Of Mice and Men: Research and Character Analysis

           Of Mice and Men is story about two traveling migrant workers who journey throughout America searching for work that isn't an easy find with these unique characters. This story takes place during the Great Depression when work is a tumble weed in the desert and George and Lennie have the worst luck. Lennie, is an interesting fella, supposedly having mental retardation, he often gets himself and George fired from jobs that George works so hard to keep. Due to work being so slim, they have to travel far and often just to keep their bellies full and have plentiful pockets. In 1930s, California the main source of work was farm labor, which is exactly where George and Lennie found their greatest success of work. However, due to the fact that Lennie had mental retardation, it was hard for them to keep their job on a farm for too long. This took a huge toll on George's life, it became twice as hard for him to find successful work with Lennie linked at his hip. With Lennie's condition, he had aggressive behavior, and childish skits that drove George even further away from good work. For example, Lennie loved soft things so he would pet nice fluffy animals often. Sadly his big hands distressed the animals so they bit Lennie which caused him to squeeze the animal tight, breaking their neck, leaving Lennie unaware with what he he'd done. However, even with a huge obstacle George wasn't planning on leaving Lennie in the dust and thus creating a story between the two that can only be described as unforgettable.
       Lennie is unlike any character i've read about, however their is one that reminds me greatly of him; Arnie Grape. Arnie Grape is a small town guy who lives with is family in a big house with hidden secrets and disturbing memories. Like Lennie, Arnie too had mental retardation and looks to his brother Gilbert for support and guidance in his world like Lennie does George. Lennie although described as big and undefined, he has such small expectations in his life that make him lovable and appreciable. He has one love in the whole world, and would do anything just to achieve that, soft things. Such as Arnie who has a love to watch all the trailer cars go through his town every summer as they pass by through the interstate and continue on their road trip. Both characters have a beautiful simplicity to them, they only ever ask their companions for one thing in the whole world and nothing else. "Tell me- like you'd done before" Lennie would ask George pertaining to their ranch dream.  Where as most of us who tend to have "normal" friends who spend a lifetime asking us for one thing after another where as Lennie and Arnie would be content with the soft things and trailer cars forever. Even though they both share a mental condition they still bring a sense of joy to George and Gilbert that most of us can't find in friends that lack that sense of childish aurora that Lennie and Arnie portray in both stories, and can bring a smile to a lot of faces.
      Lennie grinned with relief "I...I thought I put it inside my pocket." George hated how Lennie always tried to pet soft things and keep them even when they are dead and Lennie would often "save them" for later by tucking them away in his pocket. Even through getting scolded by George for holding the tattered old mouse, he still finds a way to smile because he got his moment with his favorite thing, and much like a child, he is proud of himself. "Don't say a word" George would often snap at Lennie in fear that if he talked, it would lose him and Lennie the job. Just like Gilbert's attitude towards Arnie, George and Gilbert strongly believe that Lennie and Arnie will never be able to take care of themselves. This too can define the way Lennie and Arnie are, constantly dependent and never wanting to be alone for too long. In the story with Arnie and Gilbert, Gilbert went out on a date leaving Arnie in the bathtub thinking he would finish washing himself, however, when he returned home the next morning, Arnie was still in the tub waiting for Gilbert to finish washing him. Another example of the constant dependency is when Lennie asked George to tell the ranch dream story even though Lennie knew the entire story and was capable of telling it himself. Therefore most of who Lennie is, is defined by his mental state and by the people around him. Even still, one things stays clear that he only expects one thing in the world and will be forever content with it...soft things, and people can appreciate him for that.

Mental Retardation Summary

     Most people take the ability to do everyday normal actions such as getting ready in the morning for granted. When there are some people in the world who struggle to do just that. Some of these people have Mental Retardation (MR). Mental Retardation is a condition that is commonly diagnosed before the age of 18 (usually in infancy) and it is diagnosed to people who have a below average intellectual function ability. If you obtain MR after 18, it is known as Dementia. Most people who have MR have received it genetically from their parents. Thankfully, "the population of people with this condition is only 1% to 3%." Therefore due to it's uncommonness, many people that have it are considered "weird" or "stupid" which causes them to stick out like a sore thumb in a societal world. People with MR, would get picked on or judged because their IQ level is below 70 by kids who have an average of 115-129, which leads us to believe that's why Lennie was an easy target for Curly and George didn't believe Lennie would make it on his own. Therefore, people who have mental retardation don't have it easy and can't function well in life.

     Someone with MR isn't the only one affected, they affect everyone around them too.  Their families are affected and so are the people at school and work places. "People with MR have involuntary extroverted emotions such as aggression, dependency, impulsivity, passivity, self-injury, stubbornness, low self-esteem, and low frustration tolerance." Families have to learn to endure the frustrations that an MR patient can bring, 24/7 watching their back like George must do for Lennie in "Of Mice and Men". He couldn't leave Lennie for a second, knowing he would find trouble somewhere. "Someone who has an intellectual disability will have trouble learning and functioning in everyday life. This person could be 10 years old, but might not talk or write as well as a typical 10-year-old. He or she also is usually slower to learn other skills, like how to get dressed or how to act around other people." Such as Lennie's love for soft furry animals like rabbits, mice and puppies.  Most grown men usually prefer a game of football as opposed to cuddly animals.  Another example is George speaking for Lennie with the fear that Lennie would say something he shouldn't resulting in them getting fired.  In conclusion, people with Mental Retardation (MR) require constant attention, extra care, and support from loved ones.  

Sources:
http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/birth_defect/mental_retardation.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/mental-retardation

Graphic Card Final

Graphic Card (draft)

Gradually Becoming (Final)

The Eiffel Tower sits on it’s throne draped in gold

endless splendor, glory, and thoughtfulness

It has been around for 25 years and still thrives in popularity  

Basking in it’s recognition and awe

Then lies me, the less sparkly tower down the street, just as old and yet unpopular

however she is outgoing and strong, perfectly imperfect,

with insight on the world that can only be gained with experience of her place in this world

Hoping to become the golden star the Eiffel Tower is

Always competing for a chance to prove herself to spectators

as they crowd like cattle

passing judgments about her dilapidating structure, 

But the herd neglects to look at her from other angles to see what pieces are still whole

unlike the Eiffel Tower that is feed with encouragement and applause

Just another one of the shabby appearances thrust into the world, ordinarily overlooked

Hoping to become the golden star the Eiffel Tower is

But she will get her day soon

determination and courage never amounted to nothing

and everyone will see her

because there are never any good defeats and bad successes

Always desiring that one day, just one day, 

she will finally be more than the worn out tower down the street from the famous one

but it’s a long wait for some days are more gradual than others

A Coney Island Life (Final)

We are only content with a life of self fulfillment. In life, whenever we set out on a task, we usually want to complete it ourselves and achieve self fulfillment as well as the goal of the task we set out to complete. The reason behind self fulfillment is that it carries one’s deepest wishes or worthiest capacities and therefore they are content with the task they have completed. Therefore, we are fully satisfied with what we have, but that satisfaction only lasts a moment, for we want the feeling of achieving our worthiest capacities again because it unfolds what’s strongest or best about ourselves, when we can’t do that, we feel self defeat and unworthy which releases external forces on someone. In “A Coney Island Life”, the author compares life through the eyes of an amusement park and how we live on a roller coaster of ups and downs and always striving for the brass-ring-sun and how we always strive for more and more.  “A Coney Island Life” by James L Weil expressed that although we have hopes and dreams, you will only be content if you accomplish them on your own and even then, we are never satisfied with the things we have.

We search and search for the things that make us happiest in life and that usually comes by finding those things by ourselves. “Helium hopes break skyward without me” we can’t accomplish all our hopes and dreams in life that we hoped we would so we just let them break skyward like helium balloons.  We often let some of hopes go in order to complete other achievements in life and although the glossy material might be pretty, we have to let it go in order to fulfill other things.  Even still, the things we do accomplish, we collect like trophies or dolls that we “threw so much for” that we have achieved all by ourself and we can walk away with our “arms filled with dolls”. In life, just like a carnival game, you have to play all by yourself to win and many people will ONLY play if they can win by themselves, therefore, people are only content with self fulfillment. All in all, Weil directly tells us through a decepticating way on how we only want “arms with dolls” if we have threw for them on our own and have found self fulfillment in those dolls knowing we’ve worked hard to win them.

However, after a while, the dolls get old and tattered and lose their qualities and we are no longer satisfied with them and instantly want something else. No matter how old we get in life, we always strive for more than we had before and go fishing for some more “dolls” or sometimes the dolls bore us and we want the big prize. “I take my last ride on this planet-carousel and ask how many more time round I have to catch the brass-ring-sun”. No matter how many dolls we have, we want the big prize (brass ring) and we ride the carousel how ever many times it takes in order to get it even with the fear of running out of time. We believe achieving more will make us feel young or give us more time or makes us feel like kings and queens of the world and so we fight for the ring, unaware of the price. Sadly, we are never satisfied with what we have, even though we have more dolls than we could carry, something caught our eye and all the dolls feel weightless and worthless in our arms.

Weil’s poem endeavors that we desire self fulfillment in order to acquire worthy feelings and our greatest capacities. However, those feelings become addictive and we never stop trying to relive them, which us as humans very unsatisfied and sometimes ungrateful for the life we have been given altogether. Weil pushes us to be happy with what we have and sometimes searching for more isn’t always finding more, therefore this poem expresses that we are only content with self fulfillment and never satisfied with the things we have. Even still, we can’t always be ceased from grand feelings and more tokens of victory so we live our Coney Island lives on a roller coaster of ups and downs trying to obtain everything we desire “before the game is up”.