What of Mice?

Although Of Mice and Men (1937) by John Steinbeck is a short novel, it contains a strong message of loyalty and betrayal. The 1930s is a decade symbolic of despair and suffering. The Great Depression is often emphasized when this period of time is introduced. Several writers of this decade took advantage of the emotions and occurrences this event caused. The victims of the Great Depression suffered greatly, but it was the films produced, the games invented, and the literature written that, in a way, saved many of these victims from loneliness and insanity.

Of Mice and Men is about the lives of two men named George and Lennie. They travel throughout California looking for various jobs, due to Lennie's incapability to stay out of trouble for long periods of time. Lennie's heart is innocent, but he always seems to cause chaos. George is viewed as a sort of parent to Lennie whom, despite his massive size and strength, has the mind of a young child. However many times George yells, wishing he could go on alone and live in peace, he never intends to leave Lennie alone. After Lennie is blamed for George's terrible life Lennie submits by saying, " 'If you don't want me, you only jus' got to say so, and I'll go off in those hills right there---right up in those hills and live by myself...' George said, 'I want you to stay with me, Lennie.' " George would never really want him to leave, but sometimes it is easier to blame other people for chosen, individual problems. The bond they have is seen as strange to their fellow workers, but this does not change their loyalty to each other nor impact their goal to "...live off the fatta the lan'..." and support themselves together. Of course, the land does not have fat, but the abundance it provides is referred to as fat. Their speech is casual and often illiterate, which correctly illustrates the life of a nomadic worker who rarely finishes school.

The men have been presented, so what of the mice? Lennie has an obsession with anything soft and as a child his Aunt Clara used to give him mice to pet. Within the first few pages, "Lennie held his closed hand away from George's direction. 'It's on'y a mouse, George.' 'A mouse? A live mouse?' 'Uh-uh. Jus' a dead mouse, George. I didn' kill it. Honest! I found it. I found it dead.'...'What do you want of a dead mouse, anyways?' ' I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along,' said Lennie." Throughout the entire book he talks about rabbits that George has promised he can tend to once they obtain their own land and he is allowed a puppy that he spends all his time with. His abnormal strength and this desire to pet soft objects is what start trouble for George and Lennie. In Weed he refused to let go of a woman's dress, because it felt nice in his fingers, which caused her to panic and claim he had raped her. On his last ranch in Salinas Valley he wouldn't let go of a woman's hair and when she screamed he shook her so hard he broke her neck. He never intentionally means to hurt or scare anyone, but when tempted with anything soft he cannot help frightening people. However, George knows and accepts that Lennie means no harm which is why George tolerates his behavior and refuses to abandon him. Perhaps this is due to selfish reasons, but regardless, they comfort each other.

When the woman Lennie killed was found, the workers gathered together with guns in an attempt to find and kill Lennie. George, having told Lennie where to go if any trouble occurred, knew where he had fled. Upon George's arrival, Lennie expects to be yelled at and even encourages it, but George remains calm and sits beside him. George, knowing that Lennie always obeys him, insists he looks ahead and imagine their land, "And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger...George shivered and looked at the gun, and then he threw it from him, back up on the bank, near the pile of old ashes." Perhaps he did this to save him from being shot by vengeful enemies. Or he may have reached an end of tolerance. George took advantage of the trust he held, though, and used it in the murder of his closest companion.

Steinbeck is known to elaborate on the human "capacity for greatness of heart and spirit---for gallantry in defeat, for courage, compassion and love. In the endless war against weakness and despair, these are the bright rally flags of hope and of emulation." The state of the world during this decade creates an exceptional need for these qualities; therefore he was able to truly capture the hearts of the people who read this during that time. George and Lennie are representations of the capacity he spoke of. Steinbeck himself grew up in California, never finished school and wandered America looking for jobs, so it is apparent that this novel is reflecting him. Although he acknowledges the war is endless, he wrote this particular novel during a time of severe, physical and spiritual war against weakness and despair. The tragic end portrays failure, but during war failure is always a possibility.

Essay Sources:

Steinbeck, John; Of Mice and Men; Covici, Friede, Inc.; 1937

Hall, Prentice; Literature; ;

Photograph Sources:

steinbeck.jpg 300x297 pixels; http://www.swisseduc.ch/english/readinglist/steinbeck_john/icons/steinbeck.jpg

of-miceandmen.jpg 287x475 pixels; http://katara.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/of-miceandmen.jpg