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Of Mice and Men

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Of Mice and Men
fWas George’s killing of Lennie inevitable?

John Steinbeck (born in 1902) was a talented Californian writer. Steinbeck spent much of his time in New York and the Salinas Valley. Although he spent a few years at Stanford University, he desperately wanted to be a writer, therefore he started writing. His work includes The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, The Red Pony, East of Eden and of course, Of Mice and Men. Hollywood loved Steinbeck and even made these very books in to film adaptations. Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962 for his realistic but imaginative writings. In this essay I will be talking about one of John’s well known books, Of Mice and Men. This story is about two travelling ranch workers, George and Lennie, trying to earn enough money to get their own house and farm. The tale is based is 1930’s America during the Great Depression. This book encompasses themes of prejudice, racism and the fight for personal independence. Some people may think that Lennie’s death was inevitable as he had already done the damage and nothing could be fixed. He had killed Curley’s wife even though he hadn’t meant to, he was still guilty, and the consequences lay ahead. `She struggled violently under his hands. Her feet battered on the hay and she writhed to be free; and from under Lennie’s hand came a muffled screaming.’ Steinbeck has used this excellent quote as it is so powerful and it definitely will get the reader intrigued and engrossed. John uses muffled screaming instead of pierced screaming due to a bigger effect and Lennie’s big paw. `Oh please don’t do none of that,’ he begged. Lennie is pleading with Curley’s wife as he is terribly frightened and doesn’t know what to do as she is shrieking and struggling so Lennie can let go. After some time Lennie breaks her neck and Curley’s wife ‘flops like a fish’. Steinbeck compares her to an animal so the audience can get a vivid image in their head of what she looked

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