Main Conflicts From "Of Mice And Men"

There are many conflicts in the book "Of Mice And Men" by John Steinbeck. One of the more important ones is the internal conflict between George and himself. George has to choose between abandoning Lennie to make George's life easier or to take care of Lennie which slows George down. An example is when George and Lennie work on a ranch Lennie always gets them in trouble, this happened once on the last ranch they worked on and happened again in the ranch they were currently working on during the story. Another conflict is the external conflict between Lennie and the society, Lennie doesn't fit in because he is extremely slow and uneducated, he is also exceptionally strong. He fails at remembering things, he does everything that George says if he does indeed remember them. These two conflicts really create the story and the main characters, the conflicts between George and himself really tell you a lot about him and what he is about, without this conflict there wouldn't be the character of George. The conflicts between Lennie and the society shapes the character of Lennie which comes from him being neglected from all people besides George who takes care of Lennie and remains his only friend. -Nick

Themes From "Of Mice And Men" - Loneliness and Isolation

One of the themes in the book is loneliness and isolation which is shown through characters such as George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife. All of the characters are searching for a friend, but they settle for strangers to share their feelings. George and Lennie are workers that move from place to place with no friends besides each other, Candy is an old worker that has no friends or comfort besides his dog which is executed due to its old age. After the death of Candy's dog Candy finds comfort in the idea of joining George and Lennie in their dream for their ranch. Crooks is black and has a crooked back, he believes that life is no good without a friend or partner to turn to in times of need. Crooks himself has no companion and he does not believe that George and Lennie will accomplish their dream of their farm but asks if they do indeed accomplish it if he could have a patch of land to hoe. Curley's wife admits to Lennie, Candy and Crooks that she is lonely and unhappy with her marriage and that all she wants is someone to talk to. This theme of loneliness really shapes the book and its characters. It is one of the most important themes of the book. -Nick

Biography of John Steinbeck

In Salinas, California on Febuary 27, 1902 the third of four children John Steinbeck was born as John Ernst Steinbeck. His father John Steinbeck, Sr. served as the Country treasurer. His mother Olive ( Hamilton ) Steinbeck was a former school teacher had fostered Steinbeck's love of reading and the written word. He had attended Salinas High School and graduated in 1919; then attended Standford University. In 1925 he left Stanford permenetly to purse his writing career. He wrote his first novel Cup of Gold in 1929 it attracted very little attention though. His other two books that he wrote The Pastures of Heaven and To a God Unknown were also attracted little attention. In 1935 Steinbeck had gotten married to his first wife Carol Henning. They lived in Pacific Grove where much of the material for Torilla Flat and Cannary Row was gathered. Tortilla had marked the turning point in Steinbeck's career in 1935. It has recieved the California commonwealth club's gold medal for the best novel that was written by an author from California. He then had continued writing his stories relying upon extensive reserch and personal observations on human conditions. In 1939 his book Grapes of Wrath had won the pulitzer prize. He was a correspondent for world war II for the New York Heralkd Tribune. Some of his dispatches were later collected and made into Once There Was a War. He was awarded with a nobel prize for Literature in 1962. Steinbeck had remained a kind of person who shunned publicity and was a private person. On December 20, 1968 John Steinbeck died and is survived by his third wife Elaine(scott) Steinbeck and his son Thomas. Steinbecks ashes were placed in the Garden of Memories Cemetery in Salinas, California.

Point of View

Throughout the book John Steinbeck uses third person point of view. Of Mice and Men is originally a play but it is written as a novel. Only late in the book you begin to foreshadow many of the events that may accure that is hinted by earlier events.  John Steinbeck chooses to use third person point of view so we can develope our own opinions about all of the characters.  In the book the character's feelings, thoughts and fantasies are expressed directly by each of the character. Of Mice and Men is focused on time, too, is limited to the present.  The book doesn't tell you any flashbacks that may have occured that shows in the play. The only thing that the reader knows is what happened to George and Lennie before the novel begins through dialogue.

- Victoria

Irony

Irony is when the outcome that happens is the opposite of what you expected. There are many different kinds of irony in "Of Mice and Men" but the most known one is that George must kill Lennie because he loves him and to put him out of his misery per say.

"The voices came close now. George raised the gun and listened to the voices.

Lennie begged, 'Le's do it now. Le's get that place now.'

'Sure Right now. I gotta. We gotta.'

And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger." (Steinbeck, 106)

This quote is talking about how right before George shot Lennie, he told him that they would finally get to go to that place he was always talking about. This is ironic because due to the bond George and Lennie share, it would never seem that George would end up having to kill Lennie, even though it was because he loved him.

Lennie had always wanted to go to the farm with all the rabbits, and to "send him there" George killed him instead so he wouldn't be tortured and then killed by all the farm hands. An ironic part of this is that George used the same gun to shoot Lennie to put him out of his misery, as that was used to do the same to Candy's dog.

-Daniel