A Review of ‘Of Mice and Men’ Essay

Of Mice and Men was written by John Steinbeck in 1939, during the Great the Statesn Depression. It tells the story of two men striving to understand their own whimsical place in the world. Traveling in search of work, George and his simple- headlanded whiz Lennie have nothing in the world except each earliest(a) and the dream they share to one day settle down in a give rise of their own and count out their days. Eventually they project work on a ranch, their hopes are doomed as Lennie kick the buckets a victim of his own strength leaving their dream to be crushed. oft of Of Mice and Men is based upon Steinbecks life and experiences. He highlights many well-disposed issues which he experienced primary hand. For example, the climatic changes in the West of America resulting in destruction of fertile land, this had supported the homesteaders represented in the unused by the promised joy dreamt of by the workers in the story. An opposite problem shown in the novel is the great financial collapse of 1929 which heralded the Depression that increase unemployment and poverty through the United States. Because of these problems intinerant American workers were exploited by do work owners on low pay and appalling conditions. They were only in fill for short periods of time make them to have to save enough from seasonal work to support for the rest of the year and their extreme mobile lifestyles. just most of the characters in the contain face many of these problems or are piteous from them especially the main characters, George and Lennie. George is a small, intelligent man. He is truly strong-willed but withal like most of the characters in the book really dreamy. He is rattling keen to change the monotomy of his present situation. Lennie, is a huge, lumbering, multifariousness but child-like man. Although he has a terror of violence he is a man of great physical strength, something he is quite unaware of causing him to be clumsy. Lennie has an o bsession with petting small animals that occurs throughout the book. He is very passive it is for this reason, in my opnion that George and Lennie are the incomplete halves of one whole person. George keeps Lennie by his side partly for comfort and friendship, but mainly as he is very strong and can work on a farm better than most people. Lennie is both an returns and hindrance to George. George also supports Lennie, helps him and puts ideas in his head, which keep him motivated but mainly acts as a fatherlike figure.On arrival at the ranch one of the first characters George and Lennie edge is Candy, the oldest ranch worker who is coming to the end of his life. Candy is a very warm character in my opnion. He shares the dream that George and Lennie do, and therefore they become attractive friends to him. He is a gossip and tells the newcomers of the ranch workers and owners. He tells George and Lennie about Curley and his newly wed wife. Curley is a small man, because of his heig ht disadvantage he dislikes tall men. He is continually agressive and always trying to show his masculanity. He is humilated by his wifes disastifaction and needs to boost his confidence. Curleys wifes name is never mentioned in the book it is for this reason she comes crossways as Curleys possession. She is portrayed in the book as a tarty, flirtatious woman, who is friendly to the men who work on the ranch. She claims not beingness understood in the book. Curleys wife has often been caught by opposite members of the ranch giving Slim and Carlson the eye. Slim is a friendly and downhearted character compared to the others.He is a dignified master craftsman. Slim in my opnion is descibed by Steinbeck as an idealised character, however, his words and actions are quite realistic. Carlson is the to a greater extent agressive character, we do not know that much about him but he usually appears in violent scenes. He is not a very sensative man. ane of my favourite characters is Croo ks. Crooks is a literate black cripple who tends horses. He interests me because his natural personality has been taken away from him by years of racial discrimination which I am very against. He is a very alone(predicate) character and has been automatically rejected in the novel by the other characters. My other favourite character is Lennie because of his unusual personality and need for a father figure despite being a fully prominent man. In my opnion one cannot help but to touch sorry for Lennie. deep down the story their are many chemical groups, important ideas that run through the book. One of my favourites is dreams, each character has their own dream which is used throughout the book. The volume involve the American Dream, to be able to live bump off the fatta the lan. Curleys wifes dream revolves around Hollywood and being a moviestar but her dream she believes was ruined by her mother. She is also lonely just like many of the other characters, this is another them e in the book. Each of the workers is an induvidual and works for themselves. They all seek comfort in different things such as Candy in his dog.However, quite early on in the book Candys dog is killed, this is the first mention of violence. Throughout the book the world of the men is filled with unneccesary violence. The kill of the dog is quite similar to that of Lennie at the end of the book. Alot of authority is shown indoors the book aswell such as the condition of the workers financial support area and the Bosss clothes, black and severe. However I feel the book is centred on the idea of mutual dependence. Each of the main two characters depends on each other hugely. But this relationship, at the end of the book, is breached and George takes advantage of Lennie who trusts him, and kills him, so that his dream is secured.The book is written in an easy to enjoin form, it is not in the country language they would of spoken, but in fitting English the majority of the book. Th e story is out of date of course, but the veritable language and style used in the book is quite modern. I really like the way that Steinbeck at the beginning of each chapter gives you a vivid description of the surrondings. It is for this reason that although there have been many films make of this book nothing can compare to the pictures the pages of this book generates inside your minds eye and as you turn the final page these pictures persist in with you.At first glance the story was not very engrossing but as I got deeper into the plot I started to really revel it. As I got more into the book I started to think more about the themes and characters of the book which drew me in to it even more. It is the kind of book that is not only a story but also holds an enkindle background behind it and applies to the history of America and the Great Depression. It is for this reason I feel it deserves its title as a classic and I would remember it to any reader.