how does steinbeck portray isolation and lonliness in the characters?
i need three.
i was thinking of Crooks, Candy and Curley's Wife, but i don't know how they portray it.
pleasee help me somebody, i've been stuck on this for the past week :(How does Steinbeck illustrate isolation with 3 characters?
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
Theme of Isolation
Of Mice and Men thrives on the notion that everyone is isolated, and everyone seems to get along quite well together by talking about how isolated they are. Isolation in this novella is much more an abstract concept than a reality 鈥?the men are constantly together and chatting. It鈥檚 the specter of having to move, to hit the open road again, make new friends, new enemies, and keep finding yourself all over again that seems to plague the men. These transitions (and having to go at them alone, by nature of the transient migrant worker lifestyle) are enough to make a guy feel isolated, even when he鈥檚 surrounded by people.
http://www.shmoop.com/of-mice-and-men/is鈥?/a>
Theme of Women and Femininity
Of Mice and Men is set in a male environment where there are three types of women: the imagined nice girl for settling down, the prostitutes for a drink and a trick, and Curley鈥檚 wife, who is their daily representation of what to expect from the other sex. Women are a kind of absent symbol, only there to highlight the men鈥檚 failings: the men of the ranch can鈥檛 settle down, so they go to whorehouses. As the ';girl next door'; type is only a fantasy, the men basically reduce the women around them to sex. As George states, at least with prostitutes, ';you pay for what you get.'; While Curley鈥檚 wife is a sexual object, she can鈥檛 actually provide any sex (because she鈥檚 taken) 鈥?all she can really offer is trouble.
http://www.shmoop.com/of-mice-and-men/wo鈥?/a>
======================================鈥?br>
THEMES
Major Theme
The major theme of Of Mice and Men, is that a dream, no matter how impossible to obtain, can forge friendship and give meaning to life. George and Lennie dream of owning a little farm of ten acres, with a windmill, a little shack, an orchard, and animals. The dream keeps them going and lightens the load of their work. It also solidifies their friendship.
Minor Themes
One of the minor themes is the tragedy of mental retardation. Lennie never intends to harm anything, neither the puppy nor Curley鈥檚 wife. He is simply too slow to realize his own strength. His retardation is the cause of his downfall and death, in spite of George鈥檚 trying to help him stay out of trouble.
The pain of loneliness is another theme of the book. All the main characters, including George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, Curley鈥檚 wife, and Slim, express the sadness caused by their feelings of loneliness. The craving for company and the longing for sharing real emotions make these characters very human.
http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/Of_Mic鈥?/a>
===============================
Steinbeck鈥檚 Work Essays
http://www.slashdoc.com/tag/john_steinbe鈥?/a>
===============================
More resources:
http://www.bookrags.com/notes/omam/
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/micemen/
No comments:
Post a Comment