Compare and contrast for Night and Of Mice and Men: Post 4
Jon, in our past posts, we have talked quite a lot about things such as freedom and discrimination, and I feel that these things are closely associated with the time period in which they take place. It is true that the desire to be independent and the concept of bullying can occur anytime and anywhere, yet there is something about the way our minds work that relates the ideas people develope to the era in which they live. You have talked much about how the places where these two books are set impact the main characters, but I want to mention how the time aspect of the settings impact the thoughts of our "villains."
Both the stories we have read for this project take place in the past, and even if they are not too far back, they still are impacted very much by their settings. As the world progresses in technology and such, there is more for the general public to access so that it can learn about the significant impacts the small actions they take can have on the world. After the time of Night, there was a sense of knowing what was happening to the Jews of Europe around the world, and the access to real life stories of dispair and pleas for help is what ignited that very sense. "We had forgotten everything--death, fatigue, our natural needs. Stronger than cold or hunger, stronger than the shots and the desire to die, condemned and wandering, mere numbers, we were the only men on earth." (Wiesel, 83). If this book and its events were to have taken place further back in history, it would have been harder for others to acknowledge that killing due to religion was wrong since there would be nothing a person could see or do that would send that message. This is what happens within Of Mice and Men with Lennie; others gang up on him and accuse him of doing things because they really have no way of knowing that it is wrong. For instance, when George asks Curley to have mercy on Lennie for accidentally killing his wife, Curley replies with: "'Don't shoot 'im?' Curley cried. 'He got Carlson's Luger. 'Course we'll shoot 'im.'" (Steinbeck, 95). With modern times comes modern technology that can help people view the world from the point of view of another that is suffering, and that can often save lives by manifesting into realization.
The time period of a story is important due to the fact that people can often be immune to the traditional ways of the past, and therefore, be hooked to many regulations that don't fit into a modern world. Night and Of Mice and Men are both similar in the way that they both contain people (major characters even) who are hooked onto the ideas from the past that no longer would make sense in today's times. Hitler, for example, was swaying in the thought that ultimate control can only be achieved if the "filthy" and "impure" people of the world were somehow removed from proper society. In the same way, Curley was a man who floated in the idea that someone who was not mentally able to contribute to a community should be an outcast since nothing is gained out of him or her. If we think about it, both of these are ideas that have been existing for a long time in history, and a change in the setting of these stories would not have given them the same meaning that can be seen now. There are people that think in similar ways to Hitler and Curley even now, but that is changing as new generations are reestablishing the rules on which societies work.
Overall, the messages and feelings I have received from these two books made me happy that we chose to read them; I hope they have made some impact on you too, Jon.
P.S. Don't worry, Jon. I will read your later posts even though I am done...
Jon, in our past posts, we have talked quite a lot about things such as freedom and discrimination, and I feel that these things are closely associated with the time period in which they take place. It is true that the desire to be independent and the concept of bullying can occur anytime and anywhere, yet there is something about the way our minds work that relates the ideas people develope to the era in which they live. You have talked much about how the places where these two books are set impact the main characters, but I want to mention how the time aspect of the settings impact the thoughts of our "villains."
Both the stories we have read for this project take place in the past, and even if they are not too far back, they still are impacted very much by their settings. As the world progresses in technology and such, there is more for the general public to access so that it can learn about the significant impacts the small actions they take can have on the world. After the time of Night, there was a sense of knowing what was happening to the Jews of Europe around the world, and the access to real life stories of dispair and pleas for help is what ignited that very sense. "We had forgotten everything--death, fatigue, our natural needs. Stronger than cold or hunger, stronger than the shots and the desire to die, condemned and wandering, mere numbers, we were the only men on earth." (Wiesel, 83). If this book and its events were to have taken place further back in history, it would have been harder for others to acknowledge that killing due to religion was wrong since there would be nothing a person could see or do that would send that message. This is what happens within Of Mice and Men with Lennie; others gang up on him and accuse him of doing things because they really have no way of knowing that it is wrong. For instance, when George asks Curley to have mercy on Lennie for accidentally killing his wife, Curley replies with: "'Don't shoot 'im?' Curley cried. 'He got Carlson's Luger. 'Course we'll shoot 'im.'" (Steinbeck, 95). With modern times comes modern technology that can help people view the world from the point of view of another that is suffering, and that can often save lives by manifesting into realization.
The time period of a story is important due to the fact that people can often be immune to the traditional ways of the past, and therefore, be hooked to many regulations that don't fit into a modern world. Night and Of Mice and Men are both similar in the way that they both contain people (major characters even) who are hooked onto the ideas from the past that no longer would make sense in today's times. Hitler, for example, was swaying in the thought that ultimate control can only be achieved if the "filthy" and "impure" people of the world were somehow removed from proper society. In the same way, Curley was a man who floated in the idea that someone who was not mentally able to contribute to a community should be an outcast since nothing is gained out of him or her. If we think about it, both of these are ideas that have been existing for a long time in history, and a change in the setting of these stories would not have given them the same meaning that can be seen now. There are people that think in similar ways to Hitler and Curley even now, but that is changing as new generations are reestablishing the rules on which societies work.
Overall, the messages and feelings I have received from these two books made me happy that we chose to read them; I hope they have made some impact on you too, Jon.
P.S. Don't worry, Jon. I will read your later posts even though I am done...
No comments:
Post a Comment