Of Mice and Men
‘The more a society seeks to disempower its people, the more the individual spirit thrives.’
The novel “Of Mice And Men” by John Steinbeck, many of the characters have been given no real power or have been disempowered by society. Many factors provide to this sense of powerlessness, including race, gender and size. However, all the characters use different techniques to empower themselves and thrive. Furthermore, companionship can give you security and make you want to empower yourself and thrive against society.
Steinbeck explores the issues of power in the sitting of the great depression in America; a time when a lot of people were powerless.
One way in Of mice and men is through companionship. Of mice and man explores the idea of the importance of companionship through the friendship of Lennie and George. Many characters in the novel feel isolated and powerless because they do not have a companionship. There is contrast between the loneliness of all the other characters and Lennie and George. This is shown by many of the workers at the ranch. Lennie and George gain power from their companionship as they have someone to care for. In the novella George says, “guys like us got no fambly” and George replies “But not us,” he said, “Because…I got you… An we have each other, because that’s what gives us a hoot in hell about us”. This shows their friendship as Lennie reassures George that he is not alone, they have each other, and this makes them feel as if they can fight society together. This can also come from the security a person gets from friendship. We are shown this through candy and his dog, he had a great friendship with the dog and when the others wanted to get rid of the dog Candy stood up to society and gained power. This is one of the examples of society disempowering candy, but he stands up to society at first and refuses to kill the dog. Eventually society does disempower candy and he gives into them killing the dog.
The great American dream
The novel “Of Mice And Men” by John Steinbeck, many of the characters have been given no real power or have been disempowered by society. Many factors provide to this sense of powerlessness, including race, gender and size. However, all the characters use different techniques to empower themselves and thrive. Furthermore, companionship can give you security and make you want to empower yourself and thrive against society.
Steinbeck explores the issues of power in the sitting of the great depression in America; a time when a lot of people were powerless.
One way in Of mice and men is through companionship. Of mice and man explores the idea of the importance of companionship through the friendship of Lennie and George. Many characters in the novel feel isolated and powerless because they do not have a companionship. There is contrast between the loneliness of all the other characters and Lennie and George. This is shown by many of the workers at the ranch. Lennie and George gain power from their companionship as they have someone to care for. In the novella George says, “guys like us got no fambly” and George replies “But not us,” he said, “Because…I got you… An we have each other, because that’s what gives us a hoot in hell about us”. This shows their friendship as Lennie reassures George that he is not alone, they have each other, and this makes them feel as if they can fight society together. This can also come from the security a person gets from friendship. We are shown this through candy and his dog, he had a great friendship with the dog and when the others wanted to get rid of the dog Candy stood up to society and gained power. This is one of the examples of society disempowering candy, but he stands up to society at first and refuses to kill the dog. Eventually society does disempower candy and he gives into them killing the dog.
The great American dream