Analyze in detail how Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Essay

John Steinbeck’s first hand experience of what life was like during the American Depression allowed him to write an accurate novel on life during this dull time. It also gives us a good idea of certain aspects of the Depression; about how migrant workers lived and also how they were treated. The Depression changed people’s thoughts and views on life, how sensitive they were to others and how they acted around people. This is especially true of the migrant workers in Of Mice and Men. Loneliness took a major role in the migrant workers’ lives. The vast majority of the workers traveled alone across America, moving from ranch to ranch. Family values were non-existent, because of this they didn’t belong anywhere. The workers believed it was survival of the fittest between them. There were a large number of drifting workers, all-looking for the same jobs. Competition for work was fierce. There was a general feeling of loneliness at the time for the workers. George emphasizes this feeling when he is talking to Lennie by the brush: ‘Guys like us, which work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place.’ Because of a vast amount of suspicion on the ranch the workers often chose a solitary existence. It also made relationships between the workers very shallow. It would seem that the majority of the workers could not forge a meaningful relationship. Yet, it wasn’t just the workers who felt lonely. Curley’s wife also displays loneliness: ‘I get awful lonely’†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley.’ Crooks also seems very lonely: ‘I tell ya a guy gets too lonely, an’ he gets sick.’ Both Crooks and Curley’s wife also choose a life of solitude because of the suspicion. It is harder for them to establish meaningful relationships because the obstacles of discrimination and sexism that exists on the ranch. Loneliness was common for almost everyone. Different people did different things to try and cope with loneliness. Some would play cards. Some would play horseshoes. Crooks would read his books and Curley’s wife tries attention seeking by hanging around the bunks. They did anything to avoid the loneliness and boredom. Entertainment was a form of escape from their boring lives. Apart from the simple things the workers would do during the month like cards and horseshoes, there was no entertainment, so they all looked forward to the end of the month: ‘Well, a guy got to have some fun sometime.’ This was when they would get their pay and go into town. They would spend their money on drink and prostitutes. Again, anything that would allow them to escape from their lonely lives. It was normal for the workers to spend the best part of the night in a â€Å"whore house† where they could get alcohol and women. ‘A guy can go in an’ get drunk and get ever’thing out his system all at once, an’ no messes.’ And once that night was done that was it until the end of the next month. This demonstrates the attitude on the ranch toward women: they are just objects which can be used whenever they please. They aren’t considered as eqaul at all. The attitude towards Curley’s wife is another example of how women were poorly treated, poorly regarded and were by a long way, less equal than men. Newly married and in an unfamiliar place, she is not allowed to talk to anyone but Curley. She resents this and approaches the other ranch workers with the excuse of looking for Curley. The men instantly have their guard up and assure each other that she is nothing but trouble. They regard her as a woman to be used and make no attempt to get to know her. Probably the most important aspect of workers’ lives was the dream they all shared. But because of their tendencies to go into town at the end of the month they would never realize their dream, as many of their dreams involved saving up money, whoich usually they wasted. Crooks sums it up quite well: ‘I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads. Hundreds of them. They come, an’ they quit an’ they go on; an’ every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ every goddamn one of ’em ever gets it. Just like heaven.’ It was a simple dream. All they wanted was to own their own place. A piece of land and a house to live in, somewhere they weren’t told what to do, a place where they could choose who could stay on their land and who had to move on, and a place where at the end of the harvest they could keep what they had harvested. George points this out: ‘I’d have my own little place, an’ I’d be bringing in my own crops, ‘stead of doin’ all the work and not getting what comes up outa the ground.’ But for most this dream would never be fulfilled. Their loneliness would always be with them. This would mean they would have to escape from their loneliness by going into town and spending their money. But without money they would never be able to buy their own place. As with loneliness, having dreams was not exclusive to the workers. Curley’s wife often dreamt of what her life would have been like if she would have been in movies: ‘Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear. An’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pictures took of me.’ As for George and Lennie there is hope. They have each other to look after one another and are not as lonely as the other migrant’s. ‘Because†¦because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you.’ says Lennie. Because they have each other, they have a better chance of realizing their dream. They both have someone to talk to and travel with which helps them not get so lonely. It is this companionship that gives them their chance. Also, because of their companionship, they are very different from all the other workers on the ranch. None of the other workers had someone to travel with. Their companionship is seen as very unusual: ‘Well, I never seen a guy take so much trouble for another guy.’ says Carlson. Slim also says: ‘I hardly never seen two guys travel together.’ It was a rare thing to see during that period. It was also rare for the workers show genuine care for each other of for anyone else. George and Lennie a re an exception to this. Along with the good things that came with travelling together, George and Lennie’s companionship also brought along suspicion. Suspicion was very common on the ranches. The boss is suspicious as soon as George and Lennie arrive. He is suspicious of George because he won’t let Lennie speak: ‘I said what stake you got in this guy? You takin’ his pay away from him?’ He later says ‘I got my eye on you.’ It isn’t just the boss who is wary of the workers. It seems everyone is suspicious of each other: ‘Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.’ says Slim. This is emphasized a lot by the way hardly anyone travels together and by the way George accuses Candy of listening in on his conversation with Lennie: ‘Say, what the hell you doin’ listenin’?’ Curley is also suspicious of anybody when it comes to his new wife. He runs around a lot looking for her and at one point accuses Slim of messing with her. Finally, most of the men on the ranch are worried about talking to Curley’s wife. They accuse her of giving men the eye and think she is a tart. There is a large amount of suspicion all over the ranch aimed at anyone around the ranch itself. As well as a lot of suspicion, maybe leading to the following, there was also a fair amount of violence. Curley is the main source of violence on the ranch. He was jealous and suspicious of people and this leads to him causing trouble. He is said to pick on big guys the most because he was so small: ‘He hates big guys. He’s alla time picking scraps with big guys.’ He is also said to be a good boxer and has proved this by doing well in certain tournaments. He’s often wary and is ready for a fight: His eyes flashed over George, took in his height, measured his reach, and looked at his trim middle. Curley finally demonstrates his foul temper and his willingness to fight by picking on Lennie and hitting him several times. George mentions the sense of violence on the ranch: ‘After a long time they get mean. They get wantin’ to fight all the time.’ Another side to the violence on the ranch is the attraction of it. Whit is very eager when he sees Curley going after Slim: ‘I guess maybe I’d like to see this.’ and ‘But I like to see the fuss if it comes off. Come on le’s go.’ Crooks is a target of the violence also. The time at Christmas when they set after him is an example of this. He is often verbally abused as well. The workers are very casual about racist language. They use words like ‘nigger’ behind his back and even to his face: ‘Sure the stable buck’s a nigger.’ ‘Nigger huh?’ ‘Yeah. Nice fella, too.’ And such words are even said to his face: ‘Listen, Nigger.’ says Curley’s wife. Racism was still very common during this period and segregation was also common. Crooks wasn’t allowed in the white workers’ bunk house and he is put in the barn, by himself, which had very poor living conditions. He had to put up with a lot of abuse and discrimination and because of this he had developed a protective shell, which he would withdraw back into whenever he was being abused, this made him suspicious of anyone trying to help him or take an interest in him. Crooks was a dignified man and would often refer to his mauled book of rights to emphasize he had rights. He would also refer to his book if he thought someone was doing something that impeded his rights. Crooks was also very lonely and he craves someone to talk to as much as any of the other workers on the ranch. A good example of his dignity and his loneliness mixed together is when Lennie comes into his room he tries to be angry but he knows he needs someone to talk to and allows Lennie to stay in his room. Women were used and treated unfairly during this period also. During this time women were generally seen as a possession. Men believed that they owned the women and that they could use them however or for whatever they wanted. This is shown by the way the workers talk about the women at the whorehouses and also by the way the workers talk about Curley’s wife. She is seen, as something Curley owns, an item or possession not a person. She is also referred to as jail-bait, a tart and nothing but trouble. Quotes like ‘Jesus, what a tramp.’, ‘Don’t you even look at that bitch.’ and ‘Well, I think Curley’s married†¦a tart.’ which refer to Curley’s wife all emphasize the disrespect shown to women in this period. Although men liked to think women were their possessions, they also had other possessions. They would carry around little things like razors and keep them in a bindle while traveling. When they weren’t traveling they would keep their possessions in an apple crate hung up on the wall. They never carried around much and things would get left behind; for example, the roach killer that got left behind by the last worker that occupied George’s bunk. Hygiene wasn’t all that good. As well as the roach infested bunks there were rats underneath the floorboards. The food wasn’t all that good either and medicine was very simple. Candy tells about how one guy would clean the potatoes if they had spots on them and he would scrape off the red bits in the eggs. Candy also complains of a stomachache the turnips gave him and asks for some whiskey to treat his stomachache. Overall life in the bunkhouses was very harsh. In conclusion, the novel has given us a very clear picture of what life like for the migrant workers moving from ranch to ranch. Loneliness was a serious part of their lives. It was part of a vicious circle that included entertainment, money and their dream. Their dreams were what kept them going. But loneliness would continue to stop them realizing their dreams. They were so lonely they needed the entertainment to help them escape from their loneliness and boredom after work. This cost money; money they needed to realize their dream, and from entertainment they wasted the money they needed to realize a dream, and found themselves lonely again, causing the vicious circle to continue. Life was very rough on the workers. No family to speak of or get closed to. They believed that they didn’t belong anywhere. They went to a ranch, worked up a stake and then blew it in the nearest town. This would happen every month and even though the workers dreamt, the vast majority eventually realized their dream would never come true. But kept dreaming to keep up some hope even though deep down they realized it was not possible.