Compassion In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Decent Essays
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive” - Dalai Lana. In the book Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, talks about 2 migrant workers names Lennie and George. Lennie isn’t the brightest out of the bunch, but George, a responsible and hardworking man has his back. One part of the story, they meet Slim, one of the most unique and interesting characters in the story. Slim is not like the others in the story. He is compassionate and respected compared to other migrant workers who were mostly mean and only cared for

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    The American Dream has been a point of pride in our nation’s history. This dream that any man or woman can come from any background and have an equal chance at success has excited people all around the world. If a person sets a goal and works hard for it, they might someday achieve it. This goal may be someone being their own boss, living in a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence, or having a family of their own. The strive for success carries over into literature.…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    True friends should stick together no matter the circumstances. This especially applies to situations where are each other’s only family. If two friends have a relationship that is this immensely close, they should never betray one another. This means that no companion should ever cut the other’sskfjdlsk life short. Although George taking Lennie’s life away with a nonviolent method was for sure better than if it was taken cruelly and painfully by another man in John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” the novel could have not resulted in a death that would haunt Lennie’s friend/killer forever.…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Sacrifice When George had to make the difficult decision to kill Lennie or watch Lennie get brutally killed by all of the other men. George has taken care of Lennie for a long time because Lennie couldn’t take care of himself. George and Lennie would go to different places and work, but if Lennie got into trouble then they would have to move to find a new job somewhere else. When George and Lennie go to their new job Curley automatically did not like Lennie because he was a big guy, so when Curley got into a fight with Lennie and Lennie broke Curley’s hand that made the situation even worse. Even though Lennie accidentally killed Curley’s wife it wouldn’t have mattered to Curley because he didn’t like Lennie at all.…

    • 163 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Perspectives How would like to be known as someone else ’s property? Well, in the book Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife is known as just another one of her husband’s belongings. No one ever called Curley’s wife by her real name.…

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Cruelty has been seen all over the world, from the non-stop terrorism to middle school bullying, it has never disappeared. Since the early ages of human life to this day now, cruelty has been displayed because of different opinions, not being content with themselves, and other emotions that can turn into barbarity. John Steinbeck has portrayed some examples of why humans are cruel to each other in the book Of Mice and Men, which tells the story of two best friends having to deal with the ups and downs of reality. They travel long and far to make a new life for themselves, driven by a goal. They experience many different emotions of cruelty that is demonstrated by their fellow friends on their new ranch.…

    • 1208 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The definition of humane, according to Google, is “having or showing compassion or benevolence”, however the definition does not say that something humane is necessarily “right”. Sometimes, the most humane or compassionate thing to do in a particular situation actually may not seem like the right thing to do. This is definitely true when the choice has to do with ending the life of someone or something, because the matter of life and death always seems like the most important decision that could ever be made. In the novel Of Mice and Men, this model is used a lot. In this novel, ending the life of a disadvantaged character was the most humane thing to do because it prevented future pain and suffering.…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Indian education activist Sadhu Vaswani once stated, “If my love is without sacrifice, it is selfish. Such a love is barter, for there is exchange of love and devotion in return for something. It is conditional love.” Love and sacrifice can be seen as the most challenging traits to display, especially when showing shared humanity, or displaying kindness, sympathy and mercy towards others. In John Steinbeck's novella, Of Mice and Men, he is able to demonstrate the human races’ capacity to share their humanity through love and sacrifice.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although Crooks is just the stable hand on the farm, he is prideful and has dignity. Crooks grew up as a landowner with his father and it was not until later that he became a slave. This is likely the source of some of his pride. The harness room out near the barn was wear Crooks stayed. Since Crooks was at the farm longer than most people, he was able to collect more personal belongings.…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    George could have been well off without Lennie, but still continues to care and support him. They have one another to talk to, be with, and look after.      ‘With us it ain’t like that. We got a future.…

    • 921 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I swear you hadda. Come on with me.” (Steinbeck, 107). He led George into the entrance of the trail and up toward the highway. Slim was one of the few ranchers who understands the meaning behind friendship and the friendship George and Lennie had.…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John Steinbeck once stated a quote reading,” Man himself has become our greatest hazard and our only hope.” John Steinbeck’s quote was supported by many events and outcomes in our past society. Man has been the producer of many horrid and many successful events in history. Man has worked to simplify life by the making of inventions and sacrifices chosen. Man made the car to make travel simple, and the car made pollution, man made the lightbulb to brighten up surroundings, the lightbulb created hazardous materials.…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Painful Sacrifices Sacrifice is the hardest thing to do, selfishness, thoughtlessness, and many flaws in our life keep us from doing the best thing. In Of Mice of Men, by John Steinbeck the two main characters George and Lennie have a deep, perplexing, and loving relationship. With George’s love and care for Lennie he sacrificed so much towards him even when it’s most painful but the most beneficial. We should make sacrifice for genuine friendships despite pain since it leads to the best overall outcome.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The book Of Mice and Men is full of puzzling examples of the human condition, from Lennie and his mental disability to Curley’s wife messing with all of the men’s heads. With characters like these two, the book exploits the human condition that concerns circumstances life has gives you. John Steinbeck brings to life what being a laborer in the American depression meant to the men and one woman who had enough personality to stand out. George, Slim, Curley, and Lennie are all very different people with lives that make them have different views and priorities.…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    To ask whether an action is right or wrong, and to answer with one of the two simple, banal choices, is to ignore the rich and enlightening internal quandaries that arise when one must consider morals and ethics. In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, dilemmas of these sort present themselves often, particularly when George makes the decision to shoot his companion, Lennie, in order to spare him great pain and suffering. It would be unfair to simply call George’s actions ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, as in order to critically examine them and deem them moral or otherwise one must examine them from unbiased points of view; look at motives and consequences, a process through which Immanuel Kant would esteem George’s actions wrong, John Stuart…

    • 1183 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Upon arrival to the Ranch the men are shown to their bunks in the large bunkhouse and are introduced to their foreman. Slims legacy around the ranch was that he was so wise and mythological “his ear heard more than was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought. ”(34). When Slim first meets the men he shows the great importance of a companion along your side from job to job during this Great Depression. When Slim first me the men he “looked through George and beyond him “Ain’t many guys travel around together”(35)…

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays