SteinbeckIn Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck presents the idea that the American Dream is an unobtainable goal. Lennie and George are destined to fail in their attempt to obtain this dream because the world is limiting to all inhabitants. Unable to control his body, Lennie is regarded as a burden to George. Lennie is limited by his mental abilities while George is limited because he feels responsible for, and must take care of Lennie. Steinbeck describes how all humans are restricted by mental, emotional, physical and moral responsibilities. All the farmhands who pass through bucking barley try to obtain a dream and inevitably fail. Candy is quite similar to his dog; old and useless, he is limited in the world by his age and physical capabilities. When he, George, and Lennie join together in the quest for this dream it almost seems like the group will be successful, however the limiting world denies these hopeful workers. Curley's wife, with dreams of becoming a successful movie star, is bound to the farm by Curley. He treats her like his property and prohibits her from leaving the farm to pursue her dreams. All habitants of the world are limited by responsibilities. In Of Mice and Men people strive for the "American Dream" or set unattainable goals. Lennie and George plan to live in their own house someday along with Candy but know that it is not a reality. Only Lennie thinks that it will actually happen, and he is also the one who restricts George and Candy from their goal. George says, " -- I think I knowed we'd never do her. He [Lennie] usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would." (p. 94) When Lennie and Candy are in Crooks' room, Crooks gets to speak his own mind for the first time since he came to the farm. Although he acts as though he doesn't want the two white men in his room, he enjoys the company. Crooks envies the other workers because they get to be in the bunk-house together and he always has to be alone. On the other hand, all the workers in the bunk-house wish they had a room to themselves. The grass is always greener on the other side. There are many symbols in the book. The rabbits Lennie always talks about are re-birth and multiplication. This is significant because Lennie and George want to start a new life, and the rabbits represent that. Candy's old dog is also a significant symbol in the book. Because the dog serves no more purpose in life it is killed. Should something's worth in society determine whether it lives or not? Candy regrets that he did not shoot his dog himself. This foreshadows George's killing Lennie in the end of the book. Lennie is lost without George just like a dog is lost without its master. Curley is very aggressive and does not take anyone's perspective into consideration. Curley's wife is not only treated like an animal that no one wants, but she isn't even given a name in the book, and Lennie kills her along with all the other innocent animals. Steinbeck seems to emphasize the fact that life is not fair on earth no matter what you are. In Of Mice and Men, there is a deep feeling of loneliness among many of the main characters, like George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife. Crooks explains that many people have traveled through the farm in hopes of maybe owning one of their own, but that none of them ever reach that "American Dream." Though Crooks realizes that this is what will also become of Lennie's dream, he still seeks to be a be a part of it. Crooks sees his room as his own and often does not want people in it, but when Lennie asks to be in there, Crooks is willing to let him, because he is so lonely and needs the companionship. Another idea presented in the novel is that often the people who seek to show strength are really the weakest, such as when Curley fights Lennie, or when his wife threatens to have Crooks lynched. The story of Candy's dog much resembles that of Candy and of Lennie. Candy has become old and has acknowledged the idea that maybe when he is incapable of working that he too will be put out of his misery. At the end, George kills Lennie as a way to protect him from the possible pain that the others will use to kill him and to avenge Curley's wife. There is a deep need for companionship and friendship in this novel. Lennie and George have this because they travel together, but characters like Curley's wife, Candy and Crooks do not. Curley's wife repeatedly seeks to be around someone just to talk with since she dislikes her husband so much. Crooks also wants this companionship and that is why he is willing to allow Lennie into his room. The animals in this story represent much more than just pets. The puppies and Candy's dog are unable to control the outcomes of their lives. They are acted upon by forces that they are unable to control, such as Lennie's strength and life's bitter cycle. Just like these animals, many of the characters are unable to have complete control over their own lives. Candy is unsure of how he will end up once he has become too old to be of any value, and Curley's wife is unable to chase her dreams because of her mother and now because of her husband and, ultinmately, because of Lennie. Life is bitter and not everything goes exactly how one wishes it to go, but each character continues on with his life in the direction s/he is led. |
Of Mice and MenChapter One (p. 1) It's interesting that Steinbeck begins the novel in this forest -- a place of seeming perfection, because this sense of purity will soon reveal to be false. This is an appropriate setting for George and Lennie to first be introduced: it's quickly established that both men rely on each other through a sense of deep brothership. This notion that they are special because they can lean on each other and someday own a farm together is like the forest in that it seems like this sort of innocence can exist and be true, where, in reality, the nature of the world proves to be too cruel for this possibility. "George snapped his fingers sharply, and at the sound Lennie laid the mouse in his hand.
(p. 15) "'Well, look. Lennie--if you jus' happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an' hide in the bush.'" Because George feels like Lennie should have a plan in case he gets into trouble, and because Lennie has already gotten into trouble before, it seems to foreshadow that Lennie will come to get into serious trouble again. Chapter Two (p. 24) "'That's a hell of an old dog.'
(p. 36) "'Why'n't you get Candy to shoot his old dong and give him one of the pups to raise up?'"
(p.26) "Curly stared levelly at him. 'Well, nes' time you answer when you're spoken to.' He turned toward the door and walked out, and his elbows were still bent out a little." (p.33) "There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love. This was Slim, the jerkline skinner." It's interesting to note the difference between the type of authority seen in Curly, and that which exists in Slim. Curly gains authority by dominating and picking on those who are weaker than him -- this type of authority seems to grow from insecurity. Slim, however, is respected by others because of his self-assurance: he doesn't need to dominate others in order to gain control. (p.35) "'She slang her pups last night,' said Slim. 'Nine of 'em. I drowned four of 'em right off. She couldn't feed that many.'" Like with Candy's old dog, this passage shows how little room there is for the weak and helpless, especially when times are difficult. This idea seems to be something that most of the characters in the book will confront. Chapter Three (p. 40) "'Made me seem God damn smart alongside of him. Why he'd do any damn thing I tol' him. If I tol' him to walk over a cliff, over he'd go. That wasn't so damn much fun after a while. I'd beat the hell out him, and he coulda bust every bone in my body jus' with his han's, but he never lifted a finger against me...I ain't done nothing like that no more.'"
(p. 41) "'Well, he seen this girl in a red dress. Dumb bastard like he is, he wants to touch ever'thing he likes. Just wants to feel it. So he reaches out to feel this red dress an' the girl lets out a squawk, and that gets Lennie all mixed up, and he holds on 'cause that's the only thing he can think to do.'" (p. 48) "'Come boy. Come on, boy,' he said gently. And he said apologetically to Candy, 'He won't even feel it.'" (p. 63) "But Lennie watched in terror the flopping little man whom he held. Blood ran down Lennie's face, one of his eyes was cut and closed. George slapped him in the face again and again, and still Lennie held on to the closed fist." These examples offer further foreshadowing to the tragedy that will soon occur in the story. It's known that Lennie has gotten into trouble with women before because when panicked he can only think to hold on tighter, and that he has accidentally killed mice before because he likes to pet soft things. Also, the way that Candy's dog is dealt with foreshadows Lennie's fate. (p. 57) "Lennie watched him with wide eyes, and old Candy watched him too. Lennie said softly, 'We could live offa the fatta the lan'.'" While having a dream, like owning a farm someday, may offer comfort to the men in this difficult environment, It's almost more destructive than helpful because, in the end, it's realized that these dreams are impossible. Chapter Four In Of Mice and Men there is a deep feeling of loneliness among many of the main characters, like George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife. Crooks explains that many a people have traveled through the farm in hopes of maybe owning one of their own, but that they all never reach that "American Dream." Though Crooks realizes that this is what will also become of Lennie's dream, he still seeks to be a be apart of it. Crooks sees his room as his own and often does not want people in it, but when Lennie asks to be in there, Crooks is willing to let him, because he is so lonely and needs the companionship. (p. 71) "Crook's face lighted with pleasure in his torture. 'Nobody can't tell what a guy'll do,' he observed calmly. 'Le's say he wants to come back and can't. S'pose he gets killed or hurt so he can't come back."
Often the people who seek to show strength in the novel are really the weakest, such as when Curley fights Lennie, or when his wife threatens to lynch Crooks. (p. 74) "every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever'body wants a little piece of lan'. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land." (p. 76)"'...If you...guys would want a hand to work for nothing -- just his keep, why I'd come an' lend a hand.'" Even though Crooks is doubtful of the others' plan to have a farm, he can't help but join the fantasy because, if the plan could work out, it would mean he could be guaranteed a place where he wouldn't be gotten rid of just because of his shortcomings. (p. 75)"'Come on in. If ever'body's comin' in, you might just as well.' It was difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger." Even though Crooks is bitter because of his isolation, it's understandable that he would still be glad to seek comfort from other people who are "disabled" in some way. (p. 80) "'Listen, Nigger,' she said. 'You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?'
This is another example of the weak picking on the weaker. Curly's wife has just put herself in a vulnerable position by telling the others about her unhappiness. Because they reject her, she feels wounded. To put her self in a stronger position, she attacks their weaknesses. Chapter Five (p. 92-93) "And the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young." The only time Curly's wife, the only major female character in the story, is described positively, is when she's dead. (p. 94) "Now Candy spoke his greatest fear. 'You an' me can get that little place, can't we, George? Can't we?'
It's understandable that Candy would cling to the hope that he could still have a life where he would be free from the fear of being cast off, but it's so upsetting when he realizes that what Crooks was saying was true: their dream is impossible. (p. 97) "'If we would keep Curley in, we might. But Curley's gonna want to shoot 'im. Curley's still mad about his hand. An' s'pose they lock him up an' strap him down and put him in a cage. That ain't no good, George.'
When Slim points out the reality that either Curley and his mob will kill Lennie, or that George can do it, is when the idea of having something special, like a farm of their own, is an impossible dream in their world. Chapter Six (p. 99) "A water snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting its periscope head from side to side; and it swam the length of the pool and came to the legs of a motionless heron that stood in the shallows. A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically." The death to the snake mirrors the inevitable death that will occur to Lennie -- like the snake, Lennie is unsuspecting and unaware. (p. 104) ''But not us,' Lennie cried happily. 'Tell about us now.'
George and Lennie were distinguished from the other men exclusively because they had each other and thus had a certain purpose in their life. Without Lennie, George becomes just like the other men who live without a higher hope. |
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