Of Mice and Men

question 1: John Steinbeck's major themes are of loneliness and isolation. Choose George, Candy, Curly, or Curly's wife and discuss how loneliness shapes his or her character and verifies the themes.

question 1: John Steinbeck's major themes are of loneliness and isolation. Choose George, Candy, Curly, or Curly's wife and discuss how loneliness shapes his or her character and verifies the themes.

Question 2: Steinbeck saw the world as stark and tragic, and that men were enslaved to forces they could not control and that destroyed their illusions. Show how this worldview applies to George and Lennie's dream of owning a farm.

Question 3: The Romantic period of literature celebrated heroes who were larger than life. The age of realism celebrated heroes of the middle class. Steinbeck celebrated the heroic in the honesty, courage, and dreams of ordinary people by drawing attention to itinerant farm workers and their lives. How successful do you think Of Mice and Men is in achieving Steinbeck's goal?

Question 4: George is a complex character who cares for Lennie, while at the same time seeming to hate having to care for him. The way he kills Lennie at the end of the book is truly shocking. Many people consider George to be a heroic character in the story. What do you think? Choose whether you think George is a hero or not and defend your argument with evidence from the novel. (20)

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1) Candy is isolated because of his disability and his dog that is not so fresh smelling. Further, when his dog gets shot he does not have much to live for. He cannot work with the other men and now has lost his one friend in the world.

Crooks is isolated mainly due to his race. He is excluded from the other workers because he is black and disabled. This isolation is not only a mental one for Crooks but a physical one as he has to sleep in the stable. He also thinks that most people are out to harm him so it is difficult for him to form any relationships even if they were available to him.

Curley's Wife is isolated because she is the only woman. ALso, Curley prefers she not interact with anyone eventhough he really doesn't like her. In her attempt to get away from a bad situation she has isolated herself by marrying Curley because of his control issues.

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Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife the following characters are isolated in many ways. crooks is isolated because of his colour it was hard in those days to be accepted for who you are not your colour. in candy's case being an old black man livin in the barn all by himself is force to make life easy by adapting he may never adapt but has pretend that he can adapt but deep inside he knows he willl never be acepted for who he actually is. when he gets an opputunity he lashes all his anger out on poor vulnerable lenny and tells him that george wont come back making lenny feel upset. he says that he would like to be part of the of the dream but quickly retreats himself as he knows he will not be accepted.

curleys wife is isolated because she is ot wanted by society as she is a woman. the fact thw she doesnt a have her own name expalins alot especiallt that she is a propety of curley in this case of curley. curleys wife wife is also misolated because she needs to find counsalation in lennt telling him about her being a star if her mum ahd let her she is craving for so much attention is forced to go to lenny who ends up killing. she neds to find redemption but how. she is not an archetypal characetr meaninng she doesnt appear in many stories. no one wants to talk to her as they consider her as a rroble maker and premiscous. she tries to gain attention from the men with her femine charm only to find she will be pushed away.

candy is isolated because after the lost of his and his broken arm he is unable to survive and fell wanted , once his dog is shot there is nothing left for him to live for . the person who shot candys dog done it without any remorse but candy deep inside knows he should of shot the dog himself. beimg a part of george and lenny dream is the only way to take his mind of the future

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http://www.enotes.com/of-mice-and-men/q-and-a/how-following-characters-isolated-lonely-candy-131709

2) Steinbeck's worldview was one of a fatalist, and the novel Of Mice and Men shows an insightful but tragic view of the world as it was in that era. The farm was a dream; it helped to calm and control Lennie, it made the days worth living, and it provided hope to all of those involved. I believe that George knew that dream would never come true, but that even for him it had a purpose.

The worldview of the depression era was one of hopelessness, and there was little help to be had for the conditions of man in the United States at that time, especially for those like Lennie who were unable to help themselves. Choices had to be made, but they were choices without options. It was George's dream to take care of Lenny, without him it would have been an institution. Lenny was enslaved by his handicap;l George was enslaved by a promise, and the farm in its own way would have freed them both.

Source(s)

Of Mice and Men

3) I love this novel....... therefore I'm going to have to say that his depictions are right on target. From this novel we can see what the life of a an itinerant farm worker was like. We can see the isolation, the constant movement, and the constant wonder of where they'll end up next. There's also a sense of comaraderie amongst the men, that lonliness aside is very important.

These are pretty loaded questions so I'll take your first one. Loneliness is a major theme throughout the novel. Curley's wife is one of the most isolated people. Unlike Crooks who is alone because of his skin colour, Curley's wife doesn't even get an I density. She simply lurks around as her husband's property; she doesn't even get a name. She exists in a place of lonely men with broken dreams. The men can share their shattered lives but Curley's wife must drift from cabin to cabin with her own pain. She is rebuked and mocked by the men, her only alternative to go back to her abusive husband and shattered dreams. She is truly alone.

4) George is tragic hero. He spends his adult life caring for Lenny the best he can, he saves his skin (and maybe his life) on several occasions, and in the end........ he takes the life he's cared for so diiligently. His life would have been far different if Lenny hadn't been with him, and he has willingly made great scarifices to insure Lenny's safety and well-being........

Source(s)

Of Mice and Men