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

He is very lonely and bitter, Lennie seemingly unaware of the politics of daily living for black people tries to go in Crooks room(p67) and make friends and chat with him , he doesn’t realise that white people in the 1930’s didn’t integrate with black people in their leisure time as they looked down on them. On page 68 Crook says “They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I am black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me.” This goes right over Lennie’s head he just doesn’t get the point. Lennie just wants to chat and make friends. Crooks tries to rile him saying “Well s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back” page 71-72, he was trying to frighten Lennie and it nearly backfired, it shows Lennie becoming dangerously quiet and centred when he thinks George might be in any sort of danger when George is all Lennie has in the world and he doesn’t want to lose him, his loyalty to George could prove fatal to someone else.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Crooks was so desperate for a relationship anybody would do on page 78 he says “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you.” Crooks realises being friendless and having nobody leaves people lonely and embittered, he says on page 72 ” I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.” I think Crooks wants more than anything else a sense of belonging, to enjoy simple pleasures such as the right to enter the bunkhouse or to play cards with the other men.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

This desire would explain why, even though he has reason to doubt George and Lennie’s talk about the farm that they want to own, Crooks cannot help but ask if there might be room for him to come along and hoe in the garden. On page 76 he offers to work for nothing even just to be allowed in. Anything it seems would be better than the loneliness of his present life, until Curly’s wife comes in and in promptly makes him feel his place in the world yet again, bursting his bubble his notion of just being a man amongst men instead of a black man.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Carlson a ranch hand, who complains bitterly about Candy’s old, smelly dog. He convinces Candy to put the dog out of its misery. Carlson says he wont be causing the animal any suffering. Carlson comes across quite heartless. If something or someone isn’t useful get rid of it, everything has to have a function. He has a lack of concern for other people’s feelings and doesn’t take time to understand them. He is an insensitive person who cares nothing for others. Carlson is the type of man George hopes to avoid becoming.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The death of Candy’s dog testifies to the shameless and pitiful way by which the strong attack and eliminate the weak. Candy’s dog, although no longer useful at corralling sheep, is of great importance to the old swamper. Candy’s emotional attachment to the dog is clear. Despite this, allowing the animal to live out its days is not an option in this cruel environment. Carlson insists that the animal’s frailty makes it unworthy of such devotion. The most comfort he can offer is to assure Candy that he will kill the dog mercifully and quickly. Carlson has no attachments to anyone or anything and possibly feels happy enough without them, I think he sees emotional attachment as a weakness he can do without. Even at the end after George shoots Lennie Carlson cannot understand what all the fuss is about, why George should be upset in anyway, George had put down Lennie like he Carlson had put down the dog both animal and man as useless as each other in Carlson’s eyes.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

None of the relationships in the book seem complete and fully functional. Nearly all of the characters in Of Mice and Men are disempowered in some way. Whether because of a physical or mental handicap, age, class, race, or gender, almost everyone finds themselves outside the structures of social power, and each suffers because of it. All seem lacking in some way. Lennie cannot offer George all he will need from a relationship although George probably offers Lennie all and more. Candy is too old and disillusioned with life, and his loneliness and fright of the future, to be much use in a relationship, and Curly is to into himself and proving himself a “big man” to ever have a proper fulfilling relation, his own insecurities would forever mess up a relationship. Curley’s wife is too young and has the selfishness of youth, and is unable to cope with the likes of Curly she needed an uncomplicated young man really who would love and idolise her how she needs to loved.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

After Lennie killed Curley’s wife, George was faced with a terrible choice, let Curley find Lennie and kill him, or kill Lennie himself. Unlike Candy, he will not let someone else shoot his best friend. He would not subject his best friend to unnecessary fear anxiety and pain. George does what he has to do, in his own way, the act of killing Lennie himself, is doing Lennie a kindness, putting him down, the lesser of the two evils, since if Curley got hold of him it would be horrendous. When George suggests they find Lennie and lock him up instead of shooting him, Slim has to remind George how terrible it would be if Lennie were locked in a cage, or strapped to a bed. Like the painful life of Candy’s arthritic sheepdog, life in prison or an asylum would be no better for Lennie. Just as Candy had to realize that his sheepdog would be better off dead than alive, so did George with Lennie.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

George by killing Lennie surrendered his dream for survival Slim’s sympathetic response is best showing his understanding. Slim is the only one who does not seem to need a fantasy to shield him from the harsh realities of the world. His skill at his work and mastery of the ranch bring him peace and contentment, these emotions and feelings are unknown to his fellow ranch hands. . Slim is both respected and admired. Everyone looks for his approval, even Curley, who seems to have contempt for everyone else on the ranch. The others give into Slim because his word is the law. He is the voice of reason and understanding, and he consoles George after he has killed Lennie. Slim is the kind of man that George hopes to become one day. I think Slim has more chance of a ‘normal’ relationship if he ever has one since he’s the only one at peace with himself and his life.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Of Mice and Men is about the struggle of the weak in society and loneliness in or out of a relationship. Loneliness is an inevitable fact of life that not even the strongest can avoid, Crooks, Candy and Curley’s wife all suffer through loneliness and isolation and lack of a viable relationship. George and Lennie are unique in that they have each other. Their companionship contrasts the loneliness that surrounds them, the loneliness of the outcast black man, the loneliness of the “scarlet” woman, the loneliness of the old, helpless crippled swamper. People need relationships even though it is difficult keeping a good relationship going since no two people are the same or have the exact same thoughts and beliefs.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

To keep a relationship flourishing you must have things in common, you must be able to disagree or agree without fear of the relationship ending, you must be caring of one another and respect each other, and some people do not have the social skills to keep a relationship fruitful. Quite often a person suffering through isolation will forever be trying to fulfil a friendship like Candy trying to become part of the dream with Lennie and George; he was trying to buy into a relationship.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

I do not think Steinbeck had a high regard for woman either, I think that was a sign of the times though and the era they lived in, woman had a place and that was to serve man. Curley’s wife was in a relationship yet was the loneliest of all, she was married yet still was alone, still felt unloved and unwanted, and that’s why she flirted to ease her hurting. I think Steinbeck had a very bleak view of relationships and woman in general, all the relationships seemed dysfunctional. People were made to live in society and it a natural instinct to seek friendship and companionship. When they find it, they are content within themselves. Friendship and interaction are two very necessary things; we all need them to combat loneliness.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The Novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ was written in 1937 by John Steinbeck. It is the most touching tale about the relationship of two men, George and Lennie who are faced with difficult situations at times which are Steinbeck’s aspects of his life seeing as there are the main characters of the novel. On the other hand Steinbeck highlights in the novel the social conflicts of the time period, such as the climate change cause by drought and the financial collapse of 1929, which had affected the increase of unemployment and poverty throughout the United States of America.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Of mice and men is a novel set on a ranch in the Salinas valet in California during the great depression of the 1930s. The main characters of the novel are Lennie and George. Lennie is described as a large guy who doesn’t know his own strength, but also unable to gauge other people’s weaknesses. Lennie is best described as childlike; he embodies the best characteristics of a childish mentality.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

It’s not normal for two people to work together travelling ranch to ranch as they do; this shows how strong their relationship really is. George promotes moral responsibility unlike Lennie or Curley’s wife. He also has interesting physical characteristics such as restless eyes, strong small hands, thin arms, and a bony nose. His need in a companion (Lennie) exceeds the generally accepted traditional remedies for loneliness. Throughout the story, George isn’t very lonely since he has got Lennie with him but in the end, when Lennie dies, he becomes lonely as he does not have anyone with him anymore.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

This novel is all about “The American Dream” you’ve noticed that no one in the book is truly happy. Everyone’s missing something. Except the boss, none of them own there own land or home. The only thing that anyone in the ranch has is a dream. People who work on the ranches have a low chance of going anywhere in life as it is tough with the low income they receive. In theory, anyone could become successful. Trouble is, in practice, most people need to be born rich to make it but George and Lennie dream of a better life and are different to everyone else as they got hope in themselves that they don’t want to work on ranches every day until they die.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

George and Lennie both have interesting and exciting dreams about how successful there futures will be. Lennie dreams with George of having a small piece of land; he is obsessed with one aspect of this dream: having a small rabbit hutch where he can tend rabbits. Lennie is incapable of making decisions by himself which is why he relies on George entirely. But truthfully it was never going to happen! Steinbeck says “each mind was popped into the future when this lovely thing should come about.” This shows that it’s all in a pretend future. The quote “I got to thinking maybe we would”, George says to Lennie because he might of liked hearing it not realizing the truth with his childish mentality. You could spot a sign of loneliness which exists in George’s mind. He knows that there is no future for them and he doesn’t want Lennie to feel sad or upset, so by telling Lennie this lie, it will keep him happy and motivated on moving on. Steinbeck is trying to show us that there is no meaning of life if you fall into working in ranches and travelling.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

One of the main aspects that are attached with most of the characters of the novel is loneliness. Steinbeck has purposely named the town ‘Soledad’ because in Spanish, ‘Soledad’ means loneliness. This relates to the town being lonely and how the people living in it are also lonely and it also gives us a clue that the novel is mainly about loneliness. Loneliness encourages characters to seek an alternate way of life. You can notice how most of the important characters from the start end up being separated from each other, such as Candy and his dog, George and Lennie and Curley and his wife. There is much confusion and difficult situations where things don’t go as well or mistakes are made.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

There have been over one thousand migrant workers who came from different locations in America such as California. The men who decided to travel alone migrated from ranch to ranch in short-term. They were paid very little and there weren’t many options as no one would take them in. Lennie and George were the type who migrate from ranch to ranch together looking for work and this wasn’t very easy for them as they both were in difficult situations at times and had to leave for many reasons such as Lennie would do something wrong in a place as he is not as bright and gets distracted easily. This made both George and Lennie run away and come to Soledad from the town Weed where Lennie had petted a girl’s dress which made them lose their job.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The bunkhouse was described as a rectangular building, which was dark and dull from the inside. Every man’s bunk was identical to each others (8 bunks in total). All of the bunks had a little shelf to put there belongings on. They also had a square table in the middle of the room were everyone had played cards. Everyone on the ranch was lonely because all the men in the bunkhouse were single and they had no companion to share there feelings with like George and Lennie did. When George says “they got no family” this explains that they are like orphans who have nobody in life but themselves. This shows a sign of loneliness and isolation from others because all this time he hasn’t really known the real meaning of life until he met Lennie. The men in the bunkhouse have nothing to look forward to except working on ranches for the rest of their lives.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Curley’s wife is a young loving person who is fed up and wants some recognition, attention, her own identity and her own life. She is a very lonely character as she has nobody except her husband who she doesn’t love and also doesn’t receive love from him as well. Really she doesn’t have her own identity as she is seen as just someone’s wife, this is because Steinbeck has not given her an actual name by calling her “Curley’s wife” to show us that she doesn’t really have an identity. Also without Curley, she would be nothing as her life would have been so much different and harder with the social conflicts at the time period.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Steinbeck purposely had done this which shows a sign of loneliness in her character. Curley doesn’t spend enough time with his wife, leading failure to satisfy her, either emotionally or physically. The lack of communication has pushed her into continuously looking for companionship, the quote “Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while?” shows a sign of loneliness. She is isolated from the other ranch workers because they try avoiding her and not speaking with her as a fear of upsetting the boss’s son (Curley), this clearly explains that Curley does not give her the attention she craves and desires. Her relationship isn’t going really well as she has been looking for pleasure and flirting with other men. Curley isn’t someone who is always there for her nor loving.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Another character who is very lonely is Candy. The old Handyman, aging away and is reduced to cleaning the Bunkhouse after losing his hand in an accident at work. Occasionally, Candy worries that the boss will soon declare him useless and demand that he leave the ranch. He was the person who welcomed George and Lennie to the farm, showing them where there beds were. He also has a similar dream to Lennie and George to share his own land and animals also some economic values. He offers them all his compensation money in return for a share in his and Lennie’s dream. Only meeting them on the first day shows how desperate he was. His life is the total opposite of his name because the name ‘Candy’ gives us an impression of sweet things but the character Candy is the total opposite. Finally, the most important thing in his life was his dog which was his best friend, who kept Candy company and has been in his life for a very long time.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The quote “I had him ever since he was a pup,” shows that that the dog was someone he was able to care for which provided him with more than just friendship but family. The death of Candy’s Dog made a big impact in the reflection of attitudes to his life, being isolated and insecure as he loses the only thing that mattered to him in his life. He has no family or friends, resulting in failure to understand the human attachments and relationships with others. Also the character “Carlson” tries to pressure candy into shooting the struggling old dog. Candy had very strong, loving feelings for him and couldn’t preside. In the end because of peer pressure he agrees to let Carlson shoot the dog. You can see from the quote “Why’nt you shoot him Candy?” This shows that Carlson isn’t very sympathetic and he can’t understand how strong the bond is between Candy and his dog because he has a lack of understanding human attachments and relationships.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The most unequal character in the novel is Crooks. He is isolated due to the colour of his skin because people look at him differently and give him no respect. He is the only black man in the book and at that time, America was a very racist, unpleasant place as Crooks were victimized. Crooks is a black stable-hand who is lively, sharp-witted and proud. He got his name from his crooked back. He also admits that he is extremely lonely, like most of the characters in the novel. He was referred to as “stable buck”, “nigger” or “crooks” and he was never referred to by his actual name which suggests that no one actually is bothered to get to know him. Crooks lives alone away from everybody else. He is isolated in his own room in the barn, instead of being with the other hands in the bunkroom. Isolating him from the other ranch workers purely because colour of his skin.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The quote “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody” suggests that he had literally gone insane from loneliness and low self esteem. On the other hand, it is clear that he craves companionship from the shocking reaction when Lennie comes over to his room. At first he rejected him hoping to prove a point, as why should a black man welcome a white man when he who isn’t welcome in a white man’s house. Lastly he couldn’t take it from his desire for company so he invites him over to sit with him. Crooks doesn’t stop talking, showing us that he yearns for company as he is terribly lonely. In his room Crooks has the California code which is meant to protect his rights of black people in America, but in reality the symbol means nothing as for men like crooks, who is unable to socialise or be accepted as who he is just because of the colour of his skin.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The character Curley is the boss’s son and is rather a two-dimensional villain. He gains his respect from others by picking fights with larger men. He is a little, mean and bitter bloke who is very aggressive and boastful to others. Rumours been said that Curley is a champion prize-fighter. Candy says that he is “handy” quoting that he fights well. He came in the finals for the Golden Glove boxing competition, this shows us that he likes fighting and is committed to it. No one likes Curley because he doesn’t deserve the respect with how he treats people. He is a married man and his wife isn’t very happy with him as she thinks that he has missed many opportunities to spend some time with her and bond together like couples do. The only time Curley shows up with his wife is when his wife was found dead. He doesn’t realize the fact he needs to think about others then just himself.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

In Conclusion, Steinbeck has successfully presented all the characters to some degree of loneliness, which was the main theme. He has perfectly explained the different aspects of how their lives on the ranches can be very lonely even if you’re still around each other. The way Steinbeck’s style of writing makes you feel sympathy for the characters. Also you experience the people’s lives were like at that time. The novel goes full circles, the situation ending basically the same as it began, at the same place.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

When I say the Great Depression, this was a significant world event which started on 29 October 1929, this day was-from then on-nicknamed black Tuesday because on that very same day the stock markets crashed, which meant that the money in there lost its value. Due to this, 9 million banks closed, which meant that about 86,000 businesses failed; for 2 reasons: firstly the businesses didn’t have the money to keep them going.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Because businesses closed, unemployment rate increased, in 1929, the percentage of unemployment was 3%. However in 1934, the unemployment rate was 26%+. This shows that there was a big rise for people losing jobs. By saying this, you must be honoured to keep your job (most people lost their jobs), although if your job was secure, your wages would decrease by approximately 60%, if you walked out on that job, it would be hard for you to find another job, the employer wouldn’t have to worry much since there were lines of people queuing up for jobs.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

So how would this recession affect people? Some people couldn’t cope with it so they committed suicide. Marriages broke down due to the financial pressure. People became itinery/migrant workers. This means travelling round the country looking for work, if they did find work, it would be short term, unskilled, insecure and labouring. Most jobs were in California (farming area), 1000s of families lost their homes due to failing to pay mortgages, so people had to live in shanty towns. So soup kitchens were set up, and there would be queues of 1000s (maybe more) of mixtures of people in dirty clothes to people in business suits.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

If these people were moving around they wouldn’t be able to stay with their families/friends. Because of this, people got lonely because they were looking for jobs, so they wouldn’t have any time for relationships, and as George says: “we ask no questions on the ranch” which means that you keep your self to yourself. No-one knows who you are or where you’ve come from, or what they’re planning to do next. If you knew these things about a specific person (or any person), they would tell you off for nosing around.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

All of the things I have mentioned all come in the theme of the Great Depression, which is the thing behind the story that John Steinbeck is trying to tell. For example, most characters in of Mice and Men were migrant workers and before Lennie and George came to the ranch in Soledad. Candy tells Lennie about a blacksmith called Whitey, who came, got his money and left, “why he just quit, just wanted to move, didn’t give no other reason but the food just say gimme my time, the way any guy would”. Although George and Lennie travel around together, it would have been highly unusual for this to happen in a time like this, most men travelled alone. We see this in the novel like Slim, Crooks, and Candy, but I must say it is highly unusual that men travel around together, Slim says this in section 2.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

This novel is set in California, which is situated in the southern state of the USA. If you were working in a place where Lennie and George were working- your friends and family is miles- maybe further- away. Your only alternative is to make friends otherwise you are walking a lonely road. Also a thing that you would have to take into consideration is the size of the place, the place that they (Lennie and George) were working was on a ranch. A ranch is the equivalent for a farm in England, but however, a ranch is much bigger than a farm that we refer to in England. The distance, as I’ve mentioned is pretty far- not to mention being cut off from your family and friends, they’d have to walk miles to the ranch, otherwise you’d have to hitch a ride from a passing truck.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

From the way they live that I learned from chapter 2, firstly I learn that they are violent, I know this from when they let crooks- the black person- come into the bunk house for Christmas, sounds nice doesn’t it? Letting the black man come into the bunk house on this festive occasion, but from what I learn they only let him in to batter him black and blue! And enjoy it! “Yes sir, we had fun. They let the nigger come in that night. Little skinner the name of smitty took after the nigger.” I personally think that it’s horrible, but it’s true. Secondly I learn that they have very little privacy and basic living condition. For example, they have straws for mattresses and apple crates for bedside desks.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

They have little comfort- like the bunk house isn’t well presented, no paint on the walls, crates for chairs table in the middle and a deck of cards for daily entertainment, nothing compared to the entertainment that we have today, like PS3s and Xbox 360s etc. also, anonymity, the way people keep themselves to themselves, how people don’t know where you’re from. Finally, how migrant workers move from place to place- as this is what migrant workers do. We see this in the novel from the beginning when Lennie got in trouble and they had to flee when Lennie sexually harassed a girl in weed.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Dreams help people achieve things in life, no matter what scenario you are in. they give people power and confidence. Although I state in the title of this essay “… and have dreams to sustain them”; the dream that they are referring to is the American dream. Before John Steinbeck wrote this book, he was interested in finding out about power, ownership and control and what it did on normal people. Due to the Great Depression, most people didn’t have jobs, so they relied on bosses to permit them to a job; but they manage to put all that stress aside towards a dream that they have. Most of who dream of a dream called the American dream. These dreams tell us about the life people are living. Most characters in the novel have dreams to. But Lennie and George’s dream are the most important because they tell us about the culture that has been created.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

America has always been seen as the land of opportunity, freedom, a place to live and most importantly, a new life. A place for wealth and a place for real possibilities, this was referred to as the American dream. Immigrants moved to over America because they believed in this dream. So how was America founded? In 1607, people from Britain went to America to find gold; these people were known as the Virginia colony. Because the island they first found they named after the Queen Elizabeth, who of course, was a Virgin Queen. But of instead finding gold, they found tobacco (which was known a “black gold” in Britain-very popular.) and brought it back to England to sell. In 1620 a group of English Protestants who detested against the Church of England moved to America looking for religious freedom, these were known as the Plymouth colony or Pilgrims.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

In the ‘Harsh Winter’ of 1620-1621, half of the Plymouth colony died due the coldness of the weather, when they arrived to America, it was full of wilderness and red Indians/Native Americans. In 1630 1000 more arrived to establish more colonies. In 1642, the Plymouth colony had 12000 settlers from Europe, again searching for religious freedom. By 1776, the colonies in America were fed up of the British monarchs ruling them and wanted their own independence, because the monarch of England was the monarch of America, and they had enough of this. In Britain the law was only set up for the landowners, if you wasn’t a landowner then you didn’t count. So 4th July 1776, the American colonies set up a universal declaration of independence. Here is an extract from it.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by the creator with certain unalienable rights. Rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The statue of liberty was a present from the French man Gustave Eiffel, due to the French revolution happening in France he set up the statue of liberty to symbolise this dream, because the American dream was similar in France. If you were an immigrant coming into America by boat, the statue of liberty would be the first thing that you saw.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

However, this American dream inspired many people. By 1929, the Great Depression spoilt these dreams for many people since they didn’t have the money to live happily. As stated in the novel, George and Lennie- and Candy aim to get a ranch to themselves and Lennie wants to pet the rabbits. Some elements of the dream include: material comforts and financial security- not being in debt and having everything you need. Being in control of your destiny- you making the choices in your own life, not people telling you what to do. Gaining the respect of others- living in a peaceful society. Companionship and sharing good fortune- having friends and keeping each other happy. And last but not least; making your mark-something to be proud of- achieving things in life; getting the best in life. The American dream today isn’t all about freedom; it’s about money and fame. For example, if you look at Hollywood; actors and actresses etc.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

When an author writes a book, they must make some important choices. For example, whether to base the story involving letters or e-mails or telling the story as a flash back/ flash forward. People write book for various reasons: to inform the reader- this might be something that has happened previously, or presently. Some people write books to persuade or entertain you-it might encourage you to change your life. John Steinbeck written this book to inform-recalling what life was like in the Great Depression for migrant workers. He also creates a description; he lets the action sink in for the reader, also he helps create a physical appearance in your mind, by using a wide range of onomatopoeia “and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering if he runs among them” skittering is the sound that is being made.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Another thing that the writer must consider is to select whether to write in 1st or 3rd person. If you wrote in first person, you can fully understand what that person, what goes on in that particular persons mind. But the down side is that you can only see what is happening when that person is present. If John Steinbeck chose to write this novel in the 1st person, we wouldn’t see what would happen to George if Lennie wasn’t there etc. however if you chose to write in the 3rd person, you can see the minds of all the characters in the book.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Unfortunately 3rd person isn’t always in the full depths of understanding- meaning that although you can read everybody’s mind, it doesn’t provide in depth detail. John Steinbeck chose 3rd person; this is a good choice because you can see in everybody’s mind and John Steinbeck described the novel in full understanding in 3rd person, also he has put the plot in Great detail and has used a lot of wide range of vocabulary “slowly, like a terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball to his master, Lennie approached, drew back, and approached again.”
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Another interesting technique John Steinbeck has chosen to use is starting and ending the story in the same setting. He also set this novel in a rural location (in the countryside) and used adjectives, careful words and descriptions to this novel create an exact physical location. As well as this, the time scale of this novel is described for 1 week- this shows that George and Lennie haven’t moved very far in their lives, they haven’t moved forward.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Finally one of the things that you need to consider is how much direct speech you use, not too much or you will slow down the plot, too less will not move the plot forward. So it is essential that you use the right amount. In this novel there is a lot of blasphemy “‘Jesus’ he said ‘he’s jes like a kid aint he”- and swearing “listen here you crazy bastard”- and racist comments “Jesus how that nigger can pitch shoes”- Steinbeck used a wide range of direct speech, thus helps us understand the characters more. This kind of language is found in most aspects of this novel- it is commonly asked why it’s studied in schools- racism, blasphemy and swearing is the kind of language that was used in the Great Depression, this was because the characters were migrant workers and they were uneducated, manual workers and non intellectual.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Some of the characters in of Mice and Men are lonely; I am going to talk about 3 of them. The first character I am going to look at is Candy. Candy is an old swamper living at the ranch George and Lennie worked at. He is an old man with a missing wrist “the wooden hatch raised. The door opened and a tall, stoop shouldered man came in. he was dressed in blue jeans and he carried a push broom in his left hand and out of the sleeve came a round stick like wrist , but no hand.” Also he has a really old dog that evidently he has had since he was a pup “and at is heels there walked a drag footed sheep dog” he also has no relatives “cause I aint got no relatives or nothing”
Topic: of-mice-and-men

I find that Candy is lonely; he is lonely in several ways. Firstly his disability, he lost his hand “I aint much good with on’y one hand, I lost my hand right here on this ranch that’s why they give me a job swamping an’ they give me two hundred and fifty dollars ’cause I los’ my hand” this makes you think that it was their fault that Candy has lost his hand; because if it wasn’t then they wouldn’t give an old folk money if they could avoid it! Especially in a depression!
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Candy was very close to that dog, he had him since he was a puppy, and so that dog is important to him. Firstly, he spends all of his day with that dog. Also that dog is a link to all the memories he has “yeah I had him since he was a pup, god he was a damn good sheep dog when he was younger. When the dog gets shot Candy is desperate to leave the ranch, he hasn’t got any body to keep him there (since his dog was his only companion) now the dog has been shot he hasn’t got a friend anymore, which is why he is so desperate to leave the ranch. And follow Lennie and George with this dream that they have.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Candy has become so desperate to be part of Lennie and Georges’ dream that he is prepared to give all of his savings to them “s’pose I went in with you guys, that’s three hundred and fifty bucks I’d put in.” that is three hundred and fifty dollars that Candy is prepared to give- $50 a month- so he is prepared to give 7 months wages to two guys that he has met on that very same day! This shows that he is desperate.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Candy sees no hope on the ranch “when they can me I wisht somebody’d shoot me” he’d rather be dead than stay on the ranch now his dog has been shot. He desperately wants something to look forward to, something to be happy about, and somewhere to belong to. The idea of this dream gives him hope. He wants to join the dream because his dog has been shot. Lennie and George accept him because he has got the money.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Secondly Candy has gained the confidence to join in with the other men, like when he joins into the attack with Curley (“glove fulla Vaseline” Candy said disgustingly). This shows that he isn’t scared to join in when everybody is cheeking Candy. He wouldn’t have done this before because he would have been sacked, but now he fells more confident and feels more part of the group; he only used to say things behind peoples backs, not to their faces (the swamper stood up from his box “know what I think” George did not answer “well I think he’s married a tart”) he only used to say things like that behind peoples back. Now he feels more confident, he will say it to their faces.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Thirdly, he starts to plan and look forward “I tell ya what Lennie, I’ve been figuring about them rabbits” he knows what his future going to be, he is looking forward to it. He wasn’t like this before because he couldn’t see any future, he had nothing to look forward to. His future seemed horrible “they’ll can me purty soon as I can’t swamp out no bunk houses they’ll put me on the county” he tells Lennie and George that he’s going to a county, no friends, no family, no entertainment, simple life, horrible experience.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Finally I found out that has got more confident when talking to Curleys’ wife when he backs up Crooks “if you was to do that, we’d tell” “we’d tell you up about you framing Crooks” he wouldn’t have done this before because it is the bosses sons wife that he is talking to and he would be sacked- and he cannot afford that to happen because he hasn’t got no place else to go, he had to rely on his boss to permit him to work on the ranch and he is quite confident that he his future is going to happen, so now he doesn’t care about being sacked, the fear of being sacked has left him.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

When Lennie kills Curleys’ wife the dream that Candy was looking forward to have come to an end, Candy was really relying on that dream, it’s made him more lively, it’s helped him join in with the other people (“glove fulla Vaseline”) now Curleys’ wife’s death has caused this dream to fail. I know this from when he says to Curleys’ wife’s corpse “you done it di’nt you? I s’pose you’re glad. Ever’body knowed you’d mess things up.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

You wasn’t no good, you ain’t no good now, you lousy tart” to say something like this to a dead body is highly disrespectful, like stealing candy from a baby it isn’t acceptable because it is impolite. But all of his anger has caused him to strengthen up; become more confident, when he says “if they was a circus or a baseball game… we would of went to her… jus’ said ta hell with work, an’ went to her. Never ast nobody say so. An’ they’d of been a pig and chickens… an’ in the winter… the little fat stove… an’ the rain comin’… and jus’ us settin’ there.” The dots between his speeches are called ellipses; these indicate that Candy is angry that his dream has been taken from him. And the ellipsis shows that Candy is trying to control his emotions, until he breaks down -“his eyes blinded with tears”.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

After this incident , Candy isn’t just back to how he was before, I think that he would be more broken than he was because hew has lost his dog. When the dream was mentioned to him-it was like giving a child a sweet and taking it from him- he had his hopes up, now it looked like it was all over as if it had never begun. So his future seems quite dull for an old man. I think that he would be worse off.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The next person I would like to observe is Crooks. Crooks is a stable buck who also lives at the ranch where Lennie and George once worked. A stable buck is someone who looks after the horses and the mules; he is also a black man. He lives not in the bunk house where all the other guys live; he lives in a shed of a barn. The job of the stable buck is very important because it is vital for the horses and the mules to be kept in good condition due to that being the only transport, meaning that the horses and the mules must be kept well looked after. The reason why he is called Crooks is because he is disabled; this shows that he cannot work with the other men. He has a permanent Job looking after the mules and horses; this is a semi-skilled job because it requires skill to do this job.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

There are several reasons why Crooks is lonely. Firstly he is black, the only black on the ranch “and now there aint no coloured guy on the ranch” he grew up as the only black family in Soledad “there wasn’t another coloured family for miles around.” There is only one coloured family in Soledad “an’ there’s jus’ one family in Soledad”. This makes him lonely because he hasn’t got anybody like him, nobody black like him. He is the only one.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Segregation means separation, separated from the others, this is what happens to Crooks. He isn’t allowed in the bunk house, he lives in a little shed led off the barn “a little shed led off the barn” since he been separated from the others, he feels that white people have no right in his room “you got no right to come in my room. This here’s my room; nobody got any right in here but me.” From this, Crooks feels rejected “I can’t play cards because I’m black. They say I stink, well, I tell you, you stink too” Crooks is a victim of institutional racism- this means that the law cannot protect him. I know this from when Curleys’ wife says to him “I can get you strung up so easy it ain’t even funny”
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The word “nigger” can be said in two ways-to describe “sure, ya see, the stable bucks a nigger” this shows ignorance, this shows that people do not know that it is an offensive word- and hurtful “then you keep your place then nigger, I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” what she said was true backthen, if a black man looked at a white woman funny then (no matter what personality she is) she can get him strung up and the law cannot protect him. Crooks is isolated, no-one comes into his room except for Slim and the boss “guys like you don’t come into a coloured mans room very much. Nobody been in here but Slim, Slim and the boss.”
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Experts say that being isolated can affect your mental health, which evidently it has done to Crooks. He is quiet, aloof (keep yourself to yourself) and depressed. He was not always like this. In his youth he was part of a loving family “remember when I was a little kid on my old mans chicken ranch. Had two brothers, they was always with me, always there” this makes Crooks lonelier than he is now because he had a family, he had a life, he had a future, but now it has been taken from him.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

America was a far more racist community than it was now. I know this from the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) this was (and still is) a white supremacist organisation, which has an aim of striking fear and intimidation into black people. The KKK believed that blacks were like animals and had little rights due to the fact that they are black-terrible, but true- black people were routinely dragged out of their homes and beaten, raped, castrated (cutting off penis and testicles) or possibly murdered. Slavery was abolished in America; it was very strong in the southern states. This is why Crooks says that he isn’t a southern Negro “I ain’t a southern negro” this shows that Crooks was born a free black. Crooks (as far as we know) hasn’t suffered from the KKK but it could still effect him because he know in theory what will happen to him.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Being isolated is not good for people. As I’ve said earlier, isolation can affect your mental health. He is also the only character in this novel that knows what loneliness does to you- Steinbeck’s message has been put into Crooks’s mouth “a guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody”. From suffering from isolation Crooks begins to get his own back and scare Lennie “want me ta tell ya what’ll happen?
Topic: of-mice-and-men

They’ll take ya to the booby hatch. They’ll tie ya up with a collar, like a dog”. From this he has become cynical (this means that you believe things will always go wrong, what ever the scenario) and pessimistic (always looking on the down side of things “you’ll talk abut it a hell of a lot, but you won’t get no land”. Yet he may be black, but he is brighter than all the other men in the novel “And he had a book too; a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905” he hasn’t got the right to fulfil his intelligence, this shows what racism was like and what it did.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

When Lennie and Candy mention the dream to Crooks he offers to join it immediately “if you…guys would want to work for nothing-just his keep, why I’d come an’ lend a hand. I ain’t so crippled I can’t work like a son-of-a-bitch when I want to”. The way he asked it was to hint to them, try not to give them an excuse to punish him. He really wants to be part of the dream, we never hear Crooks speak of his dreams, when Lennie and Candy talk about their dream, Crooks springs up and wants to become part of it. Crooks has the same dream, but he never shows it, because he’s black. In the ellipsis he is trying to hint to them for them to accept him. We want Crooks to be accepted because it would be a better life, possibly a better ending.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

When Crooks wants to be part of Lennie and Candy’s dream, he has his hopes up, but when Curleys’ wife enters the scene and threatens him “I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” he changes his mind- not as if he wants to- but for protection. What Curleys’ wife said was true, so Crooks loses all of his confidence, and backs out of this dream. So what will happen to him is that he will be exactly how he was before lonely, aloof, intimidated. We will feel sorry for him because now he has ended up worse than he was before, now he knows that things will always go wrong for him
Topic: of-mice-and-men

In a Depression everybody suffers. If you were black or disabled you suffer even more because nobody would want to employ you. Employers want white, fit and young workers, if they were fit to get that job, it would be low payed, you would suffer either way, but if you was black or disabled you would be less likely to get that job, Candy only got that job because he lost his hand under their behalf. Crooks only got that job because he’s been there a long time and he’s got skill. If Crooks and Candy were kicked and had to start again, it wouldn’t be easy for them to get another job.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

The final character I am going to look at is Curleys’ wife. Curleys’ wife is the recent bosses sons wife on the ranch lennie and George worked at- so the men on the ranc will look at her as the “new kid”. “whit picked uphis cards and examined them “seen the new kid yet”. She looks probally 16-17 years old. I know this from when an actor said she could go with them.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

She says that she is only 15. “he says I could gowith him on that show. But my ol’ lady wouldn’t let me. She says because I was on’y 15”. Also she is pretty but in an artificial way- this means that she pretends to be beautiful “a girl was standing there looking in. she had full rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her finger nails were red.her hair hung in little rolled clusters like sausages. She wore a cotton house dressand red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquettes of red ostrich feathers” back then respectable women didn’t wear make up how she does, this is why the men refer her to as a tart “I think Curley’s married… a tart” she is never refered to as a name- just an individual.
Topic: of-mice-and-men

Also she can provokes strong feelings in both readers and characters (sympathy and hostility) to lennie, who thinks she’s georgeous- “she’s purty”- and George- who thinks discustingly of her- “don’t you even take a look at that bitch”- the readers feel the same more-or-less. Steinbeck had a more sympathetic view of the character of Curleys’ wife- I know this from the Miss Luce letter. When Steinbeck adapted this novel into a play, the actor playing Curleys’ wife wrote to him because he did not know how to play her. So Steinbeck wrote a sympathetic letter back to Miss Luce explaining that her character in more detail.