As I read Of Mice and Men I found myself identifying with the character George. A trait that I can relate to is his loyalty to Lennie. I put myself in George’s shoes and thought about whether I would stick with Lennie as long as he did. I am very loyal to my real life friends so, like George, I believe I would stay with Lennie to the end knowing he depends on me to survive.
The character that elicited the strongest reaction from me was Curley. Growing up having a mentally disabled Aunt helped me realize how important it is to treat handicapped people with respect. Curley is like a bull in a china shop looking for the most fragile glass. He is the ideal illustration of a bully. When Curley picked a fight with Lennie I reacted angrily. Lennie merely laughed at a funny comment made by one of the guys and Curley found it as an opportunity to turn him into a punching bag. It’s even more unsettling knowing Curley wasn’t even nice to his own wife. However, karma was on Lennie’s side as Curley definitely got what was coming to him. I truly believe arrogance does not lead to a happy life. The world would be a better place if there were no “Curleys.”
I would have to agree with you Austin. George remained very loyal to Lennie, especially after the incident at the lake where Lennie almost drowns himself from George's orders. I could see how Lennie would be hard to work with however, but in the end, sticking with Lennie would have been worth it. And Curley, he was definitely not one of my favorite characters either. He was just looking for trouble everywhere he went. It's not just that Lennie was mentally handicapped however, I think Curley was fine with that, it's just that the only reason Curley didn't care for Lennie was because of his size. Curley was probably thinking that being a handicap would just make him easier to be pushed around and beat. After the dust had cleared though, Lennie, with his mental handicap, still came out on top over Curley in the fight, severely injuring him and putting him to shame.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Austin, I too could relate to the character of George. Being a loyal friend is very important. Also,I don't know if I could have put up with Lennie's antics as long as George did. I agree that Curley is the meanest person in the book. The way he treats his workers and his wife is horrific. Also, he likes to take advantage of anyone who is lower on the totem pole, like Lennie. I can relate to you because I, also, have a mentally handicapped family member. I like how you used the bull in the china shop example to explain how Curley acts. I was also angry when Curley tried to pick on Lennie because it seems like Curley tries to take advantage of anyone he can. I believe if Curley were alive today that he would be charged with assault and battery because of the way he treats his wife and workers.
ReplyDeletei disagree it is really hard to relate to any of these charaters. this book is so old that it is hard to relate to them because not many people act like that now a days there is alot more technology these days and people are alot more wealthy. it is hard to relate because there is no more people like then these days and its hard to compare to what there going through we havent hade there hard ships that they had so this is hard to relate to them in that way.
ReplyDelete