Of mice and men essay sample

1. Surname 1
Student’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Class Name
Date
Response to Literary Text Grade 11 / Of Mice and Men
Introduction
Of Mice and Men, is a short novel by Steinbeck that has managed to create an impact that
is very powerful. It takes place besides the Salinas River at the time of the Great Depression. In
this novel several characters are physically and mentally impaired, a theme that the author create
to make the reader understand the character. For instance Lennie is mentally deficient, a situation
that should make the reader sympathise with him. George is terse, impatient and hot tempered
while Candy an old man operates with one hand.
Lennie
One of the principal characters in the novel Of Mice and Men is Lennie, however Winks
and John, (20) describes him as the least dynamic. Throughout the story there is no major
change, growth or development in his life. Steinbeck portrays Lennie as doomed from the
beginning of the story and readers should sympathise with him. The author achieves this by
creating a character that is helpless; he is very defenceless. For instance he is unable to avoid the
dangers that Curley, the wife of Curley and the rest of the world presents him. He appears
innocent which portrays his pure goodness. He is so devoted to his farm vision that he convinces
Crooks, George, Candy and the audience that it is possible to have such a paradise. However the
author sets up him for disaster and his innocence only allows his inevitable destruction.
George

2. Surname 2
George is a character who is short-tempered, a close friend of Lennie. The character is at
times terse and impatient but he does not forget his main role of protecting Lennie (Winks and
John, 43). As the story progresses, George is seen to change, as in one instance he tells Slim that
he abused Lennie but has later learnt that one should not take advantage of people who are weak.
As the story begins, George seems to be an idealist. However, be believes in their vision of the
farm. He dreams of living a comfortable life with Lennie free from people like Curley and his
wife who are only there to cause trouble.
Candy
Candy is an old handyman who is aging and only has one hand as he lost the other during
an accident. Candy is worried that his boss will see him as useless and asks him to leave the
ranch. His past accomplishment and the emotional ties he is going through does not matter a lot.
Candy’s old dog, that used to a good sheep herder, act as a reminder of the fate that fall on any
person who is no longer useful. However, he takes a moment to think of his dream farm; the few
acres that George and Lennie described as worthy of his savings. Like George, Candy hopes to
have freedom of doing his work. He is so devoted to the idea that even after Curley’s wife is
killed by Lennie he persuades George that they should buy the farm (Winks and John, 65).
Conclusion
The story has portrayed the characters as people with ability to achieve their dreams
despite their disability. The author also presents a society that embraces the physically and
mentally impaired as seen in George who believes in his friends dreams. However, the author is
not kind in the way he portrays women. Throughout the story women are treated with hatred.
Steinbeck shows women to be troublemakers who ruin the life of men. Curley’s wife is an

3. Surname 3
example of this destructive trend as she makes her husband’s temper to worsen. The author is not
fair as women are destined for greater things in future.

4. Surname 4
Work Cited
Winks, Martin & John Steinbeck. Of Mice and Men. Between Towns Road, Oxford: Macmillan,
2009. Print.