Theme of Responsibility in Of Mice and Men Free Essay Example, 750 words

ï » ¿Responsibility in ‘Of Men and Mice’ Steinbeck’s novel ‘Of Men and Mice’, written during the great depression, has received many criticisms. The novel is quite short but has content that leaves a reader questioning the decisions of some characters in the novel. Circumstances described in the novel force most of the characters to make hard choices. Some choices present high levels of responsibility and serve to foster peace in the ranch. Other characters act irresponsibly making mistakes that distract the peaceful co-existence of people working on the ranch. This paper will consider the responsibility level of the characters George, Slim, and Curley. George appears from the beginning of the story as a man who takes responsibility of his childhood friend Lennie. He made efforts to protect Lennie who often got the duo into problems with his physical strength and mental disability. When seeking jobs in the new ranch, George took the responsibility of covering the weaknesses of his friend (Steinbeck 6). In many occasions, he reprimanded Lennie concerning his handling of dead mice. In these cases, he presented a responsibility in terms of hygiene. We will write a custom essay sample on Theme of Responsibility in Of Mice and Men or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now He cautioned his friend of the possibility of catching a disease through handling dead animals. He presents a sense of personal responsibility in the sense that he worked hard in the ranch and had dreams of developing himself to the level of a farm owner some day. However, he presents moral irresponsibility because he was one of the men who visit brothels. In addition, the move he opted to take at the end of the novel raises a controversy. After realizing that his friend Lennie was about to face the wrath of Curley, he decided to take away his life. Although he protected his friend from any harm and gave him cautions to avoid any chaos on the ranch, one wonders whether he had the justification to take his life. This episode has two sides. He acted irresponsibly to take the life of a fellow man. In a different perspective, he took the responsibility of protecting his friend from painful death, indignation, and humiliation. Slim presents attributes of responsibility through out his stay in the ranch. He had expertise in the ‘skinner’ profession. In addition, he was a diligent worker in the ranch. This is the case because he earned respect from other workers in the ranch because of his sense of responsibility and dedication (Shmoop 3). Slim was among the workers that ensured the success of the ranch. His contribution was of considerable worth because it translated to the farm’s success. He presents a social responsibility attribute in the way he understood George and Lennie. He appreciated the sacrifices they made for their friendships. When George chose to kill Lennie to prevent him from Curley’s wrath, he took the responsibility of consoling George. He understood the pain George went through in the entire ordeal. Curley appears as the irresponsible son of the boss of the ranch. His actions gave rise to chaos in the ranch. His wife became the cause of his anger and wrath towards the workers (Shmoop 3). He was an irresponsible husband because his wife confesses to feeling lonely. If he were responsible for the welfare and needs of his wife, she would have acted like a contented wife. On the contrary, he denied her the companionship she expected from their marriage. His marriage irresponsibility caused his wife to seek attention from the workers prompting Curley to erupt in anger and jealousy. The workers experienced a continuous fear from him because they realized he did not know how to tame his temper. His irresponsibility came out clearly, when he left his wife to join other men in their ventures to the brothel. This act prompted the occurrence of other events. Since he left his wife alone, loneliness drove her to Lennie’s attention. Through their conversation, she realized his addic tion to caressing soft things. Curley’s wife then gave in to Lennie to feel the touch of her hair. On sensing Lennie’s physical strength, the wife let out a scream that frightened Lennie. This fright caused Lennie to break her neck accidentally leading to her death. The irresponsibility of one man led to fatal events. Lennie’s action gave rise to a lot of fury and wrath from Curley. Consequently, Lennie’s action forced George to make the hard decision of killing his friend (Shmoop 4). Curley’s irresponsibility led to chaos in the ranch forcing the workers to make tough decisions. Conclusively, it is evident that responsibility is one of themes in the novel. Some characters portray attributes that depict that they are responsible in some aspects of life. However, others act irresponsibly distracting the peace of the ranch and causing chaos. The novel presents a time when survival depended on the dedication to struggling, to overcome barriers. As de scribed, George, Slim and Curley are three of the characters that Steinbeck used to portray the theme of responsibility. Their responsible and irresponsible actions affected the welfare of the entire ranch. Curley’s actions have gross effects on the ranch. Work Cited Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. Sunnyvale, Calif. : Shmoop University, 2010. Internet resource. Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. London: Penguin, 2000. Internet resource.