Of Mice And Men
John Steinbeck
Novel Summary
Two workers, George and Lennie, have been let off of a bus miles away from where they are supposed to be starting a new job. George is a small man, with strong features. Lennie is his companion. He is the opposite of George, he is a bigger man with a shapeless face. Lennie has a mental disability and is deeply dependent upon him for protection and guidance. George complains that his life would be easier without having to care for Lennie and look after him, but they share a dream of buying their own piece of land, farming it and keeping rabbits. At the end of the story, George shoots Lennie in the back of the head and lets the others believe that Lennie had the gun and that he was trying to take it from him and shot him accidentally, but only slim understands what has really happened, that George had killed his friend out of mercy.
Theme analysis (Lonliness And Isolation)
Many of the characters show signs of desperate loneliness. Candy, who has an unconditional love for his old dog is left lonely when Carlson takes his dog out back and shoots it. Crooks and Curley's wife also show signs. Even though they respond differently, they both are isolated because of mistreatment, Because Crooks is black, he is shunned by the other men and spends his time alone.
Character developement
Lennie
Lennie is a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders
George
George is small and quick, dark of face,with restless eyes and sharp,strong features. he had strong hands, slender arms, and a thin bony nose.
Slim
Slim is tall and ageless.
Quote
Significant Quote
"Georges voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before. '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 the first thing you know their poundin' their tail on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to." (Steinbeck13).
John Steinbeck
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Author Biography
John Steinbeck was born on Febuary 27, 1902 in Salinas California. He grew up with three sisters. Stienbeck was shy but smart. He dropped out of colledge and worked as a manual laborer before acheiveing success as a writer. He decided to become a writer at the age of 14, locking himself in his room to write poems and stories. in 1919, John Stienbeck enrolled in Stanford university and wrote his first novel, "cup of gold" in 1929. He died of heart disease on December 20th 1968 at his home in New York City.