Archetypes In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Although most literary characters’ attributes overlap with several archetypes, it can be concluded that in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, George primarily fulfills the Caregiver, given his compassion towards Lennie; however, his natural inclination is that of the Creator. Lennie, himself, fulfills the archetype known as the Innocent, given his childish mindset and general naivety. When both of these conclusions are analyzed, one can make various conclusions about the state of Steinbeck’s psyche during the time in which he wrote Of Mice and Men. An “archetype” is defined as “the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies” (Merriam-Webster). The term gained popularity in the mid-1900s when Jung