Thursday 19 February 2009

How does Steinbeck create the feeling that George and Lennie may be doomed?

In this piece of writing, I am going to discuss that how Steinbeck created the feeling that George and Lennie may be doomed. John Steinbeck was the writer of the time back in 1930s in America. In his novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ written in 1937 that reflects the historical background of the time and his personal interest of outdoor, animals and individual human beings. Each theme of ‘Of Mice and Men’ shows how much George and Lennie wants to achieve their dream but somehow bad things always happen to them. George and Lennie are examples of the farm workers who had the dream of a better life and future during the difficult time after the First World War in USA.

Steinbeck tried to create a theme that a perfect dream can come true which basically built on two people with two completely different personalities. However on another hand, he gave miserable endings for every time he mentioned the dream. Steinbeck gave Lennie an uncontrollable and a childish personality, a weak mind with a strong physical figure and a soul that needs somebody else to reinsure the safety and belongingness. George is the person in change within the relationship between Lennie and himself. He is the one that determined to achieve his dream for a better life no matter what it takes and keep Lennie out of trouble so they can both stay in their dream, “The hell with the rabbits. That’s all you ever can remember is them rabbits. O.K.! Now you listen and this time you got to remember so we don’t get in no trouble.” (p.5). Steinbeck mentioned so many times that George and Lennie’s dream to have a small farm for George to own and soft animals for Lennie to look after. However he also wrote how Lennie always ended up killing soft animals by uncontrollable caring. It started from small animals such as mice and carried on happening to the bigger animals such as rabbits and dogs, finally a human being- a woman. All these events happened throughout the book that shows Steinbeck tried to create a feeling that George and Lennie may be doomed. George tried to teach Lennie to control his emotion and physical strength by telling Lennie that he can’t attend the rabbits if he doesn’t control himself well over and over again, “Come on, George. Tell me. Please, George. Like you done before.” (p.15). Lennie believed George for everything he said and relied on George to tell the dream and create the pictures in his head, “Jesus Christ, Lennie! You can’t remember nothing that happens, but you remember ever’ word I say.” (p.117). Moreover another theme of book started to show that George had the feelings that something would go wrong, “I think I knowed from the very first.” (p.107). Therefore he told Lennie that if anything goes wrong, he will meet Lennie by the pool. From this theme that Steinbeck shows the final hint of something terrible would happen and George and Lennie would be doomed in the end.

In conclusion, John Steinbeck wrote this novel started from building up George and Lennie’s hope so high up that give us the hints that it is too good to be true. By writing how badly Lennie’s behaviour with emotional and physical self-control throughout the book that shows Steinbeck is telling us the tragedy ending. In this novel ‘Of Mice and Men’, the relationship between George and Lennie is so strong that George aware that his dream can’t be come true and will doomed with Lennie.

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