Preview

English Essay- Explore the Ways in Which John Steinbeck Presents Power in the Fight Scene.

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
884 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
English Essay- Explore the Ways in Which John Steinbeck Presents Power in the Fight Scene.
Of mice and men

English essay- Explore the ways in which John Steinbeck presents power in the fight scene.
The 1930’s was hard time for most people who lost their money in the Wall Street crash. John Steinbeck tries to portray how tough life was back then in his novel mice and men. Mice and men also portray how power was abused and the way that it was used in the 1930’s. In the fight scene power is portrayed in many different ways physical power, financial power, collective power, emotional blackmail, status power and people who are disempowered. In this essay I will explore the ways that John Steinbeck presents power in the fight scene.
George has a lot of power over Lennie; psychological power but not physical. In the fight scene George uses instructional language to Lennie he orders Lennie what to do. For example ‘Leggo his hand Lennie.Leggo’. George shouted this over and over again in desperation for Lennie to stop. The instructional language that George uses is like the language that a parent would use with a child showing that Lennie and George share a parent and child relationship. The psychological power that George holds over Lennie means that Lennie has been disempowered like a young child would be when a parent makes a decision for them. The word ‘leggo’ suggests that George uses instructional language a lot to Lennie the way a parent would to a child. The word is effective because it is directly telling Lennie what to do. The word makes the reader feel sympathetic for Lennie because of the situation he is in. He doesn’t understand and is very confused about the situation that he is in. The other men apart from George and maybe slim don’t understand that Lennies mind works like child. If he does something worng he expects to be punished by George as we find out in chapter six after he unintentionally kills Curley’s wife. The word

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Throughout ‘Of Mice & Men’ power is a key theme; in the main George has power over Lennie whilst Slim has control over most characters. However each of the other characters asserts some form of power at least once throughout the book.…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Power is presented through characters by using a long description of what the character is like, describing their appearance, positive points and negative points. The power of the character is presented by demonstrating their dominance or submissiveness over another character through their actions, speech and the way they behave around them, and if they change their behaviour around other people, for example Curley acts as if he’s the best in the world at everything around Lennie because he tries to beat him up but he doesn’t act that way towards Slim, who is more dominant and powerful than him in terms of dominance, but not in terms of ranch hierarchy.…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In this essay I am going to be writing about one of the main characters in John Steinbeck’s novella ‘Of Mice and Men’. The story portrays the travels and arising problems of two migrant workers who share an uncommon friendship for the time and environment in which the novella is set. Lennie Small is the character I will be exploring and I will start off by giving a detailed explanation of his physical appearance and behaviour. Second I will look at his and the other main character George’s relationship which will then be followed by Lennie’s relationships with other characters throughout the book. I will then go on to look at the foreshadowing in which Steinbeck displays in the story and finally I will conclude the story of its final climax.…

    • 2184 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lennie is a clumsy and confused character, however this is shown to the extent that suggests that he is mentally handicapped “Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water and wiggled his fingers,” for example, which shows – at the time what would be considered as – very strange behaviour for a fully grown adult. Not only is this shown by direct speech, in order we fully understand what he his saying and the manner in which he is expressing it, but Lennie’s speech is written in such a way that suggests a child has said it shown by “dabbled” and “big paw.” Lennie is also very interested in childish things, such as petting animals “You broke it pettin’ it” –George. This refers to the disability, or childish behaviour, again shown by the abbreviated name “Lennie”, short for Leonard in order for it to be simple to say and less sophisticated (a quality that Lennie doesn’t seem bothered about.) As well as direct speech this is shown by narration: Lennie continued to snort into the pool, not…

    • 678 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Published in 1937, John Steinbeck wrote a moving and powerful novel titled, Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck’s reliance on textual description makes the work accessible to young readers, as does his use of foreshadowing and reoccurring images. Equally important is the way Steinebeck intertwines loneliness, friendship, and sadness. A professor at the University of San Jose stated, “The near impossibility of attaining the American Dream in the face of the huge and random challenges, like natural and economic disasters became the central theme of Steinbeck’s novel” (“Of Mice and Men – Critical Reception” 1). Marxist and New Criticism were the two approaches applied to the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.…

    • 248 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    George's Choice Omam

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Lennie doesn’t know his own strength, his whole life he’s been hurting living things. When Lennie was young his Aunt would give him mice but every time he managed to kill the mice. When something would pull away or even bite him he would squeeze down until they stopped moving. Curley tried to pick a fight with Lennie. Curley went to punch Lennie again and Lennie grab Curley’s fist and crushed his hand. George screams at Lennie “Leggo of him, Lennie. Let go” (63). Lennie didn’t know what he had done.…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people have power or are overpowered by others. This applies both in real life and the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Many of the characters in John Steinbeck's book excel or are limited in power. But all characters have certain aspects about their personality and physique that gives them power or shows why people have power over them. Many details and aspects make characters the way they are and their abilities and limits display their dominance.…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this essay I am going to discuss how John Steinbeck creates tension during the fight scene in ’Of Mice and Men’. I am going to look at how Steinbeck uses different techniques such as vocabulary, body language, similes, and dynamic verbs to build up different levels of tension during the scene.…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ashraf s Enlgish Essay

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Lennie has physical strength but has no control and understanding over it. When he tries to pet soft things he ends up killing them. Steinbeck never portrays Lennie as a killer as he never tries to kill anything in cold blood. Throughout the novel Lennie kills different things and always feels regret afterwards. In the novel George says ‘Lennie never done it in meanness. All the time he done bad things, but he never done one of em mean”’. This shows How George feels sympathy for Lennie as he always manages to get other people upset at him and always manages to get himself into trouble but Steinbeck is showing the reader though George that he never means to cause trouble and he often held back and get in trouble due to his simplicity and childlike mind.…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “I seen plenty tough little guys. But this Curley better not make no mistakes about Lennie. Lennie ain’t handy, but this Curley punk is gonna get hurt if he messes around with Lennie.”(26) George explains that Lennie and himself are not to be trifled with. George isn’t the strongest guy so he can’t fight the physical battles himself so he needs Lennie to help him.…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    OF MICE AND MEN

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The novella “Of Mice and Men” was based around the time of Black Tuesday. Black Tuesday left Americans feeling vulnerable and powerless, so therefore any form of power was needed and respected. At the time, most places were male dominated such as the ranch were George and Lennie worked, so therefore men were the ones who had more power over women. Nature is presented as being more powerful than humans because it ongoing, cyclical and leaves traces, where as human life is transient and doesn’t leave a trace. In the novella, there are different types of power such as financial, mental and physical power. Throughout the novella, Steinbeck conveys the themes of human nature, friendship and the unachievable American dream.…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cited: Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. Shipk12.org/web. Shippensburg Area School District, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. <http://www.shipk12.org/web/filemgmt_data/files/ Steinbeck_-_Of_Mice_and_Men.pdf >…

    • 1753 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cited: Alexander, Stanley. "The Conflict of Form in Tortiiia Fiat." American Literature 40 (1968): 58-60. Astro, Richard. JoAn Steinbeck and Edward F. Ricketts: The Shaping of a Novelist. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1973. Carpenter, Frederick. "John Steinbeck: The Philosophical Joads." College English 2 (January 1941): 324-25. Ditsky, John. "Ritual Murder in Steinbeck 's Dramas." Steinbeck Quarterly 11 (Summer-Fall 1978): 72-76. Fontenrose, Joseph. John Steinbeck: An Introduction and Interpretation. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1963. French, Warren. John Steinbeck. New York: Twayne, 1961. Levant, Howard. The Novéis of John Steinbeck: A Criticai Study. Columbia: U of Missouri P, 1974. . "Tortiiia Fiat: The Shape of John Steinbeck 's Career." PMLA 85 (1970): 1087-95. Lisca, Peter. John Steinbeck: Nature and Myth. New York: Crowell, 1978.…

    • 2286 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Steinbeck offers conflict of different kinds in "Of Mice And Men". He shows this through descriptive imagery and dialogue to send the message of conflict. The issues and physical, verbal and…

    • 262 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Steinbeck shows us power in many different ways, Physical, Personal, Financial Power and Power of Seduction the novel was set in the 1930’s when power meant a lot to a lot of people. This meant that people would do anything to get respected! In the 1930’s the world was a different place to what it is now, a lot of racial division and an economic crisis which would last well over a decade. Steinbeck uses real- life scenarios and portrays it in the book.…

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays