“But the greatest writers and the best readers know that literature is not always mere sugar candy; it can sometimes be a strong medicine.” (Scarseth 1). A reading life will not always be full of sugary sweets, it can sometimes have distasteful medicine. The book Of Mice and Men has a sour and bitter taste, but does a book need such sweetness to be full of value? No, we do not need these so-called “happy endings” to fulfill our reading lives with value. As Scarseth said, the medicine is indeed necessary for continued health. The purpose of this essay is to point out to high school students that there is historical, psychological, and moralistic value throughout the plot of the book.
The historical aspect of the book is very valuable to me. The story takes place during The Great Depression. In the book, the two men, George and Lennie, are in search of new jobs in Soledad. Then they find themselves living in an abominable bunkhouse, and are doing temporary labor at a ranch. At the time of The Great Depression, many migrant workers get displaced into jobs that are involved with hard labor to make money. I conclude that this makes the book have more historical value being that a frequent number of men during the era did …show more content…
In the last chapter of the novel, George shoots Lennie with Carlson’s Luger. “ He looked at the back of Lennie’s head, at the place where the spine and skull were joined.” (Steinbeck 52). Earlier in the story, if you can recall, Carlson shoots Candy’s dog between the spine and skull so the dog could have a painless death. George morally believed that ending Lennie’s life in that manner would be Lennie’s best probability than being tortured or lynched. George’s intentions were not for greed but for their valued friendship. Moreover, you can find moralistic value in the book Of Mice and Men. “The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the
The historical aspect of the book is very valuable to me. The story takes place during The Great Depression. In the book, the two men, George and Lennie, are in search of new jobs in Soledad. Then they find themselves living in an abominable bunkhouse, and are doing temporary labor at a ranch. At the time of The Great Depression, many migrant workers get displaced into jobs that are involved with hard labor to make money. I conclude that this makes the book have more historical value being that a frequent number of men during the era did …show more content…
In the last chapter of the novel, George shoots Lennie with Carlson’s Luger. “ He looked at the back of Lennie’s head, at the place where the spine and skull were joined.” (Steinbeck 52). Earlier in the story, if you can recall, Carlson shoots Candy’s dog between the spine and skull so the dog could have a painless death. George morally believed that ending Lennie’s life in that manner would be Lennie’s best probability than being tortured or lynched. George’s intentions were not for greed but for their valued friendship. Moreover, you can find moralistic value in the book Of Mice and Men. “The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the