Mice+and+Men+Character+Relations+Depression

We all know the feeling we get when music reflects exactly how we are feeling or what we are thinking. It feels like someone out there understands us. Or other times, when we leave our selves open to music and it influences our emotions for the rest of the day.

Patriotic songs can make you feel more love for your country,
= blues songs make you feel thoughtful and sad, = = and angry fast paced songs can pump you up. =

==== There are some people who have he ability to do either of these emotional manipulations individually, but Steinbeck creates a man who can do both. Slim the jerk line Skinner has the ability to easily pull information from George and others by making them feel comfortable. He also has the ability to help others make decisions in their lives, that they never would have thought of making. Like music, he has the solution for everything, and he is always in the background of a movie making the mood feel right. ==== ==== On page 37 right at the start of chapter 3 It says "Slim moved back slightly so that the light was not on his face... it was his calm invitation to confidence." Slim moved out of the light, into the background, like music will. We often forget were listening to music after listening for a long time, and George has been listening to Slim all day by this point. Later on in the chapter he convinces Candy to shoot his own dog by suggesting "I wisht someone would shoot me if I got old and cripple." Coming from anyone else, the phrase would be only a suggestion, but his simple suggestion along with his simple mood convince everyone its the right choice. ==== ==== The music of the 30's was very thoughtful and bluesy, much like the people. Swing music is created by lagging every other half-beat. Normal beats however remain unchanged. George and Lenny match together like half beats. George comes first and he is fast, followed by Lenny who is slow, and yet together they manage to create a normal beat. Another set of half beats is Curly and his wife. Other characters are normal beats all by themselves. Between them all, the ranch hands create a slow swing song. Or if you prefer, a blues song. In the thirties it would be a lot more common to find normal beats, than two people who act as different half beats to create one normal beat. As Slim explains "I hardly never seen two guys travel together." ==== The fast parts in music that we find easier to listen to are called moving parts. These parts are created when there's several different half beats played one after the other. In the book the groups of people that are half beats move around a lot. George and Lenny drift from one ranch to another, trying to stay out of trouble. Curly's wife is always running to find him, followed later by Curly wanting to find her. During the Depression people couldn't afford to move from place to place all the time unless they had already lost everything, so they remain as a helping background to those that were in movement. Throughout history, the amount of movement, the grouping of notes and beats, the tempo, and the background of songs has reflected or was reflected by the actions of humans. During the time this book was written, it was very clear where each of these areas fell and it is so much easier to grasp it that way when Steinbeck writes this well. (Robert)