Gabriela Heredea

3rd year
E-R
Of mice and men
- John Steinbeck
The novel is a parable about what it means to be human. Steinbeck's story of George and Lennie's
ambition of owning their own ranch, and the obstacles that stand in the way of that ambition, reveal the
nature of dreams, dignity, loneliness, and sacrifice. Ultimately, Lennie, the mentally handicapped giant who
makes George's dream of owning his own ranch worthwhile, ironically becomes the greatest obstacle to
achieving that dream.
Genres: parable; Great Depression
First Published: 1937
Setting: a ranch
Main Characters: George Milton; Lennie Small; Candy; Curley; Curley's wife; Slim; Crooks
Major Thematic Topics: nature of dreams; barriers; powerlessness; fate; Christian influences; classical
influences; natural influences; loss of paradise; my brother's keeper; ephemeral nature of life
Motifs: nature; loneliness; animalism versus humanity
Major Symbols: characters; locations; animal imagery; George's card game; hands

The three most important aspects of  Of Mice and Men:

 Of Mice and Men takes place during America's Great Depression, which lasted from the Stock
Market Crash of October 1929 until 12 years later when World War II began. One result of the
Depression was a lack of steady jobs, which resulted in an increase in the number of itinerant
workers. For the most part, these itinerant workers were men who traveled from town to town
seeking short-term employment.
 Of Mice and Men is one of the only published novels written from an obscure point of view called
the objective third-person. In contrast to the omniscient third-person perspective, from which the
author, and thus the reader, can read the minds of all the characters, the objective point of view
doesn't allow readers direct access to any of the characters' thoughts and feelings. We can deduce
those thoughts and feelings only by means of what the characters do and say. Though unusual for a
novel, this approach is typical of plays and film, which helps explain why Of Mice and Men was
easily adapted for the Broadway stage and as a Hollywood movie.
 The novel's title comes from a poem by the Scottish poet Robert Burns called "To a Mouse."
Originally written in a Scottish dialect, the poem contains lines that translates as "The best-laid
schemes Of Mice and Men often go awry." This is appropriate, in that Of Mice and Men contains
Lenny and George's scheme that goes tragically awry — that is, off track.
Character Map

Themes:
In essence, Of Mice and Men is as much a story about the nature of human dreams and
aspirations and the forces that work against them as it is the story of two men.
Without dreams and goals, life is an endless stream of days that have little connection or meaning.
George and Lennie's dream — to own a little farm of their own .
In fact, the telling of the story, which George has done so often, becomes a ritual between the two men:
George provides the narrative, and Lennie, who has difficulty remembering even simple instructions, picks
up the refrain by finishing George's sentences.
To George, this dream of having their own place means independence, security, being their own
boss, and, most importantly, being "somebody." To Lennie, the dream is like the soft animals he pets: It
means security, the responsibility of tending to the rabbits, and a sanctuary where he won't have to be
afraid. To Candy, who sees the farm as a place where he can assert a responsibility he didn't take when he
let Carlson kill his dog, it offers security for old age and a home where he will fit in. For Crooks, the little
farm will be a place where he can have self-respect, acceptance, and security. For each man — George,
Lennie, Candy, and Crooks — human dignity is an integral part of the dream.
In addition to dreams, humans crave contact with others to give life meaning. Loneliness is present
throughout this novel. On the most obvious level, we see this isolation when the ranch hands go into town
on Saturday night to ease their loneliness with alcohol and women. Similarly, Lennie goes into Crook's
room to find someone with whom to talk, and later Curley's wife comes for the same reason. George's
taking care of Lennie and the dream of the farm are attempts to break the pattern of loneliness that is part of
the human condition. Similarly, Lennie's desire to pet soft things comes from his need to feel safe and
secure, to touch something that gives him that feeling of not being alone in the world. For Lennie, the
dream of the farm parallels that security.
Another major theme in Of Mice and Men is that of friendship. The idea that life is improved by
friendship is the more sentimental aspect of the friendship theme. For example, Slim reasons that
bindlestiffs are loners because people are fearful of one another. When fear is overcome, however, and
people form the bonds of friendship, the remaining difficulties of life are easier to bear. Friends overlook
the differences for which individuals are singled out and bear discrimination. Lennie’s mental disability is
forgiven, Candy’s lameness is ignored, and Crooks’s color is overlooked. Each is made a better human
being as a result of giving himself to friendship. Unfortunately, friendship does not create a force strong
enough to ultimately restrain natural forces, and so friendship is vulnerable to inevitable loss.
There are parallels between the biblical tale of Adam and Eve and the events that transpire in Of
Mice and Men. Of particular interest are the nature of imperfect humans, the presence of temptation, and
the consequences of doing, as Lennie would say, a "bad thing." The farm about which George and Lennie
dream represents the theme of fallen man attempting to Find or create a new Eden. The farm, imagined as a
place without fear or injustice, where the men will not be singled out because of differences but will instead
live in common, illustrates in specific terms the abstract qualities of the biblical Eden. That it is a woman,
Curley’s wife, who ultimately destroys any possibility of the men getting their farm, of Finding their Eden,
creates a direct parallel to the biblical story.

Style:
Of Mice and Men’s style is objective and factual, reflecting Steinbeck’s intention that the story
could either be read as a novella or performed as a play. The descriptive passages are as concrete as stage
directions.
Like a play, Of Mice and Men features no passages of writing that tell us directly what characters
are thinking and feeling. Instead, characters’ thoughts and feelings are conveyed through descriptions of
their mannerisms and facial expressions, and through dialogue. The narrator neither condones nor
condemns the actions of the characters. For example, when George fatally shoots Lennie at the end, the
narrator simply states.
By excluding opinionated commentary on the events of the novella, Steinbeck allows readers to
judge for themselves who is really to blame for the tragic conclusion.
Of Mice and Men is structured around dialogue written in the slang of migrant laborers during the
Great Depression. George and Lennie embody the American struggle Steinbeck encountered among ranch
workers in California, and their conversations mirror the uneducated language Steinbeck actually heard.
Lennie mentions living “off the fatta the lan’” after George describes how they are “gonna get the jack
together” and build their own homestead one day. Along with the slang used by Candy, Crooks, and the
other ranch-hands, this colloquial language situates George and Lennie’s experience in a real Depression-
era scenario: poor, uneducated workers talking about and dreaming of a better life.