In addition unemployment rates were high and pension rates decreased; making life hard especially for the middle class. Many men left their families and travelled across the country to find work and support their families. But life was harder for black men as they were seen as savage animals and were not wanted; reflecting the hardship of coloured men in the 1930's. The title 'Of Mice and Men' was taken from a famous poem written by Robert Burns. ...read more.
He thinks that Candy’s dog should be shot because it is old and smelly, he persistently argues to shoot the dog, an example is when he says “Well, I can’t stand him in here” and “and he stinks to bear hell. Tell you what. I’ll shoot him for you. Then it won’t be you that does it.” He suggests that Candy could have one of Slim’s puppies instead, but he does not recognise that Candy has an emotional attachment to his dog. After he shoots the dog, he does not apologise to Candy and he even cleans his gun in full view of everyone, this shows that he is an insensitive character.
In comparison, Slim was more thoughtful and wanted the dog dead for its own good because of its poor health: “He ain't no good to you, Candy. An' he ain't no good to himself. Why'n't you shoot him, Candy?” At the end of the novel when Lennie must die, similarly, Carlson is only interested in killing the weak (Lennie), so he says, “I’ll get my luger” not thinking about anyone else. The scene that includes the killing of the old dog foreshadows the death of Lennie too; one clue is that the dog is shot in the back of the head completely unaware and with no pain with the luger. Towards the end of the novel, Lennie is also secretly shot in the same place with the same weapon by George out of mercy so his friend doesn’t experience a cruel painful death.
Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, a guy gets lonely an' he gets sick." (Crooks) Steinbeck also portrays loneliness through characterisation. He uses sexism, racism and ageism to get him message across. Of Mice and Men is filled with characters such as this, which are unable to find a way out of their lonely lives.
The poem “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns is obviously about a man talking to a field mouse whose nest he has just destroyed with a plow. The man feels bad for destroying the mouse’s home and apologizes for what has happened. The deeper meaning of the poem is that no matter how much preparation goes into planning for the future, fate, or even someone else’s plan, can get in the way and demolish your plans. Burns compares the mouse and the man to one another in saying, “The best-laid schemes of mice and men/ Go often astray,” (Burns 39-40). The mouse in the poem worked hard to build its nest in preparation for the winter it was to endure in the future.
A contributing factor to this economic struggle was the Dust bowl. The Dust Bowl was a severe drought that hit the mid-western and southern plains. Dust from the over-plowed and over-grazed land begins to blow. This put many farmers in bankruptcy, and nearly impossible economic times, as experienced by the Joads family from The Grapes of Wrath. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is based on these events; Great Depression, Dust Bowl, and the New Deal.
Yet another way these people are intolerant. When Lennie walks into Crooks room, which is in the barn, Crooks says to Lennie, “I aint wanted in the bunk house and you aint wanted in my room.” (page 68) This lets you know in one sentence, how Crooks feels about the intolerance for himself. Now Carlson has a slight intolerance for stinky, old and unusual things, like Candy’s dog for instance. The dog used to be a sheep herder until he got old and came down with rheumatism. After the conversation about Candy’s dog.
Name Miss Connell English 1 (H) Due Date Loneliness in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men suggests that loneliness and isolation drive different social outsiders together. George is the first character in the novel to suggest that the loneliness itinerant ranch hands naturally face leads them to seek companionship. When he and Lennie settle in for the night before going to the Tyler Ranch, he says to Lennie, “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.
Many Americans lost control of their lives. The nation was in shock, many working families began showing up at Salvation Army shelters. Many Americans did not think they would take in food lines, work lines, and public relief lines, but slowly the lines were common. The poorest families were forced to live in “Hooverville”, a cardboard-shack shanty town that sprang up on the edges of most major cities. Thousands upon thousands of others roamed the country, searching for jobs no matter how difficult, demeaning or dangerous they were.
Of Mice and Men Essay Plan Intro • In 1930’s American people had no work • Time of the great depression , Poverty and hardship • millions of people unemployed = looking for any work available - "Of Mice of Men," = set in this period • about two ranch workers Lennie and George who are migrant workers. • Migrant workers moved from place to place to find work • No proper relationship with others - loneliness is a theme in this novel • All the people on the ranch are lonely for different reasons • reflective of the time period in which the novel was written • shows the harsh reality of their lives. • book is set The American Dream • Each individual had their own interpretation of their ideal situation for life Section 1 • Chapter 2 begins with the introduction of a new setting •