How Does Steinbeck Use George and Lennie to Convey Ideas About 1920's America?

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Steinbeck’s two main characters- George and Lennie- are in a companionship throughout the novel, which is a surprise because in the 1920’s, especially in the society of ranch workers, travelling and looking for work in pairs was rather controversial, as it was harder to find work and seen as suspicious. When George and Lennie first arrive at the ranch, they are treated differently by the other people there, for example when George informs Curley that him and Lennie travel together, he says ‘oh, so it’s that way’; this shows that Steinbeck was conveying how unusual other people found the two men’s travelling arrangements, which furthermore gives the idea that people in 1920’s America lived quite conventional lives, people carried out their days similar to one another, and differentiation was frowned upon, possibly because it was not understood and a lot of people were small minded, assuming that their way of life was the only way to live. Curley is a useful character for portraying the general views of most American people in the 1920’s, as he consistently shows his misunderstanding of George and Lennie throughout the novel, especially Lennie. Steinbeck uses Lennie frequently to convey American ideas in the 1920’s. Lennie represents the rural community of America; uneducated and simple, causing problems for themselves and others. His representation as a farmer can be seen in the references to rabbits, his obsession with the natural world, his aversion to the modern urban world. The book takes place at the height of the great depression and Lennie becomes not just a figure representing the rural community, but the countryside itself; the decline in farming caused by the great Depression caused dust storms across the mid-west, leaving large areas desolate and empty, Lennie becomes the personification of this; he is literally vast and empty, but innocent of blame. This
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