Sacrifice
Another stylistic device used in Of Mice and Men would be sacrifice. The characters in the story go through a lot of sacrificing for the benefits of other people’s needs.
I think sacrifice is one of the biggest themes in the book. The characters go through so much in so little time. For example, Candy lost his dog because the workers said he was in bad shape and they complained about the odor that came from the dog, and any dreams that George had for himself, went out the window when he was asked to take care and protect Lennie in world. Sacrifice can be hard for some people like Candy or you can benefit from it like George when he has Lennie beside his side and always has someone to talk to. Steinbeck shows that the loyalty and sacrifice between friends will make people do whatever they can for their friend.
Sacrifice can add stress in your life. You think about what could have been and how it could be if you’ve done something differently then you had and it could bring you down. I think that when George promised to Aunt Clara to take care of Lennie, he took on more than he could handle and one day he snapped. “God a’ mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy…I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get. Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time. An’ that ain’t the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out”( Steinbeck 11).
George gives up so much to do right by Lennie, and Lennie doesn’t realize what a toll that has put on George. He gave up everything so he could protect Lennie as requested. He did it out of love and compassion for Lennie.
According to Harry Thornton Moore, a form of sacrifice in the book was when George killed Lennie. He saved him from a brutal beating and death. He states, “George is no more than pathetic. He attracts sympathy because he has to lose his friend Lennie, to whom he has been so loyal, and whom he has to kill at the last in order to save him from the others”(Moore 342).
I understand where Moore is coming from with the killing was consider a sacrifice. For one, he didn’t want Lennie to suffer from the way the men were going to torture him, and second to put him out of his misery with his illness. George lost his closest friend but also saved him in a way.
George truly loves Lennie through thick and thin. He protects him, he guides him, and ultimately saves him from misery. George has sacrificed a better life for himself in the name of loyalty for a friend.
I think sacrifice is one of the biggest themes in the book. The characters go through so much in so little time. For example, Candy lost his dog because the workers said he was in bad shape and they complained about the odor that came from the dog, and any dreams that George had for himself, went out the window when he was asked to take care and protect Lennie in world. Sacrifice can be hard for some people like Candy or you can benefit from it like George when he has Lennie beside his side and always has someone to talk to. Steinbeck shows that the loyalty and sacrifice between friends will make people do whatever they can for their friend.
Sacrifice can add stress in your life. You think about what could have been and how it could be if you’ve done something differently then you had and it could bring you down. I think that when George promised to Aunt Clara to take care of Lennie, he took on more than he could handle and one day he snapped. “God a’ mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy…I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get. Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time. An’ that ain’t the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out”( Steinbeck 11).
George gives up so much to do right by Lennie, and Lennie doesn’t realize what a toll that has put on George. He gave up everything so he could protect Lennie as requested. He did it out of love and compassion for Lennie.
According to Harry Thornton Moore, a form of sacrifice in the book was when George killed Lennie. He saved him from a brutal beating and death. He states, “George is no more than pathetic. He attracts sympathy because he has to lose his friend Lennie, to whom he has been so loyal, and whom he has to kill at the last in order to save him from the others”(Moore 342).
I understand where Moore is coming from with the killing was consider a sacrifice. For one, he didn’t want Lennie to suffer from the way the men were going to torture him, and second to put him out of his misery with his illness. George lost his closest friend but also saved him in a way.
George truly loves Lennie through thick and thin. He protects him, he guides him, and ultimately saves him from misery. George has sacrificed a better life for himself in the name of loyalty for a friend.