Of Mice And Men Essay #2

Explain an idea or theme that interests you and explain what you think about it.

In the novel Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck a theme that interests me is friendship. It interests me because it is rare to find a friendship like George and Lennie's during the 1930's. I think this is because of the great depression and how it caused the every man for himself lifestyle.

A theme that interests me in the novel is friendship because there was a lack of them in the story which made George and Lennie's stand out.George and Lennie's relationship is unique and rare for the particular time in history which shock most characters in the book such as the boss, as he thought George was only hanging around Lennie for his money "what stake you got in this guy? you takin' his pay away from him?". During the 1930's it was not normal for two grown men to hang around like George and Lennie did especially when they are not related " If I was relative of yours i'd shoot myself".This was generally because of the great depression which meant there was a lack of jobs and an even bigger strive for the American dream, which resulted in a lack of trust amongst peers as everyone was just trying to get by meaning it was every man for himself.

I think that George and Lennie's relationship is unique in itself because it is very interdependent. Their relationship comes across as just George looking after Lennie because he is 'slow' and is very dependent on George " Jesus Christ, Lennie! you can't remember nothing the happens, but you remember ever' word I say". George seemed to get very frustrated with Lennie as he always gets them into trouble, like when he grabbed the girl's red dress or breaking Curly's wife neck. This puts a lot of stress onto George as he always has to get them out of trouble "when I think of the swell time I could without you". In the novel it isn't explained why George puts up with Lennie when they are not related, and he could be having a successful job working his way to his American dream. I think it is purely because George likes the company as he has no family left, and that he likes the responsibility and control he has over Lennie making himself feel important.

Once Lennie breaks Curly's wife neck I think true friendship is shown by how George shoots Lennie because like candy said " I shouldn't have let another man kill my dog". George was saving Lennie from a painful death from Curly, which he didn't deserve as it wasn't in his intentions to harm his wife. It would of been hard for George to shoot him as he was his best friend and without him he had nothing.He did what was best for Lennie as he had no hope of escaping Curly. George did the shooting tastefully as he told Lennie their lifelong American dream that they had made together as part of their friendship, so Lennie was as close as he was ever going to get to that dream and died remembering pleasant thoughts. "look across the river Lennie, an' I'll tell you so you can almost see it". George shot him right in the back of the head so Lennie wouldn't feel any pain, George knew it had to be done as Lennie could not control his strength and could easily harm others.

In conclusion I found friendship an important theme in the novel as it was a rarity as was shown so clearly between George and Lennie. I think there friendship was very unique and interdependent which was why it was able to function. I think George did the right thing by shooting Lennie as showed true friendship as he had Lennie's best interests at heart.

By LilyRose

Of Mice And Men Essay #1

In the novel Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck an important character is Lennie Small. He is an important character as he helps to portray the central themes in the novel and is involved in the most important events in the story.

Lennie Small is a gentle giant "a huge man, sloping shoulders walking heavily, dragging his feet a little , the way a bear drags his paws ". His appearance gives a misleading first impression as his personality is not suited to his exterior appearance.Lennie is extremely humble and has no intention of inflicting harm "I didn't mean ta hurt you". Lennie is incredibly strong but cannot control his strength which causes some of the main turning points in the novel "Lennie had broken her neck".

An important character is Lennie Small as he causes the major turning points in the story to occur , for example he was the reason himself and George had to move to the ranch, as they got driven out of weed because of one of Lennie's many mistakes." He seen this girl in a red dress, he wants to touch ever'yhing he likes, so he reaches out to feel the red dress an' the girl lets out a squawk. She rabbits and tells the cops shes been raped the guys in weed start a party out to lynch Lennie".Lennie is also the reason for himself and George being kicked of the ranch as he breaks Curly's wife neck." He shock her, her body flopped like a fish and then she was still, Lennie had broken her neck". All these events are due to Lennie's lack of self control with his strength without Lennie in the story these major events wouldn't occur as he is the reason for them which shows his importance.

Lennie's actions effect others around him as he is an important character which shapes the story as it is based around his actions and mistakes.When he breaks Curly's wife neck it effects her, Curly, George and Candy from just one action. George is effected as he has to leave the ranch and Candy is effected by their plan for the 'American dream' is no longer possible. This conveys the difficulty and the strive of succeeding in the 'American dream' during the 1930's "A drum of running feet and the men burst into the barn Slim, Carlson, young Whit and Curly". His importance is shown by how many people around him get effected by his actions and through his friendship with George. The friendship between George and Lennie is an important factor in the novel as it is unique and rare, it is important as it shocks and effects many people around them. Their friendship is part of their 'American dream' and therefore is important to them."Because I got you to look after me, and me to look after you".

In conclusion Lennie Small gives a misleading first impression to his humble personality but not to his incredible strength. He is an important character as he causes the main turning points of the story which effects many people around him. Without Lennie in the novel these turning points would not be able to occur making Lennie a crucial character in the book.

By LilyRose

Should The Internet Be Banned ?

I strongly believe that the internet should not be banned as it provides such services as cheap communication, information search engines, online shopping and banking.However the internet has produced negative problems as well like cyber bullying, many actions have been taken to prevent and resolve problems like these.

The internet should not be removed as it provides the service of cheap communication to people all over the world.Emailing and Skype are examples of communication methods used through the internet.Sending an e-mail is a cheaper option of overseas communication, as you can send one e-mail world wide for free the only cost being the internet itself. This is affordable compared to calling overseas which is a form of communication without the internet, as pricing starts at a minimum of one dollar a minute.By the internet being banned the price of overseas communication will be very expensive to use, which leaves a gap in the accessibility of contacting people overseas.

Information search engines such as Google and Ask.com are one of the many reasons the internet should not be banned.Google is one of the most popular search engines used through out the world as it is so user friendly.For example anyone no matter their knowledge of the internet can simply type in what the wish to 'Google', and within a matter of seconds you will receive a list of website links which provide information on the topic just 'Googled'. Advantages of using Google are that there is no limitations on what you can search as information is available on history, health facts,sports results,music etc.It is a time and energy saving process as you are not required to leave the house.Without search engines like these gaining information on unfamiliar topics becomes very hard, as without the internet people would have to resort to the limited information in libraries, and sometimes unreliable primary resources which is time consuming, stressful and hard to find.

People tend to use the internet as it provides online services such as internet banking, online auctions, grocery and fashion shopping.This saves consumers time,energy and money and therefore should not be banned as to many people use these services for them to suddenly be stopped, this would cause major disrupt to business and consumers as they rely on these services provided by the internet on a daily basis.By being able to do this without leaving the home it means it is user friendly, as sometimes people do not have time or are not fit to leave the house to carry out these tasks, but the internet helps them do that as it provides the correct services.By having the internet as a shopping and auction option you are able to to purchase items from overseas and create auctions to sell things to different cities all over the world, this would not be possible without the internet. The internet provides ease to peoples hectic schedules and therefore should not be banned.

However the internet does have its disadvantages like cyber bullying but help is on offer to stop and try and solve these problems.Minor problems like these should not override all the positives of the internet to get it banned by the minor defects bringing it down. Because of the ease of accessibility to social networking sites like Bebo and Facebook cyber bullying has occurred by the culprits doing their bullying via the internet. Actions have been taken to prevent these things like on Bebo, you are able to report abuse if someone is hassling you on that site which can lead to the bully's account being deleted.There are helplines available and offer support to bullying victims like 0800 Helpline.Internet bullying prevention rules are available also like do not reply the abusive content.Providers of the internet are aware of the disadvantages of the internet, and provide solutions to these problems so that it is a safe service to use therefore, the internet should not be banned as effort is being put into fixing these implications.

In conclusion the internet has evolved our society and has become something we can not live without as it provides us with user friendly time,energy,money and stress saving services or features like cheap communication, information search engines and online banking and shopping.I strongly believe the internet should not be banned as it is used worldwide and provides useful services that benefit everyone.

By LilyRose