Alienation and Loneliness in "Of Mice and Men"

Wednesday, 9 May 2012

Of Mice and Men Subject and Theme in Our World: Robert Latimer and Terry Graham

Let's recap what I have stated in my previous posts. There are many subjects in the story Of Mice and Men but for the purpose of this blog, the subject that this blog revolves around is alienation and loneliness. The theme is what the author is trying to say about the subject. In my opinion, the theme in this story is how even the most loneliest and isolated people in society have dreams.

George killing Lennie

At then end of the story Of Mice and Men, George commits a very important and thought provoking action. He performs an act of mercy killing on Lennie because he knows that if he doesn't take out Lennie himself in the most quickest, unpainful way possible, then Curley, who wants to slowly torture and kill Lennie, will instead. According to the law, he has committed an act of murder. George and Lennie's loneliness and isolation from society has lead them to this situation. How? Well first of all, they have no home or family so they are forced to work on this ranch. Secondly, Lennie has a mental disability and cannot control himself. Lennie kills Curley's wife (which causes Curley the wanting to kill Lennie), by accidentally breaking her neck without willing to. Remember, this story takes place in the 1930s of The Great Depression where no social help is available. Therefore, Lennie has nobody to turn to for professional help.

Now let's look at this act of mercy killing in modern society. First of all, what is mercy killing? According to dictionary.com, the definition of mercy killing is: "Also called mercy killing. the act of putting to deathpainlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, a person or animal suffering from anincurable, especially a painful, disease or condition." Mercy killing is legal in only certain parts of the world. These parts are: Netherlands, Belgium, state of Oregon in the US, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, Albania, Switzerland, Thailand.

In this post, I will talk about two controversial events that have to do with mercy killing in Canada. The first event is the case of Robert Latimer.

Robert Latimer and his daughter, Tracy Latimer

Robert Latimer is a farmer from Saskatchewan. His daughter Tracy has been born severely disabled with cerebral palsy. She also has a mental disability. Latimer was told that Tracy needs more operations to fix a hip dislocation that occurred from her scoliosis. He was also told that the operation would create even more pain then the intense pain she was already experiencing. Pretty much, think of all the disabilities and disorders that a person can possibly have and think about the most amount of pain a person can have, without dying. This is Tracy. Robert Latimer, her father, one day decides to take her out of her misery by committing an act mercy killing. He kills her by putting her in his pick up truck and connecting a hose from the exhaust to the cab resulting in suffocation. This was a painless death for Tracy. However, even from his valid points that he and his lawyer have presented, he was charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to life in jail. Tracy shows a perfect example of loneliness and isolation from society. She has severe conditions that make her disabled. She can't walk, and she can barely communicate. She has no potential for anything which is why she cannot interact with society. Nothing is possible for Tracy. Her life was hopeless. What dream did Tracy have? We don't know however it is obvious that Tracy's dream was to be a normal human being like everyone else. She wanted to have a life that me and you have. Who wants to be disabled and can't literally do anything and suffer in aggravating pain all your life? Nobody, and neither did Tracy.

Another example of mercy killing in modern society is of a man named Terry Graham. He is a 65 year old man with advanced diabetes which has cost him leg and his sight. He also has mitochondrial myopathy, an exceedingly rare degenerative muscle disease that afflicts not many Canadians. He has not escaped his room in 6 years. His life is hopeless. He is constantly needing someone to be there for him and to help him eat, and do other tasks. Terry Graham wants to kill himself however he does not have the energy to do it. He can't jump off his balcony, nor does he have the energy to grab a knife to kill himself. If he gets another person to hand him a knife, they will be sent to jail. So now he is living in misery, stuck in his room and suffering tremendous amount of pain. He's hopeless. His "dream" (if I can use that term), is to be dismissed from his misery and killed. However he cannot due to the laws that are stopping anyone from committing an act of mercy killing towards Terry Graham.

These are two events that have shocked Canada and forced us to revisit our laws. Unfortunately, our law system isn't perfect. In my opinion, I think mercy killing should be legalized because Terry Graham is right. It is that person's life and they should have the right to do that they want to it. There shouldn't be some government law forcing them to not do whatever they want to their life. I mean really, just think about it. If you were in so much and you were extremely disabled, blind, deaf, have many uncurable diseases, and are just living everyday in huge amounts of pain, wouldn't you want to die peacefully? This is something for you to think about. This connects to Of Mice and Men because, like I said in the beginning, George killed Lennie in an act of mercy killing. This mercy killing has resulted from a chain of events that have resulted in their loneliness and alienation, such as Lennie's disability and inability to communicate with others without causing problems.

Thanks for reading,

~ Ramez Fares

Sources:

http://www.blurtit.com/q8251343.html

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jacki.clark1/medium%20pics/Theatre/Of%20Mice%20And%20Men/George%20shooting%20Lennie.jpg

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2010/12/01/sk-latimer-tracy-cp2898389.jpg

Freitas, N. "Terry Graham Dreams of Death with Dignity, but His Life Is the Real Nightmare." 2012.

Freitas, N. "Case of Robert Latimer - Facts of the Case and Time-line." 2012.

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin, 1937. Print.

Thursday, 3 May 2012

What is the Subject and Theme in Of Mice and Men and How Are They Developed?

Of Mice and Men is a story that presents various themes throughout. Each one of these themes force you to reflect upon the actions of each individual that lead up to what the author is trying to say.

If you were to ask a random person what the theme of this story is, they might say something like "Racism", "Mental Disability", or even "Alienation and Loneliness". However, neither of those are the theme of this story. Those are called subjects. The theme is not the subject. The subject is the general idea of what the story revolves around. But the theme is what the author is trying to say about the story. For the purpose of this blog, the subject in Of Mice and Men is alienation and loneliness. But what is the author trying to say about alienation and loneliness? In my opinion, I think that John Steinbeck is trying to say that even the most poorest, lonely, and isolated people of society have the biggest dreams.

Crooks from Of Mice and Men

The subject of alienation and loneliness is developed extremely well by John Steinbeck. What he's trying to say about how the most lonely people of society have the biggest dreams is also very well developed. How does he do this? He does this through the characters actions, speeches, and plot of the story. Throughout the story, the characters perform various actions that, as the reader, gets to know and understand the characteristics and personality of each character. Let me give you a few examples. Firstly, Crooks is isolated from society and even the other men at the ranch. He is forced to live in the crappy conditions of the small room in the barn away from all the other men. He is not allowed to communicate with the others. He is often treated in disrespect such as being called a "nigger", which is a racially unacceptable word towards black people. On page 78, while Curley's wife is in Crooks room along with Lennie and Candy, she says, "An' what am I doin? Standin' here talkin' to a bunch of bindle stiffs-- a nigger an' a dum-dum and a lousy ol' sheep-- an' likin' it because they ain't nobody else." Candy is a man who usually doesn't socialize with the other ranch men. He spends a lot of time with his dog because he has nobody else to be with. This clearly shows loneliness. The way Steinbeck wrote Candy's actions, you can tell that all he wants to do is be with his dog and nobody else. Eventually, the other ranch men complain that Candy's dog is too old and too smelly and suggested that they kill the dog out of his misery. Eventually he gives up and let's Carlson do the killing for him. Candy is extremely sad after his dog got killed.

George (left) and Lennie (right) from Of Mice and Men

But the two characters that show the most amount of alienation, loneliness, and isolation are George and Lennie. They both are homeless with no family and are travelling around finding work on various ranches. They are poor, and they do not communicate with society. George has promised Lennie with the responsibility of taking care of Lennie even though it is a tough thing to do. Lennie is a mentally challenged guy and has the mind of a four year old. He is often causing trouble even though he is not doing it on purpose. George has the job of trying to avoid Lennie from these situations. This is why George does not like Lennie interacting with other people. He is afraid Lennie will say the wrong things and cause trouble. For example, when George and Lennie arrive at the ranch, George does not allow Lennie to talk because of fear he will give them a horrible reputation and be kicked out of the ranch. Their friendship ends in a very tragic way. With Lennie's life on the line in Curley's hands, George has no choice but to perform an act of mercy killing towards Lennie to save him from the torture and horrors that Lennie will face; far worse than death. George has no one to ask for help because Curley, the boss' son wants to kill Lennie for killing his wife. With Curley being the boss' son, the other ranch men know that there is nothing they can do to help Lennie because if Curley doesn't kill Lennie, the boss will. This is why George is isolated in this situation and can't do anything about it. Lennie's death occurs from the turnaround of tragic events from their isolation and loneliness.

The theme in Of Mice and Men is how the most poorest, lonely, and isolated people in society have the biggest dreams. Almost each character in this story has a specific dream they want to pursue and achieve. George and Lennie want to gather enough money to buy their own piece of land that they know of. However, since the cost is too high, Candy decides to join along and pitch in about half of the total cost of the piece of land. This theme is developed through the actions of each individual. But one person in particular who has shown this theme is Lennie. Lennie's dream is be able to pet animals, specifically rabbits. However, is loneliness and mental disability has proven to show that is a big dream for Lennie. He loves to pet animals. During his stay on the ranch he pets the puppies that are located in the barn. This shows a sense of isolation from society from Lennie because he is always with animals in his spare time. Another character that shows a good example of being lonely and has a dream is Crooks. Crooks' dream is to be treated equal just like everyone else. He is lonely, isolated, and alienated from all of society and all the ranch members just because he is black. What is asking for, to be treated equal, is a HUGE dream and wasn't accomplished until about 30-40 years after this story took place, The Great Depression.

John Steinbeck, the author of Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck presents the subject of Alienation and Loneliness through the story, Of Mice and Men. He also presents the theme of how the most poorest, lonely, and isolated people of society have the biggest dreams. He develops the subject and theme in such a fascinating way through the actions and speeches of the characters as well as their personality. You can judge by the way they act, feel, and talk that they are all very lonely. Throughout the story, each character talks about their specific dream. Overall, the subject and theme of this story is one not to be avoided and has created a great deal of thoughts and reflections for me to think upon, and probably for everyone else as well.

Thanks for reading,

~ Ramez Fares

Sources:

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin, 1937. Print.

http://www.notablebiographies.com/images/uewb_09_img0658.jpg

http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/efa80137dc2dbb8fc772148dbbd05f1e_1M.png

http://blogs.swa-jkt.com/swa/10321/files/2011/11/12446-14013.gif

Wednesday, 2 May 2012

"Of Mice and Men": A Review

Book cover for "Of Mice and Men"

The story Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is a story that produces a great deal of suspense, tragedy, and morals. The book is about two men, George and Lennie, who are living in the tough times of The Great Depression. They are poor, homeless, and are isolated away from society. They struggle to make money but to do so, they often find ranches to work on. One day, Lennie is wanted for unwillingly harming a woman. Because of this, George and Lennie must run away and they run away to the ranch located in the Salinas Valley in California. Here, they meet many other men who have the same problems as them. However, due to the tough times of The Great Depression, money is very hard to earn and George and Lennie earn only $50 a month.

Immediately upon their arrival at the ranch, George and Lennie are welcomed to the family that has been created among the men at the ranch. However, Curley, the boss' son at the ranch, dislikes Lennie due to his very large size. Curley often tries to pick a fight on Lennie and at one point in the story, they fight with Lennie's face being beat up. Lennie breaks Curley's hand but it wasn't on purpose. While Lennie is in the barn located on the ranch, while he is talking to Curley's wife, he accidentally kills her by breaking her neck. Lennie runs away and Curley is wanting to kill him. George goes to find with the rest of the ranch members and decides to kill Lennie himself in a split second before Curley torches Lennie in a more horrible way. Why does George decide to kill Lennie? More on that in a future blog post.

John Steinbeck uses a number of writing techniques to present the story. He does this in a fantastic way. Steinbeck created many unusual events in the story that lead me to wonder why these events happened. For example, why does George kill Lennie? The story also made me wonder, why do they treat Crooks so badly even though he's black? I do realise that this story is set at a time where racism was a big issue, but still. The way Steinbeck presents this story creates scenario's for the reader to put down the book for a second and reflect on the story. This is a very good technique as this made me want to keep reading the story to find out what happens next. This brings me to my next point of suspense.

Suspense is a technique many authors use because it keeps the reader wondering about the future events that the story has to offer, and it keeps the reader interested to find out what will happen next. Suspense also allows the reader to think about what can possibly happen next in the story. One example in the story is when Lennie runs away and Curley is extremely mad and barges out to find Lennie and kill him. This created suspense for me because I was excited to read whether Lennie was going to survive or not. Another moment that gave me a feeling of suspense was when Curley wanted to fight Lennie. I started thinking to myself, "Are any of the other ranch members going to help Lennie and take down Curley?" But then I realised that they don't want to because if they did, since Curley is the boss' son, they'd be removed from the ranch if they did anything bad to Curley. One other event that gave me a suspense feeling was when Lennie killed Curley's wife. I just had to keep reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen to Lennie. I knew that Lennie's fate was about to be decided because of what he just did.

Another technique Steinbeck used was that he created a very surprising and unexpecting ending to the story. All throughout the story George kept promising to Lennie that they would always stick together even in the toughest of times. George had even made plans with Lennie to own a piece of land on their own. Throughout the story, I personally thought the story was going to end in a happy, pleasant way in which George and Lennie end up owning their own farm and living happily ever after. But no, as soon as the climax of the story occurs, when Lennie kills Curley's wife, everything after that was a tragedy. One that no one expected. That poor man Lennie was shot and killed due to his actions that were brought upon him from his mental disability.

The story "Of Mice and Men" presents an overall great deal of suspense, surprises, and a great deal of questions left by the reader at the end of the story. This story really gets the reader thinking about the events that happen throughout the story. As well, there were moments in the story where I had to pause and reflect on what I had just read because it was just exciting and unexpected. Overall, John Steinbeck has done a great job writing this story and I suggest you read it as well. I give this story a 10/10.