Write two theme statements for Of Mice and Men. Each theme statement should consist of a clear statement of the theme in complete sentence form (one or two sentences) and a brief explanation of how the theme specifically connects to action or characters in the book (a third sentence). Your first theme should be the one you consider primary in importance; your second theme will be a sub-theme. Make sure you aren't repeating the same theme twice in slightly different language.
The theme of Of Mice and Men is that we all need something, whether physical or psychological, to depend on. This is clearly seen in the climax when George shoots Lennie because afterwards George is emotionally distraught because he had to destroy two things he depended on: his friendship with Lennie and their shared dream.
ReplyDeleteOne of the minor themes of Of Mice and Men is the noticeable difficulty of finding, and keeping, a steady job. This is seen with George and Lennie as they travel through different cities of California just to find a job working on a ranch.
Main theme: The plans and dreams of life can be crushed by unfortunate events. George and Larry have a dream that is crushed by Larry's mistake.
ReplyDeleteSometimes life is cruel and you have to make hard choices. George has a experience of this kind when he has to mercy kill Lenny.
1) A stable friendship can make a huge difference in someones life. If someone has a companion that they can count on, then it can have a big impact on them. George's friendship to Lennie, a mentally handicapped man, was the most important thing in Lennie's life as it may have been the only reason that Lennie was able to live as long as he did.
ReplyDelete2) Lonliness and a feeling that you don't belong can have a big impact on someones life. On the contrary, if you have a feeling that you don't belong it can change your life in a completely different way. Many characters portray this theme including Curley's wife and Crooks who both feel a complete sense of lonliness and it has its effects on them.
Themes
ReplyDelete- Main Theme
True compassionate and caring friends are the most authentic of all. George did not have to take care of Lennie and it was far from his duty. This didn’t thwart him from protecting and ultimately raising him until the end; moreover, even then, when it came to Lennie’s death, George was merciful.
- Sub-Theme
“The American Dream” is diverse and gives people of America the utmost freedom they constitutionally deserve. The ability to pick up and go, was not a luxury all countries created the opportunity to execute. George and Lennie, and their dream to own a farm, is a great example of two hard-working men who could, by foot, or by automobile, go or do whatever they dreamed as long as they genuinely worked for it.
1. Dreams are accomplished by taking all the steps necessary to make them come true and by preventing anything bad from ruining them because even one unfortunate event can ruin dreams. If you do everything you possibly can to accomplish your dreams there is a good chance they will happen, but you must be prepared for everything along the way because even one unfortunate event can put an end to your dreams. George, Lennie and Candy dream of owning a farm; they have everything planned out and have almost all the money they need, but their dream comes to a sudden end when they are not careful enough, and Lennie accidently kills Curley’s wife.
ReplyDelete2. No matter what size, shape, or color, everybody is human and everybody has feelings. It does not matter what a person’s skin color is or what a person looks like when it comes to how you should treat them because everybody has feelings, and everybody should be treated respectfully. On the ranch, Crooks is mistreated and ignored just because he is Black, but in all truth he is still a human who is offended by such actions, and deserves to be treated rightfully by everybody.
The power of friendship and love of friends is unfathomable. Friendship is one of, if not, the most important relationships one can have. George displays this by loving and caring about Lenny, to the extent of killing himself to save him from the harassment and embarrassment, Lenny would have received, from the mob.
ReplyDeleteLeadership is also an important character trait to maintain. Being a leader means one is capable of making decisions that he believes is best for him and his followers. George displays this trait too, by always making the best decisions concerning himself and Lenny.
Leib
ReplyDeleteThe theme of, Of Mice and Men is that everything in life just happens and there isn’t much that anyone can do about it. The best example to show this is that Lennie and George just happen to pick that farm to go to and that farm just happens to only have one woman eager for attention. Finally the last thing that happened was Lennie killing Curley’s wife.
The subsidiary theme of, Of Mice and Men is the impossibility of the American dream. The impossibility of the American Dream relates to the book because everyone in the book wants freedom and safety from the world. Crooks attempts to achieve freedom from racism by attaching himself to the few acre dream, George and Lennie both want a few acres of land for themselves and freedom from being chased by lynch mobs wherever they go, and Curley’s wife never wanted to marry Curley, but somehow she did and now she is stuck. Tragically, all of their dreams come to and end, through death, or realization that their dreams were never possible.
The American Dream will never come true.
ReplyDeleteEverybody wants a fair standing in the social world, but it will never work out that everyone can get it.
This is displayed throughout Of Mice and Men. Lennie and George want that farm, but cannot get it. Also, Curley’s wife just wants somebody to talk to and have a social standing but can not achieve this.
Friendship is a very important factor of life.
Everybody needs somebody to take care and watch out for him. Without friends, you would just be lonely.
In this novel specifically, George helps Lennie tremendously, and Lennie watches out and protects George as well. Friendship is senn throughout this entire novel.
Of the various recurring themes throughout the novel Of Mice and Men there were two that truly stuck out. The first and most important theme was: Loyalty and the will to persevere with the ones you love, your family, shall be everlasting. This theme is the heart of the book. George couldn't even think of abandoning Lennie, no matter how inappropriate or stupid he acted, he is with Lennie the whole time up until his very last breath. One main example of this is the fact that George ran from Weed with Lennie even though he was not a wanted felon, he sticks by his brother's side then and he does it throughout the novel. The other main recurring theme is of a lesser stature than the previously mentioned one. The second, and next important theme is: Not everyone gets it, but everyone wants to capture the American Dream. The whole reason Lennie and George had come to this little ranch was so they could save enough money to buy their own land and farm their own crops and animals, they were working their whole lives toward the American Dream. There are various examples of this theme, one of which George explicitly calculates the hours needed to be worked until he had enough money to buy the property of his choice.
ReplyDeleteMale friendship and fraternity.
ReplyDeleteWithout your friends by your side, you are nothing.
We see that in Of Mice and Men, that friendship is huge, George and Lennie love each other like brothers, if they didn't have each other , they would be depressed, and maybe not even alive.
Corrupting power of women.
Women power of a women, can be very problematic at certain times( Dont worry Mrs. Johnson, your great!)
In Of Mice and Men, Curley's wife creates almost all the problems, she is the source of all the tension between Curley and all the guys, becasue she is always flirting with everyone. And she really is the one who caused the end of her becasuse she came onto Lennie, and then Lennie went crazy.
(sorry its late, the wifi in the dorm wasn't working last night, so i had to uplaod it during a break today... sorry)
William Weinstein says...
ReplyDeleteMain theme: A major theme in Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is that of the unfairness of the world in general. Lennie has a mental handicap and therefore does not know his own strength, leaving George to devote his whole
life to taking care of this massive man-child. Curley’s wife wanted to be a movie star, and she was ready to get a phone call from a friend of hers to be in a film. Then he never called back, and now she is stuck chasing after other men and
avoiding her possessive and cruel husband. Crooks is discriminated against solely because of the fact that he is black, and so he is isolated from the rest of the men, left to work on his own, live in an additional room in the barn, and only
interacts with the other workers when he plays horseshoes.
Subsidiary theme: A subsidiary theme in Of Mice and Men is the victory of the strong over the weak. Lennie kills mice by petting them to death. Carlson kills Candy’s old because it’s old. Lennie kills his puppy and Curley’s wife by accident. George kills Lennie because Lennie cannot control himself. Such is the way of the world.