John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, follows two traveling ranch workers, George and Lennie, as they begin a new round of employment along side many other men. The small California town where they find work, Soledad, is Spanish for “solitary.” This allusion illustrates the common state of confinement that each character finds his or herself in at some point during the novella. Often, this confinement is self inflicted by the characters to defend themselves, but other forms of defence are demonstrated as well. Through the characterization of the individuals in Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck explores the ways humans tend to defend themselves against judgement when they feel they are the minority of a larger population.
During the time period
During the time period