Sacrifice In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
The Cycle of Sacrifice Maharishi Mahesh Yogi once said “The important thing is this: to be able, at any moment, to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.” Sacrifice is a universal concept and struggle humans have to endure from birth to death. In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, he uses the literary devices of symbolism and imagery to illuminate the lesson of sacrifice, and how we must endure momentary suffering for the greater good of others as well as personal development. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck writes about Lennie Small and George Milton, two companions living in the era of the dust bowl. Additionally, Lennie is large in size compared to George, but contrastingly has a mental disorder making him slower than
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Crooks, a black stable buck is often ridiculed for the color of his skin. Crooks is a hard worker but is isolated in a “little shed that leaned off the wall barn”(66). The shed ultimately depicts the loneliness and separation Crooks, and other African Americans had in society during the time. On the contrary, one night Lennie and Candy decide to join Crooks in his shed, and engage in Conversation. For the first time Crooks feels integrated into the real world and begins to develop an ego. However, the boss’s daughter in law decides to join them. The woman begins to criticize them “a bunch of bindle stiffs”(78). For the first time Crooks decides to stand up for himself and develop an ego. As the woman digs deeper and deeper, Crooks finally reaches a breaking point and exclaims that she “got no rights comin’ in a colored man’s room”(80). This quote exemplifies the rise of Crooks persona and inner-strength. Nevertheless, the girl threatens to get Crooks “strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny”(81). Soon after that comment Crooks remains silent and timid. Steinbeck uses the characterization of Crooks as a black man, to emphasize the self-sacrifice of one’s personal beliefs and ego for the protection of a greater harm, and in Crooks case
Crooks, a black stable buck is often ridiculed for the color of his skin. Crooks is a hard worker but is isolated in a “little shed that leaned off the wall barn”(66). The shed ultimately depicts the loneliness and separation Crooks, and other African Americans had in society during the time. On the contrary, one night Lennie and Candy decide to join Crooks in his shed, and engage in Conversation. For the first time Crooks feels integrated into the real world and begins to develop an ego. However, the boss’s daughter in law decides to join them. The woman begins to criticize them “a bunch of bindle stiffs”(78). For the first time Crooks decides to stand up for himself and develop an ego. As the woman digs deeper and deeper, Crooks finally reaches a breaking point and exclaims that she “got no rights comin’ in a colored man’s room”(80). This quote exemplifies the rise of Crooks persona and inner-strength. Nevertheless, the girl threatens to get Crooks “strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny”(81). Soon after that comment Crooks remains silent and timid. Steinbeck uses the characterization of Crooks as a black man, to emphasize the self-sacrifice of one’s personal beliefs and ego for the protection of a greater harm, and in Crooks case