As one writer says, not reading this novel "…deprives individuals and communities of the opportunity to respond to an ethical imperative insisting on virtuous treatment of our fellow human beings" (George, 83).
This is a tremendous summation of fundamentally what Steinbeck is trying to achieve with a novel like of Mice and Men, and a notion which sums up most likely Steinbeck's strongest motivation for writing the novel.
However, as one writer points out, even though the ending of this novel might disturb most readers, "these scenes also point us in the direction of an understanding of human virtue that underscores the idea that no one is expendable and that illuminates the power of courage, compassion and goodness, even under the bleakest of circumstances" (George, 83). This quote naturally leads to a discussion of the ending and with good reason. The ending of Mice and Men is indeed disturbing. After unintentionally killing Curley's wife, Lennie flees. George finds him and ends up shooting him in the head. Some critics say that George faces a moral dilemma at the end of the novel, but this is not the case. If anything, Steinbeck is demonstrating how George fundamentally acted out of love for his friend. In the last minute of Lennie's life, "George tells him the dream story about the farm and the rabbits for the last time, before shooting Lennie to save him from prison or hanging" (Williams, 9). This statement truly lays out the fate that was awaiting Lennie: George couldn't stop Curley and his men from hanging Lennie, nor could he save him from years in prison, but shooting him in the head, was fundamentally an act of kindness, as stark and shocking as it was.
Steinbeck works hard here to demonstrate what happens during times of economic exploitation and instability and national desolation: there's a price that a nation has to pay for such conditions, and generally the people who end up paying for it are the ones who are the most vulnerable and the most taken advantage of. In having Lennie shot by his best friend, Steinbeck demonstrates how that's actually and sadly enough the kindest fate for Lennie to receive. This paints a picture of the sheer misfortune...
Mice and Men Isolation in Steinbeck's of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men is a novelette by John Steinbeck that is filled with isolated characters desperate to latch onto the American dream. The dream of the protagonists, George and Lennie, is to have a place of their own in Depression-Era southern California. Things look promising as the itinerant workers get jobs on a farm, make friends, and devise a plan
Candy, a one-handed ranch hand, eventually learns of George and Lennie's plans and offers to invest in the farm; Crooks, the black stable hand, is also made aware of George and Lennie's plans and wishes to become part of the dream. While the men work the fields and contemplate their future, Curley's wife, interrupts their dream. While the men recognize the danger that Curley's wife poses to the group, and
Q6. Discuss what George's life would be like without Lennie, and Lennie's like without George. Lennie would likely be institutionalized because of his large size and his lack of social inhibitions or self-monitoring. George would be a drifter, without a clear sense of purpose in life other than his dream of owning a ranch some day. Lennie gives him a sense of identity. Q7. Discuss theme of morality Steinbeck's novel constantly questions conventional
Lennie and George, in comparison, are out of work and desperate for any kind of decent job. They have little money, nowhere to call home, and as the story progresses, less and less chances for happiness. George and Lennie are experiencing the Great Depression first hand, and it is not a good time for them or the nation. Meursault is experiencing a relatively prosperous period, and could make it
John Steinbeck, why soldiers won't talk. "Why soldiers won't talk:" John Steinbeck's imaginative essay on the psychological impact of war One of the most interesting aspects of John Steinbeck's essay "Why Soldiers Won't Talk" is the way in which he subtly shifts from the first person to the second person in the essay. He begins the essay stating that he himself is not a soldier: "During the years between the last war and
Mice and Men John Steinbeck's of Mice and Men: Loneliness, friendship, and the American Dream 'Living off of the fat of the land -- together.' From the first chapter of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men onward, there is foreshadowing of the tragedy that will eventually take the life of Lenny, the simple-minded protagonist of the short novel through Steinbeck's underlining the themes of loneliness, friendship, and the inability of the main
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