of mice and men themes

Question 1

fraternity and the idealized male friendship

Answer 1

-the characters in the book desire to come together in a way that would allow them to be like brothers to one another
-given the harsh, lonely condintions under which these men live in, it should come to no surprised that they idealize male friendships
-the world is too harsh and predatory place to sustain such friendships, lennie and george who come the closest to achieving ideal brotherhood are forced to seperate tragically
-rare frienship vanishes, but the rest of the world (repersented by curley and carlson) who watch george deal with grief

Question 2

the imposibility of the american dream

Answer 2

-curleys wife dreams to be a movie star, but has reisgned herself to an unfulfilling marriage
-crooks dreams of hoeing a patch of garden on lennies farm
-candy latches onto georges visoon of owning land
-what makes all these dreams typically american is that the dreamers wish for untarnished happiness, for freedom to follow their own desires
-crooks is right, such paradises of freedom, contentment, and safety are not to be found in this world

Question 3

the great depression

Answer 3

-1929 to 1939
-one quarter of US workforce was unemployed
-worsened the fact that some people wouldn’t get jobs; racism, ageism, sexism, ableism
-wall market street crash
-everyone in poverty

Question 4

the dust bowl

Answer 4

-severe dust storms, greatly damaged ecology and agriculture

Question 5

falleness

Answer 5

-biblical story if the fall in which adam and eve sin the garden of eden
-mice and men argue that the social and economic world in which the characters live in is fundamentally flawed
-book opens with setting that seems like a paradise
-compared to george and lennies dream of a farm
-crooks said: “just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’.”, contrasted with the ranch, a place of fear and isolation
-when lennie finds himself back by the pool, not even the eden-like qualities of the setting can prevent his death

Question 6

freedom vs captivity

Answer 6

-working class people possess little mea

Question 7

fear

Answer 7

-curley fears losing power over the workers, and almost everyone fears curley
-curley fears losing his status, since it isnt earned but instead comes from the position as the boss’s son

Question 8

the predatory nature of human existence

Answer 8

-nearly all the characters admit to having a profound sense of loneliness and isolation
-each desires the comfort of a friend, but will settle for the attentive ear of a stranger
-curleys wife admits to candy, crooks and lennie that she is unhappily married
-crooks tells lennie that life is no good without a companion to turn to in times of confusion
-at the characters weakest they seek to destroy people weaker than them, cruel tendency
e.g. crooks critisizes lennies dream of his farm and dependence on george when he just admitted his own vulnerabiloties

Question 9

gender inequality

Answer 9

-men visity prostitues to escape the lack of human warmth in thier life
-women have to sell their bodies to survive
-the men have very misogynist veiws- George: “you give me a good whore every time”
-in 1937, the american dream was only open to men
-changed during womens involvment in WW11, gave them an independence which curleys wife did not experience