Barriers In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Of Mice and Men was an excellent novel about two migrant workers traveling in Southern California, trying to make enough money to fulfill their dream of attaining their own plot of land. They have trouble accomplishing this goal when Lennie, the big and clueless on of the two, consistently makes mistakes, some of them being vital. The author, John Steinbeck, uses great techniques and literary devices that build up to the climax and resolution. Throughout the story, he describes how several characters all have/had dreams or goals, but none of them truly achieved those dreams. All of these literary devices, techniques, and the entire plot lead up to my thesis statement. Steinbeck uses dialogue and conflict to project his belief that dreams

George from George Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” made the right decision of killing Lennie in the story, while other might disagree. George shot Lennie in the back of the head to save him from the suffering and humiliation from a mad and revengeful Curley. George did this not out of hate, but out of the love of their friendship. “George raised the gun and his hand shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again” (Steinbeck). George is struggling to come to terms that he is going to shoot his best friend. Continuing on the point, another reason that it was good for George to be the one that would slain Lennie is because he was dangerous. Throughout the whole story Lennie proves with his actions he makes that he is a menace to society. “..And

Racism was one of the biggest problems in the 1930’s and in the human history. African-American people were treated like animals, the white people considered the African-American people as lower than them in social raking and treated them with injustice. In Steinbeck’s story, Crooks displays how hard life was for every African-American man in 1930’s. They were treated like animals, carelessly, disrespectfully, and they were also tortured.

John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men contains a multitude of themes through which Steinbeck shows his disgust with society. This story was written during The Great Depression and the American society was struggling to survive. People thought that by isolating themselves, they could protect people they love. Steinbeck portrays this hardship through several characters throughout the book. Three characters in particular stand out as isolated. Crooks, the only black man; Curley’s wife, who is the only woman on the farm and never named; and Candy, an old man who cannot work efficiently. These three people are symbols of the American lifestyle during this time period.

We all may have had the feeling of loneliness and isolation, wanting companionship feeling abandonment. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, there are men living on a ranch having their own reasons for loneliness or being isolated. The three characters Crooks, George, and Lennie crusade dealing with own ways of loneliness and isolation. Crooks has no one that likes him because he’s black, Lennie struggles mentally and George struggles with always having to care for him. They all can’t decide whether it is that they want to be alone or not. Steinbeck displays through the dialogue and characterizations that these characters experience isolation because of both social barriers and personal choice.

Curley’s wife has great power over Crooks. When Curley’s wife walked into the crook’s room she was looking for conversation but when Lennie, Crooks, and candy started talking about their dream farm and Curley’s wife just all of the sudden she laughed and thought that the dream farm will never exist. Then Crooks tells Curley’s wife to leave but she then she gets mad and says “well, you keep your place then, nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t funny” (81). This showed that even though she doesn’t have any power she still has power over African Americans. She can even threaten to have Crooks killed because he talked to her. After she said that “crooks seemed to grow smaller, and he pressed himself against the wall. ‘yes, ma’am’” (80). This shows that the words Curley’s wife has a terrible effect on Crooks. He feels brought down and dehumanized. After Curley’s wife left, Candy tells Crooks that she shouldn’t have said those things. Crooks says, “it wasn’t nothing…you guys comin’ in an’ settin made me forget. What she says is true” (82). This shows that Crooks knows that even though he thought he could get a place with the other guys, he knows is would never happen, because he is black and he will always be treated

While Crooks, a victim of racial prejudice, expresses his isolation openly, he also socializes with other workers on the job and while playing horseshoes with them. Curley’s wife, on the other hand, cannot talk to anyone without suffering the consequences of a jealous husband: “ I get so lonely,’ she said. “you can talk to people , but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anybody?” (87) More specifically, the other men on the ranch refuse to talk to her because Curley’s position of power on the ranch portrays him as having the ability to have any man on the ranch lose their job. Furthermore, when Curley’s wife was conversing with Lennie in the barn and confided in him, she said: “Well, I ain’t

"We're born alone we live alone die alone. Only through love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone” Orson Welles. In John Steinbeck's novel, “Of Mice and Men”, Steinbeck focuses on the struggle of having a disability while struggling to get by during the American Great Depression on a Californian ranch life. Even though one may have to live around their disability, they do not let that become a big stepping stone in the life, whether they know about it or not. In John Steinbeck's novel, “Of Mice and Men”, Lennie Small, Carlson and Crooks are three great examples of how they keep living their lives despite the facts that they each have a disabilities to their lives.

Loneliness is a strong word, however it means a lot to be lonely. The definition of lonely or loneliness is sadness because one has no friends or company. In the novel Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck shows that Crooks, Candy, and Curley’s Wife have loneliness because they never have company or friends to talk to. These Character’s show that loneliness is a problem that must be overcome in order to live a happy, fulfilled life.

In the novel “Of Mice and Men” John Steinbeck portrays the theme of social injustice throughout the story in the lives of several characters that include Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and the stable buck, Crooks. All of these characters are mistreated in some way, shape or form. The hardships that these characters faced help guide us to see the social injustice that is prevalent in the story.

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world (Harriet Tubman). Throughout the novella, Of Mice and Men, the author John Steinbeck displays that having a dream may impact one to make better choices. Steinbeck shows this through the motif of dreams, characterization, and imagery.

Crooks is a black man who has been given the nickname because of his crooked back. He is another character in the novel that is discriminated against. Similarly, as Lennie and Candy are discriminated because of their weakness, Crooks is discriminated because of his race. For example, he says how he “ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse… can’t play [cards] because I’m black” (68). His race causes him to be separated from everyone else and be isolated in his own room. Another example of Crooks getting discriminated because he is black is when he and Curley’s wife are arguing. She completely shuts him down by saying how she could get anyone to lynch him at any time. Crooks can say nothing but “Yes, ma’am”. Even Curley’s wife, who is considered weak, can pick on even weaker people, like Crooks.

He is isolated from everyone else because of his skin color. For example, people refer to him as “nigger” (Steinbeck 11). Calling him racial slurs that are offensive to him reveals that he is treated differently than society. Crooks has his own separate room for himself because of his color. “‘You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room.’ ‘Why ain’t you wanted?’ Lennie asked. ‘Cause I‘m black’” (Steinbeck 34). Crooks being restricted from the bunk house insinuates that he is treated much differently by isolating him to a separate world. Crooks is only “tolerated because [he is] considered useful” (Cox). In the novel Crooks even states that once he gets too old, they will have no use for him and that he will be out of a

Lonely, ignored, different, and unaccepted, Crooks is a segregated African American character in the fictional novella, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck. Crooks is the considered the lower class on the farm; he is also isolated from most of his co-workers. The main reason why Crooks is treated like this is because of his race. The theme statement, racial discrimination affects African Americans negatively, is best illustrated by Crooks.

First off Crooks is the character that is held back in his journey towards freedom by his race. There are many examples where Crooks is insulted by his race, but there is this specific incident where George is laying down his cards and hears someone calling : “Stable buck, oooh stable buck!” And then, “Where the hell is that goddamn nigger?” This proves that in the 1930’s people were still racist and used to call African Americans names like nigger. And Crooks can’t really do anything because if he does he would probably get tortured or starved, and he can’t quit because it wasent his job, he was a slave. And this quotation also tells us that Crooks, the stable buck, is restricted by his race.