Common Themes In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Most people would be far more inexperienced when facing common conflicts without reading fables and folktales. That leads a reader to wonder: what specifically in these stories are the part that teaches valuable skills and what are they called? They go by the name theme; a universal message about life. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck contains themes indisposable to any reader. Set in a farm where the hours are long and the pay is sparse during the great depression, the characters face a difficult enough life as is. In the novel, some of the most important themes to highlight are: all humans' goals, like animals, are ultimately driven by self-gains; humans, by nature, prey on weakness; and that sometimes a person must settle for what they have, not what they don't have.

All humans’ goals are driven by selfishness. No matter how small, every single …show more content…
It is the dogma of 'survival of the fittest' applied at the end of the story which uses a crushing example. Lenny, as you may recollect, was dubbed "mental defective" by Crooks. Well, he wasn't wrong. Lenny's tragic flaw is being mentally incapable while exceeding physically. As a result, Lenny ends up killing the farm owner's wife- who now wanted Lenny's head on a platter. In the end, tears rolled as OMM's sweetest character was shot in the back of the head. In conclusion, a disabled wolf and a disabled human all look alike to nature.

In final analysis, Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men toys with the readers emotions while teaching important lessons with priceless universal messages concerning life. Detecting themes can be a daunting task as there are usually multiple found in a short period of time. In contrast, the reader is urged to carefully extract and extrapolate any and all themes in order to become better students, and better people.
Word Count: