In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck explores the values and attitudes of America in the 1930’s through a realistic reflection of society. Steinbeck shows the value of the dream and friendship throughout the book. An attitude that that he presents is society’s attitude about racism. The novel presents certain characters that are affected and connected to these values and attitudes. For example, Crooks is discriminated against.
Throughout the novel, some of the characters have friendships and later develop more with other characters.One of the main themes in this novel is the dream; every character in the novel has a dream or has had one. In 1930’s America, it was considered normal and acceptable to be a racist. Steinbeck uses the character Crooks, the victim, and Curly’s wife, a racist, to symbolise a racist society. Curly’s wife uses her status in society as a white woman to threaten Crooks.
Through-out the novel, Crooks was segregated and isolated from everyone else and is also forced to live separately from the others on the ranch.Crooks was victimised purely because he was a black person, he was almost always called a “Nigger” which in the 1930’s was the world to describe a black person. Racism was never frowned upon in society nor in Steinbeck’s novel as it was a very normal thing to do and nobody considered how the people on the other end felt about it. The friendship between Lennie and George in the novel is a rare friendship that is valued highly. Lennie and George were almost like brothers.
In the 1930’s, American’s lost most of everything they had.Some people only had family and friends left with nothing else which is why family and friends were valued so much. Lennie and George stuck together through everything, even after the incident in Weed with Lennie. In the novel, Curly questions George’s motives towards the friendship of Lennie and him as it was not common for people to be travelling together or have friends. Their friendship was very unique and valued and people could see that, George looked after Lennie and helped him out and Lennie cared for George. One of the main themes of, Of Mice and Men is the American Dream.
This is the dream to own your own land and be independent, much like Georges and Lennie’s dream of, “livin’ of the fatta the land. ” Dreams, hopes, and plans are the very foundation of what makes life worth living. In this novel, dreams, hopes, and plans are not about realistic ambitions, but about finding a way to survive the Depression, even if it’s just filling your mind with visions that may not come true. Through-out the novel, each character has a dream but not one person’s dream came true by the end of the novel.
The fact that no one’s dream came true matches that 1930’s society, where everyone had hopes and dreams but no one’s hopes and dreams ever worked out. In the novel, Steinbeck explores and the attitudes and values of the American society in the 1930’s by using the attitude towards racism and the value of the dream and friendship. Steinbeck explored these attitudes and values through the use of the characters such as Lennie and George and their dream of being happy on a farm together. Of Mice and Men is an accurate reflection of the American society in the 1930’s.
