Of Mice and Men’ is a novel about people Essay

Of Mice and Men’ is a novel about people. Are there â€Å"too many cripples, misfits and unusual characters† in the novel to consider Steinbeck’s portrayal as true life? Steinbeck’s novel is based on ordinary people during the American Depression. Steinbeck has an understanding of how migrant workers were and how it was as he had his childhood in California near Salinas Valley. During the period in which the novel was wrote was written migrant workers went from ranch to ranch working for money never really having a secure job as new technology in machinery made it cheaper to harvest crops. This introduces the two main characters George and Lennie, migrant workers, who do not fit into 1930’s society. The novel based is on characters that represent different walks of life during the period illustrating the American culture. Steinbeck portrays the American culture in a condensed version occurring only on a ranch, showing the grim truces of the society, when the novel was written In Steinbeck’s novel the character Candy is a man who has gone past his prime of his life. He has a stumped hand and therefore he is too maimed to be working in the fields, he can be seen as a cripple in the novel. The result of this is that he has menial job as a swamper. To represent the fears of time Steinbeck writes about Candy being worried about getting the †can† as a result of his unimportance on the ranch, and this is shown when Steinbeck wrote †I ain’t much good with o’ny hand. I lost my hand right here on this ranch. That’s why they give me a job swampin† This suggests that the job was only given to Candy out of sympathy. Furthermore Candy saying †I ain’t much good† shows his awareness of his own situation, being worthless to the ranch. Candy represents the aged sector that exists in every society, at the time the novel was written work was very scarce and if people were employed they would have to work hard to say in work. Candy as an aged person is on his last job, because if he loses it no one else will take him on. This is his major fear throughout the novel and Steinbeck portrays the aged migrant worker as a pathetic man with only a dog to keep him company. Steinbeck writes †Candy looked a long time at Slim to try and find some reversal† The above statement suggests that Candy has no authority with the other workers on the ranch and needs Slim to assist him; this shows Candy, as a cripple, has no respect from the other characters, which is a portrayal of true life during the American Depression. With the ‘dog eat dog world’ of the period skill, strength, intelligence, age and skin colour affected authority. Candy has a change of attitude after hearing about the ‘dream’ soon after his dog was shot, Steinbeck choosing to write the ‘dream’ being heard by Candy at this point in the novel when the character had lost everything that was important, gives the cripple hope for the future as his past (with his dog) is finished. Sadly the dog is a symbol of his possible future, the fate of the aged. In a time of mass unemployment and the fear of loneliness compels Candy to latch himself onto a belief to persevere in the harsh lonely world and this gives Candy the renewed confidence. Steinbeck shows the change of Candy’s attitude after he hears about the ‘dream’, †Candy joined the attack with joy ‘Glove fulla Vaseline,’ he said disgustedly.† This quote enhances the change in the character of Candy, as before he did not say anything in general conversation between the workers and at this point he was important. The verb †attack† shows Candy’s aggression against Curley, who has a higher status than Candy and is more important to the running of the ranch and is the bosses son, not a cripple and stronger. The adjective †disgustedly† in the quote shows that Candy is sickened by Curley and Curley’s attitude to others and Candy himself. This shows Candy is more than a cripple in the story, but a character who needs an image of a better future for himself with no worries. The ‘dream’ of getting a ranch of their own is the need for some security can be compared as a pension in a modern view. Once Candy has this security in the ‘dream’ Steinbeck enhances the character making him bolder, and his character comes out from the shell of an old cripple. In chapter two Steinbeck introduces the reader to the character of Crooks. The name Crooks is not used for him at the start of the novel and it is only later on that he is called Crooks. The names used for him are derogatory labels including ‘stable buck’, ‘nigger’ and Crooks. Throughout the whole novel the reader never finds out the character’s real name, which adds to the effectiveness of the character being a misfit. Steinbeck enhances the idea of Crooks being a misfit when he writes †They let the nigger come in. Little skinner name of Smitty took after the nigger. Done pretty good, too† This depicts that the other characters do not see Crooks a real human being but as an object of entertainment. Steinbeck conveys how a black man fits into the society of the period through racism. Crooks is a misfit in the novel because of his skin colour and his physical appearance, because of this he is segregated from the other workers on the ranch. This can be shown by †They let the nigger come in† this implies that the others do not want to be around him and that it is an important event when he does. The above quote can also suggest that Crooks wants to be sociable with the others and the word †let† suggests that the character has tried before. His injury to his back illustrates to the reader that he can be put into a category with Candy, as a cripple. The connection between the two is deeper than them both have a disability. Steinbeck brings them both together in chapter 4 at the start of the novel when he writes †Yeah. Nice fella, too.† Candy is shown to have a high regards and respect for him; Steinbeck puts them in the same situation in the novel. Candy and Crooks as cripples both need to belong to something as there is always the threat of getting the ‘can’ or a similar consequence to of Candy’s dog. One may think that Steinbeck was trying to portray a bridge across racism in the period with a white man and black man wanting the same ‘dream’. As Crooks changes his view in the novel from being a defensive one to felling some hope about the dream too. At first Crooks’ attitude to †little piece of land in his head† is an objectionable because society has made him pessimistic and spiteful to any sign of others having some ‘dream’ of happiness knowing that he can not have any because of race. However when he hears about the money he is more open and suggests he wants to be apart of it, this can be shown when Steinbeck wrote †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦If you †¦ guys would want a hand to work for nothing- just his keep† This quotes conveys Crooks’ hope in the ‘dream’ and he wants to be apart of it to be secure and treated as an equal. The reader learns a valuable lesson from Crooks and Steinbeck portrays it effectively that society is in the wrong not that the characters. Steinbeck illustrates Crooks as being †a proud son of a bitch† with his tidy room but this does not make just a misfit or a cripple but he has humanity with all other blacks. That’s why a lot of time is devoted to him in the novel, his role is equally important to the social statement made by Steinbeck. The end of this key chapter with Crooks in, chapter 4, unhappily ends how it began with Crooks rubbing medicine into his back, this is a powerful message put across to the audience which may evoke the reader to think that society will not change unless we change society. Crooks had briefly gained some respect from other white males and had hope for the future, but it is when this happens that a women shattered his hopes, this would be terrible to Crooks because women were thought to be lower and weaker than men, so being put down by Curley’s wife made him worth nothing, just like during the beginning of this chapter. A character that is, in essence, unusual is Curley’s Wife. She is unusual because she is the only female character who speaks in this novel. Steinbeck’s portrayal of women in this novel is not in a good light, given that the men go to a brothel. Women typically represented as objects of sexual nature not as partners or equals but as. Curley’s Wife is unusual in a way that she is the only women on a ranch full of men going around dressed to seduce, this can be shown in †She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red.† Steinbeck suggests that she is trouble by all the †red† in the description, with †red† bringing up connotations of danger. The red also can connote seduction. Steinbeck’s character has a habit of looking for her husband which can suggest that she is lonely and is constantly seeking attention from the other men, another reason for dressing up seductively is to conceal her loneliness, Steinbeck includes her in the novel to portray the American housewife, wanting to be something more than a housewife. This was typical during this period of social change with Hollywood and women becoming celebrities, which is exciting compared to a life on the ranch. Steinbeck effectively portrays this in †He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural.† This implies to the reader that she wanted something more to her life than to be stuck on a ranch. This however makes her a misfit on the ranch in the novel because of her wanting a different ‘dream’ to come true, but during that period people were fascinated about celebrities so the character of Curley’s Wife can represent the women’s struggle during the American Depression. We learn from the novel that society during that period was male orientated and that women were beginning to have their own ‘dreams’ other than finding a good man to marry. Throughout the whole novel the reader is aware of Lennie being a misfit in the novel. When the reader is first introduced to this character his physical description suggests that he is misfit †large pale eyes† can connote the lack of intelligence, giving the sense of subdued expression, the adjective †large† agrees with the stature of Lennie, though the adjective †pale† implies the mindlessness of him. The other characters in the novel who are misfits, unusual characters or cripples have a physical or emotional problem but Lennie as one of the lead characters is different with an intelligence problem; this engages the reader’s sympathy as Lennie is every childlike. Steinbeck writes about the childlike behaviour of Lennie in †Lennie was still smiling with delight at the memory of the ranch† This quote depicts Lennie’s lack of social skills, like a child, which gets the character into a trouble that wouldn’t have really happened in the novel if the character was not a misfit, such as what happened in Weed where he stroked the women’s dress not knowing that he was doing something wrong and ended up being outcast and hunted. Steinbeck’s 1930’s society is not tolerant of Lennie and his disability to handle a difficult social problem. Society when this novel was written is not an understanding one and Steinbeck dramatically portrays this by the fight in the novel. Steinbeck shows the reader during that period people acted too rash and unsympathetic, and Steinbeck with this novel wants people to take notice of society and for it to be more tolerant to misfits, cripples and in a sense unusual characters. Steinbeck leaves the ending of Lennie at a moderately neutral point of view; this lets one make up ones mind to know that it’s a tragedy. On one side that it is a tragedy that Steinbeck’s characters have no acknowledgment of Lennie killing Curley’s Wife by accident and that he has no understanding of death and his own strength. On the other side some readers may believe that Lennie should be shot because he killed a human, even with his lack of intelligence it still make him a danger to society. Steinbeck writes his death in the place where Lennie suits best throughout the whole novel, in nature †Suddenly Lennie appeared out of the brush, and he came as silently as a creeping bear moves.† This quote implies that Lennie suited the environment that he was in, and the metaphor †a creeping bear moves† is a powerful one. In addition, it conveys the character to be almost part of nature and if he was never meant for society. As a result of this, the reader may think it is less of a tragedy as Lennie dies where he belongs. Steinbeck portrays the purpose of Lennie’s character of being the character that allows people to have a ‘dream’. Lennie is the one to console in and not to put down people, because he has no real understanding of how the world works. Candy and Crooks benefit from having time with Lennie as Candy has someone to talk too furthermore ensuring Candy a no opposition to joining the ‘dream’, which may not have occurred if Lennie was not a misfit to society. Crooks has someone to talk to without no prejudice as it because of Lennie being unintelligent, he did not understand the concept of racism. Lastly, Lennie ensured Curley’s Wife finally got someone to talk to in the novel. Steinbeck’s misfit Lennie shows the flaws in society that needs to be exposed in true life. If there were more people like Lennie on the ranch (society) there would be more empathy towards others and their feelings and there wouldn’t be feelings of superiority other one another. George and Lennie have a friendship that is not typical of the period in which the novel was set. Two men travelling around together and working together was unheard of, the American Depression saw people distant themselves from each other. With no security, men chose not to trust each other. Steinbeck depicts this effectively throughout the whole novel. This relationship is not typical of the era, Steinbeck shows this when he writes †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Guys like us, that work on the ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place.†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This illustrates the stereotype of the migrant worker making this unusual relationship out of place in the novel and Steinbeck wanted to show this by the effects of their relationship upon the characters. The relationship being not of true life has a sense of inevitable doom to it. Steinbeck depicts the relationship to draw other characters to it so that they can belong even though the friendship creates suspicion in; †He hooked his thumbs in his belt and squinted one eye nearly closed† This expresses to the reader the Boss had never seen it before and that thinks it trouble, with †squinted one eye† the verb creates suspicion. This clearly emphasis the idea, that the relationship sparks the plot with eventually, Lennie killing Curley’s Wife. Perhaps Steinbeck shows this because he is making a social statement on the period where people just can not trust in one another or be emotionally close to each other, with out anything going wrong. George and Lennie’s relationship shows one how much empathy and understanding one man can have in another. Against everyone being antagonistic to the relationship George stuck by Lennie until he could no more. Steinbeck’s characters have a friendship that is destroyed by the attitudes in society of the period. In conclusion to this essay, Steinbeck has wrote misfits, unusual characters and cripples in ‘Of Mice and Men’ to show the faults and prejudices during the 1930’s American depression, in which the novel was written. Steinbeck’s characters portray different aspects to the life in the period. Crooks represents the life of a black man having to struggle through life being worth nothing because of skin colour, whilst Curley’s Wife represents how a women struggles in a male dominant society, the male dominant society being the ranch itself. Candy symbolises the aged in the period, being old is being useless and unwanted. Though the novel has misfits, unusual characters and cripples they would not have as much affect if they were not contrast to the more stereotypical characters of the period. Curley and Carlson show the reader the bleak and lonely lives migrant workers had. The contrast has a bigger and more meaningful social statement made by Steinbeck. The writer effectively shows this at the end of the novel. †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This enhances the social statement made by Steinbeck, with Slim consoling George but the other more usual characters, Curley and Carlson, not coming together after the whole plot Steinbeck keeps them apart and socially distant, unaware of the situation George is in. the novel is also concluded within the novel where the image of the water snake an the heron. The whole novel is summarised, with the calmness to the heron snatching the water snake. Steinbeck implies this animal image that humans in a society live like animals and how that we have not evolved to be more tolerable of peoples differences; the consequence of this is Lennie’s death. Steinbeck conveys marvellously that this will keep transpiring as the heron returns to the pool to catch another water snake.