Structural Divisions – of Mice and Men

YOU MAY ALSO FIND THESE DOCUMENTS HELPFUL

• Essay about Of mice and men

  ...Of mice and men Section B Question 21 Part(a) How does Steinbeck use details in this passage to present the bunkhouse and its inhabitants? In the novel “Of Mice And Men”, Steinbeck presents the bunkhouse as being very hostile and unfriendly through the use of adjectives,”the walls were whitewashed and the floor unpainted”. This portrays the simple nature of the bunkhouse and it's only purpose: housing the ranch hands. The adjective, “whitewashed” presents the clinical nature of hospital which the patients can not personalise. Therefore, indicates the lack of identity the habitants have. The bunkhouse is portrayed as being an uncomfortable place through the use of nouns,”burlap ticking”. This implies that the bunkhouse was not a luxurious habitat for the migrant workers because the noun,”burlap” is associated with being coarse and rough. Perhaps Steinbeck did this to show the reader the simplicity of the lives of the migrant workers. The bunkhouse is also portrayed as not being a hygienic place,”a small yellow can”. The reader can infer from Steinbeck’s description that it is a pesticide. Steinbeck does this to symbolise that the inhabitants had to cope with the depressing reality of the effects of the Great Depression as they were living in it. It indicates that they were living with pests such as, “lice” and “roaches” to show that the inhabitants’ lives was full of bad events that they had...

  928  Words | 3  Pages

• of mice and men Essay

  ...wife In ‘Of mice and men’ Curley's wife's second appearance in Crooks' room, the reader discovers why Curley's wife acts as such a temptress, and begins to feel sympathy for the character when it is discovered she is in fact extremely lonely. We learn that she uses flirting and seduction as a way of gaining attention and spending time with the men. She uses the excuse of looking for Curley to find some company, but then slips up, admitting she knew where Curley had really went. She then begins to become more aggressive when they ask her to leave, saying ‘Think I don't like to talk to somebody ever once in a while?’, ‘Think I like to stick in that house alla time?’ She also begins to snap back at the men and flares up, throwing those insults, calling them "bindle stiffs" and confesses again to her loneliness by asking herself why she is even talking to them. The men judge her as "a tart," and ample supporting observations are provided. She's rude, selfish and sometimes viciously cruel. She does not have a kind word for anyone. She mocks the men she deems weaker than herself, belittling them for their dream of having a farm of their own. She even mocks her own husband when he gets badly injured. She's the only person on the premises who calls the stable buck, Crooks, "nigger," and she does it to his face and in front of his peers and threatens him with hanging, reducing him to nothing....

  431  Words | 1  Pages

• Essay on of mice and men

  ... Loneliness Loneliness affects more than the immediate person, it can destroy friendships and trusts, or encourage and strengthen a person to go beyond their comfort zone. In the story Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, loneliness plays a significant role in the novel throughout certain characters. Some readers may have concluded that Steinbeck made them less important than other characters in the book, since they were left out by most. Of Mice and Men clearly demonstrates that loneliness destroys people as with Curley’s Wife, Crooks, and between Lennie and George. Throughout the book Of Mice and men, the novel demonstrates the impact of loneliness though Curley’s wife. Loneliness is damaging to Curley’s wife because she is portrayed as an inferior character. Curley’s wife isn’t even given a name in the story. Towards the end of the novel Steinbeck made Curley’s wife sound like a very sweet and innocent women, who caused no harm in the world before she died. He said, “She was very pretty and simple. And her face was sweet and young” (Steinbeck 93). It is clear to readers that Curley’s wife knows her beauty is her power. She uses her power to flirt with other ranch hands to make her husband jealous even though she was in ingenuous person. She expressed to the readers that even though people can be lonely, we all establish and show that we have our own humanity. Another...

  670  Words | 3  Pages

• Of Mice and Men Essay

  ...The first example of love from George to Lennie is when the characters first run over to the pool. Steinbeck uses a variety of techniques such as similes and animal imagery andalso profanities to determine George and Lennies relationship. ‘snorting into the water like a horse… forgodsakes don’t drink so much… Jesus Christ you crazy bastard.’ The animal imagery of a horse makes Lennie seem slappy, awkward and unhygienic. The profanities used by George shows how much effort it takes to keep this simple-minded man in line. Most people say ‘opposites attract’ and Lennie and George fits this picture perfectly. Their complementary relationship is full of love when we understand that they are very different but perfectly matched. Steinbeck uses the technique of colloquial language to show how protective George is of Lennie. ‘Lennie was just scairt… he didn’t know what to do.’ This colloquial language portrays George in his most natural role: as Lennie’s guardian. The language of ‘scairt’ is how George describes Lennies reaction to Curley, who started the fight. The love displayed from George towards Lennie is an instant reaction and defense mechanism for anytime Lennie is in trouble. George excuses Lennies actions by saying he was simply ‘scairt’. Near the end of the novella, when Lennie kills Curelys wife, he is only worried about one thing – what will George think. He says ‘Oh! Please don’t do that. George’ll be mad.’ And ‘but George’ll be mad if you yell.’ This dialogue...

  314  Words | 1  Pages

• Of Mice and Men Loneliest Character on the Ranch Essay

  ...WHO IS THE LONELIEST CHARATCTER ON THE RANCH? Steinbeck has written of Mice and men in a time period where men travelled alone and rarely sent time with other people. This is reflected in the characters of the novel, who are all lonely however some are lonelier than others. These include Crooks, Candy, Curley and Curley’s wife. They all have the hope of achieving their own dreams, which is the cause of their loneliness. It can be argued that Crooks is the loneliest character in the novel. This is because he is segregated due to his race. He is the only black person on the ranch so has absolutely no one to talk to. The other characters think of him as being dirty and inferior to white people and Crooks himself has become so used to being alone since his child hood that he doesn’t even bother talking to anyone else. He has his own living quarters unlike the other workers as they think he stinks therefore he can’t play cards or do other social activities’ with anyone. Others threaten him such as Curley’s wife who says, “You know what I can do to you if you open your trap”, showing how powerless Crooks is and he has absolutely no freedom. Even the law is against him so he can’t even escape. It is also quite strange how a woman has more power than a man, especially in this very sexist time period. It shows how racism is much more severe than sexism. He also says “A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody” this is seen by his cruelty...

  1071  Words | 3  Pages

• Of Mice and Men Essay

  ...defendant either did not know that what he was doing was wrong, or was unable to distinguish between right and wrong, due to mental incapacitation. In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, one of the main characters, Lennie Small, clearly commits the physical act of murder. The question that remains is whether or not Lenny had the mental stability at the time of the crime to be held legally responsible for his action. * Throughout the novel, it is apparent that Lennie is a big and strong, yet mentally deficient individual. In the opening scene, he is depicted gulping down water like an animal, and his friend and fellow main character, George Milton, claims that he would drink out of a gutter if he were thirsty. Based on a conversation between the two men, it can be seen that Lennie is extremely forgetful, both long and short term. He forgets of his aunt who he had known all his life, and he forgets details of what George had told him just earlier that day. More notably, Lennie forgets the bad thing he did at the ranch in Weed, as George states, “Oh, so ya forgot that too, did ya? Well, I ain’t gonna remind ya, fear ya do it again.” (Steinbeck 73). Not only is Lennie forgetful, but it is also made clear that he does not think like a grown adult. He is absolutely fascinated with soft things like mice, rabbits, puppies, and even women’s dresses and hair. It is almost as if he is a full-grown child, as George...

  1216  Words | 3  Pages

• Of Mice and Men Essay

  ...In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck places a lot of characters as having free will and determinism when in all truth they have none. The author uses stereotypes and discrimination to convey a message of how they are trapped. To quote a quite distinguished reader, “Characters are ‘trapped’ either by what others think of them, or by their situation.” A lot of the character’s feelings about themselves and what others think of them shows the extent of their freedom and determinism. The characters of this novel have very little to look forward to as migrant ranch hands. They travel from ranch to ranch with all their belongings in a bundle, looking for work for fifty dollars a month. If a man is good at what they do in that job, he might be kept on at the ranch indefinitely and wind up as Candy does, old and crippled, always waiting until he is no longer useful. George in the beginning of the story explains the despair of a ranch hand to Lennie: “Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go into town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to (Of Mice and Men 13-14) The life of a ranch hand maybe grim, yet the characters in the novel are still vulnerable to dreams if freedom and...

  1107  Words | 3  Pages

• Essay about Of Mice and Men

  ...he offer some hope and optimism in his novel "Of Mice and Men" In Steinbeck's novel " Of Mice and Men" there are many different characters each expressing there own opinion on whether they are living in a desperate society or that there is indeed some hope and optimism in the world around them. At the time the book was set, which is in the 1930's great American depression, many people were unemployed and jobs were hard to come by. Steinbeck's novel centres around the exploits and happenings of a few men, and one women, at the time of this great depression. Steinbeck shows how the most unusual friendships can be created in the mist of this depression and sadness. Such as the strong friendship between Lennie and George. Which in the end, drove George to kill Lennie for his own good. Some characters such as Lennie show how many people at this time had dreams of owning there own piece of land and being able to retire in peace with no one to tell them what to do. This reflects the view of optimism and hope in the book. However some characters such as Crooks see the world around them as desperate and solitary. Crooks believes that no ones dream will come true and that nothing will ever get better, this is shown in the line, " Nobody ever gets to heaven, and nobody never gets no land." (page 106) He also says that Lennie's dream will always stay as a dream and will never come true....

  2697  Words | 7  Pages