In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the men on the ranch view symbolism in many different ways. The boss and Slim symbolize respect in different ways. The boss is described as: “On his head was a soiled brown Stetson hat, and he wore high-heeled boots and spurs to prove he was not a laboring man” (pp. 20). The boss only demands respect through how much money he has, and how he appears.
The other men recognize his superiority and never question his actions or decisions. Slim is also sensitive, but not overly so. He is the only one who understands George’s affinity for Lennie, and also the only one to comprehend the gravity of George’s final act for Lennie. As a ranch-man archetype, Slim represents the cool justice of the ranch world. While life isn’t always going to be pleasant, men like Slim can assure it will be fair, even if that means
Book is briefly accepted by the Amish community during the barn raising scene and is the only time within the film that he is the same as the Amish men. The law angle shot of the Amish men passing the saw to Book signifies the cooperation among the men, regardless of their culture. The existence of the uplifting music without any dialogue highlights the unionism between the Amish and John Book. However, at the end of the day, the fact that Book couldn’t participate in the chanting of the victorious song with the Amish men implies that ultimately he does not fit in. Also, in this scene Books gaze at the barn as it is being built exemplifies a new experience that Book has never witnessed in the English world.
George’s and Lennie’s characters are round, evolving throughout the story. There are also a few stock characters. Curly, the ranch owner’s bully son, has a wife whom he neglects. Slim, the wisest ranch hand, has respect from all the other workers. Carlson is the opposite of Slim; he is ignorant and insensitive.
Coupled with another depiction of Slim as “the prince of the ranch” it is obvious that Steinbeck is displaying this man with utmost adulation, and by investing such an appraising portrayal he invites us to admire this man also. He then goes on to write that he “was capable of killing a fly on the wheeler’s butt with a bull whip without touching the mule” which denotes his skill as a “jerkline skinner”. We can infer from this that he is experienced and that he has been at the ranch for an extended period of time. It is clear that Steinbeck is trying to create a sense that Slim is above every other ranch-hand when he writes “There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke.” Steinbeck presents Slim to us as this Godlike, almost, figure and with such a detailed and esteemed first description he imbeds this portrait he paints into our minds. Then he describes his face as “ageless”, which again has connotations of an immortal, celestial being.
This is because Dr. Farmer has the qualities that most people have but few have them to the same extent he does:determination, perserverance, and selflessness.The main characteristic which separates Dr. Farmer from other people who talk about change but never act on it or only do so in a superficial way is selflessness. While reading Mountains beyond Mountain, the reader is first introduced to Dr. Farmer's selflessness while he is in Haiti. Dr. Farmer's daily routine is depicted and the reader is able to get the sense that he is willing to do whatever it takes to help or cure his patients. He walks miles in the sun over mountainous rocky trails just to check and see how they are doing. Unlike the other doctors, he is interested in each individual and not just the diseases.
Living peacefully in Holcomb, Herb Clutter epitomised the concept of a ‘self-made man’- he begun humbly and worked his way to a prosperous ranch owner respected and revered amongst his friends and associates. He and his family resided and live off land as independent people. This existence however, was arbitrarily annihilated by Dick Hickock and Perry Smith- men who were different to this family in all ways imaginable. Despite the Clutter’s supposed success in ‘living the dream’, this success did not equalise with security. In their murder, they were stripped of , as author Thomas Wolfe stated, “ the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him.” On page 69 of the novel, a schoolteacher in Holcomb is quoted saying ‘Feeling wouldn’t run half so high if this had happened to
In Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Inaugural Address he spoke of the Great Depression and said, Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to be minister to ourselves and to our fellow me. Along with Franklin Roosevelt, John Steinbeck endured the trials and tribulation of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression; a time of suffering and agony for Americans. Steinbeck found this to be a turning point in the actions of Americans—to either join together and work through it as a whole, or take advantage of others and push yourself forward and not care about those you may leave behind.
By juxtaposing rich and poor, thieves and honest men, and hunger and fat, Steinbeck covers a large spectrum in proving his point. The diction that is used is meant to show that even though an Oakie might not be the most sophisticated person in the world, he still has plenty of wits about him. The repetition of, “it ain’t that big”, refers to there being a higher power or something more important. Steinbeck uses diction, antithesis, and repetition to convey the message that there isn’t enough land for everyone to be
This paper attempt to record the subaltern sensibilities and concerns noticed in Aravind Adiga’s Booker Prize winning novel The White Tiger that has derived much acclaim and criticism alike. In this debut novel, Aravind Adiga takes on some hefty issues: the unhappy division of social classes into haves and have-nots, the cultural imperialism of the First World, the anger that seethes among the world's dispossessed, the avarice of the Indian elite among whom bribes are commonplace, and the caprice of those who perpetuate a system in which many are sacrificed to the whims of a few. The White Tiger 'says a lot' about contemporary India. A brutal view of India's class struggles is cunningly presented by Adiga. The riveting, razor-sharp debut novel explores with wit and insight the realities of these two India – “…Men with Big Bellies, and Men with Small Bellies” - and reveals what happens when the inhabitants of one collude and then collide with those of the other.