The Role Of Conflicts In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Improved Essays
All great novels have conflicts in them; John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is no exception to this. Steinbeck’s main character, George, faces many different problems throughout the story. Some of George’s conflicts are internal, while others are external. Although George faces many struggles he always seems to be able to think of a solution. George’s struggles, whether internal or external, are problems none of us would ever imagine. While George faces many problems, not all of them are big problems. One smaller problem George faces is trying to obtain enough money so he and Lennie can have their own land. George and Lennie have this dream where they are, “gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ …show more content…
From the beginning readers see how annoyed George can become with Lennie. George tells Lennie, “if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess at all” (Steinbeck 11). Even though George gets annoyed with Lennie it is obvious he still cares because after he said those words to Lennie, “He looked across the fire at Lennie’s anguished face, and then he looked ashamedly at the flames” (Steinbeck 11). George struggles with caring for Lennie or having the sense of freedom he would have without him. Most of the problems George experienced in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men are problems many people would never think they would have to deal with. Most people do not have to worry about having enough money to own land, we all just have a house and take it for granted. None of us would ever imagine having to shoot someone, especially someone we care about, in the back of the head. However, some of the problems George faces, like him and Curley’s dislike for each other, we can imagine. In the end, Of Mice and Men is a great novel that presents many internal and external

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In the story, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, readers are introduced to many morally ambiguous characters. It all begins with our two main characters, George and Lennie, who are making their way to a ranch to work. Now, Lennie is a large, inane character and George is a smaller, erudite character. They must work on a ranch so they can make enough money to open their own ranch. However, they run into many roaring complications in the working process.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fear of the Unknown Of Mice and Men Have you ever been treated unjustly because of a simple yet uncontrollable trait you possess? Unfortunately, treating people differently because of their unconventional attributes is a common theme in the novel Of Mice and Mice by John Steinbeck. The other characters' inexcusable actions towards Curley's wife, Lennie and Crooks confirm that people are afraid of what they do not understand. To begin, Curley's Wife is the only woman on the ranch and she is portrayed as a tramp that always causes trouble. For instance, the characters made their appalling opinions about her known to the reader; on the topic of Curley's wife George says "She's gonna make a mess.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In chapter 1 of Of Mice and Men, George says “God you’re a lot of trouble,” “I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl” (Steinbeck 7). After hearing this statement it makes the reader second-guess the true feeling George has for Lennie. Though Lennie has a disability, and George respects that he’s trying, but Lennie’s mental handicap holds George back from getting a job because Lennie always finds a way to mess something and they have to leave a town or area so they don’t get caught. George is also seen throughout the novel as a man who leaves behind his friend.…

    • 1790 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, the author depicts underlying literary elements to help enhance the reader’s understanding of dissimilar characters. During the novel, two main characters are followed in their search for their American Dream. Lennie, who is portrayed as powerful, unintelligent man, is only sought after as a good workman. George, who is depicted as Lennie’s companion and caretaker, sometimes is seen as burdened by Lennie’s unintelligible demand. George is deemed morally responsible for Lennie’s actions, which continually are not very excusable ones.…

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sacrifices for Love Sometimes individuals have to make sacrifices for the people or things that are loved. John Steinbeck is the author of the adventurous, but sorrowful, Of Mice and Men. This novel was written in 1937, two years before the Great Depression ended. During this time period, it was likely to see men looking for jobs and willing to work anywhere there was an opportunity available. In this novel George and Lennie are traveling to a new job.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck that is about the friendship of George and Lennie. George and Lennie travel together in the search for a job because of what happened when they used to live in Weeds. When they find a job they find trouble as well. People find out about the incident that happened in Weeds in which Lennie had been accused of rape. This is because Lennie is mentally sick so he is not really aware of the trouble he causes in which he grabbed a girl’s dress because he likes to touch soft things, but as she begins to scream he holds on tighter and tighter.…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Imagine working on a farm as a migrant worker who barely gets paid and has very difficult work. Imagine having to not only take care of oneself but to have to take care of another human being during the Great Depression. This is the life of George and Lennie. They both are very poor and their dream is to be independent. They want to have many animals on their own ranch and do not want to listen to a boss.…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the novel Of Mice and Men, George makes many sacrifices in order to care for Lennie. In the beginning of the book, George is frustrated at Lennie because he has to take care of Lennie instead of living the life he wants. “I could get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want……

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Among the principal aspects of human nature is that to seek companionship; it’s what sets us apart from the beasts of the world, acting for the best of others even when personal gain may be notably absent. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, depicts the plight of two migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Smalls, as they struggle through the 1930’s Great Depression working on a ranch. Throughout the novel, George and Lennie encounter challenges that test their friendship, and the goals they set for themselves. Among analyses of the novel, a common discussion is if George finishes the novel as a hero, or a simple commoner, another victim of the Great Depression. Despite criticism of George for his manipulation of Lennie and his eventual murder of his friend, George is a hero because of the companionship he provides and creates at…

    • 1432 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    John Steinbeck 's Of Mice and Men In the novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck establishes an evident contrast between the individual men who work on the ranch and lead solitary lives, and the two main characters, George and Lennie, who function as a family unit and share a common dream. Steinbeck effectively develops the theme of loneliness and alienation through the use of other characters as representations of minorities. The theme is used as motivation for many of the character’s actions. This leads up to the novels ironic resolution that may be viewed as a suggestion of Steinbeck’s philosophy about life and living.…

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The dialogue which follows is important as we can hear their voices; we can hear George’s parental tone and Lennie’s childish tone. We see George referring to Lennie as a “crazy bastard” to Lennie’s face, but as a “poor bastard” to himself. This shows us that George feels pity for him deep down inside. Steinbeck uses a mouse to show us childish Lennie. George says for Lennie to give him the mouse, but Steinbeck uses one of the best metaphors of what a child would do.…

    • 1924 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men dives into the lives of two men, George and Lennie, who try to escape the atrocities of the Great Depression, all the while dealing with their experiences of alienation and loneliness (“John Steinbeck (1902-1968)”). John Steinbeck is an author renowned for his novel, The Grapes of Wrath, but his novella Of Mice and Men is what first put him on the writing scene (Bloom 8). After leaving college, Steinbeck went on the road and worked as a factory hand, as well a ranch hand. Working among the ranch hands gave Steinbeck’s writing an authenticity that could not be matched. Because of his experiences, Steinbeck took his knowledge of the plight of migrant workers and minorities and put it into his characters to depict the common man’s struggles.…

    • 1292 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Cruelty comes in many different shapes and sizes—much like humans. John Steinbeck's book Of Mice and Men tells the story of two men who try to create their dream in a world of loneliness and malice. The two main characters, George and Lennie, enter a ranch at the start of the story and meet several people; some of which who cause trouble and some who help very much. While on this farm, it becomes apparent that life is brutal and may corrupt people. John Steinbeck presents the fact that life is cruel through the destruction of innocent animals, the miserable life of Curley’s wife, and the sad annihilation of George and Lennie's doomed dream.…

    • 856 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
  • Improved Essays

    In 1937, John Steinbeck writes a dramatic tragedy, Of Mice and Men. George and Lennie are two ranch hands who can not keep a job during the Great Depression. Lennie and George have a dream, to own a piece of land with a house. Every ranch hand has this dream that Lennie and George can not seem to achieve. This is because Lennie is always “messing” things up.…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays