Of Mice And Men Conflict Essay
The Great Depression was caused by economic difficulties, the stock market crash, poor farming practices and drought which fueled the dust bowl. In the book Of Mice and Men, the author John Steinbeck describes different conflicts the characters have to face where people prioritizing each other and helping each other out was not always the case. Three conflicts in this story are; the disability of Lennie, one of the main characters, racism against an African American, and the impossibility of achieving the American Dream during this time period.
In the story Lennie has a disability that causes him to have the mindset of a young child which leaves him to thinking and acting like one. During the Great Depression people were not aware of autism …show more content…
and the way the author describes the story the reader thinks he has autistic tendencies. Lennie is described as a big, strong guy, who does not keep track of important papers. He thinks he lost his work card and George says, “You never had none, you crazy bastard . . . Think I’d let you carry your own work card?”. (5) In this statement George’s use of bastard means someone who is unpleasant and despicable. This is how George the friend who Lennie trusts the most talkes to him. He also likes to touch soft things which becomes problematic during the story. When talking with Curley’s wife after accidently killing a mouse and puppy, he admits, “I like to pet nice things with my fingers soft things”. (90) Lennie also runs into trouble from his inability to understand and remember things as well.
In this story another important conflict is racism.
The white men on the ranch are mean to Crooks, the black stable buck. He is not allowed to stay in the bunk house with the rest of the ranch hands. He states “I ain’t wanted in the bunk house” (68) and “S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunk house because you was black” (72) these statements show the racial tensions in the conflict that are still present. The Great Depression happened after the Civil War so he is a free man, but he should have been treated equally but was not. He refers to himself as a colored or black man, but he says other people call him a nigger. When talking about the general ranch hands he says, “if I say something, why it’s just a nigger sayin’ it”. (70) The use of nigger is a derogatory term which shows that racial conflict is still present during the Great Depression.
The conflicts in this story about Lennie’s disability and racism play into the fact that the American Dream to own and live off of the land is almost impossible during this time period.When Candy, Crooks, and Lennie are discussing their dreams, Crooks is quick to cut in and state realty. He interrupts and says, “You guys is just kiddin’ yourself. You’ll talk about it a h*ll of a lot, but you won’t get no land” (75) The American Dream to be self sufficient, own your own place, and live off the fat of the land is not probable during this
time.
These are just a few of the things that the people during the Great Depression had to face. This story reflected the obstacles of people that were impacted by the Great Depressions difficulties and obstacles that didn’t reach their American Dream.
In the story Lennie has a disability that causes him to have the mindset of a young child which leaves him to thinking and acting like one. During the Great Depression people were not aware of autism …show more content…
and the way the author describes the story the reader thinks he has autistic tendencies. Lennie is described as a big, strong guy, who does not keep track of important papers. He thinks he lost his work card and George says, “You never had none, you crazy bastard . . . Think I’d let you carry your own work card?”. (5) In this statement George’s use of bastard means someone who is unpleasant and despicable. This is how George the friend who Lennie trusts the most talkes to him. He also likes to touch soft things which becomes problematic during the story. When talking with Curley’s wife after accidently killing a mouse and puppy, he admits, “I like to pet nice things with my fingers soft things”. (90) Lennie also runs into trouble from his inability to understand and remember things as well.
In this story another important conflict is racism.
The white men on the ranch are mean to Crooks, the black stable buck. He is not allowed to stay in the bunk house with the rest of the ranch hands. He states “I ain’t wanted in the bunk house” (68) and “S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunk house because you was black” (72) these statements show the racial tensions in the conflict that are still present. The Great Depression happened after the Civil War so he is a free man, but he should have been treated equally but was not. He refers to himself as a colored or black man, but he says other people call him a nigger. When talking about the general ranch hands he says, “if I say something, why it’s just a nigger sayin’ it”. (70) The use of nigger is a derogatory term which shows that racial conflict is still present during the Great Depression.
The conflicts in this story about Lennie’s disability and racism play into the fact that the American Dream to own and live off of the land is almost impossible during this time period.When Candy, Crooks, and Lennie are discussing their dreams, Crooks is quick to cut in and state realty. He interrupts and says, “You guys is just kiddin’ yourself. You’ll talk about it a h*ll of a lot, but you won’t get no land” (75) The American Dream to be self sufficient, own your own place, and live off the fat of the land is not probable during this
time.
These are just a few of the things that the people during the Great Depression had to face. This story reflected the obstacles of people that were impacted by the Great Depressions difficulties and obstacles that didn’t reach their American Dream.