Student Essay on Of Mice and Men

Of mice and men

The main theme of this book is the loneliness and friendship in 1930's America amongst the lower class people. In my opinion, this book tells us nothing but the reality about 1930's America which was loneliness and friendship. I think that the main theme of this book is trying to tell how important the friendship and how bitter the loneliness was at that time.

The book is based on two main characters that are a great example of friendship and based on other characters who absolutely suffer in life because of their endless loneliness. Lennie and George are the two main characters that come along the book with the great friendship between them. These two guys have been together for such a long time since their childhood and are now travelling around the country together to find themselves a ranch to work. The most interesting thing about these two good friends is when we look at both their appearances and characteristic features George is "small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands splender harms a thin and bony nose." P4. George is also a clever and alert man who could detect the danger coming from a mile away. But on the other side Lennie is "a hug man, shapeless of face, with large eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders." p4

Lennie is also a simple man; his brain is as simple as a little kid's brain. He can't even remember his own aunt Clara. Sometimes he can't understand what other people are trying to say and he repeats his words couple of times when he talks to someone. Lennie is not aware of any thing that could possibly cause him trouble or hurt him. Lennie is also the kind of forgetful person who just forgets about everything that you told him even ten times before. The only thing that he never forgets is the rabbits that he wants to tend more than anything. As we can see from these descriptions there is almost nothing in common between these two men so, naturally we just might wonder "how an earth would a clever guy like George want to travel around with a man like Lennie" who always causes him trouble because of his foolishness and recklessness, as it says on the book "Lennie is a god damn nuisance most of the time, he ain't mean. But he gets in trouble all the time because he is so god damn dumb." p42. And I think at this point another fact comes out from their friendship, which is feeling sorry and responsible for one another. The only relative that Lennie had was his aunt Clara. She raised him up. And when she died, George felt sorry about him so he started taking care of him, because he has not got anyone else in the world and too damn to look after himself. And another fact which makes their friendship strong is the same dream that they both share. And that is; one day live in a place that just belongs to them. In a house in which they just sleep, not with any other smelly ranch workers, and a garden where Lennie is going to tend as many rabbits as he wants without getting anyone's permission. And a house where they are going to be safe in and where they are never going to get kicked out of because Lennie does something wrong again, because at that time "having your own place" meant a lot to them. It was like a life insurance and freedom to these to two many other who are just like them. We could understand it from page 61 when Lennie, George and Candy talk about that house and Candy says "Suppose there was a carnival or a circus come to town, or a ball game, or any damn thing. We would just go to her." George said. We would not ask anybody if we could. Just say, we'll go to her and we would." I think this part here gives us an idea that having your own place also gives you your freedom to do anything at anytime you like. And when you are old and not able to work any more there is going to be no one to kick you out of your own house as it says on page 75. "Every one wants a little bit of land, not much. Just something that was his. Something he could live on and there could not be nobody throw him off." And no one could shot you at the back of your head because you are useless. Just like what they have done to Candy's old dog. I think this proves my life insurance point for people, who are at the bottom of the line at that time.

But they never can even get close to it, because they are lonely and haven't got any sort of friendship with someone who could help their dream to become true. However, it is not the same for these two guys, because one has got another to look after each other. As George says in the book; "guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong to a place. They come to a ranch and work up a stake and then they go into town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they are pounding their tale on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to. George went on with us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don't have to sit in no bar room blowing in our jack because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all any body gives a damn but not us. Lennie broke in. "But not us and why? Because I got you to look after me and you got me look after." P15

There are also characters who are absolutely shuttered these are Candy, Crooks and Curley's wife.

Candy is an old swamper in the ranch. Candy has been working in the ranch for such a long time. He has got caught his one hand in the machine so, they just gave him a swamping out job because he was old, one handed and useless to do other hard jobs. Candy has not any power or authority in the ranch. Candy also has not got any true friend in the ranch. The only friend he had was his old dog. Candy was one of the bottom class men in the ranch. Therefore nobody actually cares what he thinks or what he wants. Even when Carlson decided to shot Candy's dog down who was the only friend of him, he could do nothing but agree with Carlson to put the dog down because it stinks. At that time Candy felt so sorrowful, because he could not even resist against Carlson decision and he knew it was pointless to argue with Carlson because Candy was weak. He was also so worried because that dog kind of represented Candy, when the dog was young it used to be a great sheep dog, but now it was not even no good to him self so he got shot. And when Candy was young he was a good skinner but now he is useless so he thinks the same thing might happen to him, because at the end of the day he has not got any friend to take care of him. Even in the book where it says "They'll can me purty soon just as soon as I can't swamp out no bunk houses they put me on the county." P60 Even at this point we can see that Candy actually knows what is going to happen to him after he can't work no more. And he also knows that his destination is not going to be quite different from his dog's one. And that's what scares him most. But when Candy heard Lennie and George talking to each other about their dream, suddenly his dark feelings about his life change and this dream is like an inspiration that gives him a good hope for the life, because he now knows that his not going to end up getting shot down by someone because he was old and useless. This idea could change his fate, so Candy started to have some expectations for his life and he knew that he was not going live his rest of life in bitter loneliness. But when Lennie killed Curley's wife, at the same time he killed their dream. And in the book on page 94 where Candy says; "I could of hoed in the garden and washed dishes for them guys." He paused, and then went on in a singsong. And he repeated the old words: "if there was a circus or a baseball game . . . we would of went to her . . . just said 'the hell with work,' and went to her. Never ast nobody's say so. And they'd of been pig and chickens . . . and in the winter ... a little fat stove... and the rain coming... and us just setting there." At this point we can understand that Candy actually knows that their dream is destroyed. Because at that time for guys like Candy and many others the close they think their dream is, it is more likely to be taken away form them. Unfortunately that is what exactly happened in our story.

Crooks is a stable buck and he has been working in the ranch for a long time. He is a black man therefore in the ranch nobody actually respected him. Everybody in the ranch calls him "Negro" a part from Slim. In the story he is the one of main characters who is at the bottom of the line. Crooks is a hunch-backed man, because he was kicked by a horse. He has not got any friend so has not got any power in the ranch. Also he is the kind of man who everybody in the ranch picks on. He can't do anything to them because he is black. They don't even accept him to come into the bunk house because they say that he stinks.

I think as a result of everybody in the ranch treats him with a horrible behaviour he has just turn out to be a rude, aggressive and prejudiced to other people.

For example; when Lennie went in to Crooks's room just to find somebody to talk to, without even letting Lennie say something Crooks says to him; "you got no right to come in my room. This here's my room. Nobody got any right in here but me. Go on get out of my room." P68 I think this quota is enough to prove Crook's anger about other people. However, in further speech we could actually see where his big anger comes from and why he does not want Lennie in his room. Crooks says "I ain't wanted in the bunk house and you ani't wanted in my bunk house."p68 And at this point we could actually understand that the reason why he is like this is, not because that is the way he is, it is because other people around him forced him to be like that. But Crooks sees that Lennie is not like other guys he jus lets him come into his room for a while. As we know that everyone in the ranch picks on Crooks because he is black, hunch back and he ain't got any power because he is at the bottom of line. But this time Crooks realises that Lennie is a simple-minded person and therefore he just takes this advantage and starts picking on Lennie just like other people in the ranch pick on him. Crooks; "suppose George don't come back no more. Suppose he took a powder and just ani't coming back what will you do then."p71 And after he saw Lennie was worried and crying he just went on "suppose that. Nobody can tell what a guy will do," he observed calmly "let's say he wants to come back and he can't. Suppose he gets killed or hurt so he can't come back."P71 He just keeps threatening Lennie; "want me to tell you what will happen? They'll take you to the booby hatch. They'll tie you up with a collar, like a dog."P71 But by the time he sees Lennie walking dangerously towards himself, he just stepped back and; "I was just supposing," he said. "George ain't hurt. He is all right. He will be back all right."p72 As we can see for the first time Crooks get the chance of picking on someone who is weaker than him in the ranch

In the book we know that there are characters that have a dream. A dream that they are really working hard for. And that gives that a hope to live. And there are characters whose dreams are already taken away from them.

Crooks is likely to be one of the characters whose dream's is already taken away from, because his biggest dream was to be treated equally, just like a white man gets treated and not to be alone because he is black. In the book where it say; "you got George. Suppose you didn't have anybody. Suppose you could not go into the bunk house because you was black. How'd you like that? I guy needs somebody-to be near him." He whined, "A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long as he is with you. I tell you," he cried, "I tell you a guy gets too lonely and he gets sick." P72 Here, Crooks just explores his miserable life and his miserable loneliness. So we could see that he has not any expectations from the life.

Curley's wife is also one of the characters who are known with their loneliness in the book. She is the only female in the ranch. She is beautiful and she likes getting attention from the men who in the ranch. Therefore, whenever she goes out of her house to walk around the ranch, she always puts on her make up and she dresses up nicely to look attractive. However, because of the fact she his Curley's wife nobody actually wants to talk to her, because they might get in to trouble or lose their job.

As a result of this, when somebody avoids from talking to her she just gets angry and starts to humiliate them. For example; on p78 when she went into Crooks room to talk to someone and by the time no one wanted to chat to her, she completely got annoyed and started picking on them: "You bindle bums think you are so god damn good"" She just kept going "every body is out doing something and what am I doing! Standing here talking to bunch of bindle stiffs-a nigger and a dum-dum and a lousy old sheep." Here we could actually see how cruel she might get when nobody wants to talk to her.

She also threatens people when they don't talk want to talk her. On page 80 when Crooks told her to leave his room because he did not want any trouble she said: "Listen, nigger, you know what I can do to you if you open your trap"" and then again "You know what I could do? I could get strung upon a tree so easy it ain't even funny." Maybe she can't threat other men in the like this, but she can do it to Crooks, because he is the lowest class person in the ranch because he is black. Crooks knows this, that's why he could not say nothing but "Yes, ma'am" when she threatened him.

Basically, in the book Curley's wife and Crooks are the two characters whose fate are so similar to each other. Their dreams are already taken away form them and they both would not want to be living like this. On page 87 and 88, when she is in the barn talking to Lennie. She says "I could have been in the movies and had nice clothes. All them clothes like they wear. I could have sat in them big hotels and had pictures took of me. When they had them previous I could have gone to them and spoke in the radio and it would not cost me a cent because I was in the pictures." At this point we could understand that this ranch is not the place that she thinks she belongs to and she thinks she deserves to be living in a better life than this. But now this dream is too far away from her because she is married to Curley and living in a ranch now.

I think in some aspect, Curley is also lonely, because even though he is boss's son no one actually likes him and no body gives him the respect that he expects to get form the people in the ranch because of his selfishness. He wants to have the same authority as Slim has got, because everyone in the ranch respects Slim. Curley is the kind of person who does not like taller and stronger guys than him, because he is short and weak. That's why even in the first day, when George and Lennie arrived the ranch he started to pick on Lennie and tried to bully him, because Lennie is a huge and strong man.

He is also a trouble maker, because he just wants to do something bad to people who he does not like. On p77 where Curley's wife says "Swell guy, ain't he? Spends all his time saying what he is gonna do to guys he don't like, and he don't like nobody." We could clearly see it here that he does not think anything but hurting the people who he does not like, which is what he has done to Lennie but this time he was not as lucky as before because Lennie absolutely crashes his hand.