John Steinbeck s Of Mice And Men - 1459 Words

In of Mice and Men the characters in the play are interrelated to loneliness and violence through the foreshadowing of events and the segregation between contradicting minorities and the ‘God-like’, more respected characters; which links to events in the 1930s. Steinbeck portrays society as times of disseminated families and maladroitness in the economy. The Great Depression was when the American stock market crashed in 1929 which subsequently left thousands economically deprived and diminished thus leaving them situated in lands of squalor and poverty. As a result, millions of people were left unemployed and their quality of life severely dropped. Therefore, because unemployment rates rose communities were scattered as there were lots of†¦show more content†¦Further to this, Carlson explaining it’s â€Å"that dog ain’t no good to himself foreshadows the latter events when George is hit with the climax of circumstances, George, remembers the words ‘George, I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog’ which reoccurs to him as a parental figurehead that he should shoot Lennie himself before the brutality of the ranch workers would kill Lennie. Also, Soledad which means Solitude in Spanish accompanies the major theme of loneliness in the society as it is based around the lives of migrant itinerant workers; â€Å"Guys like us that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.† This is also a metaphor for the other large proportion of marginalised labouring men looking for work to sustain a living. In of Mice and Men the American Dream is a symbol of hope yet oppression. The dream offers hope but its power is overwhelming. Even Candy and Crooks are drawn to the idea. However, the disappointment when the dream ends is crushing. It’s also a false panacea as it’s not really achievable but it’s all they have. It has a unifying effect and creates a bond between the characters, also explaining a part beyond Lennie and George’s relationship. The prospect of the American Dream soothes the characters as from a result of the great depression people were living in hardship and in reality had â€Å"nothing to look ahead to†, therefore in