Desire for Comradeship As The Theme in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men

Abstract

Literature is a written material which has close relation with human experiences, thoughts, feelings, and imaginations. Literary work is divided into three forms, namely: poetry, drama, and novel. Novel is the reflection of human’s problems and his daily activities. Generally, authors appeal and express ideas to portray the world around them. One of the most interesting things in Of Mice And Men is the sense that the author knows his material and character in great depth and with perfect accuracy. John Steinbeck is the type of an author who likes to know his story material directly. Of Mice & Men tells about two migrant workers whose names are George Milton and Lennie Small. George Milton is a small man with defined features and Lennie is physically opposite to him, a big giant man with mentally deficient. They always go everywhere together. They try to find a job in a nearby farmland. Although they are similar in age, George becomes a parental figure who must take care of his companion, the simpleminded and childish Lennie. The bond of friendship between George and Lennie who have opposite character is very interesting to be learned because the contrast that adheres to them does not restrict their comradeship. They fill and need each other. The scope of the study is needed to avoid any complicated discussion as well as to reach a better understanding of the topic. The study and the discussion are mainly focused on the novel Of Mice And Men, and comradeship as the important lessons in real life. The psychological approach is used in this thesis. The former is appropriate in order to understand the relationship between the characters. The method used to analyze the novel is the inductive method, in which the discussion begins from the particular part to general one.