Looking At Mice And Men English Literature Essay
John Steinbeck, writer Of Mice and Men ( foremost published in 1937 ) , is one of the greatest and most important American authors in the twentieth century. Besides, he is praised more the award of California as: “ most celebrated novelist and has been called “ Monterey County ‘s favourite boy ” and he put Monterey county on the map and gave in its family name ‘Steinbeck Country ‘ ” ( Morgan Neville, 1999 ) . His composing manner is metaphorical symbolical, conceivable, allegorical, nonliteral, every bit good as straightforward, conversational, unpretentious, earnest. Steinbeck ever put them reflecting in the characters of his novels through his portraiture.
Of Mice and Men is merely the represented Steinbeck-style masterpiece won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 for it “ can be classified as societal novels covering with the economic jobs of rural labour, but there is besides a run of worship of the dirt in his books, which does non ever hold with his prosaic sociological attack ” ( Horst Frenz, 1969 ) . This research will examine into the unnatural societal position such as race, favoritism, position etc. , during the Great Depression in the United Stated and its history through an analysis of racism in the “ play-novella ” Of Mice and Men. The organic structure of the reappraisal will chiefly concentrate on three parts, severally, the paly-novella, racism and John Steinbeck. The analysis of the fresh contains construction, characters, symbol land subject ; the history of racism in American, particularly in South American will be explained in the racial-related as background, every bit good as its significance will be defined ; in the last portion, John Steinbeck life will be provided to assist understand proposal of the novel. Followings are issues I have summarized from Steinbeck survey bookmans as represents.
First, about Of Mice and Men. Bing one of Steinbeck ‘s most acclaimed plants every bit good as one ferociously citied, Of Mice and Men taking him to the height power of his life, catching legion bookmans and critics ‘ eyes with their surveies following and commentaries. From the angle of construction, Of Mice and Men is a narrative taking topographic point in a spread in Soledad, California, with merely four scenes, Salinas Riverbank, The Bunk House, Crooks Room and The Barn, in a few yearss about two migratory workers George Milton and Lennine Small ‘s unfortunate experience. Steinbeck designed it simple and easy plenty that the novel even being staged for infinite clip since 1937 that and adapted into an opera. Steinbeck presents the tragic narrative about racism, friendly relationship, solitariness, societal struggles, feminism etc. , with such a few words and simple secret plans, an unexpected nevertheless rich in contents made it a great influential work during the period. As for the work itself, George ‘s lovingness to Lennine in the beginning and his hiting Lennine in the terminal is dramatic in construction as wll. Harmonizing to Of Mice and Men: Contemporary Reappraisals and Critical Reception from The Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studiesi?s
Harmonizing to a 1937 reappraisal by the New Republic, Of Mice and Men “ [ … ] has that common denominator of most good imaginative authorship, a shadow of the action that means something beyond the action ” ( qtd. in Chaudet ) .A Furthermore, the New Republic states, “ [ T ] he book is good contrived and efficaciously compressed, driving in front with consecutive and rapid motions, as excellently written as Steinbeck ‘s other four California novels ” ( qtd. in Chaudet ) .
It shows its specific construction and the influences of the construction to both the novel itself and about the whole society. And Zheng, Yanhong ( 2001 ) remarks Of Mice and Men
contains rich dramatic elements which named the ‘play-novelette ‘ , was a new signifier integration novel and drama in one entity. By this new signifier, Steinbeck intended to utilize the construction and some techniques of the drama to do the novel more tight, and to utilize the narrative characteristics of the novel to augment the drama and convey the drama more readers.
From the position of characters, the combination of the two supporters George and Lonnie are ever the spotlight among related surveies. By and large, bookmans pay attending to dissect their duologue and actions. Arguments ever arise when discoursing approximately character characteristics of George. Elaine Steinbeck & A ; Robert Walls 10, stand foring George ‘s protagonists, dainty him as the mirror of justness at that clip as they quoted: “ George [ Milton, in OMM ] is a hero and merely heroes are deserving composing approximately. Boileau said that a long clip ago and it is still true “ ( qtd. In Steinbeck, 1957, p.563 ) . On the contrast, many referees cited George a dissembler for his accidently hiting Lennie in the terminal and doubted about the being of their alleged friendly relationship. One of them is Carolin Kollwitz ( 2001 ) , who did a survey of the topic “ The Relationship between George and Lennie in Of Mice and Men ” and seemed to keep the opposite points in his subject. Others like Fontenrose, Joseph ( 1963 ) is so at a loss about it that he even could n’t judge the truth as his statement presented: “ It is… a most careful and defendable manuscript, much the most acute I have seen. It might even be true… My work life is broken up into subdivisions or episodes and I have ne’er taken the clip to work out their relationship one to the other. ” All statements above are chiefly focus on the last sense of the novel and the action of George and his personality, possibly the societal position and background that clip work every bit good. Actually, harmonizing to my apprehension, George is a tragic historical hero. All those he did is aimed at protecting deceit Lennine including his stoping action. In the Great Depression of American, favoritism was all the fury. Peoples in low societal position lived a difficult life and decease minute by minute. As a disabled, Lennine could n’t hold survived for both his ain lacks and the society, what was worse is that he was a “ liquidator ” . He might hold been more suffering without George ‘s economy. George tried his best to protect Lennine although what he received most was questioned without any apprehension. These are all my points summarized from different referees ‘ issues.
From the position of symbolism of subjects, the most specific in Of Mice and Men is Steinbeck ‘s technique of utilizing carnal imagination reflecting in each character which evaluates subjects of the novel. There ‘s no uncertainty that the chief subjects are the elusive American Dream, Race, People with Differences Ostracized by Society which shows societal struggle, obvious friendly relationship, and solitariness. About race, it can be found everyplace in the novel from all angle such as the causes of character characteristics and dramatic stoping in construction, every bit good as symbolism and subjects. From the individual angle of subject, most referees consternate on solitariness which is reflecting in all facets in the novel as racism. A duologue from the character George good expresses it:
Guies like us, that work on spreads, are the loneliest cats in the universe. They got no household. They do n’t belong no topographic point… … With us it ai n’t like that. We got a hereafter. We got person to speak to that gives a darn about us. We do n’t hold to sit in no saloon room blowin ‘ in our doodly-squat jus ‘ because we got no topographic point else to travel. If them other guys gets in gaol they can decompose for all anybody gives a darn. But non us ( Steinbeck, 1937, p.81 ) .
And another duologue from another character Cooks, in whom racism in this novel is largely reflecting:
I seen hunderds of work forces come by on the route an ‘ on the spreads, with their bindles on their back an ‘ that same damn thing in their caputs. Hunderds of them. They come, an ‘ they quit an ‘ go on ; an ‘ every darn one of ’em ‘s got a small piece of land in his caput. An ‘ ne’er a God damn one of ’em of all time gets it. Just like heaven. Everybody wants a small piece of local area network ‘ . I read plentifulness of books out here. Cipher ne’er gets to heaven, and cipher gets no land. It ‘s merely in their caput. They ‘re all the clip talkin ‘ about it, but it ‘s jus ‘ in their caput ( p.121 ) .
We can recognize profound solitariness from Crocks words of look. As for the symbolism, Lennie ‘s Death is focus more for it
Can stand for a figure of things:
1. George ‘s release into “ freedom ” .
2. Duty and power that George has over Lennie.
3. The decease of George and Lennie ‘s dream, and the realization that this could ne’er turn into a world.
4. Reality ever comes back to hit you, no affair how hard you try and barricade it out or disregard it.
5. The slug itself symbolizes the abrasiveness of society in which Lennie lives, and the deficiency of general apprehension that people of those times had. George had no pick but to slay Lennie ( lesser of two immoralities ) and salvage him from an even more barbarous decease at the custodies of Curley and his work forces.
6. The gunfire could besides stand for George ‘s love for Lennie as he does non desire Lennie to decease ; nevertheless he feels he should be the lone individual who is allowed to harm Lennie as he is the lone individual who genuinely understands him.
7. Equally, the gun that is found in George ‘s manus could stand for the intense force per unit area in such a society ( Daniel Jones, retrieved June 20, 2012 )
Besides, one of the most of import carnal imagination coneies in this fresh base for Lennie which plays chief hint throughout the novel.
The last portion is about John Steinbeck. For his proposal of the work Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck ‘s address for Nobel Prize in 1962 has clearly explicated it:
the author is delegated to declare and to observe adult male ‘s proved capacity for illustriousness of bosom and spirit – for heroism in licking, for bravery, compassion and love. In the eternal war against failing and desperation, these are the bright mass meeting flags of hope and of emulation.
Having taken God-like power, we must seek in ourselves for the duty and the wisdom we one time prayed some divinity might hold. Man himself has become our greatest jeopardy and our lone hope. So that today, saint John the Apostle may good be paraphrased: In the terminal is the word, and the word is adult male, and the word is with adult male.
Furthermore, as has referred above, John Steinbeck plays an of import function in CaliforniaA and remained write for his hometown, it ‘s one of the points straightly impact the contents of his authorship for California has a long history of settlement. Particularly during the period of the Great Depression, an Anti-African American motion was in advancement. And his married woman is a factor influenced his manner, subject and esthesia in his plant non merely for Of Mice and Men, but besides all of them during the period. Whatever, the inclination to portal the darkness of society remained the chief subject in Steinbeck ‘s plants.
In decision, the being of proposal of Of Mice and Men is one of inevitablenesss of history sing both factors from all facets like history, societal background and his personal experience. All stuffs listed above are contributed to Steinbeck surveies and back up his authorship every bit good.
