A Review of Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

A review of Of Mice and Men EssayOf Mice and Men was written by John Steinbeck in 1939, during the Great American Depression. It tells the spirit level of two men striving to understand their bear unique place in the world. Traveling in search of work, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie digest nonhing in the world except each otherwise and the dream they sh atomic number 18 to one day settle down in a set up of their own and count out their days. Eventually they find work on a bedcover, their hopes are doomed as Lennie becomes a victim of his own strength leaving their dream to be crushed. Much of Of Mice and Men is base upon Steinbecks life and experiences. He highlights many social issues which he experienced kickoff hand. For example, the climatic changes in the air jacket of America resulting in destruction of fertile land, this had supported the homesteaders represented in the novel by the promised feel dreamt of by the workers in the recital. Another p roblem shown in the novel is the great financial collapse of 1929 which herald the Depression that increased unemployment and poverty through the United States. Because of these problems intinerant American workers were exploited by farm owners on low pay and appalling conditions. They were only in demand for short periods of time causing them to have to save enough from seasonal work to support for the rest of the year and their extreme mobile lifestyles. nigh of the vitrines in the mass face many of these problems or are suffering from them especially the main lineaments, George and Lennie. George is a small, intelligent man. He is very strong-minded tho alike like most of the characters in the book very dreamy. He is very keen to change the monotomy of his present situation. Lennie, is a huge, lumbering, kind skilful now child-like man. Although he has a terror of violence he is a man of great physical strength, something he is instead unaware of causing him to be clumsy . Lennie has an obsession with petting small animals that occurs throughout the book. He is very passive it is for this contend, in my opnion that George and Lennie are the incomplete halves of one whole person. George keeps Lennie by his side partly for comfort and friendship, but mainly as he is very strong and can work on a farm better than most people. Lennie is both an advantage and hindrance to George. George also supports Lennie, helps him and puts ideas in his head, which keep him motivated but mainly acts as a fatherly figure.On arrival at the ranch one of the first characters George and Lennie meet is Candy, the oldest ranch worker who is coming to the end of his life. Candy is a very warm character in my opnion. He shares the dream that George and Lennie do, and therefore they become attractive friends to him. He is a gossip and tells the newcomers of the ranch workers and owners. He tells George and Lennie about Curley and his newly wed wife. Curley is a small man, be cause of his height disadvantage he dislikes tall-growing men. He is continually agressive and always trying to show his masculanity. He is humilated by his wifes disastifaction and needs to boost his confidence. Curleys wifes get wind is never mentioned in the book it is for this reason she comes across as Curleys possession. She is portrayed in the book as a tarty, flirtatious woman, who is affable to the men who work on the ranch. She claims not being understood in the book. Curleys wife has often been caught by other members of the ranch giving Slim and Carlson the eye. Slim is a friendly and gentle character compared to the others.He is a dignified master craftsman. Slim in my opnion is descibed by Steinbeck as an idealised character, however, his words and actions are quite realistic. Carlson is the more agressive character, we do not know that much about him but he usually appears in violent scenes. He is not a very sensative man. angiotensin-converting enzyme of my favou rite characters is Crooks. Crooks is a literate black cripple who tends horses. He interests me because his natural personality has been taken off from him by years of racism which I am very against. He is a very unfrequented character and has been automatically rejected in the novel by the other characters. My other favourite character is Lennie because of his unusual personality and need for a father figure despite being a fully grown man. In my opnion one cannot help but to feel sorry for Lennie.Within the story their are many themes, important ideas that run through the book. One of my favourites is dreams, each character has their own dream which is apply throughout the book. The majority involve the American Dream, to be able to live off the fatta the lan. Curleys wifes dream revolves well-nigh Hollywood and being a moviestar but her dream she believes was ruined by her mother. She is also lonely just like many of the other characters, this is another theme in the book. Eac h of the workers is an induvidual and works for themselves. They all set about comfort in different things such as Candy in his dog.However, quite early on in the book Candys dog is killed, this is the first mention of violence. Throughout the book the world of the men is modify with unneccesary violence. The killing of the dog is quite similar to that of Lennie at the end of the book. Alot of authority is shown within the book aswell such as the condition of the workers living area and the Bosss clothes, black and severe. However I feel the book is centred on the idea of mutual dependence. Each of the main two characters depends on each other hugely. But this relationship, at the end of the book, is breached and George takes advantage of Lennie who trusts him, and kills him, so that his dream is secured.The book is written in an easy to read form, it is not in the country language they would of spoken, but in proper English the majority of the book. The story is out of date of c ourse, but the actual language and style used in the book is quite modern. I really like the way that Steinbeck at the beginning of each chapter gives you a vivid description of the surrondings. It is for this reason that although there have been many films made of this book nothing can compare to the pictures the pages of this book generates inwardly your minds eye and as you turn the final page these pictures stay with you.At first glance the story was not very enthralling but as I got deeper into the plot I started to really have a go at it it. As I got more into the book I started to think more about the themes and characters of the book which displace me in to it even more. It is the kind of book that is not only a story but also holds an interesting background behind it and applies to the history of America and the Great Depression. It is for this reason I feel it deserves its statute title as a classic and I would recommend it to any reader.