Critical_Lens

According to Nicolas Cage "I like flawed characters because somewhere in them I see more of the truth, which was quoted in "His Truth is Out There" from Los Angeles Times.” This quote means that weakness and imperfection in characters help us to better understand those characters and go deep in them. Many people agree with this quote because we learn from our faults and in the same way we understand a character precisely that has flaws. Monster by Walter Dean Myers and The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton help to understand the fact that a flawed character is a true character. The theme and symbolism of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck verified that faults in a character make it more understandable. The theme is weakness in Of Mice and Men. Weakness in Of Mice and Men is as diverse as all the characters. Lennie is mentally weak, George can’t fight for his dream, and Curley resents being a smallish man. Weakness is a reality for nearly everyone on the ranch, but rather than subdue the characters, it forces them to brush up against each other and accept the fights (often inspired by their weakness) as they come. This might be because of the environment – on a ranch full of strong men and male bravado, weakness (whether it’s present in everyone or not) is frowned upon. Because characters often know their weaknesses, they’re quick to try to cover for them, which spells confrontation. It’s a typical bullying situation: characters’ weaknesses make them insecure, so they fight and judge others to avoid having their flaws exposed or exploited. Lennie is symbolic of the archetypal "wise fool," who is mentally inferior but able to reveal the best and the worst of others. Lennie’s foolishness often allows him to speak honestly where others won’t, and he sometimes taps into things that "normal" people can’t (like the fact that the ranch isn’t a good place for him and George to be hanging out). Lennie is also symbolic of people who are mistreated and discriminated against because of their mental handicaps. We are human beings and we are not faultless. People always make mistakes and they learn from their those mistakes. In literature, imperfect characters somehow relate to us and thus we understand them well. The quote "I like flawed characters because somewhere in them I see more of the truth” is true because flawed characters are more practical and realistic like we are.