John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men, published in 1937, is one of the author's most

widely read novels, largely due to its ubiquitous presence in the high school
curriculum. As a result, this mythic story of two opposites - the clever,
wiry George Milton and the lumbering, powerful Lennie Small - has assumed an
important place in the American literary canon. The novel is deceptively simple it is short and straight-forwardly written. But beneath this approachable surface
Steinbeck explores mysterious and haunting themes, largely pivoting on the
search for comfort, decency and companionship in a lonely, cruel world.
Of Mice and Men was Steinbeck's seventh novel. Though he had achieved critical
and popular success with his two preceding novels,Tortilla Flat (1935) and In Dubious
Battle (1936), Of Mice and Men was an instant success on another level altogether.
The book was chosen as a Book-of-the-Month club selection and garnered
Steinbeck the financial stability and creative confidence necessary for his
embarkation on his subsequent novel, The Grapes of Wrath (1939), which continues
to be viewed as the best work of his career.
Steinbeck drew his inspiration for the work from his experience living and working
as a "bindlestiff" - or itinerant farmhand - during the 1920s. In a 1937 interview
in The New York Times, Steinbeck said that the character of Lennie was based on a
mentally impaired man he met in his travels who was prone to episodes of
uncontrollable rage. The central question of where or how such a man might fit
into society drives the action of Of Mice and Men, and the rest of the characters in
the book are developed largely in terms of their relationships to this enigmatic
central figure.
John Steinbeck takes the title of this novel from the poem "To a Mouse [on turning her
up in her nest with the plough]," written by Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1785.
In the poem, the speaker has accidentally turned up a mouse's nest with his
plough. He pauses for a little rumination about how men and animals might seem
different, but in the end they're all mortal. No matter how different "thinking
men" and "unthinking animals" seem, everybody suffers and dies in the end:
But there is one difference. Mice and men might both die, but only the men are
aware of it.
In other words, the mouse can't think about the past or the future. Does this
remind you of anyone? Us, too. It seems like Steinbeck is thinking of Lennie as the
mouse, and George as the man who turns up its nest: life messes them both up,
but at least Lennie doesn't have to remember any of it. Whatever happens to
Lennie is over. He doesn't regret anything and he doesn't anticipate anything
not even his death.
But not George. George will have to live with what he's done for the rest of his
life.
One evening, two men, on their way to a ranch, stop at a stream near the Salinas
River. George, who is short and dark, leads the way. The person following him is
Lennie, a giant of a man with huge arms. During their conversation by the
stream, George repeatedly asks Lennie to keep his mouth shut on the ranch,
suggesting that Lennie has some kind of problem. After supper and before going
to sleep, the two of them talk about their dream to own a piece of land.
The next day, George and Lennie travel to the ranch to start work. They are given
two beds in the bunkhouse. Then Old Candy introduces them to almost
everybody on the ranch. They meet the boss and the bosss son Curley, who is
quite rude. They also meet Curleys wife when she comes looking for her
husband. She wears heavy make-up and possesses a flirtatious attitude. George
warns Lennie to behave his best around Curley and his wife. He also suggests

that they should meet by the pool if anything unfortunate happens to either of
them on the ranch.
George and Lennie are assigned to work with Slim, who is sensible and civilized
and talks with authority. George finds Slim an understanding confidante, and a
bond forms between the two of them. When Curley wrongly accuses Slim for
talking to his wife, Slim gets very angry. Curley apologizes to him in the
bunkhouse in front of everybody, but his apology is rejected. Curley vents his
frustration on Lennie, trying to pick a fight. Lennie does not hit back initially, but
when George asks him to, Lennie obliges and crushes Curleys hand. Curley
agrees that he will not tell anyone about his hand, for it would mean losing his
self-respect.
While working on the ranch, George and Lennie continue to dream about owning
their own piece of land and make plans accordingly. Old Candy, one of the ranch
hands, overhears their planning and asks to join them. He even offers to
contribute all of his savings to purchase the land. George and Lennie accept his
proposal.
One evening, Lennie, looking for his puppy, enters the room of Crooks; since he is
the only black man on the ranch, Crooks lives alone, segregated from the other
ranch workers. Candy enters, looking for Lennie; the two of them tell Crooks
about their dream of owning their own ranch, but Crooks tells them that it will
never happen, foreshadowing the truth. Curleys wife comes in and interrupts
them. When Crooks objects to her presence in his room, she threatens him with a
false rape charge.
Later on, Lennie is seen alone in the barn, petting his dead pup. He has
unintentionally killed it by handling it too hard. Now he is grieving over the loss.
Curleys wife walks into the barn and strikes up a conversation with Lennie. As
they talk, she asks him to stroke her hair. She panics when she feels Lennies
strong hands. When she raises her voice to him, Lennie covers her mouth. In the
process, he accidentally breaks her neck and she dies. Knowing he has done
something terrible, he leaves the ranch. When the ranch hands learn that
Curleys wife has been killed, they rightly guess the guilty party. Led by an angry
Curley, they all go out to search for Lennie. They plan to murder him in
retribution.
George guesses where Lennie is and races to the pool. To save him from the
brutal assaults of the ranch hands, George mercifully kills his friend himself.
Hearing the gunshot, the searchers converge by the pool. They praise George for
his act. Only Slim understands the actual purpose of Georges deed.
Themes: The Predatory Nature of Human Existence
Fraternity and the Idealized Male Friendship
Fraternity and the Idealized Male Friendship
Motifs
The Corrupting Power of Women
Loneliness and Companionship
Strength and Weakness
Symbols
George and Lennies Farm
Lennies Puppy
Candys Dog
Lennie - A large, lumbering, childlike migrant worker. Due to his mild mental
disability, Lennie completely depends upon George, his friend and traveling
companion, for guidance and protection. The two men share a vision of a farm
that they will own together, a vision that Lennie believes in wholeheartedly.

Gentle and kind, Lennie nevertheless does not understand his own strength. His
love of petting soft things, such as small animals, dresses, and peoples hair,
leads to disaster.
Read an in-depth analysis of Lennie.
George - A small, wiry, quick-witted man who travels with, and cares for, Lennie.
Although he frequently speaks of how much better his life would be without his
caretaking responsibilities, George is obviously devoted to Lennie. Georges
behavior is motivated by the desire to protect Lennie and, eventually, deliver
them both to the farm of their dreams. Though George is the source of the oftentold story of life on their future farm, it is Lennies childlike faith that enables
George to actually believe his account of their future.
Read an in-depth analysis of George.
Candy - An aging ranch handyman, Candy lost his hand in an accident and
worries about his future on the ranch. Fearing that his age is making him useless,
he seizes on Georges description of the farm he and Lennie will have, offering his
lifes savings if he can join George and Lennie in owning the land. The fate of
Candys ancient dog, which Carlson shoots in the back of the head in an alleged
act of mercy, foreshadows the manner of Lennies death.
Read an in-depth analysis of Candy.
Curleys wife - The only female character in the story, Curleys wife is never
given a name and is only mentioned in reference to her husband. The men on the
farm refer to her as a tramp, a tart, and a looloo. Dressed in fancy,
feathered red shoes, she represents the temptation of female sexuality in a maledominated world. Steinbeck depicts Curleys wife not as a villain, but rather as a
victim. Like the ranch-hands, she is desperately lonely and has broken dreams of
a better life.
Read an in-depth analysis of Curleys wife.
Crooks - Crooks, the black stable-hand, gets his name from his crooked back.
Proud, bitter, and caustically funny, he is isolated from the other men because of
the color of his skin. Despite himself, Crooks becomes fond of Lennie, and though
he derisively claims to have seen countless men following empty dreams of
buying their own land, he asks Lennie if he can go with them and hoe in the
garden.
Read an in-depth analysis of Crooks.
Curley - The bosss son, Curley wears high-heeled boots to distinguish himself
from the field hands. Rumored to be a champion prizefighter, he is a
confrontational, mean-spirited, and aggressive young man who seeks to
compensate for his small stature by picking fights with larger men. Recently
married, Curley is plagued with jealous suspicions and is extremely possessive of
his flirtatious young wife.
Read an in-depth analysis of Curley.
Slim - A highly skilled mule driver and the acknowledged prince of the ranch,
Slim is the only character who seems to be at peace with himself. The other
characters often look to Slim for advice. For instance, only after Slim agrees that
Candy should put his decrepit dog out of its misery does the old man agree to let
Carlson shoot it. A quiet, insightful man, Slim alone understands the nature of the
bond between George and Lennie, and comforts George at the books tragic
ending.
Carlson - A ranch-hand, Carlson complains bitterly about Candys old, smelly
dog. He convinces Candy to put the dog out of its misery. When Candy finally

agrees, Carlson promises to execute the task without causing the animal any
suffering. Later, George uses Carlsons gun to shoot Lennie.
The Boss - The stocky, well-dressed man in charge of the ranch, and Curleys
father. He is never named and appears only once, but seems to be a fair-minded
man. Candy happily reports that the boss once delivered a gallon of whiskey to
the ranch-hands on Christmas Day.
Aunt Clara - Lennies aunt, who cared for him until her death, does not actually
appear in the work except at the end, as a vision chastising Lennie for causing
trouble for George. By all accounts, she was a kind, patient woman who took
good care of Lennie and gave him plenty of mice to pet.
Whit - A ranch-hand.
Pride and Prejudice is a novel of manners by Jane Austen, first published in
1813. The story follows the main character, Elizabeth Bennet, as she deals with
issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of
the landed gentry of theBritish Regency. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters
of a country gentleman living near the fictional town of Meryton inHertfordshire,
near London.
Page 2 of a letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra (11 June 1799) in
which she first mentions Pride and Prejudice, using its working title First
Impressions. (NLA)
Set in England in the early 19th century, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of Mr
and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters after the rich and eligible Mr Bingley
and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, have moved into their neighbourhood.
While Bingley takes an immediate liking to the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane,
Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with the
second-eldest Bennet daughter, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Bennet[edit]
Elizabeth Bennet The reader sees the unfolding plot and the other characters mostly
from her viewpoint. The second of the Bennet daughters, she is twenty years old
and is intelligent, lively, playful, attractive, and wittybut with a tendency to
judge on first impression (the "prejudice" of the title) and perhaps to be a
little selective of the evidence on which she bases her judgments. As the plot begins,
her closest relationships are with her father, her sister Jane, her aunt (Mrs
Gardiner)and her best friend, Charlotte Lucas. As the story progresses, so does
her relationship with Mr Darcy. The course of Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship is
ultimately decided when Darcy overcomes his pride, and Elizabeth overcomes her
prejudice, leading them both to surrender to their love for each other.
Mr Darcy[edit]
Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy is the male protagonist of the novel. He is the wealthy owner
of the renowned family estate of Pemberley inDerbyshire, and is rumoured to be
worth at least 10,000 a year. This is equivalent to anywhere from around
200,000 a year to around 10 million a year in 2014, depending on the method
of calculation,[3] but such an income would have put him among the 400
wealthiest families in the country at the time.[4] Handsome, tall, and intelligent,
Darcy lacks the social ease that comes so naturally to his friend Bingley. Others
frequently mistake his aloof decorum and rectitude as further proof of excessive
pride. While he makes a poor impression on strangers, such as the landed gentry of
Meryton, Darcy is greatly valued by those who know him well.

As the novel progresses, Darcy and Elizabeth are repeatedly forced into each
other's company, resulting in each altering their feelings for the other through
better acquaintance and changes in environment. At the end of the work, both
overcome their differences and first impressions to fall in love with each other.[5]
Mr Bennet[edit]
Mr Bennet is the patriarch of the Bennet family, a gentleman of modest income
with five unmarried daughters. Mr Bennet has an ironic, cynical sense of humour
that irritates his wife. Though he loves his daughters (Elizabeth in particular), he
often fails as a parent, preferring to withdraw from the never-ending marriage
concerns of the women around him rather than offer help. If fact, he often enjoys
laughing at the sillier members of his family, partially the reason many have fatal
faults, as he has not taken pains to amend them. Although he possesses inherited
property, it is entailedthat is, it can only pass to male heirsso his daughters will
be on their own upon his death.
Mrs Bennet[edit]
Mrs Bennet is the wife of her social superior Mr Bennet and mother of Elizabeth
and her sisters. She is frivolous, excitable, and narrow-minded, and she imagines
herself susceptible to attacks of tremors and palpitations when she is displeased.
Her public manners and social climbing are embarrassing to Jane and Elizabeth.
Her favourite daughter is the youngest, Lydia, who reminds her of herself when
younger, though she values the beauty of the eldest, Jane. Her main ambition in
life is to marry her daughters to wealthy men; whether or not any such matches
will give her daughters happiness is of little concern to her.
Lady Catherine confronts Elizabeth about Darcy, on the title page of the first
illustrated edition. This is the other of the first two illustrations of the novel.
Jane Bennet[edit]
Jane Bennet is the eldest Bennet sister. Twenty-two years old when the novel
begins, she is considered the most beautiful young lady in the neighbourhood.
Her character is contrasted with Elizabeth's as sweeter, shyer, and equally
sensible, but not as clever; her most notable trait is a desire to see only the good
in others. As Anna Quindlen wrote, Jane is "sugar to Elizabeth's lemonade."[6] Jane is
closest to Elizabeth, and her character is often contrasted with that of Elizabeth.
She is favoured by her mother because of her beauty.
She falls in love with Mr Bingley, a rich man who has recently moved to
Hertfordshire, and a close friend of Mr Darcy. Their love is initially thwarted by Mr
Darcy and Caroline Bingley, who are concerned by Jane's low connections and
have other plans for Bingley. Mr Darcy, aided by Elizabeth, eventually sees the
error in his ways and is instrumental in bringing Jane and Bingley back together.
Mary Bennet[edit]
Mary Bennet is the only plain (not pretty) Bennet sister, and rather than join in
some of the family activities, she mostly reads and practises music, although she
is often impatient to display her accomplishments and is rather vain about them.
She works hard for knowledge and accomplishment, but she has neither genius
nor taste. Like her two younger sisters, Kitty and Lydia, she is seen as being silly
by Mr Bennet. Mary is not very intelligent but thinks of herself as being wise.
When Mr Collins is refused by Elizabeth, Mrs Bennet hopes Mary may be prevailed
upon to accept him and we are led to believe that Mary has some hopes in this
direction but neither of them know that he is already engaged to Charlotte Lucas
by this time. Mary does not appear often in the novel.
Catherine Bennet[edit]
Catherine, or Kitty, Bennet is the fourth daughter at 17 years old. Although
older than her, she is the shadow of Lydia and follows in her pursuits of the

'Officers' of the regiment. She appears but little, although she is often portrayed
as envious of Lydia and also a 'silly' young woman. However, it is said that she
has improved by the end of the novel.
Lydia Bennet[edit]
Lydia Bennet is the youngest Bennet sister, aged 15 when the novel begins. She
is frivolous and headstrong. Her main activity in life is socializing, especially
flirting with the officers of the militia. This leads to her elopement with George
Wickham, although he has no intention of marrying her. She dominates her older
sister Kitty and is supported in the family by her mother. Lydia shows no regard
for the moral code of her society, and no remorse for the disgrace she causes her
family.
Charles Bingley[edit]
Charles Bingley is a handsome, good-natured, and wealthy young gentleman of
23, who rents Netherfield Park near Longbourn. He is contrasted with his friend Mr
Darcy as being more kind and more charming and having more generally pleasing
manners, although not quite so clever. He lacks resolve and is easily influenced
by others. His two sisters, Caroline Bingley and Louisa Hurst, both disapprove of
Bingley's growing affection for Jane Bennet.
Caroline Bingley[edit]
Caroline Bingley is the snobbish sister of Charles Bingley, with a dowry of
twenty thousand pounds. Miss Bingley harbours romantic intentions for Mr Darcy,
and she is jealous of his growing attachment to Elizabeth and is disdainful and
rude to her. She attempts to dissuade Mr Darcy from liking Elizabeth by ridiculing
the Bennet family in Darcy's presence, as she realises that this is the main aspect
of Elizabeth with which she can find fault. She also attempts to convey her own
superiority over Elizabeth, by being notably more polite and complimentary
towards Darcy throughout. She often compliments his younger sister, Georgiana suspecting that he will agree with what she says about her. Miss Bingley also
disapproves of her brother's esteem for Jane Bennet, and it is acknowledged later
that she, with Darcy, attempts to separate the couple. She sends Jane letters
describing her brother's growing love for Georgiana Darcy, in attempt to convince
Jane of Bingley's indifference towards her. When Jane goes to London she ignores
her for a period of four weeks, despite Jane's frequent invitations for her to call
upon her. When she eventually does, she is rude and cold, and is unapologetic for
her failure to respond to Jane's letters. Jane, who is always determined not to find
fault with anybody, is forced to admit that she had been deceived in thinking she
had a genuine friendship with Caroline Bingley, the realisation of which she relays
to Elizabeth in a letter.
George Wickham[edit]
George Wickham has been acquainted with Mr Darcy since childhood, being the
son of Mr Darcy's father's steward. An officer in the militia, he is superficially
charming and rapidly forms an attachment with Elizabeth Bennet. He spreads tales
about the wrongs Mr Darcy has done him, adding to the local society's prejudice,
but eventually he is found to have been the wrongdoer himself. He elopes with
Lydia, with no intention of marrying her, which would have resulted in her
complete disgrace, but for Darcy's intervention to bribe Wickham to marry her.
William Collins[edit]
William Collins, aged 25, is Mr Bennet's clergyman cousin and heir to his estate. He
is "not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted
by education or society". Mr Collins is obsequious, pompous, and lacking in
common sense. Elizabeth's rejection of Mr Collins's marriage proposal is

welcomed by her father, regardless of the financial benefit to the family of such a
match. Mr Collins then marries Elizabeth's friend, Charlotte Lucas.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh[edit]
Lady Catherine and Elizabeth by C. E. Brock, 1895
Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who possesses wealth and social standing, is haughty,
pompous, domineering, and condescending, although her manner is seen by
some as entirely proper and even admirable. Mr Collins, for example, is shown to
admire these characteristics by deferring to her opinions and desires. Elizabeth,
by contrast, is duly respectful but not intimidated. Lady Catherine's nephew, Mr
Darcy, is offended by her lack of manners, especially towards Elizabeth, and he
later courts her disapproval by marrying Elizabeth in spite of her numerous
objections.
Aunt and Uncle Gardiner[edit]
Aunt and Uncle Gardiner: Edward Gardiner is Mrs Bennet's brother and a
successful businessman of sensible and gentlemanly character. Aunt Gardiner is
close to her nieces Elizabeth and Jane. Jane stays with the Gardiners in London for
a period, and Elizabeth travels with them to Derbyshire, where she again meets
Mr Darcy. The Gardiners are quick in their perception of an attachment between
Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, and judge him without prejudice. They are both actively
involved in helping Mr Darcy arrange the marriage between Lydia and Mr
Wickham.
Georgiana Darcy[edit]
Georgiana Darcy is Mr Darcy's quiet, amiable, and shy younger sister, aged 16
when the story begins. When 15, Miss Darcy almost eloped with Mr Wickham,
who sought her thirty thousand pound dowry. Miss Darcy is introduced to
Elizabeth at Pemberley and is later delighted at the prospect of becoming her
sister-in-law. Georgiana is extremely timid and gets embarrassed fairly easily. She
idolises her brother Mr Darcy (Fitzwilliam Darcy), and the two share an extremely
close sibling bond, much like Jane and Elizabeth. She is extremely talented at the
piano, singing, playing the harp, and drawing. She is also very modest.
Charlotte Lucas[edit]
Charlotte Lucas is Elizabeth's friend who, at 27 years old, fears becoming a
burden to her family and therefore agrees to marry Mr Collins, whom she does not
love, to gain financial security. Though the novel stresses the importance of love
and understanding in marriage (as seen in the anticipated success of Elizabeth
Darcy relationship), Austen never seems to condemn Charlotte's decision to
marry for money. Austen uses Lucas as the common voice of early 19th Century
society's views on relationships and marriage.
Themes: Marriage, wealth, class, self knowledge.
The title "Pride and Prejudice" is very likely taken from a passage in Fanny Burney's
popular 1782 novel Cecilia, a novel Jane Austen is known to have admired:
1
pride : a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other
people
: a feeling that you are more important or better than other people
: a feeling of happiness that you get when you or someone you know does
something good, difficult, etc.
Prejudice an unfair feeling of dislike for a person or group because of race, sex,
religion, etc.
: a feeling of like or dislike for someone or something especially when it is not
reasonable or logical

Man and Superman - Act One:

Ann Whitefields father has passed away. Mr. Whitefields will indicate that his
daughters guardians shall be two gentlemen:
Roebuck Ramsden: The steadfast (and rather old-fashioned) friend of the family.
John Tanner: A controversial author and Member of the Idle Rich Class
The problem: Ramsden cannot stand Tanners morals, and Tanner cannot stand
the idea of being Anns guardian. To complicate things, Tanners friend Octavius
Tavy Robinson is head over heels in love with An. He hopes that the new
guardianship will improve his chances of winning her heart.
Ann flirts harmlessly whenever she is around Tavy. However, when she is alone
with John Tanner (AKA Jack) her intentions become obvious to the audience. She
wants Tanner. Whether she wants him because she loves him, or because she is
infatuated with him, or merely because desires his wealth and status is entirely
up to the viewers opinion.
When Tavys sister Violet enters, a romantic sub-plot is introduced. Rumor has it
that Violet is pregnant and unmarried. Ramsden and Octavius are outraged and
ashamed. Tanner congratulates Violet. He believes that she is simply following
lifes natural impulses, and he approves the instinctive way Violet has pursued
her goals despite societys expectations.
Violet can tolerate the moral objections of her friends and family. She cannot,
however, abide Tanners praise. She admits that she is legally married, but that
the identity of her groom must remain secret. Act One of Man and
Superman concludes with Ramsden and the others apologizing. Jack Tanner is
disappointed; he wrongly thought that Violet has shared his moral/philosophical
outlook. Instead, realizes the bulk of society is not ready to challenge traditional
institutions such as marriage.
Mr. Whitefield has recently died, and his will indicates that his daughter, Ann
should be left in the care of two men, Roebuck Ramsden and Jack Tanner.
Ramsden, a venerable old man, distrusts Jack Tanner, an eloquent man with
revolutionary ideas.[3] In spite of what Ramsden says, Ann accepts Tanner as
a guardian, and she defies Tanner's revolutionary beliefs with her own beliefs.
Tanner's dedication to anarchy is unable to disarm Ann's charm, and she ultimately
persuades him to marry her.[4] Eventually, Ann chooses Tanner over her more
persistent suitor, a young man named Octavius Robinson.
List of characters[edit]
Hector Malone, Sr., an elderly gentleman who has worked hard throughout his
life to attain a high social status that he now prides himself on.
Ann Whitefield, a young woman, graceful, somewhat enigmatic. She
corresponds to the character Doa Ana in the Don Juan myth (in Act III, Shaw's
stage direction refers to Doa Ana de Ulloa as "so handsome that in the radiance
into which her dull yellow halo has suddenly lightened one might almost mistake
her for Ann Whitefield").
Henry Straker, chauffeur with a cockney accent.
John Tanner, also called "Jack Tanner," a well-educated, well-spoken man who
takes everything seriously, including himself; a "political firebrand and confirmed
bachelor."[5]Allegedly the descendant of Don Juan, as well as the modern
representation of the Don Juan character (In Act III, Shaw notes Don Juan's
resemblance to Tanner: "Besides, in the brief lifting of his face, now hidden by his
hat brim, there was a curious suggestion of Tanner. A more critical, fastidious,
handsome face, paler and colder, without Tanners impetuous credulity and

enthusiasm, and without a touch of his modern plutocratic vulgarity, but still a
resemblance, even an identity"). The very name "John Tanner" is obviously
an anglicisation of the Spanish name "Juan Tenorio," which is the full name of Don
Juan.
Violet Robinson, sister of Octavius Robinson. She has been secretly married to
Hector Malone, Jr.
Mrs. Whitefield, mother of Ann, and widow of the late Mr. Whitefield.
Susan Ramsden, the spinster sister of Roebuck Ramsden.
Hector Malone, Jr., an American gentleman who is secretly married to Violet
Robinson.
Octavius Robinson, an amiable young man who is in love with Ann Whitefield.
Brother to Violet Robinson. He represents "Don Ottavio" from the Don Juan myth.
Roebuck Ramsden, an aging civil reformer who was friend to the late Mr.
Whitefield. He corresponds to the statue in the Don Juan myth, who is in turn the
representation of the spirit of Don Gonzalo, the father of Doa Ana (in Act III,
Shaw writes of The Statue, "His voice, save for a much more distinguished
intonation, is so like the voice of Roebuck Ramsden").
Mendoza, an anarchist who collaborates with Tanner. Mendoza is the "President of
the League of the Sierra," a self-described brigand and a Jew. He corresponds to
Shaw's conception of the Devil as he would be portrayed in the Don Juan myth
(Shaw writes of "The Devil" in Act III: "A scarlet halo begins to glow; and into it the
Devil rises, veryMephistophelean, and not at all unlike Mendoza, though not so
interesting").
What is a Superman?
First of all, dont get the philosophical idea of the Superman mixed up with the
comic book hero who flies around in blue tights and red shorts and who looks
suspiciously like Clark Kent! That Superman is bent on preserving truth, justice
and the American way. The Superman from Shaws play possesses the following
qualities:
Superior intellect
Cunning and intuition
Ability to defy obsolete moral codes
Self-defined virtues
Shaws Examples of Supermen:
Shaw selects a few figures from history who display some of the Supermans
traits:
Julius Caesar
Napoleon Bonaparte
Oliver Cromwell
Each person is a highly influential leader, each with his own amazing capabilities.
Of course, each had significant failings. Shaw argues that the fate of each of
these casual supermen was caused by the mediocrity of humanity. Because
most people in society are unexceptional, the few Supermen who happen to
appear on the planet now and then face a nearly impossible challenge. They must
try to either subdue the mediocrity or to raise the mediocrity up to the level of
Supermen.
Therefore, Shaw does not simply want to see a few more Julius Caesars crop up in
society. He wants mankind to evolve into an entire race of healthy, morallyindependent geniuses.
Theme: property and marriage