Of Mice and Men

                                      By John Steinbeck 

 This book centers around the tragic story of the complex bond between two migrant laborers in Central California. They are George Milton and Lennie Small, itinerant ranch hands who dream of one day owning a small farm. George acts as a father figure to Lennie, who is a very large, simple-minded man, calming him and helping to reign in his immense physical strength. Both men possess a dream of a better life specifically, one in which they own a farm with abundant land, a house and rabbits.  Their actions in the novel reflect this dream and their attempts to achieve happiness.

 This book is one that every well-rounded person should read. It is considered an American classic.  The plot is thought-provoking, engaging, and affects the reader on an emotional level. Through inference, the reader discovers Steinbeck’s writing style which promotes the book’s themes through symbolism, and recurring metaphors. 
The characters are well-defines and they possess realistic attributes and represent society during the time of the book’s setting (the 1930's in the Salinas Valley of California). Of mice and men, like many of Steinbeck’s novels, reflects western American history.  In 1929, the Great Depression occurred causing millions of Americans to lose their jobs and savings. There was also the Dust Bowl, where sand literally wiped out land and farms causing farmers and workers, such as George and Lennie, to move west towards California to find work on ranches doing laboring work. Steinbeck himself migrated to Salinas, California as a teenager where he settled with his family, spent his adulthood and was buried after he died.

Of Mice and Men was supposed to be a play, but Steinbeck decided to write it first as a novel. However the manuscript was destroyed (by Steinbeck’s dog) and with only three months until publication, Steinbeck had to re-write it all from memory which therefore made it into a shorter novel. Although he was hesitant about the book’s reception, it became a worldwide success encouraging him to write many more books about the itinerant workers of America such as The Grapes of Wrath and Cannery Row.

Steinbeck has always been my favorite author. Although this isn’t my favorite book from him, I believe it contains important themes reflecting American history. The book is a quick read but the “hidden” themes and symbolism in its content may be too complex for younger students. I would recommend using this book as a mentor text in the middle and high school grade levels.