human nature in omam Flashcards
Idyllic backdrop to accentuate the flaws of human kind
“water is warm”
“yellow sands in the sunlight”
“golden foot-hill slopes”
“willows fresh and green”
the pressence of man intrudes upon the tranquility and perfection of the scene
“beaten hard”
“many fires”
“shouts of men”
Significance of a cyclical structure
highlights the inescapable flaws of human kind
CONTEXT: why might we question is Steinbeck wondered whether humans will ever learn from their mistakes
He wrote OMAM during the rise of Hitler and an anticipated second world war
Human nature is cruel
“nigger”
“tart”
“dum dum”
-weakest members of the ranch are cruely treated
Disregard for human life
“Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys”
Mans fundamental nature is innate violence
“The air was dusky”
- darkness inside, light outside - sinister setting
What does the Heron eating the water snake represent?
“the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically”
- is it nature to be cruel or is it the natural way of things?
Slim is aware of the fact that humans are social beings
“Ain’t many guys that travel around together… Maybe ever’ body in the whole damn world is scared of each other”
- Steinbeck was ADVOCATING for an alternative way to be
Curley’s wife yearns for human interaction because humans are social beings
“I’m lookin’ for Curley”
Crooks suffers from the DETRIMENTAL impact of being lonley because humans are social beings
detrimental - (tending to cause harm)
“a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick”
human are capable of good
“I ain’t done nothing like that no more”
- George realises he can’t exploit his power and that he needs to take responsibility
Who championed the notion of ‘rugged individualism’ and ‘self reliance’?
President Hoover
(some argued that it abandoned our moral duty to the most vulnerable in society)
