The Role Of Parenthood In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck represents how challenging parenthood can be. The way that George has to take care of Lennie like a little child is one representation of how parenthood can be hard. Another representation of this is how candy loves his old raggedy dog like a child. This story also represents how stuff loses usefulness over time. One representation of things losing usefulness over time is how Candy got to old to be a useful farm hand and is now just a nuisance.
The two main characters in this story are Lennie Smalls and George Milton. George is a quick witted guy who is a sort of caretaker to Lennie. Lennie Small’s name is quite ironic because he is a massive guy who has a mental disability who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. George is always getting irritated by Lennie and threatens to leave him and make him fend for himself. Lennie gets extremely scared of statements like these and starts to behave, this reminds me of how parents might deal with trouble making kids. Parents usually like their kids but find them very annoying and irritating. This is the kind of relationship between Lennie and George, George loves Lennie but does not have much patience with him. Lennie also loves to take care of animals but the small animals he takes care of always die when he hugs them. This reminds me of how parents don't get kids nice things because kids just destroy it anyway. Lennie and George traveling is kind of representing how kids are forced to move if their parents move. …show more content…
The kids may not like moving but have to because their parents are. This is like how Lennie has to follow George where he goes because George knows where the work is. This is the only way Lennie is surviving by following George. They just find odd jobs and make just enough to survive.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck also represents how things outlive their usefulness. In the story Candy used to be a hard working farm hand and was very useful but then he got old and just wasn't as useful as he once was. Another example is Candy’s dog which used to be a great farm dog but just grew to old to do work anymore. Work unions have outlived their usefulness and are not needed anymore(unions have outlived their usefulness). The website stated that there are now laws that protect the workers from their big bad employers. There is now no use for workers to team up because they can fight the companies themselves now. It is pretty much everyone for themselves in the workplace now and people can fight the power by themselves. Another example of things outliving their use is the typewriter. The typewriter used to be a useful everyday item but now their are much more conventional items to communicate. A computer and printer is a lot more effective because you can make a portable file and take it anywhere. Even text messaging has taken the place of something as useful as mail because you eliminate steps and it's easier. Why would we use old technologies when we have much easier newer technologies. One of the other representations Of Mice and Men has is the pursuit of the american dream. One example of this is how Candy worked hard his whole life and didn't have much to show for it. He very literally worked himself to death and he couldn't enjoy any of it. It would suck to work your whole life and have absolutely nothing to show for it. His dog is also an example of a failed American dream because his dog did very good farm work for years but it just got old. The dog was only thought of as an old dog even though it did good work for years. The dog was even killed for being too old to work and it's sad. It would really make me angry if I did good work for a long time and was only remembered for something I did bad. It sucks but it's part of life I guess and we have to deal with it. Only 50% of American Immigrants from 1986 to 2011 feel their American