Of Mice and Men

[KylieEatWorld]

I have signed up for an Honors English course next year and we are to read, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. We are to write 3 essays on each symbolic image in the book. I have read the book and I am having trouble discerning what is symbolism in this book and what is not. I am also to write an essay on the main theme in this book. I thought at first that the main theme of the book was friendship but (SPOILER) at the end George shoots Lennie in the back of the head and he talks bad about Lennie at every opportunity around Slim and Carlson.

However, assuming that the book is about betrayal seems wrong somehow to me. If someone could assist me with this assignment I would greatly appreciate it. It's not a test so I don't think there is anything wrong with accepting help.

[Donkey]

The book is not about betrayal - that is the opposite of what it is about! George only shoots Lennie because he must; he doesn't want someone else to kill him, and tries to put him in a better place. Do you remember the part of the novel where Candy says to George that he wish he shot the dog himself after Carlson killed it? This part of the book foreshadows Lennie's death - George doesn't want anyone else to kill someone who he feels so close to, after the other men on the ranch want to serve justice since he killed Curley's Wife. There are many themes to the book - loneliness (Curley's Wife, Candy, George scared of loneliness), friendship (George & Lennie), nature, violence, and lots more I don't remember since I finished the topic.

I think you need to discuss the messages behind the book more with your teacher!

I'll keep this in Education & Careers rather than The Open Book.

[Union]

I studied this book at GCSE, but I think I can still remember quite a bit about it. There are so many themes in this book. To name a few of the main themes:

1. Loneliness/Isolation

Characters mostly associated with this theme are:

Lennie. He's different/can't make friends with others/needs constant leadership from George.

George. He's also different in the sense that he cannot bond completely with others because he has to stay and look after Lennie.

Curley's Wife. She is the only female. The book highlights the issue of sexism (notice that she doesn't even have a proper name - she's just named "Curley's Wife" suggesting that she's 'owned' by Curley.) What she wears is also significant here. Notice how she is always dressed in seductive clothes (dresses/lipstick/makeup) because she wants people to notice her, and she craves attention.

Crooks & Candy. They are both old, but Crooks is also black, and the author highlights the issue of racism through his character. Some examples of how he feels lonely are expressed by Crooks when he talks to Lennie in the chapter when George leaves Lennie alone at the ranch (pg80 in my book).

The whole setting is also important for this theme. It's an isolated ranch in the middle of nowhere. When I read the book, I also noticed that none of the ranch-members really bonded properly in the book. It was every man for himself.


2. Dreams

The main dream in this book is George & Lennie's dream to own a ranch of their own and for Lennie to 'tend to the rabbits'. Lennie often thinks about the rabbits throughout the story. He also often asks George to tell him the story (even though he knows it off by heart) - probably because he can then get excited about it as he imagines it in his head.

Curley's Wife also has her dream of being a stage actress, which is also mentioned at some point in the book. She also often states that she could have made something better of her life. This links to the previous theme of Isolation and Loneliness.


3. Leadership & Responsibility

George is responsible for Lennie, and their two roles are more like Father/son rather than friends. Lennie relies on George for pretty much everything, and always follows his lead - a good example of which is at the start of the book. The author states that they walked in single file because Lennie is following George. Lennie's attitude towards the dream and the whole rabbits situation is also very much like the behaviour of a child. The way George handles situations is similar to that of a parent too. For example, he always says "you won't be able to tend to them rabbits", as a threat to make Lennie do as he says, much like a parent would to their child.


Other examples of minor themes include:

Friendship
Relationships
Man v/s Society
Man v/s Himself
Power
Loyalty
Sacrifice
Pride
Sexism/Racism

I hope this helps. There really is plenty to write about this book, as it touches on so many different aspects of society and themes. The characters are often linked very closely to these themes, such as the examples above.

[KylieEatWorld]

Thank you so much for your input on these themes! I see a lot of aspects of this book that I didn't catch whilst reading it. However, I'm still curious as to the symbolic images in this book. All I can think of is the relation between Candy having to have his dog put down by someone else and George having to "put down" Lennie.