Mrs. Duchak
English II Honors
20 January 2017
Of Mice and Men Essay The novel Of Mice and Men was very captivating, and included multiple themes throughout the story. For example on strong theme in John Steinbeck’s novel was that of human loneliness and frustration. Prejudice and racism were also portrayed, as well as the importance of love friendship and dreams. The importance of love, friendship and dreams became noticeable early on in the novel. As stated by George, “ Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place.” (13) George later went on to explain to Lennie that they were not the typical bindlestiffs; unlike others they had each other. As stated by Warren French,
This is a story not of man’s defeat at the hands of an implacable nature, but …show more content…
“Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes,with wide sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.” (2) As stated by Maurene J. Hinds,
Lee Dacus, in ‘Christian symbolism in Of Mice and Men’, argues that other Christian symbols are present throughout the story. He writes that Lennie is an innocent figure who unwillingly makes mistakes. George is like a christ figure, in that he is responsible for Lennie and protects him. Dacus also writes about the strong theme of love throughout the story. Even though George kills Lennie, he acts out of love and caring… George’s act of killing is t spare Lennie any unnecessary pain. (Hinds 69)
This description is very helpful in visualizing one of the novel’s main characters ; however thoughts of this character's personality are most likely already circling. That is called prejudice which is the final main theme of the novel. Racism is also tied into this theme. Prejudice is, in other terms, ‘judging a book by its