Essay On Jannie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Jannie was a bright, young girl who like any girl at the age of fifteen wanted to be in love. On a hot summer day in a small town near Houston, Texas, Jannie met Lawrence. Lawrence seemed perfect in Jannie's perspective. He was older, had a nice a car, and to top it off, he was gorgeous. Nevertheless, it didn’t take long for Jannie and Lawrence to be acquainted. Three and a half months later Jannie found out news that would change her life altogether. She was pregnant with a baby boy. Lawrence was devastated when he heard the news and begged Jannie to 'get rid of it'. She refused, which angered Lawrence so he made up a rumor that she was cheating on him.

At the age of sixteen Jannie had her first child, which she named James Dale. She fell in love with her baby and forgot all about the heartbreak Lawrence caused her. He finally figured out that Lawrence was just a smooth talker, who only wanted one thing from her. She later found out that Lawrence had been cheating on her with her so called 'best friend'. Jannie struggled to raise James Dale and often cried about the fact he would grow up without a

Jannie did all the work, she changed their diapers, feeding them every few hours. Jean just sat by and watched tv, sometimes he yell "shut those kids up already". Both Jean and Jannie became restless from staying up all night caring for their children. It seemed as if the babies never stopped crying. Jean began to become very irritable and couldn’t take the crying. While Jannie was doing the dishes one night, a plate slipped from her soapy hands and shattered on the floor. Jean got up from his chair in a rush and went to the kitchen, as soon as he saw the plate he slapped Jannie across the face. Jannie had never seen Jean so angry in her life and it made her wonder if Jean would lay a hand on her again. She also worried about Jean laying a hand on her baby girls, but she just pushed that thought