Of Mice and Men In the novel Of Mice and Men, the author, John Steinbeck, shows very similar relationships and how important one person, or animal, can be in a man's life. The novel takes place in the era of "The Hungry Thirties" in California and shows the migrations of the many people from Oklahoma. The two main characters in the book, George and Lennie, who have a different kind of relationship than most people because Lennie is mentally ill and George looks after him as though a father or brother, a result of the death of Lennie's aunt. The two men make their way to a new job and met many interesting people such as Candy who also has a special relationship with his old dog that is similar to the one of Lennie and George. The relationship of Candy and his dog foreshadows the end of the novel, both George and Candy feel guilty for what they have done and George is stronger than Candy is in these circumstances.
It seems it is also this great joy that lets him finally die. His life is complete as he has waited for Odysseus’ return and in that he has fulfilled his duty, he is now free to rest. Not just in death, he has honored Odysseus in his life as well. It was Eumaios that speaks on behalf of this beast. He tells of a time when Argos was trained by his master to be a great hunter of wild goats and other smaller game.
Lennie’s puppy symbolizes the fate of the weak in the face of the strong. Lennie’s puppy is entirely dependable on Lennie. Lennie always carries a dead mouse around. Lennie doesn’t care much about death. He’s more contending with comfort remembering this makes lennies death more palatable.
This conflict usually led to dehydration or starvation which led to the depression of losing a loved one. The farm owners exploited farmers in believeing that the job availability in California was significant by mass advertising their need for work and not having enough jobs for everyone migrating to California. Once the Joad family arrived in California, they realized that job availability was hard to come by and even if they found a job, making a living was going to be harder than they thought with the wages offered: “An’ they ain’t much work. An’ wages is comin’ down all a time. I git so goddamn tired jus’ figgerin’ how to eat.” John Steinbeck witnessed the struggles of American people during the Great Depression and wrote about his observations and research in The Grapes of Wrath.
Many lost their jobs, and were forced to look for work elsewhere. Numerous people were also forced to leave school to help pay the bills (Doc 1). Herbert Hoover, considered one of the worst presidents ever, did not help the situation very much. In 1930 he said that “The Depression is over.” However, the Depression did not end until 1937 when World War II began (Doc 2). The country was fed up with Hoover’s help.
(Chpt.3 pg.44) Here Carlson is telling Candy how worthless it is to the ranch and to itself. Candy struggles with this harsh reality, but eventually lets Carlson take the dog outside and shoot him. Candy later regrets letting Carlson do this, and he thinks that he should have been the one to end the dog’s life. George will remember this later on and take it upon himself to end the life of Lennie. Lennie was an obedient and hard worker for many years with George.
The Great Depression of 1930 took on many different faces. To many Americans, it proved to be an intense time of uncertainty, which reeked emotional and physical havoc in many lives. The unbearable circumstances these families faced were like none other in our nation’s history. Desperation, fear and, even death, became an ever present trouble in many American lives. Millions of people lost their jobs during these tragic times, and left their homes in pursuit of securing work, but most fell short.
Dear Lennie, Do you know why I take care of you Lennie? Because guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. Now Aunt Clara told me to take care of you too, and make sure you don’t get into no trouble. If she were here she’d scold us for the messes we’ve gotten ourselves into. She knew you were dumb just as much as I do.
We as readers can infer a firm moral message. The innocence on Lennie draws sympathy from my self and the reader as we understand Lennie has a mental condition, which must be difficult for a man of the 1930’s as we understand he always keeps George in ‘hot water’. Though George none the less sticks by Lennie, as they’re both reliant on each other, even though it would be easier for George to go ‘alone’, he would feel loneliness without Lennie. They both have a dream and this is what keeps them
The great depression meant that many of the families had lost their savings; it was horrible to know that all the money that they had saved throughout the years has just vanished so quickly. They were also afraid of the growing communist party; they wanted to abolish private companies, land and businesses. If this happened many of the middle class would lose their job where they were able to make money. Therefore because of this they saw Hitler as a strong leader who could help their country recover and