Capturing Cruelty in the Opening Scene of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men The English author and historian Edward Gibbon once wrote that, “The works of man are impotent to the assaults of nature.” Nowhere is this philosophical perspective better captured than in the John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. The novel tells the story of two migrant agricultural workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, during the Great Depression in 1930’s California. A central theme in the novel is man’s cruelty to one another and how it drives them to hurt other human beings as in the case of Curley’s viscous attack on the mentally-handicapped Lennie. In the opening scene of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the author establishes a contrast between innocence and cruelty through the use of expansive descriptions of nature, symbolism and characterization. This opening dichotomy is vital to an understanding of the theme of cruelty and the larger structure of the novel in light of its violent and disturbing end.
In A Christmas Carol, Dickens deliberately and defiantly comments on the society which was 19thCentury England. As his own life gives context to his commentary, Dickens discusses what he sees as the moral and social imperatives of the time. As the two are inextricably bound both are addressed in an attempt to bring about the change he argues is necessary of an empathetic and just society. The inequity between the rich and the poor and societies ignorance in sight of this lack of social justice is central to this novella. The novella starts with Scrooge being a cold hearted, bitter old man, that has no care what so ever with the poor.
When Oliver is first taken to see a deceased woman of the underclass, her mourning family is described as being ‘so like the rats he had seen outside.’ Dickens’s use of this simile had a dehumanising effect, and shows that the upper classes believed the poor deserved good will as much as rodents did. The upper classes are often described as being superior in an ironic tone, showing that Dickens did not agree with, and is even mocking the system in place,
During the timber selling incident, Napoleon first denounced Frederick as an evil man who tortured animals, and told the animals that the other contestant, Mr. Pilkington, was a good man. However, after Frederick offered more money for the timber than Mr. Pilkington, Napoleon told Animal Farm that these claims were lies, and that Mr. Pilkington was evil and Fredrick was good. Napoleon sells the timber to Mr. Frederick, who proves his sneaky nature by giving Napoleon counterfeit bills. Napoleon is enraged, Mr. Frederick attacks Animal Farm, and Mr. Pilkington refuses to help because of what Napoleon had said about him. Even so, Animal Farm comes out victorious, but not before the deaths of many humans and animals.
Dickens’ intentions with Marquis Evremonde was to emblem the symbol of evil, not to create a character that is more in tune with human nature. One begins to contemplate that when he runs over a peasant child and selfishly wonders “what injury [they] have done [his] horses”, that obviously cannot be a real human character (Dickens 129). It is to be perceived by the reader that Marquis Evremonde represents calamity in the novel, yet after further analyzing one could claim that he reflects the corruption in France during the time of revolution. Marquis Evremonde’s want to “exterminate [peasants] from the earth” sums up the argument that he represents evil, and was not meant to have the ability to relate to human nature (Dickens 131). Lucie Manette’s “pretty figure, a quantity of golden hair, [and] a pair of blue eyes” adds to the theme of her character representing good in A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens 25).
A common trait of the character's in "As You Like It" is how their sense of belonging is weakened by the man-made court. In this sense, the setting of the court is occupied with corruption and therefore enhance how harmonious Arden is. In the court, Orlando sees himself being abandoned by his kingdom. Oliver neglects his upbringing for selfish reasons is portrayed when Orlando complains to his brother, "I know you are my brother as...you should know me." The mournful and discouraged tone of the dialogues between the two of them depicts a hidden barrier towards each other.
Mock Exam – 'Of Mice and Men' – In the novel, 'Of Mice and Men', John Steinbeck presents Curley as a mean and unkind character, who likes to show his authority on the ranch. This is especially shown in the extract. In the extract, Steinbeck presents Curley as someone who wants to follow in his father's footsteps – to be in control of the ranch. 'Like the boss, he wore high-heeled boots.' This shows that Curley wants to separate himself from the other casual ranch hands.
The Judges in The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe are considered villains because of how they torture innocent civilians. Okeke is the least villainous, the H-G men are the middle villainous, and the Judges are the most villainous from the three chosen stories. In the story Marriage is a private Affair Okeke is the villain because he treats his son unfairly. For example, when Okeke heard the news of his son’s marriage with a girl he did
English writing The theme of loneliness is best portrayed through characters that had a childhood full of dreams and expectations to live a better life. Steinbeck presents loneliness during the great depression by marginalizing his characters by gender, age and ethnicity. These characters were considered to be at the bottom of ranch hierarchy because they were useless during the 1930’s. The character of Candy is portrayed as lonely by Steinbeck as he is marginalized by age. Candy is believed to be useless as he has lost his hand and is old.
Not surprisingly, the result is not at all desirable and the animals find themselves in fact worse of then before. Orwell is clearly drawing parallels between the events on the farm and the events in Russia after the 1918 revolution. He intends it to be a warning to readers that they should not be easily seduced by socialism. He also strives to outline the faults in communism, and how turning a blind eye and allowing another to control you never works out in your favour. He uses many themes to convey his main points to this allegory, such as corruption, abuse of power and social order.