of mice and men- themes

isolation
1. curley's wife is very isolated from the others on the ranch
  1. she is the only woman on the ranch
    1. in the 1930s America women were seen as inferior to men
      1. they were treated with little respect
    2. the men avoided her because she is Curley's wife- his property
      1. they could not afford to get in trouble for talking to her as they may lose their jobs- and there was already a lack of jobs in America at the time
        The Wall Street Crash caused this, in 1929
      2. she constantly tries to talk to them but they just ignore or are rude to her
  2. she is married to a man who she does not love and kept like a possession
    1. she and Curley are never seen together in a scene
2. Crooks is also very isolated from the others on the ranch
  1. he is black which meant he was seen as inferior and less valued than the others
    1. racism and segregation were still very in place in 1930s America
      1. Jim Crow Laws
    2. Crooks lives alone in a barn away from all the other men who share a bunkhouse
    3. The others rarely visit or speak to him- when Lennie tries to speak to him he tells him to get out of his room, as its the only space he has left.
      1. he's angry and bitter about how he's been treated
3. When Candy's ancient, ill dog was shot, Candy has nothing left.
  1. He delayed killing the dog, even though he knew deep down that it was the best thing, as he dreaded losing his long-time companion.
Dreams
1. Curley's wife has an intense dream to be a film star
  1. she is focused on her dream- she talks about it all the time
    1. she holds onto it as it seems to be the only thing she has- as she herself is like a possession
      1. the other men laugh at her dream but hold onto their own
  2. when she was younger a man offered her a role but her mother wouldn't let her
    1. her dreams have been restricted by Curley and her mother
    2. so she married Curley which led to her being ISOLATED
2. Lennie and George also have strong dreams
  1. to own their own land- as this was a common aim for men in the 1930s
    1. Lennie talks about it constantly
      1. Candy shares their dream but knows he can't do it alone- so has hope that he will be able to team up with George and Lennie
        Candy joins George and Lennie's plan of owning a piece of land. His savings make the dream actually possible to achieve.
        but this is later ruined when Curley's wife is killed by Lennie, and Candy says 'I knew we'd never do her' - meaning the dream
    2. the other men seem to have given up on their dreams- do not save money anymore- waste it at brothels etc
  2. Lennie's main desire is to tend the soft-haired rabbits they will keep.
  3. George is so set on the idea that he even knows of some land that he thinks they could buy.
3. the people who are the loneliest tend to be the most dependent on their dreams
Marginalisation
1. Lennie is marginalised because he is disabled and seen as weaker than the others. The others treat him like a child
2. Curley's wife is marginalised as she is a woman and so seen as inferior to the others
3. Crooks is marginalised as he is black and racism was in place very much in the 1930s
4. Candy is marginalised as he is disabled and also very old so he cannot function as well as the other ranch men

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of mice and men- themes

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