Group: Callum, Ethan, Adriana and Holden In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck there are a lot of different uses of comparing and contrasting and different ways of looking at the book. For example you can see how the two main characters, Lennie and George, are completely opposite from each other. On one hand, George is a small, smart man but on the other hand Lenny is a tall and has a brain the size of a peanut.
Callum’s comments: We all seem to enjoy the book, we all like the ending and think that it ends on a bad note. We found a lot of comparing and contrasting between the characters and the story. Lennie and George are basically opposites, George small and smart, and Lennie, tall and extremely stupid. Thinks that George is bossing Lennie around, George says in the book that when he was young, he would tell Lennie to do something and Lennie would do it without flinching. George thinks that it was fun when he was young, but to this day, he thinks that it’s just slowing him down that Lennie has to follow him around everywhere and is basically useless. But deep inside of George, he knows that he still loves Lennie because they’ve been together for their whole lives. “It’s harder to be alone instead of with someone.” George says this to Slim, but he knows that he also still doesn’t want to leave Lennie because Lennie is the only person he’s been with his whole life that George is staying with. George makes Lennie not able to talk because he thinks that Lennie will say something that will ruin their opportunity of getting the job. This shows that George has no faith in Lennie and that he basically controls him. He also calls Lennie by the words of “stupid bastard” or “crazy bastard”. The people in the book are still calling African Americans by the N word and women are being called by the B word. This shows that we’re still during the early 40s-50s. These days if you call someone by the B word, then they will take it as an insult but back then they just say it casually as if the word women was replaced by it completely.
Holden’s comments: About George dominating Lennie: I think that George would have regrets about ditching Lennie, but Lennie’s persistent presence puts George in a bad mood. George’s problem is that he feels obligated to care for Lennie, as he had promised Aunt Clara he would. George wants to leave, but he can’t. In his frustration, he erupts at Lennie over every misstep, calling him a “dumb bastard,” and a “crazy bastard.” George tells Lennie to keep his mouth shut when the two of them visit the ranch. This is more of a statement from George about the risk of Lennie’s limitations than it is a demonstration that the two need one another. George knows that, in a tough situation, he cannot rely on Lennie, so he plans things out for the good of the both of them. The conclusion to draw from this interaction is that George and Lennie’s relationship is imbalanced. George is bound to Lennie only by a sense of duty, while Lennie accepts George’s leadership as a matter of dependence.
Group: Callum, Ethan, Adriana and Holden
ReplyDeleteIn the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck there are a lot of different uses of comparing and contrasting and different ways of looking at the book. For example you can see how the two main characters, Lennie and George, are completely opposite from each other. On one hand, George is a small, smart man but on the other hand Lenny is a tall and has a brain the size of a peanut.
Callum’s comments:
We all seem to enjoy the book, we all like the ending and think that it ends on a bad note.
We found a lot of comparing and contrasting between the characters and the story. Lennie and George are basically opposites, George small and smart, and Lennie, tall and extremely stupid.
Thinks that George is bossing Lennie around, George says in the book that when he was young, he would tell Lennie to do something and Lennie would do it without flinching. George thinks that it was fun when he was young, but to this day, he thinks that it’s just slowing him down that Lennie has to follow him around everywhere and is basically useless. But deep inside of George, he knows that he still loves Lennie because they’ve been together for their whole lives.
“It’s harder to be alone instead of with someone.” George says this to Slim, but he knows that he also still doesn’t want to leave Lennie because Lennie is the only person he’s been with his whole life that George is staying with.
George makes Lennie not able to talk because he thinks that Lennie will say something that will ruin their opportunity of getting the job. This shows that George has no faith in Lennie and that he basically controls him. He also calls Lennie by the words of “stupid bastard” or “crazy bastard”.
The people in the book are still calling African Americans by the N word and women are being called by the B word. This shows that we’re still during the early 40s-50s. These days if you call someone by the B word, then they will take it as an insult but back then they just say it casually as if the word women was replaced by it completely.
Holden’s comments:
About George dominating Lennie: I think that George would have regrets about ditching Lennie, but Lennie’s persistent presence puts George in a bad mood. George’s problem is that he feels obligated to care for Lennie, as he had promised Aunt Clara he would. George wants to leave, but he can’t. In his frustration, he erupts at Lennie over every misstep, calling him a “dumb bastard,” and a “crazy bastard.”
George tells Lennie to keep his mouth shut when the two of them visit the ranch. This is more of a statement from George about the risk of Lennie’s limitations than it is a demonstration that the two need one another. George knows that, in a tough situation, he cannot rely on Lennie, so he plans things out for the good of the both of them. The conclusion to draw from this interaction is that George and Lennie’s relationship is imbalanced. George is bound to Lennie only by a sense of duty, while Lennie accepts George’s leadership as a matter of dependence.