Themes In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

HYPOTHESIS: the novel of mice and men is still very relevant today.

I want you to all think to yourselves, have you ever dreamt something so big, believed something so big and achieved something so big.

Good morning ACARA Youth Forum, my name is Lily and I am going to discuss with you that classic novels studied in schools do continue to offer educational value. I go to Woodcrest State College and in the past month we have read and studied carefully the classic but still very relevant novel ‘Of Mice and Men’. During this speech we are going to uncover three different themes that occurred in the novel while George and Lenny (the main characters) continued to reach for their American dream. Based in the 1930’s these themes include loneliness,
This was to be true as migrant workers travelled by themselves away from their family and the familiar as they looked for work. Another example of loneliness in the novel was by Curley’s wife as she said “I get lonely…you can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody.” The way that Curley’s wife expresses her feelings shows her loneliness and inability to communicate with people to talk to that could really sincerely listen to her and understand her. Today many people face loneliness from those that are on the street to abused children. When you think to yourself does any body deserve to be lonely? No, they don’t however there are still ….. homeless people sleeping on the streets and … children being abused every year in Australia today. The loneliness portrayed in the novel provides lessons that are definitely still relevant today, people are experiencing this every day and this is something that we need to realise and be aware of the
Crooks was a black man that worked at the ranch and was left by himself to stay in the barn. Discrimination was showed against Crooks many times, especially when Curley’s wife said to him “Listen Nigger…you know what I can do to you if you open your trap”. This extract from the novel features the word ‘Nigger’ which back in the 1930’s was a very derogatory word used very offensively against many black people. However now even though still one of the most offensive words in the English Dictionary the word ‘Nigger’ today does not necessarily have as much impact as it did back then. Today in Australia we have many different names or nick names that are used against minority groups or racial groups. Discrimination is alive and kicking today, just as much as it was back then. School policies on bullying demonstrate it