Preview

Bullying In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
327 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Bullying In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
“Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds.” This was said by Albert Einstein over 50 years ago, but is still relevant today as it describes all bullying behaviors. This relevance is shown through modern literature by the way that the characters interact. John Steinbeck, in Of Mice and Men, uses Curley’s attitude towards Lennie, Carlson killing Candy’s dog, and conversation between Crooks and Lennie to show that the emotionally insecure oppress the innocent. When George and Lennie entered the ranch, Lennie was immediately harassed by Curley due to his mental handicap and his large size (pages 25-26). Curley, being a small person, was jealous of those larger than him and hated them. Curley was insecure; he attempted
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    An Analysis Of Curley's Wife In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck
    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages

    An Analysis Of Curley's Wife In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

    Why did Curley's wife have to that? Why couldn't she just let Lennie be? Well…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Did George Kill Lennie
    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Why Did George Kill Lennie

    “ I’m gonna shoot the guts outta that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand,” (Steinbeck pg. 98). Obviously, Curley was ready to kill Lennie with a torturous death. Furthermore, George did choose the wise decision. Lennie had the mind of a child in a adult’s body. He was not…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Steinbeck Make Lennie's Decisions
    • 335 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Does Steinbeck Make Lennie's Decisions

    In the first place, when Lennie killed Curley’s wife, Curley was hell-bent on getting his revenge. Lennie was scared because he knew what was going to happen. Letting Curley get this satisfaction would’ve disappointed George. Here’s a quote that shows that Curley wanted to make sure Lennie suffered. “I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself.” (Steinbeck…

    • 335 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice And Men Essays: Curley's Wife
    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Of Mice And Men Essays: Curley's Wife

    Curley is trouble because he is always trying to fight the bigger guys like they have something on him.That is why he tried to beat up Lennie but he got his knuckles crunched and had to go the hospital. “Then Curley’s rage exploded. “Come on, ya big bastard. Get up on your feet. No big son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me. I’ll show ya who’s yella.”(31)Curley’s wife needs to be protect from all the other men because Curley is always assuming they are having some kind of affair with her under his nose but she is just flirting.“Well, stick around an’ keep your eyes open. You’ll see plenty. She ain’t concealin’ nothing. I never seen nobody like her. She got the eye goin’ all the time on everybody. I bet she even gives the stable buck the eye. I don’t know what the hell she wants.”The next person that needs protected from the sensitive people is also a sensitive person.Lennie needs to be protected from Curley’s wife and anyone else that could be trouble for him because when he gets in trouble so does George.”Well, look. Lennie—if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an’ hide in the brush.”…

    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Similarities Between Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Similarities Between Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    He does not know his own strength and he tries to pet the animals to hard and then he hurts Curley’s wife. I do not think that Lennie is trying to hurt them on purpose but, again he does not know his own strength. Even George did not think that he did it on purpose “Yeah,’ said George. ‘I’ll come. But listen, Curley. The poor bastard’s nuts. Don’t shoot ‘im. He di’n’t know what he was doin’.” If everyone knew that he killed several mice and the puppy he most likely would be punished but it is only when they find Curley’s wife dead that they want to take action. George did not want this to happen but Lennie needed to be punished for his…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Lennie's Journey In Of Mice And Men
    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Lennie's Journey In Of Mice And Men

    In “of Mice and Men” Curley is a huge obstacle for Lennie as he doesn’t like little big buys and likes to pick fights with them. Dialogue and colloquial language show that Curley doesn’t like Lennie, which is shown when Candy is talking to George and says; “Curley’s like a lot of little guys. He’s alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he’s mad at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy”. George is also faced with a challenge of that affects him emotionally. He has the enormous task of figuring out what to do with…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analysis Of John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice And Men'
    • 1495 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Analysis Of John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice And Men'

    An important theme in Of Mice and Men is innocence. Through the character of Lennie, Of Mice and Men forces us to ask if Lennie’s ignorance absolves him of guilt and responsibility for his actions, or if he is truly a bad person. (3, 5, 17, 32-33, 41-43, 73, 92,…

    • 1495 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    To What Extent Does Steinbeck Create Tension In Of Mice And Men
    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages

    To What Extent Does Steinbeck Create Tension In Of Mice And Men

    Of mice and men demonstrates Steinbeck’s ability to build up fear throughout a scene. Before there was any actual physical conflict, Steinbeck wrote ‘Lennie looked helplessly at George, and then he got up and tried to retreat’. The word ‘helplessly’ highlights Lennie’s vulnerability. Furthermore, the word ‘tried’ suggests that Lennie doesn’t have control of the situation and doesn’t know what to do. This quotation is very emotive for the reader as they presumably prefer Lennie to Curley and don’t want Lennie to get hurt and in my opinion this is how I personally feel. Another example of the fear built up by the author is when the book says ‘George put out his hand and grabbed Slim’. The reader is immediately startled that George prevents Slim from helping Lennie, this shock soon turns into fear for Lennie and so he does not act until George tells him what to do.…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Importance Of Curley's Presence And Men
    • 77 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Importance Of Curley's Presence And Men

    Curley picks a fight with Lennie because he doesn’t like big guys and prefers little guys.…

    • 77 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Mood Differences In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 180 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Mood Differences In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    Throughout this chapter, is about the mood differences in the bunkhouse. In the bunkhouse each person brings a different mood. For example, when George and Lennie meet their soon to be boss George tells Lennie not to say a word. This chapter has a multiple feelings caused by the presence of two characters on the ranch, which are Curley and his wife. While George can see the problems that may happen, Lennie can feel the frustrating atmosphere. For example, after Curly indicates the size of Lennie as a big guy but lacking in intelligence, he makes it a point to single out Lennie as someone who should speak when spoken to. Lennie then knows the intensity, and sees Curley as a bully. When Lennie realizes what he can physically do, then he will…

    • 180 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice And Men Archetypal Analysis
    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Of Mice And Men Archetypal Analysis

    From the moment George and Lennie were introduced to Curley’s wife, we could feel the tension rise. From just fleeing the last place they worked because of a run in with Lennie touching a woman, it’s an acceptable accusation that Curley’s wife will be directed to the conflict of the story. Another moment that predicted the end of the story was when Carlson shot Candy’s dog. Carlson said that the dog was aged and useless, that he wreaked of everything that smelt crummy and there is no point in keeping him around. It is safe to say this was a direct comparison to how useless everyone saw Lennie and we could infer that something similar that happened to Candy’s dog would happen to Lennie later on in the novella. Steinbeck made us see the treatment of elderly and mentally ill…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Theme Of Discrimination In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 335 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Theme Of Discrimination In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is an intriguing and captivating piece that captures America’s history. Throughout the text, Steinbeck demonstrates how multiple prejudices can affect contrasting characters in the 1930’s. Lennie Small and George Milton, a pair of bindlestiffs, witness the discrimination throughout the course of the novel. George cares for Lennie, who is mentally challenged, and once Lennie’s onerous actions increase, George makes the formidable decision to abruptly end his life. The characters in the story are faced with internal and external conflicts. These are shown for the duration of the text, supporting the theme: prejudice and discrimination can cause isolation. Steinbeck develops this theme through the literary elements, characterization, conflict and imagery.…

    • 335 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Theme Of Statment In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Theme Of Statment In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    When Lennie and George were younger, George had no knowledge of Lennie’s condition and it almost caused Lennie’s death. Lennie’s problem is mostly not because of his condition, but because people misunderstand his condition and therefore, misjudge him. George had watched over Lennie for an unknown time but still was unsure on how to deal with his condition. This leads to the death of Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife talks to Lennie after he kills the puppy and lets Lennie touch her hair. She sternly tells Lennie to stop, which makes him nervous. Not wanting to get in trouble, Lennie covers her mouth to prevent her from yelling and eventually breaks her neck. While this is going on Lennie says “ Please don’t do that.” referring to her yells, “George’ll be mad.” (page 91) This shows that George made Lennie think that if he misbehaved again he would get into trouble. This upset Lennie and is the reason he panicked when he realized he had displeased Curley’s wife. Therefore, George’s misjudgment lead to the emotional problem Lennie encountered after Curley’s wife’s death, and eventually, Lennie’s…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Cyber-Bullying In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Cyber-Bullying In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    “Over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the Internet” (Stop Cyber Bullying). As this statistic demonstrates, cyber-bullying is an increasingly prevalent problem in our society. While cyber-bullying is a fairly recent threat that teenagers encounter, bullies have preyed on weak victims since the beginning of time. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, there are many strong characters who prey upon weak characters, including Crooks preying upon Lennie, Curley’s Wife preying upon Crooks, and Curley preying upon Lennie. Unfortunately, bullies look for victims who are weak, either socially or mentally. Due to their social and mental disabilities, the victims are ignored by…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Friendship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Friendship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    Politician, Hubert Humphrey once said, “The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it”. Friendship is a very important aspect of life. Friendship gives the opportunity to escape from loneliness, to have someone be there in a time of need, to give support when mistakes are made, and allow an escape from reality when you’re feeling blue (Whitbourne). In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses characterization and conflict to help develop the theme that friendship is one of the most important aspects to live life to the fullest extent.…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics