Failure In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses a line from Robert Burns poem “To a Mouse” to portray the theme that the main characters failure is inevitable; the forces acting upon this are Lennie’s display of his growing disability, and that nobody believes they can do it, plus the men’s inability to stay in one place. First of all, Steinbeck uses Lennie’s growing disability as a force acting on the main characters inevitable failure. After taking away a dead mouse, George said, “that mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides you’ve broke it pettin’ it” (9). This is the first time we see that Lennie is capable of hurting small things down to killing them. He did proclaim that he didn’t kill the mouse but George told the readers that this isn’t the first …show more content…
She let him touch her hair since it was soft and he likes soft things, but then he held on when she wanted him to let go. She started screaming and moving around then Lennie said “Don’t you go yellin’,’ he said, and he shook her … and then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck” (91). Lennie proves that he isn’t a safe person anymore when he did this act. It’s one thing to kill a mouse, or a puppy, but now it is another human. Not saying the animals weren’t bad. The workers are more concerned with the dead women they find. They all knew it was Lennie and they knew they had to get rid of him. This is Lennie’s peak of his disability that the reader gets shown. George knew it the moment he saw the dead girl that there was no way they were getting out of this one. Lennie’s disability is a huge force that made the main characters success definitely inevitable. Lennie put a man hunt on himself making it impossible for them to get the money they need to buy some land. Towards the end of the book George finds Lennie in their hiding spot and George knew what he had to do. He made Lennie imagine the land they were gonna buy, then “he pulled the trigger” (106).
How Does Steinbeck Present Lennie's Intentions In Of Mice And Men
1001 Words | 5 PagesThis also shows the overpowering control George has over Lennie’s conscience, and the consequence that Lennie can’t remember his own actions, only the stories George repeats. He is never truly angry with Lennie for his petty mistakes, he is simply thinking of the limitations of their dreams because of Lennie’s unpredictable actions. It seems George can only control Lennie by threatening him with the thing he cares about most which is the farm, “But you ain’t gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won’t let you tend the rabbits” he threatens, trying to make Lennie remember the importance of his actions (36). George is constantly complaining that he could have a better life and even have a farm without Lennie to look after, but he also wants a companion. Lennie is often simple minded and easily influenced, but intuitive enough to manipulate George’s loneliness, “If you don’t want me George I can go up in that cave over there and leave,” George quickly denies this saying “No, look I was just foolin’ Lennie, ‘cause I want you to stay with me” (20).
What Is George's Justification For Lennie Shooting
434 Words | 2 PagesWhich means Lennie hurts animals and other people without meaning to. On their way to the bunkhouse, Lennie keeps petting a dead mouse in his pocket, when George says “you've broke it pettin' it.” (Steinbeck 9). Killing a little mouse by petting it is a splendid case that displays that Lennie has jurisdiction over his strength. Lennie was “gently” petting the mouse and snapped the little mouse's neck, Ironically Lennie adores soft furred creatures.
Why Did George Made The Right Decision
656 Words | 3 PagesLennie is Autistic which makes it difficult for him to understand social communication and interaction. He also has poor self-awareness making him not know his own strength, because of that at the start he kills a mouse by petting it too hard, when the puppy bit him he smacked the dog too hard, and Curley's wife, Lennie went to touch hair because it was soft, but it frightened her causing Lennie to become scared when she started screaming. Even though Lennie didn’t know what he was doing and didn’t mean to do it, it would probably happen again putting Lennie and others in danger.
Of Mice And Men Foreshadowing Essay
447 Words | 2 PagesThe problem with this is that Lennie is always getting in trouble because he loves petting soft things, but he would always end up hurting what he was petting or possible killing it. Lennie ends up killing a puppy that one of the ranch workers was going to let him have and he is scared George will be mad at him, when Curley’s wife, who is the wife of the ranch owner’s son, tries to comfort
Of Mice And Men Rhetorical Analysis
566 Words | 3 PagesAt the beginning of the novel he accidently kills a mouse, and then a puppy, and ultimately Curley’s wife. As he said, “I can still tend the rabbits, George?... I didn't mean no harm, George.” (65), he may have not meant to harm anything or anyone but he did not understand or accept the severity of his actions, instead he was concerned about the tending of his future rabbits. Lennie’s actions solidified Steinbeck’s stance on the true nature of mankind through his diction.
Dramatic Change In Night By Elie Wiesel
614 Words | 3 PagesWhile in the book, Lennie was described with animal traits, which makes him look innocent on the outside. On the other hand, something inside of him might awaken and turn Lennie into a dangerous beast. According to George’s decision expressed as “He looked steadily at his right hand that had held the gun” (Steinbeck 107). He predicted the only outcome for Lennie was death, but it was not decided on which person to kill Lennie. Eventually, George had to do what is right for Lennie, his one and only irreplaceable
Naturalism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
1469 Words | 6 PagesThis relates back to naturalism, because Lennie gets himself into a situation that he cannot control. He does not understand that he has to be very careful with the puppy because it is so small, and he does not know his own strength. “What is clear is that Lennie’s body wins out over his mind repeatedly,- in the end with tragic consequences”(Keener 1215). Lennie is very kind- hearted, and never wants to hurt anyone. This quote explains that Lennie’s strength wins over his intentions.
The Use Of Animal Imagery In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
1163 Words | 5 PagesIn the novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck often employs animal imagery to dehumanize Lennie, in order to allow the reader to justify George putting him down at the end of the novella. As Steinbeck’s use of animal imagery progresses throughout the novel, Lennie is dehumanized by being compared to an animal that only hinders George’s pursuit of happiness. Starting with Lennie’s introduction, Steinbeck influences how the reader perceives Lennie. During the reader's first encounter with Lennie, he is described as walking “heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws," (Steinbeck 2). Steinbeck’s diction invokes animal imagery by comparing Lennie’s movements to that of a bear, which immediately dehumanizes Lennie to the reader.
The Role Of Great Depression In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
1187 Words | 5 PagesBut George was a physical trigger, because when he tells Lennie to do something Lennie usually does it without hesitation. In the novel the audience knew how George felt but Lennie did not really express his feelings, because of his mental disability. His disability set back a lot of his feelings in a way, but then again it did not. Lennie just expresses his feelings in a different way like when he killed Curley’s wife. In the text it states, “ Please, don’t” he begged.
Essay On Foreshadowing In Of Mice And Men
675 Words | 3 PagesThis would not have made sense to the reader if Steinbeck had not included foreshadowing. In Of Mice and Men there are several events that show how much Lennie enjoys touching soft things. These events also show that he usually ends up hurting everything he pets
Social Injustice In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
513 Words | 3 PagesIn 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. Lennie is a victim of social injustice due to the fact that he is mentally disabled. He is not treated fairly when he was accused of rape.
Examples Of Brutality In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
755 Words | 4 PagesBrutality In “Of Mice and Men” animals and even humans are being mistreated and disrespected. Animals are being killed and even strangled to death, which is not the right way to treat animals. People are also being brutal to other people in the book. Candy, one of the main characters had a dog. The dog did not have a name.
Human Condition In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
573 Words | 3 Pages“But little Mouse, you are not alone,” is a quote from the poem by Robert Burns, To A Mouse. This quote directly relates to how some of men treat Lennie, Slim and George want to feel like Lennie’s companion. However, Curley feels very intimidated by Lennie because he is big and gets special treatment from the men. In chapter 3, Curley picks a fight with Lennie and instead of stopping Lennie from hurting Curley the men egg Lennie on, Lennie ends up breaking Curley’s hand. Crooks and Curley’s wife have another point of view on Lennie, both of them at different times try to show Lennie that George might not always be as faithful as he has been.
Survival In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
1163 Words | 5 PagesSurvival is often introduced as a concept of endurance, persistence and perseverance, a textbook idea about simply living or dying. At the inception of human life, merely surviving was imperative and existence was something that humans fought for on a daily basis. But, as we flourish independently, as societies and as a race, the concept of survival is warped, and growth as an individual, as well as coping with everyday hardships and not just traditional examples of adversity such as poverty and destitution are prime examples of survival. In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the reader is presented with the idea that survival is not synonymous to staying alive, and moreover, that cultural and societal struggles shape self in accordance with the way we face them. Survival of the fittest is the primordial notion that only the fit have the power and strength to live, and more importantly, thrive in their environment.
Of Mice And Men: Lennie Character Analysis
450 Words | 2 PagesAfter all the anger that George has shown towards Lennie, he utters these words now so Lennie can die with a sense of peace. George does not want to pull the trigger, but he knows that the further consequences of Lennie’s actions will only worsen. To save Lennie from Curley’s wrath, possible imprisonment, and perhaps years of suffering, George takes Lennie’s
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