Of Mice And Men Critical Analysis

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Steinbeck’s belief that “honest writing” addresses the need for people to understand one another is clearly connected with the concept of justice. These ideas are addressed in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and in the film The Book Thief (based on the book by Markus Zusak). This presentation explores the quality of relationships between people and abstaining from prejudice and assumptions as principles underlying understanding through these texts. Hence, I aim to demonstrate that both texts are “honest bits of writing” and effective examples of Steinbeck’s ‘base theme’.

In both texts, many characters show their reliance on prejudice and assumption, which are possibly motivated by fear. However, we see the main characters judge others based on their individual characteristics. This viewpoint addresses the injustice and unfairness of prejudice. In ‘Of Mice and Men’, this is seen in prejudice of African-American, or ‘black’, people, and the unproven assumptions of Curley’s wife to be ‘a tart’, among other labels. In ‘The Book Thief’, prejudice is generally seen towards all people who don’t agree with the Nazi view. In both texts, we see the main
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The most prominent example in Of Mice and Men is that of George knowing that Lennie ‘wouldn’t do anything in meanness’, and therefore trying, in vain, to persuade the other men not to lynch Lennie. In the end, the most just thing George can do is to kill Lennie (in the kindest way possible) by his own hand. In the case of The Book Thief, we witness Liesel’s interactions with Max (a Jew in hiding), and her understanding of and friendship with him that follows. We see through both texts that understanding of a person creates a ‘bond’ between the two, usually one of mutual