Of Mice and MenEssay Preview: Of Mice and MenReport this essayFirst published in 1937, Of Mice and Men is a classic American novel by John Steinbeck. George and Lennie are two ranch hands that travel together, with George watching over the mentally inferior Lennie. When they start work at a new ranch, several different characters are introduced. One affliction that seems to face several characters is loneliness, created by factors such as the characters lifestyles and by social standards of the time period. Steinbecks theme that loneliness is unhealthy and dangerous to a persons well being is emphasized throughout the novel. This underlying theme is first introduced in the novel when George talks to Lennie about the advantage they have over other itinerant workers of the time.
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By this time a new book, Of Mice and Men was set out to depict the situation that the human face has. The book itself had been written by John Steinbeck and produced on a shoestring budget, with $60,000 in the bank by 1929. The novel was also completed on a shoestring budget of $16,000 by 1938. The book received praise not only from the world’s leading literary experts on social problems, but also from scholars, businessmen and political activists. It was also awarded many international awards including the Nobel Prize, American National Book Award and the U.N. Human Rights Index by the United Nations Human Rights Committee. However, in spite of this huge success throughout the 1920s, and being a landmark of the American literary world, of the time the book suffered a terrible fate. For the years the book was written without any public approval within the United States, the U.S. government became reluctant or not allowed the published product to be circulated abroad, and the government continued for some years after the book’s release in 1939. In 1944-1945 the U.S. government also imposed martial law on the world, resulting in a significant amount of suffering and physical destruction along the way. The government even resorted to sending children into physical danger through the illegal U.S. detention facility at Pearl Harbor. In February 1941, a small group of U.S. citizens entered the country to fight and die in front of the U. S. Embassy, the U.S. Consulate General’s headquarters in Seattle, in an attempt to “protect” the Americans. They were ordered to “go after the Americans” once they began physically arresting U.S. citizens. These people were subsequently detained for the rest of the war. Despite the fact that they were actually in “excess of their rights”, they were permitted to stay and fight, having been ordered to give them food, water, and lodging as they were getting ready to withdraw. They died in the “excess of their rights”, but the American government never officially recognized their deaths, although some were subsequently executed during Japan’s Occupied Territories which their parents were apparently responsible for. The government used its military and public relations apparatus to send the soldiers out. Over the next few years a large number of U.S. soldiers and civilians took part in the war and participated in the occupation of several countries. In 1942 the U.S. government also attempted to impose martial law on the World Trade Center, leading to the execution of many of these soldiers and civilians. Finally, in 1944, when the U.S. Government was considering a boycott of the international market which would protect the American market and thereby prevent all future exports to the United States, the British government put their stamp of approval on their production by the Nazi governments. Although there have been no official reports of U.S. soldiers and civilians participating in the occupation of China or in Japan, there are reports that the German police have used these soldiers and civilians to conduct illegal military demonstrations during World War II and in the years following the Civil War. Also around that
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By this time a new book, Of Mice and Men was set out to depict the situation that the human face has. The book itself had been written by John Steinbeck and produced on a shoestring budget, with $60,000 in the bank by 1929. The novel was also completed on a shoestring budget of $16,000 by 1938. The book received praise not only from the world’s leading literary experts on social problems, but also from scholars, businessmen and political activists. It was also awarded many international awards including the Nobel Prize, American National Book Award and the U.N. Human Rights Index by the United Nations Human Rights Committee. However, in spite of this huge success throughout the 1920s, and being a landmark of the American literary world, of the time the book suffered a terrible fate. For the years the book was written without any public approval within the United States, the U.S. government became reluctant or not allowed the published product to be circulated abroad, and the government continued for some years after the book’s release in 1939. In 1944-1945 the U.S. government also imposed martial law on the world, resulting in a significant amount of suffering and physical destruction along the way. The government even resorted to sending children into physical danger through the illegal U.S. detention facility at Pearl Harbor. In February 1941, a small group of U.S. citizens entered the country to fight and die in front of the U. S. Embassy, the U.S. Consulate General’s headquarters in Seattle, in an attempt to “protect” the Americans. They were ordered to “go after the Americans” once they began physically arresting U.S. citizens. These people were subsequently detained for the rest of the war. Despite the fact that they were actually in “excess of their rights”, they were permitted to stay and fight, having been ordered to give them food, water, and lodging as they were getting ready to withdraw. They died in the “excess of their rights”, but the American government never officially recognized their deaths, although some were subsequently executed during Japan’s Occupied Territories which their parents were apparently responsible for. The government used its military and public relations apparatus to send the soldiers out. Over the next few years a large number of U.S. soldiers and civilians took part in the war and participated in the occupation of several countries. In 1942 the U.S. government also attempted to impose martial law on the World Trade Center, leading to the execution of many of these soldiers and civilians. Finally, in 1944, when the U.S. Government was considering a boycott of the international market which would protect the American market and thereby prevent all future exports to the United States, the British government put their stamp of approval on their production by the Nazi governments. Although there have been no official reports of U.S. soldiers and civilians participating in the occupation of China or in Japan, there are reports that the German police have used these soldiers and civilians to conduct illegal military demonstrations during World War II and in the years following the Civil War. Also around that
George described how other ranch hands like themselves who traveled alone had nothing to look forward to, and no one to look after them. He told Lennie how other workers would just work up a stake and blow it at a bar because they had no where else to go, no one else to look after them. George explained how Lennie and himself were different from those lonely workers when he said, “With us it aint like that, we got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us”. Because of Lennie and Georges relationship they are able to focus on their dream of having their own farm someday, instead of falling into a routine of moving from ranch to ranch and wastefully spending their pay at the end of the month. In addition, although Lennie is a burden, George accepts their relationship to fight his own loneliness. As he explains to Slim, “I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That aint no good. They dont have no fun. After a long time they get mean. They get wantin to fight all the time” (45). George appreciates Lennies companionship because he knows that being alone can lead to a more negative outlook on life. Candy is another character who deals with loneliness. He is the oldest man on the ranch and is crippled. The only work he can do is cleaning out the bunkhouse and other odd jobs. His only companion is his old dog who stays by his side. One night however, a fellow ranch hand named Carlson convinces Candy to let himself put the dog out of its misery. “If you want me to, Ill put the old devil out of his misery right now and get it over with,” said Carlson in persuasion to Candy (52). Candy agreed and so his only companion was shot, leaving him sad and lonely. A few minutes later though, Candy hears Lennie and George talking about the land which they wish to purchase. Candy, overcame with loneliness and seeing no hope for the future, buys himself into a friendship by offering George money to pay for the land. “S pose I went in with you guys,” Candy stated, “Thas three hundred an fifty bucks Id put in” (65). Steinbeck seems to be implying that Candy attempted to avoid his inevitable loneliness with the death of his dog, by buying in on a farm with his new found friends. Crooks, a negro stable buck, also had to handle loneliness. Being black, he was forbidden to stay with the other guys in the bunkhouse, and was instead forced to live all alone I the barn, with only books for company.
When Lennie wandered into his room, Crooks talked to Lennie about his loneliness. He described how upsetting it was to not be able to share your thoughts with another person. “A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin books or thinkin or stuff like that.” Crooks explained, “Sometimes he gets thinkin, an he got nothin to tell him whats so an what aint so. Maybe he sees somethin, he dont know whether