The Community In Of Mice And Men

The Modern American writer John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men describes that,migrant agricultural workers George and Lennie came to Salinas’ ranch to share the common land belief with other workers.On this basis,they gradually became a cohesive community during the Great Depression of the United States in 1930 s.The novel reveals that individuals with different essential wills can pursue community because of the same belief,and members have a strong consensus and can naturally form a community with three forms which include kin-related,geographical and spiritual ones in interpersonal communication.This paper is based on the community theory of Toennies,a modern German sociologist,and its main points are as follows.Firstly,people have different essential wills,but they can pursue the same community,that is,despite various separations in the community,people still remain united.Secondly,community is naturally formed in interpersonal communication,which has three forms: geographical community,kin-related community and spiritual community.Thirdly,members of the community have a “consensus”,that is,members of the community have mutual,common and binding ideological belief.The second chapter discusses that the characters in the novel have different “essential wills” but pursue the same land belief.George,Lennie,Candy,Curley and his wife have different essential wills,and they pursue land together,which connects them closely.Lennie fantasizes about the life after owning the land,and George wisely planns for the land step by step.Candy’s essential will is loneliness,so he wants to have a land to accompany him;Curley’s wife yearns for freedom and wants to have a world of her own.Although their essential wills are different,they have formed a cohesive community living in the same environment.The third chapter studies that the characters in the novel naturally form a community in interpersonal communication because of “autogeny and spontaneity”.The workers live in the same land,forming a geographical community between man and land.Curley’s family is a kin-related community formed by kinship,including father-son relationship and husband-wife relationship.Lennie and George yearn for the same land,naturally forming a spiritual community of common belief under the condition of living together all the time.The fourth chapter discusses the “consensus”embodied in the characters’ “community consciousness” in the novel.Lennie needs George’s mind,and George needs Lennie’s power.Their destinies are closely linked and coexist solidly.Crooks takes care of the stable as a Negro,resisting the stable because of discrimination,but he still tolerates this discrimination and coexists with the stable.Candy shares the risks and benefits with his dog.The dog accompanies him and supports him spiritually.And the dog follows Candy and relies on Candy as they become the spiritual home of each other.Through the above research,it can be found that during the economic depression in 1930 s,although the characters in Of Mice and Men have different essential wills,they have the same faith and pursuit of land.In interpersonal communication and the connection between man and land,the workers and the ranch naturally form a geographical community between man and land,and Curley’s family form a kin-related community between relatives and a spiritual community with common belief between Lennie and George.The basic feature of the community is consensus,which is the will of the community itself and the mutual,common and binding ideological belief of the members of the community.Therefore,the symbiotic consciousness between people reflects a relationship with solid symbiosis,the coexistence consciousness between people reflects a relationship with resistance and tolerance,and the sharing consciousness between people reflects that they become a spiritual home of each other.