Does Steinbeck Contribute To George's Final Decision Of Shooting Lennie

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Throughout the novella lennie small lures in misfortune from the ranch hands and the society in 1930’s USA. In this essay I will be exploring the various ways Steinbeck leads to George’s final decision of shooting lennie through the theme, language and structure in the novella ‘of mice and men ’. Steinbeck uses structure to present his themes and messages in ‘of mice and men’. Despite being talked about and spoken to by other characters, the reader does not meet Curley’s wife until halfway through the novella. By this time we have discovered that Curley’s wife is seen as a sensual character that makes her first entrance with ‘full rouged lips … and her finger nails were red’. She may like wearing the colour red but this indicates danger towards lennie as the reader has been told about the incident with the girl in weed. The colour ‘red’ symbolises danger and foreshadows trouble including Curley’s…show more content…
Lennie and George arrive to the ranch on a Friday, on the Saturday heaven is presented indicating that they are going to finally achieve their dream but abruptly the dream is crushed on a Sunday when Lennie murders Curley’s wife and then George kills Lennie unlike the actual story there is no coming back to life or second chances. This could be Steinbeck’s approach to the 1930’s society , he could be emphasising that the society is doing this to them and perhaps if they stopped poverty , men would behave better towards one another which in a sense would be like getting a second chance . People would be able to believe again and there could be a heaven and a god. However Steinbeck might be presenting to the readers that there is no hope or heaven and god is an illusion, ultimately we are all going to end up miserable. Steinbeck suggests that we are all born evil and that it, nothing will change however much you care or love someone and that might have possibly be what drove George to kill

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