Responsibility is defined as the state of being responsible, accountable, or answerable, as for a trust, debt, or obligation. A responsibility can also be something that you are actually accountable for such as a pet or a chore. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, a theme of responsibility is evident throughout the story. I found that this theme of responsibility allowed me to better relate to and understand many of the characters. I think the reason for this was because I was able to compare some of the characters’ feelings of responsibility to feelings I’ve had in my own life. Responsibility is something that everyone deals with on a daily basis, no matter who they are, where they live, or how old they are. As a kid you might have had a pet to take care of or maybe you had a list of chores to do. As you grew older you gained more and more responsibility. By the time you were an adult you possessed the ability to completely take care of yourself and possibly even others. In the novel there are many prime examples of the importance of responsibility. These examples can be easily related to incidents that may occur in your own life.
The theme of responsibility is apparent right at the beginning of the novel
. . .
This is done by Lennie throughout the novel. Later in his conversation with himself, the reason for this shift of blame becomes clear. Lennie does not always understand what the consequences of his actions will be, and in this particular incident he didn’t even realize what he had done until it was too late. Lennie says: “Why do you got to get killed? You ain’t so little as mice. Men went out in search of Lennie, to
punish him for what they saw as a crime. He paints a picture in your mind of two men who look completely opposite in physical appearance, sitting together by a green pool hidden away in the brush. This statement illustrates how Lennie shifts the blame from himself to the puppy itself. He would
have to take responsibility for Lennie and kill him himself.
Another event in the novel where Steinbeck stresses the importance of responsibility is when Lennie kills his puppy. Instead George risked his life by helping Lennie elude the men who were hunting
him down. The cost to George of what he had to do was huge but he knew that he had to do it. He will not take responsibility for his actions because he is afraid of facing the consequences. Where ever George went Lennie went too. He also couldn’t allow him to be locked up for the rest of his life.
Approximate Word count =
1181
Approximate Pages =
5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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