Our perceptions of wealth and contentment are a product of the environment in

which we find ourselves

Examine this statement through a comparison and contrast of two texts you have
studied in class.
The ability of an individual to discover their identity is dependent on their
perceptions of wealth and contentment. This is represented through the actions
of the protagonists in Of Mice and Men, a novella by John Steinbeck and in
Into the Wild a motion picture directed by Sean Penn. Of Mice and Men
occurs during The Great Depression, where the two protagonists, George and
Lennie are seeking work in order to sustain themselves. In a dystopic context,
the characters in Of Mice and Men are drawn together by friendship and
camaraderie. Into The Wild takes place during the 1990s, an era of opulence
and excess, yet the main protagonist, Christopher McCandless, rejects the idea
of objectified wealth and contentment. Here, the context of a materialistic world
is explored through McCandlesss withdrawal from the very one that he was
raised in.
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In Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie identify happiness through the ability
to live a simple life without extravagancies. Set during the Great Depression,
Steinbeck draws a lacklustre view on the notions of riches and luxuries whereas
portraying an almost Utopian perspective on the ability of oneself to subsist
themselves; it is shown by the tone of George as he dreamt about owning a
place of his own, living offa the fatta the lan... and if we wanted a little whiskey we can
just sell a few eggs or something.. Here Steinbeck toys with the ideas of independence
and self-sufficiency, upon which the perception of wealth was believed by people at the time,
especially set in a context following the Great Depression. By doing this, Steinbeck
demonstrates the full extent of the effects of the Great Depression, presenting its impacts on
the people, and how people reacted to it by altering their perceptions of wealth. In this case,
the financial limitations of George and Lennie force them to seek work, and hence influence
their perceptions of wealth towards ideas of subsistence and self-sufficiency.
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Similarly, McCandlesss perception of wealth in Into the Wild is not through
objectified materialism, rather in the solitude he found in his travels and
literature and his ability to subsist himself. McCandless demonstrates his distaste
towards an objectified society shown by tone of his voice in the quote, I dont
want a new car. I dont need a new car. I dont want any-thing; things, things, things. The
close up camera angles prior to his outburst illustrate the tension in the
relationship between McCandless and his parents, and the repetition of things
allows the audience to visualise his dislike towards the notion of unneeded
extravagances. This demonstrates that McCandless does not identify
materialistic possession as a form of wealth, rather; by abandoning such, it
allows McCandless to explore himself and the environment around him.
Furthermore, it is shown where McCandless burns his money before setting off on
his journey. The close up shot of where McCandless walks away from his car and
money symbolises that McCandless is seen abandoning his material wealth in
exchange for intellectual and spiritual wealth. Here, Penn questions the nature of
American society; that despite its faade of luxury and riches, it is not truly a
happy society where the citizens are content.

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Perceived contentment is explored in Of Mice and Men by George and Lennie through the
achievement of freedom. Whilst illustrating a world of despair and resentment through the
context of the Great Depression, Steinbeck also demonstrates the lack of freedom available
to people living at the time due to the restrictions and sacrifices they had to incur in order to
live marginally. This is shown by the quote, Wed belong there. There wouldnt be no more
runnin round the country and gettin fed by a Jap cook. No, sir, wed have our own place
where we belonged and not sleep in no bunk house. Here, Georges tone symbolises
the desire of people to gain freedom of living, rather than be passively forced
into working in order survive. Through this, Steinbeck raises the notion that
contentment must be gained by the exploration of freedom to highlight the lack
thereof during society at the time. Additionally, Steinbeck implicates the
significance of relationships with others in achieving contentment, through the
friendship and trust between George and Lennie and how they strive together to
achieve common goals.
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Throughout Into the Wild, McCandless is shown discovering freedom away from
society, similar to that of Of Mice and Men, yet through different mediums.
Where George and Lennie seek content by freedom via friendship and trust,
McCandless seeks freedom through the discovery of oneself via a journey. As he
travels across America, McCandless is seen continuously attempting to escape
the social pressures of a consumerist world. McCandless believed that the only
way he could properly identify contentment and happiness was to abandon the
objectified nature of society at the time, and this is shown by the quotes; Money,
power is an illusion, give me truth. In this scene, the tone of the brief words spoken
by McCandless describe a desire to escape from the materialism that he is
surrounded by. This desire is paralleled by his yearning to discover the source of
contentment, to which he believed was freedom. McCandless is driven by a
society that takes precedent on possessions rather than individuals, evidenced
by his parents treatment of each other especially when discussing money
related issues. This causes McCandless to say the above, and to undertake a
journey for intellectual and spiritual discovery to understand the true source of
happiness.
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Of Mice and Men and Into the Wild explore various similar concepts, including
that of wealth through subsistence and contentment through freedom. Whilst
both texts explore the definition of wealth as being able to sustain oneself not to
excess, they show somewhat different perceptions of the achievement of
freedom, where Of Mice and Men describes a path through friendship, and
Into the Wild explores the achievement of freedom through the solitary
discovery of oneself. Although set seventy years apart, the themes and notions
raised in either text show that the different perceptions of wealth and
contentment are influenced by the context in which they occur.