Altruism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
In Barack Obama’s 2004 Democratic National Convention speech, he introduced his ideology of “I am my brother’s keeper”: if someone else is hurt or negatively impacted, no matter their background, heritage, social standing, or economic stability, you have a responsibility to aid them. In a sense, this philosophy expands upon the “Golden Rule” principal of treating others as one would wish to be treated, and the idea that altruistic behavior between people forms mutual relationships that eventually benefits society as a whole. For instances, within Obama’s speech he conveyed: “I am my brother’s keeper. I want his children and mine to learn and be educated and have every chance at success and happiness in life.” This posed scenario, expresses
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how through a person’s empathy, putting themselves in that same position, for others can lead to societal changes, such as education reform. Personally, I think that this viewpoint is beneficial to society and a necessity within American culture. American culture has based on the idea of being independent from others and solving personal issues personally, without the aid of outside sources. According to Psychological Science (2013), American students, compared to European and Asian American students, are less motivated when asked to complete a difficult puzzle interdependently. Additionally, when prompted about a course on environmental sustainability, American students said they would put less effort into the course when the description emphasized things like working together and taking other people's views into account, rather than when it prioritized taking charge and being unique. However, this philosophy of working on a difficult task, to achieve something greater, alone rather than in a group, is not a new concept to American society. Take for example, the American 1930’s: this was the hardest time for millions of Americans due to the Great Depression. It was at the time, the worst and longest period of economic collapse, lasting from 1929 to 1940: factories closed, banks, due to unpaid loans, failed, agricultural areas suffered as the price of crops drastically fell, and unemployment increased to twenty-five percent. Millions of families and single men, who had lost their homes and money, went on the road in search of work and, due to unemployment, competition for jobs increased leading to isolation since everyone was seen as a threat to employment. Additionally, as if the unstable economy was not enough, the remnants of World War I lingered in people’s, especially soldiers, minds, who had seen comrades and loved ones killed mercilessly. Since psychology had not advanced enough to understand the condition of PTSD, these soldiers often opted to deal with their trauma by living a secluded lifestyle. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, exceedingly conveys the benefits of altruism in the dreary and isolated period of the American 1930s.
Of Mice and Men follows the “unlikely pair” George and Lennie as they “cling together in the face of loneliness and alienation” in the 1930’s (Steinbeck,1937). Like most single men during the economically struggling 1930s, both were migrant laborers in the American west vegetable fields, with other laborers, as they work hard to earn enough money to achieve their dream of being independent and owning an acre of land and a shack (Steinbeck, 1937). However, to other laborers on the ranch, George and Lennie’s companionship is considered out of place and suspicious, since most either consider others as competition, “dead weight”, or feel that they are more likely to succeed independently; even the ranch owner asks George “…what stake you got in this guy? You takin’ his pay away from him?” and George expresses that he is not to which the Boss replies: “Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is.” (Steinbeck, 1937, p. 22). This conveys that the Boss was perplexed by George and Lennie’s affiliation that he became suspicious of George taking advantage of Lennie being mentally challenged, rather than reasoning that George and Lennie just do not want to be by themselves. Steinbeck also utilizes this novel to reflect on how loneliness impacted minor characters to juxtapose the advantages
of George and Lennie’s companionship. For example, Crooks is the ranch’s stable hand who lives by himself on the account that he is the only African American on the ranch. The characterization Crooks illustrates to the reader that his isolation has driven him to develop suppressed anger and to sulk in his misery of seclusion while taking delight in the suffering of others’ solitude. Though, when Lennie converses with Crooks while all the ranch hands were away, Crooks has an epiphany as he begins to comprehend the advantages of companionship, as conveyed by Steinbeck in Chapter 4: “Crooks laughed again […] “I seen it over an' over- a guy talkin' to another guy and it don't make no difference if he don't hear or understand. The thing is, they're talkin', or they're settin' still not talkin'. It don't make no difference, no difference." His excitement had increased until he pounded his knee with this hand. "George can tell you screwy things, and it don't matter. It's just the talking. It's just bein' with another guy. That's all." (Steinbeck, 1937, p. 73). “I am my brother’s keeper” can be considered a simple ideology and task in general, however, the complexity behind the idea is profound and expresses how a small act of altruism can impact society over time. Although their can and will be difficult times in individually or societally, similar to the Great Depression, and isolation may seem like the solution to a person’s emotional, economic, or social, problems, working together allows humanity to strive to achieve a goal, survive hardships, or offer emotional support. For example, through Lennie and George’s steadfast relationship and willingness to achieve their dream of owning an acre of land with a shack to call their own, they inspired others, Candy and Crooks, committed to secluded lifestyles, to form an alliance to aid in the achievement of this goal. Being your brother’s keeper is not only a person aiding a single person, but helping other in hope that in helping your example will inspire others to do the same and, rather than rise as an individual, rise as a coherent, beneficial group.
how through a person’s empathy, putting themselves in that same position, for others can lead to societal changes, such as education reform. Personally, I think that this viewpoint is beneficial to society and a necessity within American culture. American culture has based on the idea of being independent from others and solving personal issues personally, without the aid of outside sources. According to Psychological Science (2013), American students, compared to European and Asian American students, are less motivated when asked to complete a difficult puzzle interdependently. Additionally, when prompted about a course on environmental sustainability, American students said they would put less effort into the course when the description emphasized things like working together and taking other people's views into account, rather than when it prioritized taking charge and being unique. However, this philosophy of working on a difficult task, to achieve something greater, alone rather than in a group, is not a new concept to American society. Take for example, the American 1930’s: this was the hardest time for millions of Americans due to the Great Depression. It was at the time, the worst and longest period of economic collapse, lasting from 1929 to 1940: factories closed, banks, due to unpaid loans, failed, agricultural areas suffered as the price of crops drastically fell, and unemployment increased to twenty-five percent. Millions of families and single men, who had lost their homes and money, went on the road in search of work and, due to unemployment, competition for jobs increased leading to isolation since everyone was seen as a threat to employment. Additionally, as if the unstable economy was not enough, the remnants of World War I lingered in people’s, especially soldiers, minds, who had seen comrades and loved ones killed mercilessly. Since psychology had not advanced enough to understand the condition of PTSD, these soldiers often opted to deal with their trauma by living a secluded lifestyle. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, exceedingly conveys the benefits of altruism in the dreary and isolated period of the American 1930s.
Of Mice and Men follows the “unlikely pair” George and Lennie as they “cling together in the face of loneliness and alienation” in the 1930’s (Steinbeck,1937). Like most single men during the economically struggling 1930s, both were migrant laborers in the American west vegetable fields, with other laborers, as they work hard to earn enough money to achieve their dream of being independent and owning an acre of land and a shack (Steinbeck, 1937). However, to other laborers on the ranch, George and Lennie’s companionship is considered out of place and suspicious, since most either consider others as competition, “dead weight”, or feel that they are more likely to succeed independently; even the ranch owner asks George “…what stake you got in this guy? You takin’ his pay away from him?” and George expresses that he is not to which the Boss replies: “Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is.” (Steinbeck, 1937, p. 22). This conveys that the Boss was perplexed by George and Lennie’s affiliation that he became suspicious of George taking advantage of Lennie being mentally challenged, rather than reasoning that George and Lennie just do not want to be by themselves. Steinbeck also utilizes this novel to reflect on how loneliness impacted minor characters to juxtapose the advantages
of George and Lennie’s companionship. For example, Crooks is the ranch’s stable hand who lives by himself on the account that he is the only African American on the ranch. The characterization Crooks illustrates to the reader that his isolation has driven him to develop suppressed anger and to sulk in his misery of seclusion while taking delight in the suffering of others’ solitude. Though, when Lennie converses with Crooks while all the ranch hands were away, Crooks has an epiphany as he begins to comprehend the advantages of companionship, as conveyed by Steinbeck in Chapter 4: “Crooks laughed again […] “I seen it over an' over- a guy talkin' to another guy and it don't make no difference if he don't hear or understand. The thing is, they're talkin', or they're settin' still not talkin'. It don't make no difference, no difference." His excitement had increased until he pounded his knee with this hand. "George can tell you screwy things, and it don't matter. It's just the talking. It's just bein' with another guy. That's all." (Steinbeck, 1937, p. 73). “I am my brother’s keeper” can be considered a simple ideology and task in general, however, the complexity behind the idea is profound and expresses how a small act of altruism can impact society over time. Although their can and will be difficult times in individually or societally, similar to the Great Depression, and isolation may seem like the solution to a person’s emotional, economic, or social, problems, working together allows humanity to strive to achieve a goal, survive hardships, or offer emotional support. For example, through Lennie and George’s steadfast relationship and willingness to achieve their dream of owning an acre of land with a shack to call their own, they inspired others, Candy and Crooks, committed to secluded lifestyles, to form an alliance to aid in the achievement of this goal. Being your brother’s keeper is not only a person aiding a single person, but helping other in hope that in helping your example will inspire others to do the same and, rather than rise as an individual, rise as a coherent, beneficial group.