie. For the reader to fully understand their happiness, he or she must first be introduced to a melancholy character.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Crooks,Lennie, and Candy are in Crooks’ room when Curley’s wife walks in. Crooks emphasizes that hedon’t want no trouble (77), but Curley’s wife counters that by saying, Think I don’t like totalk to somebody ever’ once in a while? Think I like to stick in that house alla time? (77). Thispassage shows that even a woman who appears to have a companion in life, her husband Curley,just wants to have a friend to talk to, like any other person. Curley’s wife is willing to go out ofher way and even get in trouble with her husband just to have a friendly chat. This longing for afriend is what ultimately gets her killed by Lennie when she approaches him in order to have aconversation with him. Furthermore, Steinbeck forgives the fact that she got the eye (28),meaning that she flirts with all of the men, because her intentions are benign and she simplywants to have somebody to talk with. This deep loneliness is used to bring out the theme ofcompanionship. Curley’s wife has a sad life, and the reader needs her as an example tounderstand how truly grateful George and Lennie are that they have each other. Steinbeckteaches the reader to appreciate how the melancholy can bring out the boon life has to offer.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Candy, the old swamper, is shown as an isolated person, much like the other characterson the ranch, yet, unlike the others, he is allowed to share George and Lennie’s friendship. Hewillingly accepts the invitation to be a part of George and Lennie’s dream to purchase their ownfarm. By letting Candy have a glimpse into George and Lennie’s companionship, Steinbeckdirectly shows how different Candy’s life could have been if he had partners. Candy asks earnestly to be part of George and Lennie’s dream. His supplication is more than a request toown his own house and property; it is a plea for companionship. He emphasizes this need to bewith people by saying, S’pose I went in with you guys (59). Unlike the others on the ranch,Candy experiences the feeling of having a partner in life, his dog. Candy describes him as truefamily, saying that he had him so long. Had him since he was a pup (44). Despite that, Candyplaces the life of his dog into the hands of Carlson, the man who ultimately kills him. Candy isthe only character from the ranch who experiences the loss of someone close. Candy has a tasteof companionship and it is suddenly ripped away from him. Only after Candy is forced to sufferthrough the death of his dog does he truly understand the necessity of a friend in one’s life.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Likewise, in life, one can only appreciate happiness after having experienced the troubles thatcome with sorrow.Steinbeck uses the relationship between George and Lennie to express the theme ofcompanionship in contrast to loneliness. George tells Lennie the same story of their friendshipoften throughout the novel. Lennie knows it by heart and when George begins retelling it,Lennie completes it by saying, I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you(14). This demonstrates the true bond between George and Lennie because it shows they arealways there for each other. The thought of losing a friend can make a relationship evenstronger. Steinbeck describes a conversation between George and Lennie after their argumentwhen they are resting next to the Salinas River in the beginning of the novel. Lennie says, Ifyou don’ want me I can go off in the hills an’ find a cave. I can go away anytime (12).Nevertheless, the men hold on to each other and this makes their great friendship appear all thatmuch better because it shows how strong it is. The loneliness, an analogy for something sad in life, is presented alongside companionship, or happiness, in order to show that one cannot existwithout the other and that both are necessary for enjoying life to the fullest.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the theme of loneliness is used as a contrast to thetheme of companionship. Many characters are faced with the burden of with going through lifealone. Crooks is left out because of his skin color. Curley’s wife just wants someone whom shecan talk to, but is considered an outcast due to her gender. Candy shows his loneliness throughthe loss of his dog, but he also has a glimpse into happiness through sharing the dream of Georgeand Lennie. All of these characters are used to counter the strong relationship between Georgeand Lennie and their faithful devotion to each other, yet the reader is also introduced to thefragility of their friendship. Life is full of ups and downs, but is critical to understand that thisbittersweet quality serves a greater purpose: to bring out the good and make it stand out amongall of the bad.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Answer: Crooks is so mean to Lennie because although he and Lennie are quite similar (they are both categorised as the ‘weak ones’) Lennie has the better life, simply because he is white. Lennie is allowed in the dorm room and allowed to play cards should he choose to (if he even knew how to) whereas Crooks cannot. Throughout the conversation, we see Crooks’ character come out of his shell, and be nice to people whom he normally wouldn’t conversate with except Slim and the boss.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Obviously, because he’s black and because of segregation, he is mean to those who disregard him because of his colour, but maybe there is another reason he is mean to Lennie, such as he is jealous of his lifestyle or he wishes he were white. Also, he is pretty low on the societal totem pole and Lennie is an easy target for him. Crooks’ first reaction when Lennie visits him is that he wants to prove a point: if he as a black man can’t enter white men’s houses, then whites aren’t allowed in his room.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

He wants Lennie to know that he has to have some sorts of rights. But Lennie’s inviting smile and Crooks’ desire for company means that Lennie can enter, and thus starts the convo where we learn all about Crooks. Like Curley’s wife, Crooks is a powerless character, and it seems that he seeks vulnerable characters to make himself feel good – He starts “suggesting” that maybe George will never come back and only stops the cruel game when Lennie threatens him with physical violence.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

He shows us that his loneliness means he often has no-one to talk to and his character would like sympathy. He is also interested once Candy and Lennie start conversating and forgets all about his mean self. He has seen men of all sorts come on and off the ranch and no-one has actually fulfilled the American Dream which he is doubtful of because it seems this “Dream” does not apply to him due to the colour of his skin. This is why he scrutinizes others. Question 2) Are there any similarities between Lennie and Crooks?
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Answer: Lennie and Crooks are both marginalised from society – Lennie’s lack of mental abilities keep him isolated and Crooks’ skin colour keep him isolated. For this, they are classed as ‘the weak ones’. When Lennie comes by, Crooks is immediately unfriendly. “You go one get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house; you ain’t wanted in my room. ” However, both men long for company, and so begin talking. Their similarities wipe out any awkward silences and end their isolation. Crooks understands that Lennie has the better life and uses this against him to compare himself.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

“I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets lonely an’ he gets sick. ” Both men can be seen as lonely, not only are they marginalised, and even though Lennie has George, his mental challenges keep him alone because no-one can completely understand him which emphasises his differences and Crooks’ colour leaves him excluded from the dorms. Question 3) What does this conversation tell us about the relationship of Crooks with other men? Answer: Crooks’ relationships are built around the fact that he is a victim of racism and is outcasted from companionship.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

We know from the start that Crooks takes a liking to Skinner and the boss, and since we don’t get to know him until Chapter 4, this outlines his lack of status, credibility and power. We as readers are able to emphasise with Crooks because we are shown how black people were treated in the time of the Great Depression. We see how Crooks is able to open up to Lennie and he confesses all his feelings and thoughts because he sees him as a figure of trust as he is unable to remember what he is told. His relationship with Slim is tight because we admire Slim as a good, supporting member of society.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

J.W. Van Goethe once said “no two persons regard in the world in exactly the same way.” This means everybody has different views of the world and responds physically and mentally to different situations. I agree with this quote because we all have different perspectives and we often debate about the way we view society. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck clearly shows how two persons are different in their own independent ways.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Both men regard the world in different ways and both have different personalities that make them who they are. Curly who is described in the story as “an amateur boxer and is always picking fights, especially with guys who are bigger than he is.”shows his low self-esteem and how he does not have confidence in himself. Steinbeck also describes Curley’s approach “at once calculating and pugnacious,” and he strides about with “his elbows…still bent out a little.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Curley’s insecurity about his size impacts the way he views the world. Slim is described as a jerk line skinner, the main driver of a mule team. Slim is greatly respected by many of the characters even Curley. Being a leader is like a second nature to him. Unlike Curley slim is the type of person that people can easily confide with. “His tone was friendly. It invited confidence without demanding it.” Slim actions are hardly question and the characters look up to him because he knows when things are right or wrong. Slim also was sympathetic, caring, and understanding towards Lennie and his mental disability.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Unlike curly Slim has confidence in himself and doesn’t have visible insecurities about him, which makes Slim a great leader and a role model to the other people in the ranch. These two characters are completely different men that have unlike characteristics. The way they perceive and view the world is also different because of factors like behavior, beliefs, and feelings, slim is looked at as a leader while Curley is looked as a “punk” this is a result of their actions. No two persons can regard in the same way because everyone has a different perspective of life and have a different way of thinking.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Of Mice and Men is set in Salinas, California in the 1930s Great Depression. Life was hard and men could be cruel. Hope might be the only escape from hard reality. This links to the American Dream – represented in George and Lennie’s dream of working hard and getting their own land and farm, and control over their own lives. But it was harder than ever to achieve due to the tough economic conditions of the Depression.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

After Lennie’s death, it might be possible for George to realise his dream, but the emptiness at the end of the novel shows that financial success is nothing when you are lonely. So the dream is not just something to own, or possess, but also something to share. ‘Compassion and love’, to Steinbeck – as outlined in his Nobel Prize speech are the most important things, as is ‘hope’ – having a dream.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The function of the dream therefore is to help them to endure hardship and not give in to despair. They want control of their own lives: ‘we’ll just say the hell with goin to work’. This can make them seem naive however, as farmers have to work whether they want to or not – especially smallholders. When George sets out the dream, he then says that he and Lennie are ‘not like those other guys’.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The dream sets George and Lennie apart from the others; they make themselves special: in the inclusive ‘we’ against the exclusive ‘those other guys’. The juxtaposition of ‘us’ and ‘them’ verbally bonds the protagonists together in contrast to the other men – even though they are all, George, Lennie, Crooks, Candy, in the same situation. Still, George and Lennie separate themselves from the others by using the third person to describe farm hands
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Sometimes it seems that George ‘owns’ the dream – as he is the one who tells it to Lennie, like a child’s bedtime story, prayer or mantra, in keeping with his role as ‘parent/protector’ to his child-like companion. This is emphasised by the simple, mantra-like structure, where Lennie keeps filling in the gaps if George hesitates, and repeating short phrases after him as if he knows it by heart, even though – as George says frustratedly, Lennie always ‘forgets’ everything else. It is not always certain if George believes the dream is possible or if he is saying it to keep Lennie quiet. Sometimes, George seems sceptical, saying they will have ‘every colour rabbits’ including ‘red and blue’. He is patronising to Lennie, saying ‘good boy’, keeping him safe from his own stupidity. In these scenes the dream seems more of a spell or placebo to keep the main characters safe than something that is really possible. Other characters are very cynical about the dream.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The reader is made to question how realistic these dreams are. Curley’s wife dreams of when she threw away the chance to become famous, but we can see that her dream is a sham. Of George and Lennie’s dream, Crooks says: ‘every damn one of them’s got a little piece of land in his head’. Crooks’ final judgement is that ‘never a God damn one of ‘em ever gets it.’ The repetition of the absolute ‘never’ and ‘ever’, as well as the strong slang ‘God damn’ emphasises how desperate life is. However, it is not certain whether Steinbeck shares Crooks’ negative view.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Crooks is an extreme character. His language is hyperbole – very extreme and relentlessly negative. Crooks’ phrase ‘God damn’ suggests that God has abandoned these men, in contrast to the biblical image of hope in George and Lennie’s dream of living ‘off the fatta the land’. The biblical imagery continues negatively when Crooks compares the dream of land to being ‘like Heaven’ – the Christian idea of perfect bliss, not considered a physical reality – and which Crooks says is just as impossible to get as a piece of land. It’s hard for George to keep Lennie out of trouble and keep them on track for their dream. But when they tell Candy, it starts to seem as if it might be possible. [needs evidence/ quotation/ language analysis] In an instant,
Topic: of-mice-and-men

But all the time, Steinbeck has built up a foreboding feeling, that this world is hard and horrible and nothing good can live in it. We feel that the gentleness of Lennie and George’s friendship, and their shared dream, will be crushed by the cruel world – even by Lennie’s desire for gentle, soft things. ‘I like soft things’ Every time he kills an animal – mouse or puppy, Lennie’s biggest, darkest fear is that he won’t be allowed ‘to tend the rabbits’. The dream is so precious to him that he wants it at any cost. Curley’s wife is lonely and wants someone to listen to her dream. [needs evidence/ quotation/ language analysis] When she finds Lennie in the barn, she lets him stroke her hair.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

When she starts screaming, Lennie screams at her to stop or ‘George won’t let me tend the rabbits’. She’s so frightened that she can’t stop and Lennie accidentally kills her. In a way, Lennie’s desire to keep the dream (by keeping Curley’s wife quiet – and smothering her) is the thing that has destroyed it. The irony of this makes it even more poignant.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

When Candy discovers what has happened all he wants to know is that he and George can still get the farm. [needs evidence/ quotation/ language analysis] He loses sight of human decency – the woman is dead and Lennie will soon die too. Steinbeck makes us ask whether any dream of financial prosperity should be more important than human life? Should we try to get it at any cost? At the end, George tells Lennie the ‘fairy story’ of the dream again – to make him happy at the moment he has to kill the dream of togetherness by shooting him in the head. He almost can’t speak because he is so upset. [needs evidence/ quotation/ language analysis] Even though George could still have the farm with Candy, he is deeply sad that he couldn’t keep Lennie alive. Because the dream isn’t worth much when he doesn’t have his old friend to share it with. Lennie loved the dream more than anyone and he never gets it.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

George leads on to imply that Lenny is a road block to his dream and this is partially true as it is what Lennie did towards the end of the novel that killed the chances of the dream. George’s dream can be considered as a typical working class dream as it isn’t very promising and has no future outlook. The death of the dream in Of Mice and Men seems to be blames on a certain individual, the death of George and Lennie’s dream is blamed on Lennie and later in the novel we learn that the death of Curley’s wife’s is because of her “ol lady”.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

In the novel Curley’s wife is portrayed as a social outcast alongside the “nigga” but this time because of her gender as they lived in a sexist society. However beneath her make up her interior reveals her dreams and how they were crushed as well, the reader also finds out that her sexual weapon is to grab the attention of the ranch workers as no one gave her the recognition she wanted. Curley’s wife’s dream is fully revealed towards the end of the novel with her explain it to Lennie, she clearly illustrates her very independent dream however it is also clear that she is very dependent on men when it comes to making the dream a reality.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

This maybe the reason why her dream was locked away and only brought out when she needed it to emotionally look back at it; considering that she lived in a men’s society it means that women are held back from what they wanted to do and were expected become a housewife. This is the main road block that Curley’s wife comes across making her dream futile. Throughout the novel the reader realises that the characters that we’re too eager for their dream (Lennie and Curley’s wife) reaches their destiny, quite dramatically, with their death.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

In Lennie’s case it was George and Curley’s wife needed a man. Steinbeck reinforces the themes of Power and powerlessness with links to the dream to suggest that there is some sort of bond with making the dream and having the power to make it. This portrayal in Of Mice and Men illustrated not only the fact that succeeding during the Great Depression was very limited but the fact that without power or status, which both characters lacked in, the chances of making the dream was nil.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

How are the themes of loneliness and isolation explored in “Of Mice and Men”? Born in 1902, John Steinbeck, author of ‘Of Mice and Men’, set his book in the 1930’s. The novel revolves around two hard-working men dependant on one another during the Great Depression, a time when most were alone. Many themes are explored in the novel such as racism, loneliness, disability, isolation and friendship. This essay will be talking about how the themes of loneliness and isolation are explored in ‘Of Mice and Men’.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The character of Curley’s wife is used to portray this. Throughout the book Curley’s wife is never referred to her name which is unknown. This suggests that she is a possession belonging to Curley. By not having her name mentioned; Curley’s wife remains distant even though she tells Lennie her life story as without a name she remains mysterious. Her marriage to Curley causes for her to be rejected by the ranch workers when she seeks out their attention and friendship.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Critics may say that John Steinbeck is stereotyping old people as useless. Another way in which the two themes are explored is through racism. For this John Steinbeck uses Crooks. As a stable buck and a black person, Crooks is isolated from the other characters. He has his own room which may be fortunate but only further alienates him from the other workers. Crooks shows that he is lonely while talking to Lennie, he says, “I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick. ” He talks of how he wakes up in the night and sees something but doesn’t know if he was just dreaming, if had a friend he would have asked him.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Because of his race Crooks has many disadvantages one of them being that he is not allowed to enter the bunkhouse. Another being that he is abused by the other workers. Crooks is not given a chance to befriend anyone and is therefore both physically and mentally isolated. Lennie shows how disability can lead to loneliness and isolation. His child-like mentality distances him from the other workers. Though he talks to and is talked to by other characters he is isolated in his mind because there is still a separation. His disability causes the other characters on the ranch to treat him as inferior.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Lennie was told both Crooks’ and Curley’s wife’s life story but it doesn’t mention in the book whether or not he was really listening when the two confided in him. This makes you doubt whether or not Lennie is actually as he is described. Critics may say that Lennie’s character was too unrealistic and overdrawn. Euthanasia is used to explore the themes of loneliness and isolation. Again Lennie is used to display this along with Candy’s dog. Both of them were in a similar situation where their death was what was best for them. Throughout the book Lennie is described as animalistic which further connects him to Candy’s dog.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Lennie was killed by someone who cared about him, George, while Candy had wished to have been the one who had killed his dog. Without his dog Candy was left as lonely because though he still had the others, his dog was the one who was always by his side. It shows that Lennie was truly lonely because when he died though George was shaken he had Slim as a friend to replace Lennie. John Steinbeck uses dreams to show loneliness and isolation. George’s character is used to show this. Although most of the ranch workers like George, he is mentally isolated. This is because of his dream which distances him from the other characters.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

His dream acts as a burden because in the end he knows that it will never come true. His awareness causes for him to be isolated, lonely and unreachable. Financial status also displays loneliness and isolation. For this the character of Curley is used. Curley can be viewed as the villain in the novel because of the abusive way he treats the other workers. He uses his small size as an advantage. The main difference though between him and the workers is money. Curley is married and yet because he is the boss’s son he doesn’t have to work like the others characters do.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

He uses the fact that he has authority and dominates the ranch workers. But being the boss’ son only further alienates him from the other characters and causes him to be lonely. Curley’s wife would constantly flirt with the other ranch-hands. This made him a subject of ridicule and further isolated him. Another way in which John Steinbeck uses to explore the themes of loneliness and isolation is through marriage. Curley and his wife are used to depict this. Both of them are stuck in a loveless marriage. Curley’s wife revealed to Lennie that she didn’t like Curley.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Ways that you can tell Curley doesn’t love his wife is like the fact that he went to a cat house with the other men. In addition, when his wife was killed he set out to punish Lennie instead of mourning her; this shows that he was more interested in getting back at Lennie for personal reasons instead of losing his wife. Curley and his wife are therefore viewed as lonely. Their title as a married couple also isolates them from others on the ranch as there are expectations of how they should act and who they should talk to. Friendship is used by John Steinbeck to display loneliness and isolation.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

There are many forms of friendship in “Of Mice and Men”, the main one being George and Lennie’s friendship. The two of them are dependent on one another for different reasons. Lennie needs George to help him because of his mental disability. While George needs Lennie for company. Critics may argue that Steinbeck showed their friendship as abusive and forced. Another friendship brought together by loneliness is Curley’s wife and Lennie. This shows that they were all lonely as they settled for each other purely because they wanted companionship and someone to talk to. John Steinbeck also used other features to display loneliness and isolation.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The novel began with a lonely atmosphere as he described the setting. This indicated that there was no-one around to describe or mention which gave you the feeling of isolation. Also the name of the city, Soledad, means solitude and loneliness in Spanish. In conclusion, John Steinbeck explored the themes of loneliness and isolation in many ways, using other themes and features. Although Steinbeck doesn’t allow you to clearly see his characters so you are unable to discern whether they are really lonely and isolated or if they are just portrayed and viewed as lonely and isolated.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Within the novel and this passage Crooks is portrayed to be in pain and suffering due to his injures, he is ‘bent over to the left by his crooked spine’ and he has ‘pain-tightened lips’, showing the suffering he has to endure due to his back. This could be showing Crooks to be weak as he is in constant discomfort, showing that he would be unable to defend himself if he was put in the situation where he would need to. As Crooks is in constant pain but he still does his job to the best of his ability it could be showing him to be resilient and a willingness to keep on going in order to make money and to be able to sustain himself. He may have acquired these traits as he is a black man living in 1930s America and this means that you would have to been tough and strong willed in order to survive.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Steinbeck introduces Crooks as ‘a lean negro head, lined with pain, the eyes patient’. This is immediately implying the acceptance of racism as the word ‘negro’ is showing him to be of a different colour. This could suggest that he is excluded and isolated from the rest of the characters as he is the only person described like this. The phrase ‘the eyes patient’ confirms that he is used to waiting on orders from other people and this is further showing his loneliness within the novel.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Steinbeck later goes on to show his isolation further, as he explains how he sleeps in ‘a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn’, separated from the rest of the ranch workers. This is implying that Steinbeck might have wanted him to be shown as isolated to portray the racism and segregation at that time. This is a clear way of showing Crooks to be segregated due to his race as he is literally separated from the rest of the ranch workers as he has to live in a different place, with no one to socialize with, portraying the sense of the way black people were treated in society at this time.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

As on the ranch Curley’s wife has no power over any of the workers as they are considered to have a higher social class, Crooks is then the only person that Curley’s wife feels she can control in this way as he is black. When Curley’s wife tells Crooks that she could get him ‘strung up on a tree’ Crooks immediately turns introverted and scared to defend himself again in case of her following up her threat, showing that he has no power over anything and that she has a higher social ranking than him.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

To begin with, Steinbeck describes Lennie’s physical features to be very animal-like. He states that he walked “the way a bear drags his paws”. The use of animal imagery in this quote illustrates an image of a huge man heavily dragging himself, not only suggesting his size but also suggesting his immense strength. Due to his physicality, he is unable to carry out tasks normal people would be able to do. He is unable to control himself, specifically his strength—thus easily breaking things.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Steinbeck emphasizes this as he brings up incidents of Lennie having killed mice and other small, fragile animals, while petting them. Lennie is also described to have an animal’s mental state, leaning towards animal instincts rather than human instincts. Steinbeck states he’d “drink out of a gutter if [he] was thirsty”, displaying Lennie’s rash behaviour. His urge to satisfy his immediate desire would overpower the need to be cautious and aware of his surroundings.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Lennie was “snorting into the water like a horse” which also proves his uncivilized manner. Furthermore, Lennie’s animal instincts prevent him from being able to learn. Like wild animals, he is uncontrollable and unpredictable; though he may be trained and taught not to do some things, they are bound to commit the same mistakes over and over again. Steinbeck states that George had “hopelessly” warned Lennie about the water he was drinking, proving that George’s warnings will not affect Lennie in any way as he is bound to forget—he will never learn.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Not only is Lennie’s mental behaviour similar to an animal, but it is also similar to a child. Lennie is described to be “puzzled” and thathe “giggled happily” at some parts of their conversation, showing that he is unaware and immature. He constantly forgets everything very easily and doesn’t sense the seriousness in some of their conversations—showing that his maturity is like of a 6 year-old, who needs constant reminding and explaining of almost every matter discussed. Steinbeck states that after Lennie created ripples in the water with his fingers, he said “Look George, look what I done.
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He is easily impressed at the ripples he made and notifies George of his work to make him proud. Lennie’s child-like character also depicts a father/son relationship between Lennie and George. Earlier in the book, it is stated that “Lennie’s closed hand slowly obeyed” after George had commanded Lennie to hand over a dead mouse. The adverb “slowly” shows that though Lennie was reluctant to follow George’s orders, he had no choice but to obey him. Like an obedient son who must follow his father, Lennie fears George—the paternal figure—conveying George’s authority over Lennie.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Supporting this, Lennie’s timid behaviour towards George is constantly portrayed as he is described to be speaking “slowly” and “cautiously” to George—indicating Lennie’s high level of respect for George. As a son would look up to his father, Lennie also sees George as his role model and a leader. Steinbeck portrays Lennie as submissive—giving him the role of the follower between the two main characters. Lennie is said to have “imitated George exactly” proving that he sees George as a role model. He “imitates” George, depicting his respect for him. Lennie also prioritizes him and whatever he says.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

This is seen when he tries to recall a memory from the past saying, “and you says…you says”. It is conveyed through this quote that he is dependent on George as he values George’s opinions more than his opinions. Supporting the fact that Lennie is dependent on George, George says, “think I’d let you carry your own work card? ” This proves that George is much more responsible than Lennie, who constantly forgets things. Steinbeck also states in the beginning of the book that they walked in a “single file”, conveying that one is the leader and the other is the follower. Their relationship evidently highlights George’s authority over Lennie.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

During the early 19th century America went through something remembered as the ‘Great Depression. ’ It struck millions of people who became victims of ageism, racism, prejudice, isolation, poverty and unemployment. Where some lost hope, some were motivated by their ambitions known as the ‘American Dream. ’ In this essay I will be looking at how the ‘Great Depression’ affected people’s dream and desires. In the novel of Mice and Men, I will analyse the major characters of the novel ‘Of Mice & Men.
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George is an important character in ‘Of Mice & Men’ suffering from the American depression. For George there is no escape from him being a migrant worker because of the American Depression. Steinbeck introduces George as a relatively small person compared to his huge companion Lennie; however George’s mental abilities are much higher. George is a caring man with a big heart but has developed a hard edge due to the tough times he has to face as a migrant worker which he cannot escape from.