Why Is of Mice and Men Described as a Tragic Novel

I would regard the film mice and men as a tragic novel which is full of many dreams that don’t come true, and that being the overall message and tragedy throughout the story. Steinbeck represents tragedy in many events, through many of the characters, the main example of tragedy i would say to me would be the fact the characters George and Lennie have so much hope and dreams that all end in the worst. They have always been a team and George has always convinced Lennie that ‘We got a future.’ And always tells him the story: ‘ok, someday- we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and..’. Every time Lennie hears this story it reassures him and cheers him up. Lennie is†¦show more content†¦There is also tragedy through racism and discrimation against crooks throughout the book which is mainly shown in chapter four where Curly s wife verbally attacks him and makes him feel worthless by saying ‘Listen, Nigger, you know what i can do to you if you open your trap?’ This makes Crooks realise that no one would listen to him and that she could do much more harm to him than he could to her. ‘Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ant even funny.’ There is also the killing of Candy’s dog by Carlson. Candy is shown to of loved his dog very much and to have he had him since he was a pup, he was the only one there for him however the dog was to old and was causing to much trouble with the other men who complained about his smell. Carlson said it would be best for everyone to Candy and that he would shoot him in the back of the head so he would feel no pain. When this happened Candy was very upset as he lost his dog that meant everything to him, and regretted letting Carlson kill him instead of him because it wasn’t out of love. This is very similar i think to the terribly tragedy ending where George shoots Lennie. It is done the same way ‘in the back of the head’ however this time it was done out of love by George rather than letting someone else do it out of selfishness. Lennie had always been part of George and they stuck together throughShow MoreRelated What Contribution Does Curleys Wife Make to Of Mice and Men?637 Words   |  3 PagesWhat Contribution Does Curleys Wife Make to Of Mice and Men? Curleys wife is the most dangerous character in the novel, because she is the loneliest one. Because of her need for attention, she destroys George and Lennies dream of living off the fatta the lan. The appearance and clothing of Curleys wife have a symbolic meaning. She is described as a purty woman because she is always made up. 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