“Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck – The Lives of those we don’t See

Many of you may have heard the title Of Mice and Men thrown around here and there, perhaps in a discussion or as a vaguely-memorable school assignment. This book, written by John Steinbeck, is considered a great classic of American literature, and has become a mandatory reading in a large number of schools around the world, with there even being Broadway plays and two full-feature movies based on it.

Like a few other of Steinbeck’s books, Of Mice and Men takes place in California, and in this story, we follow the lives of two farmers who move from job to job. One of them is Lennie, a gentle giant who is a hard worker but burdened by having the mental capabilities of a child, with the other being George, the one who guides and protects Lenny but also depends on him for companionship.

Together, they travel across California, meeting numerous people along the way, some of them being just as alienated from the rest of society as they are. In the end, they have a dream of one day owning an acre of land, building a shack on it, and living out the rest of their lives in as much peace and comfort as they can. However, as the poem on which the title of the book is based on suggests, the entire world of a mouse, carefully arranged and crafted over years, can quickly be destroyed by a simple plow.

I believe that there are very few books out there which are as much based on character and theme exploration as this one is. What do I mean by that? The book is much more than just a story of two workers trying to get what they need to live the life of their dreams. For starters, it’s about how George and Lennie depend on each other for companionship, being alienated from the rest of the world for different reasons.

Despite all of their differences (as a matter of fact, they almost seem like polar opposites), they find in each other acceptance, and most importantly, an everlasting friendship. I find it very interesting to watch them develop as the book draws closer and closer to its end and their understanding of how the world works increases bit by bit.

The themes of alienation, seclusion, and man’s search for himself come up quite often, mostly in the form of different characters. For instance, there is Crooks, the black stable hand who has nothing but books to turn to for companionship, being shunned by all the men around him. There is the wife of a cruel man named Curley, who out of loneliness makes use of her physical qualities to attract all sorts of attention to herself, and despite that remains alone.

All in all, despite being a short book, with the paperback version being 108 pages, it nevertheless remains one of the most captivating stories I have ever read. Every single line of dialog, every single interaction between characters has not only a meaning to it, but also a certain inexplicable tension that keeps your eyes glued to the page, giving you the need to find out how the exchange will end. 

Honestly, there are many more things I could say about the book, but I’ll stop my rambling here and simply end on the note that regardless of whether you read this novel as a kid or only heard about for the first time just now, you should definitely give it a chance as there are very few works of literature with so much meaning behind them as Of Mice and Men.

---

John Steinbeck  (February 27, 1902 - December 20th, 1968) Personal site John Steinbeck was an American author who became one of the great literature titans that will no doubt outlive the vast majority of us through his works. Amongst the many stories he wrote are the immortal Of Mice and Men, East of Eden, and Grapes of Wrath, which earned him the Pulitzer Prize. It absolutely, imperatively has to be noted that Steinbeck is one of the very few people on this planet who have had the honor of winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, something that took place back in 1962.

---