Of Mice And Men Character Analysis

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John Steinbeck is an author known for his books about typical men and women who try to live a life of “meaning and worth” (Owens). For a large portion of his life, he made a living by working on ranches in his hometown in the Salinas Valley. When his interests in writing grew, he obtained jobs with New York American and The Stanford Spectator. However, he did not achieve success as suddenly as he would have liked to. Many of his short stories were rejected and he was fired from multiple jobs. It wasn’t until he wrote Of Mice and Men that he gained recognition for his sensational writing. For this award winning book, Steinbeck retrieved memories from his days as a laborer in Salinas. The book is seen as a “realistic parable of farming conditions in Salinas Valley” (“Of Mice and Men”). John Steinbeck uses a variety of character personalities to demonstrate the contrasts…show more content…
In many ways, he shows deep sympathy for Lennie, but also becomes easily frustrated by his actions. In the beginning of the novel, Lennies has to constantly be reminded of where they are traveling to. George responds by complaining, “ ‘So, you forgot awready, did you? I gotta tell you again, do I’ ” (Steinbeck 4)? Furthermore, he shows compassion when he is reminded of Lennie’s incapacities. For example, George tells a story about how he used to play tricks on Lennie but stopped once he realized that he could end up hurt because he wasn’t able to take care of himself. Novels for Students feels that “…George has achieved some control over his instincts, yet despite his obvious commitment to Lennie, the mouselike George is helpless to overcome the injustices of an imperfect world ” (“Of Mice and Men” 246). Through their experiences together, George has come to the realization that Lennie cannot survive on his own. Therefore, he has to constantly battle his internal struggle of how to treat
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