Mockerman1

MeganMockerman
Mrs.Erwin
APLiteratureandLanguage
May19,2014
OfMiceandMen:AnInescapableFate
AssaidbyCassandraClarein
CityofAshes
,Fateisneverfair.Youarecaughtina
currentmuchstrongerthanyouareSwimwithit,andyou[will]survive.Themain
characters,GeorgeandLennie,inO
fMiceandMen
experienceaninescapablefatethatis
unfair.Thereareforcesthatactuponthemacurrentmuchstrongerthanthemthatprevent
themfromattainingtheirdreaminwhichtheyfeelistheirdestiny.Thecharactersareunable
torealizethegraveandunfaircircumstancesoflifeunlikecharactersthatembodythe
principlesofFriedrichNietzschesdoctrineofthesupermanthatwouldenablethemtoswim
withthecurrentandsurvive.SteinbeckdevelopsthecharactersGeorgeandLennie,aswell
asmanyothers,toembodytheprinciplesofliterarynaturalismthroughtheirsocioeconomic
classandthehistoricalbackgroundofthenovel.
Asportrayedinthenovel,thecharactersinliterarynaturalismexemplifythelackof
free,arepreytonaturalforces,andaredescribedinadeterministicmanner.Literary
naturalismdepictscharactersasweak,andthecharactersarestuckinsocialandeconomic
situationsthataredifficulttoovercome(Eliasson).Thetheoryofdeterminism,anelementof
naturalism,preclude[s]freewillbecauseitentailsthathumanscannotactotherwisethan
theydo[Determinism(Philosophy)].Duetotheirsocioeconomicclass,LennieandGeorge
haveneverhadtheresourcestoreachsuccess.Themenarenotofasuperiorclasssuchas
Curleyorhisfather.Therefore,theyareproductsoftheirenvironmentandmustwork
substantiallyinordertosurvive.LennieandGeorgesdreamoftheirownfarmcanneverbe

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fulfillednomatterhowmuchmoneytheycouldpossiblytrytosavebecausetheyaresimplyat
themercyofexternalandinternalforcesasiftheyaremarionettes.Themenhavean
inescapablefateandalleventsintheirlivesaresolelydeterminedbypreviouslyexisting
causesduetothebackgroundsofthemen.Thecharacteristicsofsomeofthecharacters,
suchasLennieandhismentaldisability,ensurethroughtheuseofliterarynaturalismthatthe
charactersaretooweaktoovercometheirillfateddestinies.
Naturalselectionandsurvivalofthefittest,especiallywithinthehistoricalcontextof
thenovel,helptodepictthestruggleagainstnatureasahopelessfight(Scheidenhelm).
BeforetheGreatDepressiondrasticallyweakenedtheUnitedStateseconomy,citiesand
industrieswerethriving.Theunemploymentraterosesignificantlyfromthreepercentto
twentyfivepercentinthefollowingfouryearsafterthemarketcrashed(Eliasson).Duringthe
sametimeperiodoftheGreatDepression,therewasalsoaseveredroughtintheMidwest.
Therefore,peoplebegantomovetoCaliforniainsearchoffortune.Theeconomicand
weatherrelatedhardshipsofthistimeperiodmadeitextremelydifficultforpeopletofind
reliableemploymenttosupportthemselvesandtheirfamilies.LennieandGeorgeexperience
thesamehardshipsinthenovel,andthesehardshipshelpensurethesurvivalofthefittest
inthenovel.Themendreamoftheirownfarm,acentralideatothenovel,buttheirdreamis
difficulttoattainduetothetheoryofSocialDarwinism.Lenniesmentaldisability,which
makeshimtooweaktoprosperinlife,istheeventualcauseofhisdeath.Throughoutthe
novel,thereareseveralcharactersthatexperiencetherepercussionsofthetheoryofsurvival
ofthefittest.Forexample,Slimdrownssomeofthepuppiesinhisdogslitterbecausethe
dogisunabletofeedthatmany,Crooksfacesisolationandlonelinessbecauseofhisrace,
andCarlsonshootsCandysdogbecausethedogisveryoldandneedstobeputoutofhis
misery(Steinbeck).

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Thecharactersin
OfMiceandMen
areunabletoembodytheprinciplesofFreidrich
Nietzschessupermanandprosperintheworld.LennieandGeorgefailtorecognize,
accordingtothetheory,thatlifeistragicandterrible(FreidrichNietzsche).Theycontinueto
havethedreamoftheirownfarmuntilLenniesdeathintheconclusionofthenovel.The
disabledorimpairedcharactersinthenovel,suchasLennie,cannotbecomethesuperman
becauseoftheirconditions.Therefore,thecharactersexhibitfatalorhopelessfates.Although
nocharacterinthenovelisamodelofthesuperman,Curleybelieveshimselftobean
almighty,indestructibleforce.HisarrogantmindsetisexemplifiedwhenhefightsLennie.
CurleybelieveshecanoverpowerLennieduetoLenniesdisability.However,Lennie
ultimatelyoverpowersCurleyduringthefightinwhichLenniebreaksCurleyshand.This
revealsthatthecharactersinthenovelareinferiorandfarfromaperfectmodelofthe
superman.Theyaresubjecttomisfortuneandtothedeteriorationoftheirdreams.
Asportrayedinthenovel,fateisaninescapableforce,andthroughtheuseofliterary
naturalism,ithasunfortunateconsequences.Thecharactersinthenovelaretooweak,
whetheritisbecauseoftheirsocioeconomicbackgroundorbecauseofaphysicalormental
characteristic,toovercometheirillfateddestiniesandprosper.Thehistoricalcontextofthe
novelensuresthatthecharactersstruggletofindfortune.Thehardshipsthecharactersare
facedwithmakethestruggleagainstnatureahopelessfight.Thosethatarecharacterized
asweakinthenovelmustsuffertherepercussionsofthetheoryofsurvivalofthefittest.
Becauseoftheirweaknesses,thecharactersfailtoembodytheprinciplesofFreidrich
Nietzschesflawlesssuperman.Theyareunabletorecognizethecatastrophismoflifeandto
embracelifebasedonthistherefore,theyexperiencefailure.GeorgeandLennielackfree
willandareatthemercyoftheforcesaroundthem,ultimatelyleadingtoLenniesdeathand
thefailureofGeorgeandLenniesdream.

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WorksCited
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Eliasson,Fredrik.NaturalismandFriendshipinO
fMiceandMen
.UniversityofGothenburg.
2010.Web.18Apr.2014.<gupea.ub.gu.se>
FreidrichNietzsche.
NietzschesPhilosophy
.CarrollCollege.Web.23Apr.2014
<carroll.edu>
Scheidenhelm,Carol.Naturalism.
AmericanLiteraryHistory:Romanticism,Realismand

Naturalism
.LoyolaUniversityChicago,14Aug.2007.Web.18Apr.2014.
<www.luc.edu>

Steinbeck,John.
OfMiceandMen
.NewYork:PenguinBooks,1993.Print.