To what extent does Steinbeck present George’s decision to shoot Lennie as inevitable?
In this essay I will be talking about how far Steinbeck goes to present George’s decision to shoot Lennie as inevitable. I believe that through the majority of the novel Steinbeck used different methods such as foreshadowing and cyclical structures to show how George’s decision to shoot Lennie was inevitable.
To some extent Steinbeck, from the beginning of the novel, foreshadows Lennie’s demise. “well, look. Lennie- if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an’ hide in the brush.” In this quote George pauses, while talking to Lennie, this pause implies that George may be exasperated which makes the reader …show more content…
George’s first reaction was to warn Lennie about Curley’s wife, “Don’t you even take a look at that bitch… I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be.” This implies that George may know that Lennie has had trouble dealing with women in the past (e.g the woman at Weed), so he is trying to pre-emptively stop Lennie from repeating his previous mistakes. In this quote we see George using extremely derogative nouns to describe Curleys’s wife, “Bitch” and “jail bait”, these nouns show the reader George’s view towards women and shows George’s misogynistic attitudes. Using the term “jailbait” tells the reader someone will get into trouble, which could possibly hint the inevitability of Lennie’s death, but it also signifies the patriarchal society that was 1930’s USA since George is quick put the blame on Curley’s wife, which implies that victims were often the ones which were blamed. George demand Lennie to “leave her be.” This short, declarative sentence suggests that George is certain that something may happen between Curley’s wife and Lennie and he is trying to prevent it from occurring. By using this direct sentence, it shows Georges authority over …show more content…
This chapter magnifies how the underdogs in 1930’s America were the ones who were left behind, this is seen through the killing of Candy’s dog. “The silence was in the room again. A shot sounded in the distance. The men looked quickly at the old man. Every head turned toward him.” This quote shows that all of the men at the ranch were expecting the killing to occur and everyone was anticipating it, this creates pity towards the men. Steinbeck shows the reader that “the men looked quickly at the old man.” This shows that the men on the ranch did not know how to communicate/comfort Candy immediately after he had lost something, which he loved. This quote highlights the lack of communication on the ranch, which may mirror how life may have been like for migrant workers on ranches during the 1930’s (only being at the ranch for the wages and not creating relationships with co-workers.) Some readers may find it eerie that Carlson is unable to understand why Candy is so attached to the “smelly dog”, which goes to show the lack of empathy the men may have felt on the ranch. Overall, this quote implies that the weaker people within society were given little value since they were unable to help society. However, Steinbeck could also be trying to hint the inevitability of Lennie’s death by comparing the dog to Lennie by how they were both killed at the same place with the same
In this essay I will be talking about how far Steinbeck goes to present George’s decision to shoot Lennie as inevitable. I believe that through the majority of the novel Steinbeck used different methods such as foreshadowing and cyclical structures to show how George’s decision to shoot Lennie was inevitable.
To some extent Steinbeck, from the beginning of the novel, foreshadows Lennie’s demise. “well, look. Lennie- if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an’ hide in the brush.” In this quote George pauses, while talking to Lennie, this pause implies that George may be exasperated which makes the reader …show more content…
George’s first reaction was to warn Lennie about Curley’s wife, “Don’t you even take a look at that bitch… I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be.” This implies that George may know that Lennie has had trouble dealing with women in the past (e.g the woman at Weed), so he is trying to pre-emptively stop Lennie from repeating his previous mistakes. In this quote we see George using extremely derogative nouns to describe Curleys’s wife, “Bitch” and “jail bait”, these nouns show the reader George’s view towards women and shows George’s misogynistic attitudes. Using the term “jailbait” tells the reader someone will get into trouble, which could possibly hint the inevitability of Lennie’s death, but it also signifies the patriarchal society that was 1930’s USA since George is quick put the blame on Curley’s wife, which implies that victims were often the ones which were blamed. George demand Lennie to “leave her be.” This short, declarative sentence suggests that George is certain that something may happen between Curley’s wife and Lennie and he is trying to prevent it from occurring. By using this direct sentence, it shows Georges authority over …show more content…
This chapter magnifies how the underdogs in 1930’s America were the ones who were left behind, this is seen through the killing of Candy’s dog. “The silence was in the room again. A shot sounded in the distance. The men looked quickly at the old man. Every head turned toward him.” This quote shows that all of the men at the ranch were expecting the killing to occur and everyone was anticipating it, this creates pity towards the men. Steinbeck shows the reader that “the men looked quickly at the old man.” This shows that the men on the ranch did not know how to communicate/comfort Candy immediately after he had lost something, which he loved. This quote highlights the lack of communication on the ranch, which may mirror how life may have been like for migrant workers on ranches during the 1930’s (only being at the ranch for the wages and not creating relationships with co-workers.) Some readers may find it eerie that Carlson is unable to understand why Candy is so attached to the “smelly dog”, which goes to show the lack of empathy the men may have felt on the ranch. Overall, this quote implies that the weaker people within society were given little value since they were unable to help society. However, Steinbeck could also be trying to hint the inevitability of Lennie’s death by comparing the dog to Lennie by how they were both killed at the same place with the same