Of Mice and Men – Misc Questions
OMAM Essays a) How does Steinbeck use details in this passage to present the bunkhouse and its inhabitants? Steinbeck uses many different ideas to present to present the bunkhouse and its inhabitants. Steinbeck emphasises that the inhabitants have little possessions by commenting about the “apple box” forming “two shelves for the personal belongings of the occupant of the bunk”. As all the occupants would be itinerant workers, which meant that they had a nomadic lifestyle, this also highlights that the occupants couldn’t afford possessions and probably didn’t have a lot of room for them anyway.
This indicates that they had little home comfort and it was probably quite an uncomfortable, stark and hostile environment they lived in. This lack of familiarity or care is also further portrayed by the description of the bunkhouse itself. The walls are described as “whitewashed” and the floor is “unpainted”. This could indicate that the owners of the bunkhouse really don’t care about the inhabitants. However, this may not be because the owners dislike the inhabitants, more probably because the itinerant workers don’t stay around for long enough for the workers and the boss to have a proper relationship.
This reiterates the point that “maybe everyone in the whole damn world is scared of each other” and the society they live in is truly a backstabbing and hostile environment. We even know that Crooks, who is a long time inhabitant of the bunkhouse, isn’t treated fairly and much more like an animal because he lives in the barn and he has little possessions. This also shows how cruel their environment is. Despite all of this – at least the inhabitants still have pride.
This is demonstrated by George’s disgust when he finds a yellow can of pest killer next to his bed, indicating that the bed may be infested. Clearly, George was not expecting there to be pests in his bed which could indicate that he is a cynical man and has been hardened by his surroundings. This could also emphasise how out of place Lennie is. His docile approach just doesn’t fit in with his life. b) In the rest of the novel, how does Steinbeck present the lives of ranch workers at that time? Steinbeck has intentionally designed each character to represent a segregated group of society.
Together, all the characters are presented in a microcosm and they all represent something much larger. For example, Crooks represents the prejudice that black people had to put up with and Crooks’ opinion of this treatment is evident throughout the book in an unbiased way, allowing the reader to digest the ideas of Steinbeck. George is one of the most pivotal characters in the book, as he represents the typical itinerant worker, trying to get money wherever they can after the backlash of the wall street crash.
Unfortunately, like most workers at the time, they were all very lonely because of their nomadic lifestyle. Although George doesn’t appear to be lonely because of his friendship with Lennie, there are subtle indicators that being lonely is George’s fate. For example, George often plays Solitaire which is a game for one person. Steinbeck is highlighting how lonely it would be for the workers to always be working with no stable home. George also says that he “ain’t got no people” and that people like him who are alone “get wantin’ to fight all the time. This indicates that life for the workers was hard because all the workers were exactly like George – they were alone and they were a product of an inimical environment. Through George, Steinbeck is also describing how angry and nasty everyone becomes when they are alone. This is demonstrated by Crooks – who was cynical and nasty to Lennie when he showed weakness. Crooks has often proven to be an angry and bitter man, however this is only because of the way he is treated. As he is black, people don’t talk to him or accept him for what he is.
They even go as far as to not let him in the bunkhouse. Early on in the book, when Candy is describing Christmas on the ranch he says “they even let the nigger in” as if that was an unusual event – which of course for them it was. Through this, Steinbeck is addressing the segregation that blacks lived with in 1930s America. a) How do the details in this passage add to your understanding of George and his relationship with Lennie? In this passage it is clear that Lennie looks up to George
