Of mice and men †character analysis Essay

Because the boss is of higher position than George and Lennie he really makes it clear that he is by shouting and being very rude, then watching to see what George and Lennie are going to do because they can’t actually do anything. Because he’s boss and if they did do anything then they would not be able to get the job, so they just have to let it pass and ignore it. Curley is very rude as well, although he is of no higher position than them he is the boss’s son and if they do anything to him then its trouble again. The above basically means that a position any higher than any other worker is highly exploited. A man who used to work at the ranch called Bill Tenner is a good example of the way workers do not get close to each other, because he had worked at the ranch for years and three months after he left he was completely forgotten. What George and Lennie have is something special, a friendship a person they can turn to in times of need. In the 1930’s when the Great Depression was occurring friends were looked upon as a possession and possessions created jealousy and that is why friends were so rare, but George and Lennie fight through. When George is tired and doesn’t want to walk anymore Lennie helps him along. When Lennie is upset George comforts him. With the other workers no one does that for them, they’re on their own. QUESTION 1; Part E: The life the workers and George and Lennie live, involves much cruelty and isolation many unknown things go on that lie deep in the â€Å"group† but ones that stick out are the situation with crooks, because he is black he is isolated from the white people. Crooks is a good example because he is different, today he would not be different but in those days he was looked upon as a â€Å"nigger† or a â€Å"negro†. The other workers thought of him as dirty and he wasn’t aloud in the bunkhouse and he was not aloud to sit with the others in the lunch hall. All things were his own he had his own bunkhouse, his own bed, his own table and all right next to where he works, he’s isolated. Another good example is Candy he has a mangy old dog that he sees as a friend so the other workers are jealous. The workers say that the dog needs putting down so they kill the dog with no remorse :(, now they’re even. QUESTION 2; Part A: The dream which George and Lennie share is the most direct antithesis of all this. The dream is a dream that may become a reality, the dream is a dream which is a way of getting away from what life they have had, the dream is their only escape from the sheer horrible life they lead. The dream is of course a dream of freedom, freedom from the rules and regulations of the ranch. Freedom from the strict boundaries they are caged up in. Freedom to do what they want when they want and not have to be told to work, clean, move, shovel, drive, push and pull anything, they’ll do it when they see fit or when they can be bothered. It will be their little place to call home, and they won’t have to keep changing it either. In that era status was of large importance everyone was below and above someone, but this time THEY will be boss. QUESTION 2; Part B: Work: The two of them, George and Lennie will have the pleasure of living of the fatta the land. First they will plough the land to make it fertile for the seeds. Then they will sow the land. Then they will raise the crop like it were a field of children. Then just as the crop blossoms they will harvest the food and eat it and as they do they will feel fulfilled as if they have made it. The only work boundary they will have is the seasons (meaning if they don’t plant the crop by a certain season the ground will be too hard, wet e. t. c). They will have no one to fire them, which means they wont have to move around every other month. Both George and Lennie will have greater control, not only over the ranch but over their own lives. QUESTION 2; Part C: Home: There own place, nicer accommodation because there won’t have to be rows and rows of workers all in one room, they will have what they want. If their cold then they will get more blankets, or put more logs on the fire they wont need to ask if they can either. They won’t need a little work slip to get in and any friends they want to stay its there decision. All the food will be grown by them so just because of that it will taste better. It would taste better even if they hadn’t grown it themselves because they are only cooking for 2 unlike the cook at the ranch who had to cook for 20 so the food was not as well prepared. They can spend all the time they like on cooking it and cook what they like as well. QUESTION 2; Part D: Entertainment: When on the ranch George and Lennie only had the nearest town to go to because they were not aloud to go to any where else because it was to far from the ranch. If they had there own home it wouldn’t matter, Christmas, birthdays they could go wherever they wanted to go to celebrate whatever they wanted it did not matter it was there own life to live. QUESTION 2; Part E: Friends: On the ranch they had little friendships, and the little friend s they did have were not exactly the stereotypical friendships if either had the chance they would root out the other friend and not think twice. If they lived the dream it would be there own house so they could have who they want to stay, for example if they met someone in town they liked they could bring them back if they liked and have no hassle. Whilst on the ranch if a unfriendly worker came to work they had no authority to send them away but in there own house unwanted visitors came they could easily send them away and have no problems in doing so. QUESTION 2; Part F: Security: As we know George and Lennie are friends and they would both be living in this dream if it were made a reality, also we know that George is the brighter of the two and he looks after Lennie a great deal. The main problem the couple-face is the fact that Lennie can’t keep his hands to himself. George does his best to protect Lennie from this problem but as we know he cant always be there. When he is not then that’s when Lennie goes fiddling (Lennie’s fiddling problem is not strictly his fault its just the fact that he is so stupid that he sees something he likes and has to touch it like a child in a shop). If the dream were a reality though they would not have this problem because Lennie would be far from anywhere where he could do any harm. QUESTION 2; Part G: In the end though the dream is overpowered by the sheer cruelty of the life style, the dream for George, Lennie, Candy and Crooks has been shattered by once again Lennie. The rest of the group are doomed to an eternal life of wondering from ranch to ranch looking for work. For Lennie his life is over he has been shot in the back of the head by his, (humane? Selfish? ) Friend. So near and yet so far would be the best describing sentence for this whole book. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section.