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​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Of Mice and Men

Today I’ll be discussing one of John Steinbeck’s most popular and well-acclaimed
novels, Of Mice and Men. This 1937 novel focuses on the two main characters that consist of
George Milton and Lennie Small in Salinas, California. These two characters struggle to attain
the American dream as they navigate their way through many hardships that they face in their
journey during the Great Depression. Both George and Lennie’s dream is to finally own their
own ranch. Along with successfully achieving their dream and aspirations, they face numerous
obstacles along the way.
The novel starts off with George and Lennie on their way to a ranch to seek any work
opportunities. Lennie is mentally challenged and has difficulties with remembering, so George
tells him not to speak to anyone when they get there. Lennie is known to touch delicate and
pretty items too harshly, especially animals. George finds a dead mouse in Lennie’s pocket and
throws it into the pond. They arrive at the bunkhouse the next day and meet Candy, who is an old
swamper. They also meet the boss of the ranch’s son, Curly, who comes off aggressive towards
the new workers, especially Lennie due to his strong build. This leads them to meet Curley’s
wife, who is known to have a flirty personality. George warns Lennie to stay away from her after
Lennie says that she is pretty. George gets a little closer with Slim, who is “the prince of the
ranch.” He tells Slim that he knew Lennie’s aunt and after she passed away, Lennie started to
follow George wherever he went. That night, everyone gathers in the bunkhouse and Curly and
Slim get into an argument. Curly immediately picks a fight with Lennie and starts beating him
up. Lennie doesn’t do anything at first and only fights back when George tells him to. This
causes Lennie to crush the bones in Curly’s hands. He ultimately agrees that he won’t tell Lennie
and won’t get him fired. Lennie seems to find himself in even more trouble after getting closer
with Curley’s wife. After Lennie tells her that he likes to touch delicate and soft things, she lets
him touch her hair. As he does so, he accidentally messes up and Curley’s wife tries to get away
from him and starts screaming. To have her stop screaming, in a moment of panic and confusion,
he starts shaking her violently, not knowing his own strength. This causes Curley’s wife's neck to
break and she dies. Lennie flees the scene and goes to hide. The rest of the ranchers find her
body, including George, and Curly blames Lennie and threatens that he’ll kill him. All of the
men set out to find Lennie. George is the first one to find Lennie by the Salinas River. Lennie
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tells him that he is afraid of him leaving Lennie and says that he did something bad. George tells
him that it does not matter this time and that he is not angry at him. He informs Lennie of the
dream of having their own ranch. As he does, he points the gun at Lennie’s neck and pulls the
trigger. The ending of the novel consists of the rest of the men hearing the gunshot and telling
George that it was the right thing to do.“‘Slim said, “You hadda, George. I swear you had-da”
(Steinbeck, 107).
Of Mice and Men takes place in the Central Valley. The topography of the book is
explained in the opening of the first chapter. “The water is warm, for it has slipped twinkling
over the yellow sands in the sun before reaching the narrow pool” (Steinbeck, 1). Steinbeck
perfectly describes the location of Salinas. The book took place in 1937, which is when millions
of American lives were being horribly impacted by the Great Depression. This further
demonstrates how the population of Salinas dramatically decreased and became very isolated
with little-to-no human life. Throughout the novel, the two main characters dream about living a
better life and owning their own land, and successfully achieving the American dream. The
topography itself, specifically describing the dream of owning land, represents the hope for the
possibility of a brighter future and living a better life. It contrasts from the reality of the harsh
conditions they are living in right now.
In Geography, we have learned and discussed numerous topics, one of them being
economics. Economics plays a significant role in Of Mice and Men. Since the Great Depression
heavily impacted California, it caused the economy to collapse and the unemployment rate
skyrocketed. It also made many people lose their jobs and struggle with poverty, including
George and Lennie. At the time, the Great Depression caused a lot of job uncertainty and
temporary employment. This meant that George and Lennie often had to move job-to-job, which
made it even more difficult to achieve their dreams. Another topic we discussed is ethnicity.
Ethnicity played a significant role in this book. This is because Steinbeck dives into the topic of
prejudice and racism that was experienced by characters from different ethnic backgrounds and
how they were treated differently. For example, the character Crooks is the only African
American on the ranch. He is segregated from the other white ranch hands, due to the color of his
skin. Finally, Steinbeck’s portrayal of agriculture in Salinas when he states that it has a sense of
hope, yet a harsh reality. He does this by acknowledging the beauty of Salinas and its rich soil,
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yet it is where hopes and dreams die like the crops. The harsh reality of the Great Depression and
economic crisis that impacted the farming community are reflected by the characters’ struggles.​
In the book, Steinbeck describes the differences in both characters' appearances of
George and Lennie. When describing George Milton, Steinbeck describes George as, “small and
quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features. Every part of him was defined:
small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose” (Steinbeck, 4). These characteristics are
completely different from Lennie Small. Steinbeck describes Lennie as, “a huge man, shapeless
of face, with large and pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders” (Steinbeck, 4). George is more of
the authority figure and leader of the two that usually tells Lennie what to do since Lennie suffers
from difficulties with learning and remembering. One of my favorite characters in the book is
George because he is a very interesting and dynamic character. I really how Steinbeck dived into
the struggles with taking care of someone else who is mentally challenged and still has childlike
innocence. I relate to this because I have an uncle who is mentally challenged and I sometimes
struggle taking care of him. Despite Lennie being physically strong, he still has a gentle and
innocent nature.
In this book, Steinbeck discusses what it’s like to sacrifice anything and everything, just
to achieve your dreams. George comes off as someone with a hard exterior, especially towards
Lennie, when he truly cares for Lennie. The compassion for his friend, ended up making the
sacrifice of killing his friend, Lennie. While reading the book, the ending affected me on an
emotional level because it makes you feel sympathetic towards Lennie, even though he did
something wrong, which ends up taking his life. Furthermore, I like how Steinbeck wrote this
scene to make you feel sympathetic towards Lennie, yet also understand George’s actions and
why he had to do it. This leads to my favorite quote in the book. “‘No Lennie, I ain’t mad. I
never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s the thing I want ya to know.’” (Steinbeck, 106). This is
the last thing that George says to Lennie, before he kills him. He falsely gives Lennie a sense of
hope by saying that he is not mad at him and that they are finally going to achieve their dream of
owning their own ranch. As a reader, this quote gave me a heart-wrenching feeling, yet still
enjoyable to read.
Common themes that are evident and both characters face is isolation, friendship, and
dreams. While reading the book, I really enjoyed reading about how Steinbeck reminds his
readers that it is easy to relate to the feelings of being lonely and isolated from others. Steinbeck
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is known to tackle the themes of friendship dreams, and more by the use of powerful and
relatable language in his other books like Cannery Row and The Grapes of Wrath. In this
particular book, George and Lennie are on their journey to finally have their own ranch, and they
are on this journey all by themselves, with nobody else to help or guide them. The theme of
friendship is another element that I like about the book. You can feel the connection and
companionship between George and Lennie and that they would do anything to protect each
other.
​ All in all, I would recommend the book, Of Mice and Men to readers because it talks
about the common struggles of life and the hardships people go through to achieve success. It
dives into the themes of loneliness, friendships, and dreams, as well as complex human nature,
that most people can relate to. I would inform the reader before they read the book that it does
discuss some mature themes, which does contain mature and strong language. I would also like
to let them know that it is a meaningful book, and they could learn a lot of life lessons from it.
After reading the book, it made me remember that life is not always easy, and that you are going
to face major setbacks on the road to success.
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​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Bibliography

Steinbeck, John. “‘Of Mice and Men’ - John Steinbeck Omnibus.” Internet Archive, 1
Jan. 1970, archive.org/details/of-mice-and-men-pdf.

Of Mice and Men - CNR, giove.isti.cnr.it/demo/eread/Libri/sad/OfMiceAndMen.pdf.