Literary Analysis Of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men uses a variety of literary elements to help the reader acquire a better understanding of the text and how it shows us The setting in which Of Mice and Men takes place is a significant element in the story, and takes place during a critical time in American history: the Great Depression. People have been left poor and desperate for work all over the country (Shmoop Editorial Team). Such difficult conditions are what help set up the situations that Lennie and George end up in; that and Lennie’s child-like behavior. They are trying to overcome their current financial state in order to obtain their ideal lifestyle, which involves owning their own ranch. This dream of theirs has undoubtedly helped the two of them keep moving together forward despite the dilemmas they faced, as well as shown their relationship with one another through their response…show more content…
A theme presented in the story is that of the human tendency to “prey” on those weaker than oneself. A clear demonstration of that is when Crooks attempts to crush Lennie’s dream of owning a ranch, claiming he had seen many with that same dream fail to achieve it (Steinbeck). This action of Crooks and others show us how Steinbeck views human’s nature as constantly seeking dominance over others and needing to assert that dominance. This same conversation between the two men also unveils another theme, which is the impossibility of the achieving the American Dream. Crooks mentioned he has seen many attempt it but never succeeding. With this theme in mind, we are able to make an assumption about the outcome of George and Lennie’s dream, and provides us with evidence as to how difficult life was during the time period. George and Lennie’s troubles may have seemed like they were unique, but it was likely that many were in similar or worse situations and were all looking for a safe haven to escape from their
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