english mice and men
im doing a test in a couple of weeks and i need to prepare for this test buts so far i have written some in my English book but to make sure if its al right can you please tell me if it is any good and what 2 improve (the question is how does steinbek present loneliness and isolation through the setting in the novella?)
intro
this story is set in the 1930s ,during the great depression.The great depression was a very big disaster,during this time it was very hard to find a job .Most people became lonely and depressed they because isolated from one another.The main work for men was to work on the ranches.The ranch it self was is deserted with and lonely,surrounding by fields,mountains and countrysides.also it had said that gorge and lennie had to walk 4 miles just to get to the ranch.this shows that it is in the middle of no where.as George says in the novel"guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliness guys in the world".they got no family.they don't belong to no place ,they aint got nothing to look ahead to.
a character that Steinbeck uses to show isolation and loneliness is crook,.Crook suffers from prejudices-racism."i aint wanted in the bunkhouse "is a line Steinbeck uses to demonstrate how crook feels about the prejudiced against him.isolation has caused crook to accept that he is different from everyone else and shouldent be included with the rest of the workers because he has a diffrent skin colour. this is the point i got up but please tell me how i did and im only in year 10
intro
this story is set in the 1930s ,during the great depression.The great depression was a very big disaster,during this time it was very hard to find a job .Most people became lonely and depressed they because isolated from one another.The main work for men was to work on the ranches.The ranch it self was is deserted with and lonely,surrounding by fields,mountains and countrysides.also it had said that gorge and lennie had to walk 4 miles just to get to the ranch.this shows that it is in the middle of no where.as George says in the novel"guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliness guys in the world".they got no family.they don't belong to no place ,they aint got nothing to look ahead to.
a character that Steinbeck uses to show isolation and loneliness is crook,.Crook suffers from prejudices-racism."i aint wanted in the bunkhouse "is a line Steinbeck uses to demonstrate how crook feels about the prejudiced against him.isolation has caused crook to accept that he is different from everyone else and shouldent be included with the rest of the workers because he has a diffrent skin colour. this is the point i got up but please tell me how i did and im only in year 10
It's good I think you'll get a good mark, Try the look up Sparknotes for more in-depth analysis of the book to use for your essay I have already done this essay and I got 27/30 if you'd like I can give you my essay to look at for reference. try to go more in-depth about how each character experiences loneliness and how they link their scenarios in a chain that inevitably leads to Lenny's demise.
Dreams and Aspirations
Shortly after Lennie makes his dream an impossibility by killing a vulnerable and needy young woman, he is met with the same fate as Candy’s faithful, old sheepdog. In many ways, the reader can infer that, like dogs, Lennie was blind and naïve to the manipulative and passive-aggressive nature of human beings. Thus, though his physical standpoint was higher than the other workers, he was ‘weak’ because of his mental immaturity and his lack of ability to control his own strength. His mental immaturity is evident from the first sentence he utters during a common conversation with George. Lennie, ‘dabbled his big paw in the water and wriggled his fingers so the water arose in little splashes’ he then looks to George for approval: ‘’look George, look what I done!’’
The duo have a dream of one day owning their own piece of land. This dream is made unrealistic by a number of factors, one is: Lennie’s inability to maintain a job without ‘doing anything bad’ long enough to ‘raise their stake’. Another being: ‘The Great Depression’ which was a result of ‘The Wall Street Crash’. Economically, it became significantly harder to find work which frustrated George. Steinbeck makes the reader feel sympathy for their dream due to its improbability. Lennie’s tendency to cause problems results in the two of them needing to leave before they can earn a ‘stake’ significant enough to make some headway in financing their dream. At this point the dream is nothing but a lullaby for Lennie.
When Candy offers to help finance the boys dream the story takes a different turn. Suddenly, there’s a chance that they could have their dream, even if it means sharing it with the aim-less old ranch handyman. Steinbeck uses the sudden hope that is planted to give the characters a sense that they have a means to an end. That they can be more than itinerant workers who ‘come to a ranch an’ work up a stake’ and then ‘blow their stake’. It also creates the illusion of a place where Lennie can be himself without the prying eyes and judgement of other people, a place they could ‘Live off the fatta’ the lan’’. This freedom could only come with their own land where: ‘if we didn’t like the guy we could just say ‘’Get the hell out!’’ and by god he’d do it’. Steinbeck uses this new found hope to change the perspective of the dream for the reader. The dream becomes noble and worthy of respect.
Curley’s wife is a prime example of the delusion what was present during ‘The Great Depression’. This is a time where it would’ve been difficult to break into acting due to the limited amount of movies that were being made during the 1930’s. Curley’s wife held onto a dream that was only a figment of her imagination. The delusion was fuelled by a vindictive man attempting to take advantage of the young girl when she was at the tender and vulnerable age of 15. The deluded fantasy that he put into her mind caused her to believe that she was ‘a natural’ actress. This caused her to believe that acting was a simple as performing a ‘small grand gesture with her arm and hand’ which she believed was sufficient enough to show she could act. Steinbeck elicits the reader to pity her deluded dreams, they were worth nothing more than pity. Curley’s wife was never willing to put in the work to attain her dreams and thus, she became bitter when her dream reached its inevitable conclusion and she married Curley.
Steinbeck created the character ‘Curley’s wife’, specifically to cause trouble for Lennie. She has no other objective. The very lack of personal characterisation that Steinbeck assigns her, underscores her very definition in this short but tragic novel. Steinbeck implemented her purely as a symbol of impending danger for Lennie, which accompanies the death of the dream. With her attention-seeking demeanour, the reader could assume that the constant need for attention could only be quenched by the shine of her fulfilled dreams of stardom. She invites Lennie, in a desperate bid to gain attention during the lonely and unsatisfactory life that she is living with Curley, to touch her soft hair. This seemingly harmless gesture is a prelude to the last moments of her life. After the death of Curley’s wife, Steinbeck elicits the reader to feel compassion and angst for the two companions because this marks the end of the dream.
It is clear by the way Steinbeck portrays this story that no one in particular is to blame for the unfortunate events that befell the two protagonists of ‘Of Mice and Men’. It was simply: ‘Something that happened’. This is a reference to the original title of the book before Steinbeck changed it to ‘Of Mice and Men’. This title in itself, which is a poem by Robert Burns, prophesizes the impending problems that the two main characters where going to face. It gives the reader a sense that disaster and broken dreams could occur throughout the story. The poem tells the reader that: ‘the best laid schemes ‘Of Mice and Men’ often gang aft agley’. This means that even the best of intentions don’t always go as planned.
Steinbeck portrays Candy as an aimless, old ranch handyman who is living on borrowed time. He is stuck on the ranch waiting until the day where he is fired. This would occur which is at a time where he can no longer be of use on the ranch. The readers can infer that Candy wanted to become a part of George and Lennie’s dream because, like George, he wishes to have the freedom to take up or set aside work as he chooses. Since the death of his loyal sheep dog, Candy sees it was a chance for him to reacquire the responsibility that he has lost for another living thing. This would be acquired by the joint responsibility that he would share with George for Lennie. The reader can infer from this that Candy feels like he is quickly losing his usefulness, just like his sheepdog.
Steinbeck links every character in a different way to the inevitable and blameless death of Lennie. He writes this story in such a way that the reader can grasp that even if each character was removed one by one and different scenarios were set in place, he would eventually attain the same fate. The only thing that could have been extended is time. Unfortunately this was still limited, due the mental illness that Lennie battled with each and every day of his life. In the end ‘the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men often gang aft agley’.
Shortly after Lennie makes his dream an impossibility by killing a vulnerable and needy young woman, he is met with the same fate as Candy’s faithful, old sheepdog. In many ways, the reader can infer that, like dogs, Lennie was blind and naïve to the manipulative and passive-aggressive nature of human beings. Thus, though his physical standpoint was higher than the other workers, he was ‘weak’ because of his mental immaturity and his lack of ability to control his own strength. His mental immaturity is evident from the first sentence he utters during a common conversation with George. Lennie, ‘dabbled his big paw in the water and wriggled his fingers so the water arose in little splashes’ he then looks to George for approval: ‘’look George, look what I done!’’
The duo have a dream of one day owning their own piece of land. This dream is made unrealistic by a number of factors, one is: Lennie’s inability to maintain a job without ‘doing anything bad’ long enough to ‘raise their stake’. Another being: ‘The Great Depression’ which was a result of ‘The Wall Street Crash’. Economically, it became significantly harder to find work which frustrated George. Steinbeck makes the reader feel sympathy for their dream due to its improbability. Lennie’s tendency to cause problems results in the two of them needing to leave before they can earn a ‘stake’ significant enough to make some headway in financing their dream. At this point the dream is nothing but a lullaby for Lennie.
When Candy offers to help finance the boys dream the story takes a different turn. Suddenly, there’s a chance that they could have their dream, even if it means sharing it with the aim-less old ranch handyman. Steinbeck uses the sudden hope that is planted to give the characters a sense that they have a means to an end. That they can be more than itinerant workers who ‘come to a ranch an’ work up a stake’ and then ‘blow their stake’. It also creates the illusion of a place where Lennie can be himself without the prying eyes and judgement of other people, a place they could ‘Live off the fatta’ the lan’’. This freedom could only come with their own land where: ‘if we didn’t like the guy we could just say ‘’Get the hell out!’’ and by god he’d do it’. Steinbeck uses this new found hope to change the perspective of the dream for the reader. The dream becomes noble and worthy of respect.
Curley’s wife is a prime example of the delusion what was present during ‘The Great Depression’. This is a time where it would’ve been difficult to break into acting due to the limited amount of movies that were being made during the 1930’s. Curley’s wife held onto a dream that was only a figment of her imagination. The delusion was fuelled by a vindictive man attempting to take advantage of the young girl when she was at the tender and vulnerable age of 15. The deluded fantasy that he put into her mind caused her to believe that she was ‘a natural’ actress. This caused her to believe that acting was a simple as performing a ‘small grand gesture with her arm and hand’ which she believed was sufficient enough to show she could act. Steinbeck elicits the reader to pity her deluded dreams, they were worth nothing more than pity. Curley’s wife was never willing to put in the work to attain her dreams and thus, she became bitter when her dream reached its inevitable conclusion and she married Curley.
Steinbeck created the character ‘Curley’s wife’, specifically to cause trouble for Lennie. She has no other objective. The very lack of personal characterisation that Steinbeck assigns her, underscores her very definition in this short but tragic novel. Steinbeck implemented her purely as a symbol of impending danger for Lennie, which accompanies the death of the dream. With her attention-seeking demeanour, the reader could assume that the constant need for attention could only be quenched by the shine of her fulfilled dreams of stardom. She invites Lennie, in a desperate bid to gain attention during the lonely and unsatisfactory life that she is living with Curley, to touch her soft hair. This seemingly harmless gesture is a prelude to the last moments of her life. After the death of Curley’s wife, Steinbeck elicits the reader to feel compassion and angst for the two companions because this marks the end of the dream.
It is clear by the way Steinbeck portrays this story that no one in particular is to blame for the unfortunate events that befell the two protagonists of ‘Of Mice and Men’. It was simply: ‘Something that happened’. This is a reference to the original title of the book before Steinbeck changed it to ‘Of Mice and Men’. This title in itself, which is a poem by Robert Burns, prophesizes the impending problems that the two main characters where going to face. It gives the reader a sense that disaster and broken dreams could occur throughout the story. The poem tells the reader that: ‘the best laid schemes ‘Of Mice and Men’ often gang aft agley’. This means that even the best of intentions don’t always go as planned.
Steinbeck portrays Candy as an aimless, old ranch handyman who is living on borrowed time. He is stuck on the ranch waiting until the day where he is fired. This would occur which is at a time where he can no longer be of use on the ranch. The readers can infer that Candy wanted to become a part of George and Lennie’s dream because, like George, he wishes to have the freedom to take up or set aside work as he chooses. Since the death of his loyal sheep dog, Candy sees it was a chance for him to reacquire the responsibility that he has lost for another living thing. This would be acquired by the joint responsibility that he would share with George for Lennie. The reader can infer from this that Candy feels like he is quickly losing his usefulness, just like his sheepdog.
Steinbeck links every character in a different way to the inevitable and blameless death of Lennie. He writes this story in such a way that the reader can grasp that even if each character was removed one by one and different scenarios were set in place, he would eventually attain the same fate. The only thing that could have been extended is time. Unfortunately this was still limited, due the mental illness that Lennie battled with each and every day of his life. In the end ‘the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men often gang aft agley’.
Also notes made on this before the exam:
Of mice and men.
Plan.
1200 words max.
1000 words aim.
7 Paragraphs
Similes.
‘Lennie is like a ‘boa constrictor’, acting on impulse and fear so he holds on as tight as he can only tightening his grip when his victims struggle. Unknowingly hurting them due to his of instincts not active thought. ‘of
‘The reader can infer from Steinbeck’s character ‘Lennie’ is that he has a dog-like obedience to George and is unable to sympathise with anyone in the book other than George.’
‘Steinbeck’s character ‘Lennie’
The story begins a few miles south of Soledad and ends a few miles south of Soledad
Quotes.
“An live of that fatta the lan’” – Bible quote Genesis, ‘To live off nature’s bounty’
‘Cause I got you and you got me.’ This quote that is used various times in the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ It gives a sense of how important this friendship is important to both of them and the feeling that they aren’t alone is valuable to them’
Lines.
When Lennie grasps Curley’s wife with his boa constrictor-like instincts and snaps
And other notes: Of Mice and Men
Keep the word count to a maximum of 1,200.
Notes, Plan and Things to highlight.
· Curley’s wife doesn’t have a name because she is seen and treated as a possession. Steinbeck highlights this by excluding this character from the very basic concept of being in possession of her own self with a name. The reader infers from this that she is a Curley’s possession and can infer from this that
· Candy Is afraid of becoming expendable due to his old age. When George and his bear-like companion enter his life he begins to hope that he can get away from his aimless life at the ranch. Steinbeck shows this by evolving Candy’s character into one of
· George’s relationship with Lennie is something that is challenged during his short novel based at the ranch. George shows a great deal of compassion for Lennie and takes care of him knowing that he can’t take care of himself. Steinbeck implies that George needs Lennie just as much as Lennie needs George, this can be inferred when George changes his perspective at the realization that he has to put his loyal cohort down with the same gun and in the same manner in which Candy’s dog was killed. The reader infers from this that Lennie was a loyal-dog like companion in a world where the nature of humans is thought to be predatory and that this gave George a feeling of stability and eased his feelings of loneliness when he realises the inevitable which is that he has to end Lennie’s life he changes his perspective and although the dream is still in reach he chooses to lead the life of a regular iterant worker the reader can infer from this that George kept the dream alive for Lennie and that the dream is considered something for the two of them and not a dream that he can aspire to alone.
· Steinbeck depicts Lennie as a dog-like loyal companion worthy of sympathy but incapable of expressing any to the people he comes in contact with. Steinbeck gives Lennie a dream that is simple yet seemingly unattainable. He wishes to spend his days ‘’Tending the rabbits’’ and ‘’stroking sof’ things’’. Lennie constantly kills most animals that he comes in contact with and the reader could also infer from this and the death of Curley’s wife that Lennie may kill most living things that he comes in contact with which draws suspicion to the unexplained death of Lennie’s aunt Clara. Steinbeck creates a pattern with this whole novel which is the called ‘a pattern of cause and effect’ which is a chain of events flowing from one to the other practically, logically and flawlessly. From Candy’s faithful sheepdog reaching its untimely end with Carlson’s Lugar to Lennie who maintains the same mental bearing as a faithful dog reaching his untimely end with the same lugar. From this Steinbeck projects an image that the weak are left to die while the strong prevail and although physically Lennie outmatches them all, his lack of ability to control his physical strength is his downfall.
Of mice and men.
Plan.
1200 words max.
1000 words aim.
7 Paragraphs
Similes.
‘Lennie is like a ‘boa constrictor’, acting on impulse and fear so he holds on as tight as he can only tightening his grip when his victims struggle. Unknowingly hurting them due to his of instincts not active thought. ‘of
‘The reader can infer from Steinbeck’s character ‘Lennie’ is that he has a dog-like obedience to George and is unable to sympathise with anyone in the book other than George.’
‘Steinbeck’s character ‘Lennie’
The story begins a few miles south of Soledad and ends a few miles south of Soledad
Quotes.
“An live of that fatta the lan’” – Bible quote Genesis, ‘To live off nature’s bounty’
‘Cause I got you and you got me.’ This quote that is used various times in the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ It gives a sense of how important this friendship is important to both of them and the feeling that they aren’t alone is valuable to them’
Lines.
When Lennie grasps Curley’s wife with his boa constrictor-like instincts and snaps
And other notes: Of Mice and Men
Keep the word count to a maximum of 1,200.
Notes, Plan and Things to highlight.
· Curley’s wife doesn’t have a name because she is seen and treated as a possession. Steinbeck highlights this by excluding this character from the very basic concept of being in possession of her own self with a name. The reader infers from this that she is a Curley’s possession and can infer from this that
· Candy Is afraid of becoming expendable due to his old age. When George and his bear-like companion enter his life he begins to hope that he can get away from his aimless life at the ranch. Steinbeck shows this by evolving Candy’s character into one of
· George’s relationship with Lennie is something that is challenged during his short novel based at the ranch. George shows a great deal of compassion for Lennie and takes care of him knowing that he can’t take care of himself. Steinbeck implies that George needs Lennie just as much as Lennie needs George, this can be inferred when George changes his perspective at the realization that he has to put his loyal cohort down with the same gun and in the same manner in which Candy’s dog was killed. The reader infers from this that Lennie was a loyal-dog like companion in a world where the nature of humans is thought to be predatory and that this gave George a feeling of stability and eased his feelings of loneliness when he realises the inevitable which is that he has to end Lennie’s life he changes his perspective and although the dream is still in reach he chooses to lead the life of a regular iterant worker the reader can infer from this that George kept the dream alive for Lennie and that the dream is considered something for the two of them and not a dream that he can aspire to alone.
· Steinbeck depicts Lennie as a dog-like loyal companion worthy of sympathy but incapable of expressing any to the people he comes in contact with. Steinbeck gives Lennie a dream that is simple yet seemingly unattainable. He wishes to spend his days ‘’Tending the rabbits’’ and ‘’stroking sof’ things’’. Lennie constantly kills most animals that he comes in contact with and the reader could also infer from this and the death of Curley’s wife that Lennie may kill most living things that he comes in contact with which draws suspicion to the unexplained death of Lennie’s aunt Clara. Steinbeck creates a pattern with this whole novel which is the called ‘a pattern of cause and effect’ which is a chain of events flowing from one to the other practically, logically and flawlessly. From Candy’s faithful sheepdog reaching its untimely end with Carlson’s Lugar to Lennie who maintains the same mental bearing as a faithful dog reaching his untimely end with the same lugar. From this Steinbeck projects an image that the weak are left to die while the strong prevail and although physically Lennie outmatches them all, his lack of ability to control his physical strength is his downfall.
Hope these help! 
I'm in year 12 and did this last year, it looks good but try to develop your points a bit more and link it back to the question to get the top grades. At the moment this is probably about a B/C grade so it's looking alright considering you're in year 10!
btw. It's Crooks not Crook 😉
btw. It's Crooks not Crook 😉
Yeah I sent you my notes on it ^-^ What did you want in particular? Curley’s wife doesn’t have a name because she is seen and treated as a possession. Steinbeck highlights this by excluding this character from the very basic concept of being in possession of her own self with a name. The reader infers from this that she is a Curley’s possession and can infer from this that
· Candy Is afraid of becoming expendable due to his old age. When George and his bear-like companion enter his life he begins to hope that he can get away from his aimless life at the ranch. Steinbeck shows this by evolving Candy’s character into one of
· George’s relationship with Lennie is something that is challenged during his short novel based at the ranch. George shows a great deal of compassion for Lennie and takes care of him knowing that he can’t take care of himself. Steinbeck implies that George needs Lennie just as much as Lennie needs George, this can be inferred when George changes his perspective at the realization that he has to put his loyal cohort down with the same gun and in the same manner in which Candy’s dog was killed. The reader infers from this that Lennie was a loyal-dog like companion
· Candy Is afraid of becoming expendable due to his old age. When George and his bear-like companion enter his life he begins to hope that he can get away from his aimless life at the ranch. Steinbeck shows this by evolving Candy’s character into one of
· George’s relationship with Lennie is something that is challenged during his short novel based at the ranch. George shows a great deal of compassion for Lennie and takes care of him knowing that he can’t take care of himself. Steinbeck implies that George needs Lennie just as much as Lennie needs George, this can be inferred when George changes his perspective at the realization that he has to put his loyal cohort down with the same gun and in the same manner in which Candy’s dog was killed. The reader infers from this that Lennie was a loyal-dog like companion
Original post by haroon123
okay please can you help me like present more for each character like can you write basic info about the character so i can learn how you write if you where in a exam if u want ?
For your question (loneliness & isolation) you'll want to talk about how each character is isolated, and how some (George and Lennie) aren't.
Start with the introduction - it should be brief, with an overview of the whole book - perhaps reference to how loneliness is present from the start (the town they arrive in is called "soledad" - "solitude" in spanish) Use one or two quotes- the best one would be "guys like us are the loneliest guys in the world"
Then write 1-2 paragraphs on the main characters - I've always though the best ones were Crooks, Curley's Wife, Candy, George and Lennie.
Curley's Wife - never find out her name, possession of Curley - yet never seen with him. Forces herself on the other guys "any you guys seen Curley?", craves attention - turns to lennie (here we see the potential for affection, but is ruined by her death "flopped like a fish", "isn't it soft") She is lost in her broken dreams of being loved and adored "coulda been in pitchers" but, being a woman, is ostracised from even the 'weaker' males "lef' all the weak ones here".
Crooks - black male, given the worst jobs on the farm seen as animal (there's a quote about him living with the animals or something, not in the bunkhouse with the others) - he knows he won't be able to achieve anything, but that does not stop him from hoping "maybbe I could do some hoein' or something" - automatically demotes himself below the whites. Continually bullied by the others "*****".
Candy - lonely, used to have his dog for companionship, but in 1930s anyone who wasn't strong and fit was seen as pointless "why ain't you shoot 'im?" - he's willing to give up everything in the hope that he'll not be thrown out on to the streets "Say, I could pitch in with you guys"
George and Lennie - show that friendship is possible in the harsh society of the time, "we got each other" - yet, due to the inequalities in their friendship, the friendship is never feasible from the start "I'd shoot myself if I were related to you" - and G only wants the ranch to please L 'sure we can get rabbits". G kills L to save L from having a long and painful death at the hands of Curley "shoot 'im in the guts" - this is the final act of friendship, a kind act to save L.
The do your conclusion - summarise how loneliness is continued throughout the book, yet G+L's friendship contradicts this, yet even G ends up alone at the end - showing no friendship is feasible in the 'dog-eat-dog' 1930s society.
Hope this helped
u guys eat alot of poo
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