Natalia Ziolkowska 1-stb

“Of Mice And Men, plot analysis.”

Of Mice And Men, written by John Steinbeck a novella that presents a group of farm workers
hopelessly working towards the American dream (?, 2022). Both women and men get
portrayed as human beasts captured in a society filled with intolerance and selfishness. Of
Mice And Men was published in 1937 and portrays the events happening in the protagonist’s
life’s George Milton and Lennie Small (editors, 2022). Two migrant ranch workers who
search for new job opportunities in the United States during the great depression (editors,
2022). The thesis in this plot analysis is, In Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck uses plot to
illustrate the element of society.

Steinbeck uses Curley as an obstacle for becoming a part of an actual society. Immediately
after George and Lennie walked into the boss’s office, he became suspicious because they
were traveling together, he has always preferred his workers alone and isolated (page 45).
Curley, the son of the boss is hostile and prays on the fragile, especially Lennie. Curley’s
antagonism draws the main characters Lennie and George even more together throughout the
story. George informs Lennie to stay away from Curley, but as soon as Candys dog gets
killed by Carlson and Crooks receives threats from Curley’s wife about getting lynched
(steinbeck, 1937). The reader will observe that the greatest obstacle is how we behave
towards each other as a society, not from the people directly in power. This is a part of
Steinbeck’s plan regarding the message behind the novella, the depression and
unemployment crisis (Caylor, 2021).

Steinbeck does an amazing job in uniting the tragic plot with the novel structure to show how
the society was functioning back in the 1930s. The novel is written in a play format, plot with
foreshadowing, minimal action descriptions and cyclical structure. Cyclical structure can be
noticed by the novel starting and ending at the same place. As we can see in the first sentence
of the book “ The Salinas river drops in close …and runs deep and green” (page.23) and the
first sentence in chapter six “The deep green pool of the Salinas River” (page 126)
(steinbeck, 1937). The reader gets the impression of an inevitable ending, and nothing can
make it stop. Chapter one and two are mainly expository, we get to know the characters,

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description of the isolated setting, and the relationship between George and Lennie. In
chapter three the rising action begins with a confrontation between the antagonist Curley and
protagonist Lennie. After Lennie crushes Curley’s hand, for the first time we can see his
strength which foreshadows that this is only the beginning of Lennie’s conflict with Curley
(steinbeck, 1937). Curley’s wife is very lonely at the farm as the only woman and is
constantly seeking male appreciation. In the fifth chapter Lennie notices Curley’s wife in the
barn, and they proceed to have a conversation (steinbeck, 1937). Curley’s wife asks Lennie
to stroke her thick and soft hair, when she feels his powerful hand, she panics and he snaps
her neck on accident, which brings us to the climax of the story (storyboard, 2021). The
reader gets the impression of an inevitable ending associated with Lennie’s death which is the
falling action that appears in chapter six (storyboard, 2021). Additionally, it reflects upon the
lack of choice that workers like George would be pressured by society to do.

Steinbeck’s purpose with this story was to show the depressing reality of being a farm worker
during the great depression, he catches the reader’s attention by showing how it affects both
individuals and the community. John Steinbeck evokes the readers emotions by making them
sympathize with Lennie and Georges heartbreaking story that ends with a sorrowful death.
George has to be strict with Lennie, so he screams and cusses “Listen to me you crazy
bastard… don’t even take a look on that bitch” (page 55) and tries to make an effort to save
Lennie from almost certain conflict with Curley (steinbeck, 1937). At the end of the book
Lennie gets killed by the only person that stayed true to him all those years, and the reader
immediately start feeling disappointed by George and portrays him as the selfish murder of
the handycapped Lennie for his own wealth and future. By getting the reader attached to the
story, the author can provoke the reader to understand that during the 1930s and 1920s people
lived far from an ideal living standard, and accepted every tragedy to achieve the American
dream, not as a society but as an individual.

Throughout the book Steinbeck uses plot to illustrate the elements of being a part of a society
back in the 1930s. Of Mice And Men, uses Curley in the plot as the main obstacle in Lennie
and Georges lives, because of his insecurities about being a small man, constantly uses his
wealth and power over the property to tower over his dads workers. Steinbeck’s plot is
specifically made to show the tragic reality of simply living in a society, and what people
would do in the name of the American dream. The novel catches the reader just like a fish in
a net, it does that by making the readers sympathize with the protagonists and later doing
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something tragic and irreversible at the end, simply to show how miserable and desperate
people were. The straightforward structure of Steinbeck’s novel made the reader understand
the whole purpose of this book, which was to demonstrate USA during the time of crisis. All
in all, Steinbeck wrote a book about not living but surviving, because it was nearly
impossible to live while every day was a fight for both Lennie and George, and while it
seems so abstract now it was once a reality for many. Now this has brought us to the end of
this analysis, but if you could change the plot, would you let Lennie live?

Bibliography
university, s. j. (2021, february 7). of mice and men- characters summaries. From san jose
state university: https://sits.sjsu.edu/curriculum-resources/of-mice-and-men/character-
census/
editors, h. (2022, february 9). "of mice and men" is published. From history:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/of-mice-and-men-is-published
steinbeck, J. (1937). Of Mice And Men. Cappelen.
storyboard. (2021, february 9). of mice and men diagram. From story board that:
https://www.storyboardthat.com/lesson-plans/of-mice-and-men-by-john-steinbeck/
plot-diagram
? (2022, february 9). of mice and men. From goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/890.Of_Mice_and_Men
Caylor, j. (2021, 04 12). author john steinbeck & of mice and men. From study.com:
https://study.com/academy/lesson/author-john-steinbeck-of-mice-and-men.html

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