“Of Mice and Men” - John Steinbeck
I feel as if John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is another one of those books that everyone has heard of it, but few have any idea what it’s about. Much less have read it! I was blessed to spend last weekend at a friend’s lake house, where I quickly found the novel on a bookshelf. I set aside the other book I have been working through in favor of racing through this short 107-ish page read, virtually all of it in one day. With life as a congressional intern being so busy and two online summer classes on top of that, it was nice to finally find some time to read stress-free.
In all honesty, I’ve been wrestling with potential themes Steinbeck would have wanted his readers to take away. As soon as I’m done with this blog I am going to do some extensive research to see the true meaning, but until then and per usual, these are my original thoughts.
George Milton is a small man and almost the older brother to his traveling buddy, Lennie Small. George used to know Lennie’s now deceased aunt and transitioned into a role of caretaker for Lennie when she passed away. They have been going around the country working for a little bit until Lennie—who is big, oafish, has the mind of a child, and is very forgetful—accidentally does something that causes the pair to need to flee. Lennie’s most recent mistake was in Weed, California, where he was petting a woman’s soft dress (as he likes to pet soft things—an odd yet important detail) until she realized and started struggling against him. Lennie, in panic, clung tighter to the dress. The woman told authorities he had done worse things to her than had actually happened, so George and Lennie were then forced to take life the road again.
The first theme I think of is dreaming of a better life that is not to come. Being realistic, to oversimplify it. The two are farmhands, but George often comforts Lennie with ideas of a future time when the two of them will live on their own land and live off the “fat” of it. We can also see this oversimplification idea reflected in the title: Of Mice and Men. Lennie, in his love of petting soft things, always is looking for the next animal he can love on. Due to their convenience, his go-to selection is any sort of mouse, which the poor guy will often kill quickly by mistake. Even then, he keeps the corpse in his pocket to pet as they go on their way. Lennie is always looking towards larger animals, such as puppies and rabbits, with the expectation that he will not be able to accidentally kill them; unfortunately, when Lennie gets his hands on a puppy, the reader discovers that he still accidentally kills the larger animals, as well. He had hoped unrealistically that a puppy would be more apt to survive his ferocious loving than a field mouse could. Of Mice: the current possession of mice with false hopes that something bigger would serve him better. So it is with the Men. George and Lennie’s dream of land ownership had expanded while they were on the farm. They brought fellow worker Candy in on their plan to help financially and had a lot already selected. In the end, though, it falls through. George even admitted near the end of the novel that he never really thought that it would happen. Lennie’s dream of getting something bigger than mice was crushed nearly as bad as the poor animals he encountered were, and so it was with the farm. Unrealistic expectations spit in our face from the very title of the novel.
I believe that the second theme to be taken away is the importance of doing what is good when it is hard. George kept Lennie with him, a task that constantly proved difficult. While George would often complain about his big friend, it was evident that there was care in each of his actions. He always looked out for Lennie, warning him about Curley’s wife and trying to help him remember things. Granted, that love often expressed itself as seeming annoyance, but it was there. The hardest act (SPOILER) was for George to kill Lennie quickly rather than have the other men do it slowly. When Lennie accidentally killed Curley’s wife (he unintentionally broke her neck trying to pet her soft hair on her request), he fled to the spot he and George agreed to meet if anything bad ever happened. George had stolen another worker’s gun and, while coaxing Lennie with stories of the farm and rabbits that they would soon own, shot him. This choice, while an impossible and unthinkable action, was likely the better way to go for both George and Lennie. If he had not made that hard choice, then Lennie likely would have been terrified and helpless as the farmhands came to take his life in a slow, painful fashion.
In conclusion, the gripping tale of Of Mice and Men was short and difficult to deduce themes from; however, upon reflection of the book one may notice a deep-rooted idea of dreaming unrealistically and the importance of doing good when it is hard. If I can find time to pick up and put down this short read in such a quick amount of time, so can you. I highly recommend this read as it adopts you into its world from the very beginning and holds you captive until the shocking conclusion, reminding us that our harsh reality of mice is sometimes all we get the chance to hold on to.
In all honesty, I’ve been wrestling with potential themes Steinbeck would have wanted his readers to take away. As soon as I’m done with this blog I am going to do some extensive research to see the true meaning, but until then and per usual, these are my original thoughts.
George Milton is a small man and almost the older brother to his traveling buddy, Lennie Small. George used to know Lennie’s now deceased aunt and transitioned into a role of caretaker for Lennie when she passed away. They have been going around the country working for a little bit until Lennie—who is big, oafish, has the mind of a child, and is very forgetful—accidentally does something that causes the pair to need to flee. Lennie’s most recent mistake was in Weed, California, where he was petting a woman’s soft dress (as he likes to pet soft things—an odd yet important detail) until she realized and started struggling against him. Lennie, in panic, clung tighter to the dress. The woman told authorities he had done worse things to her than had actually happened, so George and Lennie were then forced to take life the road again.
The first theme I think of is dreaming of a better life that is not to come. Being realistic, to oversimplify it. The two are farmhands, but George often comforts Lennie with ideas of a future time when the two of them will live on their own land and live off the “fat” of it. We can also see this oversimplification idea reflected in the title: Of Mice and Men. Lennie, in his love of petting soft things, always is looking for the next animal he can love on. Due to their convenience, his go-to selection is any sort of mouse, which the poor guy will often kill quickly by mistake. Even then, he keeps the corpse in his pocket to pet as they go on their way. Lennie is always looking towards larger animals, such as puppies and rabbits, with the expectation that he will not be able to accidentally kill them; unfortunately, when Lennie gets his hands on a puppy, the reader discovers that he still accidentally kills the larger animals, as well. He had hoped unrealistically that a puppy would be more apt to survive his ferocious loving than a field mouse could. Of Mice: the current possession of mice with false hopes that something bigger would serve him better. So it is with the Men. George and Lennie’s dream of land ownership had expanded while they were on the farm. They brought fellow worker Candy in on their plan to help financially and had a lot already selected. In the end, though, it falls through. George even admitted near the end of the novel that he never really thought that it would happen. Lennie’s dream of getting something bigger than mice was crushed nearly as bad as the poor animals he encountered were, and so it was with the farm. Unrealistic expectations spit in our face from the very title of the novel.
I believe that the second theme to be taken away is the importance of doing what is good when it is hard. George kept Lennie with him, a task that constantly proved difficult. While George would often complain about his big friend, it was evident that there was care in each of his actions. He always looked out for Lennie, warning him about Curley’s wife and trying to help him remember things. Granted, that love often expressed itself as seeming annoyance, but it was there. The hardest act (SPOILER) was for George to kill Lennie quickly rather than have the other men do it slowly. When Lennie accidentally killed Curley’s wife (he unintentionally broke her neck trying to pet her soft hair on her request), he fled to the spot he and George agreed to meet if anything bad ever happened. George had stolen another worker’s gun and, while coaxing Lennie with stories of the farm and rabbits that they would soon own, shot him. This choice, while an impossible and unthinkable action, was likely the better way to go for both George and Lennie. If he had not made that hard choice, then Lennie likely would have been terrified and helpless as the farmhands came to take his life in a slow, painful fashion.
In conclusion, the gripping tale of Of Mice and Men was short and difficult to deduce themes from; however, upon reflection of the book one may notice a deep-rooted idea of dreaming unrealistically and the importance of doing good when it is hard. If I can find time to pick up and put down this short read in such a quick amount of time, so can you. I highly recommend this read as it adopts you into its world from the very beginning and holds you captive until the shocking conclusion, reminding us that our harsh reality of mice is sometimes all we get the chance to hold on to.
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