Preview

Mice and men

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
315 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Mice and men
Of Mice and Men is a novella[1][2] written by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression in California, USA.

Based on Steinbeck's own experiences as a bindlestiff in the 1920s (before the arrival of the Okies he would vividly describe in The Grapes of Wrath), the title is taken from Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse", which read: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley." (The best laid schemes of mice and men / Often go awry.)

Required reading in many schools,[3] Of Mice and Men has been a frequent target of censors for vulgarity and what some consider offensive and racist language; consequently, it appears on the American Library Association's list of the Most Challenged Books of 21st Century.

Two migrant field workers in California on their plantation during the Great Depression—George Milton, an intelligent but uneducated man, and Lennie Small, a man of large stature and great strength but limited mental abilities—are on their way to another part of California in Soledad. They hope to one day attain their shared dream of settling down on their own piece of land. Lennie's part of the dream is merely to tend to (and touch) soft rabbits on the farm. This dream is one of Lennie's favorite stories, which George constantly retells. They are fleeing from their previous employment in Weed, California, where they were run out of town after Lennie's love of stroking soft things resulted in an accusation of attempted rape when he touched a young woman's dress, and would not let go. It soon becomes clear that the two are close friends and George is Lennie's protector. The theme of friendship is constant throughout the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Bibliography: "Book Review: Of Mice & Men." A Novel Menagerie. Novel Menagerie, 2009. Web. 7 Nov 2011. <http://anovelmenagerie.com/2009/02/18/book-review-of-mice-and-men/>.…

    • 848 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mice and Men

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the novel "Of Mice and Men" George and his simple-minded friend Lennie are drifters who move from town to town looking for a place to settle. When Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife everything changes for ever. At the scene where George kills Lennie, Steinbeck uses different writing techniques to make this moment moving and tragic. Quotations from the book prove that he has achieved it.…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice and Men is a novel in which John Steinbeck, the author, portrays many broken dreams. Steinbeck is a famous author known for many books like “The Grapes of Wrath,” and “The Long Valley.” The book was published in 1994 by Penguin Classics. The book is geared towards teenagers and above. The genre of the book is considered novella. George and Lennie, the main characters, show what it’s like to live as a migrant worker in the early 1900’s. In “Of Mice and Men” Steinbeck shows dreams can easily be broken by character’s actions and the world they were born into.…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mice and men

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Explore some of the ways Steinbeck leads up to George’s final decision to shoot Lennie in Of Mice and Men…

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Of Mice and Men is set in 1930’s America in the middle of the economic depression. It is geared towards the pursuit of the American dream, promoting the ideas of equality, life, liberty and happiness. Steinbeck uses Crooks, and to some extent Curley’s wife to challenge the perception of equality and sometimes the language used is, by modern standards, racist and misogynistic. There is an irony in the fact that the people judging Crooks are less intelligent than he is and they refuse to look at anything other than the stereotype of his ethnicity. Steinbeck reveals as much about Crooks in the things he does not express as in the things he does.…

    • 1396 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice and Men

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ the character of Crooks is subject to constant racial discrimination. This shows the time period of the book as 1930’s America was a very prejudice and racist place.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of mice and men was set in the late 1930’s when there was the great depression due to the wall street crash. Topics that have been covered in the novella are the poverty the migrant workers faced, the loneliness and friendship. I will discuss the use of animals and natural imagery.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Of Mice and Men

    • 2277 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Can a book with impure values be considered a classic? Of Mice and Men speaks about the anger within the American society. Steinbeck’s straightforward way of expressing his opinion appeals to many readers who like to see life as it really is. This well-known novel has influenced many people, and continues to influence people today. Despite some impurity in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the book should be considered a classic due to it is honesty, truth, loveliness, justice and good report.…

    • 2277 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Themes - of Mice and Men

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Of Mice and Men, a novella written by John Steinbeck, is a tragedy incorporating a hero with a tragic flaw, a climax, and a tragic resolution. The title of the novella, “Of Mice and Men”, is the first clue to Steinbeck’s specific cultural issues. The title is a line taken from a poem called, “To a Mouse”, by Robert Burns. This poem talks about man’s enslavement to forces of both elemental and human nature which cannot be controlled, destroying hopes and dreams. This stems into the theme of the loss of the American Dream. Along with alienation, the American Dream is a major theme explored throughout the course of the novel.…

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Omm Essay

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In 1929, tears swept the nation and gloom bestowed itself upon a once happy place. The Great Depression had started. People lost everything ,so many became migrant workers. Of Mice and Men, a classic novel written by John Steinbeck, emphasizes many sad themes, but gives us a good insight on what life was like in the 1940’s for many people. Although there are other themes, rootlessness, loneliness, and poverty are extremely prominent throughout the novel in many characters.…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Mice of Men

    • 960 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In Mice of Men there were literary analysis use to describe problems,how things looked. Such as personification ,simile and hyperbole and many more. Steinback uses a lot of describing words to explain ,he will spent about a whole page explaining one thing. Just how he explains George “The first man was small and quick ,dark of face ,with restless eyes and sharp strong features”(Steinback 2). He use describing words and simile to explain how George's face looks and how it is shaped.Steinbeck does this throughout the book to give a more impacting feeling on people and it makes the book emotional using words to make you feel that you're in the book and experiencing it .…

    • 960 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cited: Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. Shipk12.org/web. Shippensburg Area School District, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. <http://www.shipk12.org/web/filemgmt_data/files/ Steinbeck_-_Of_Mice_and_Men.pdf >…

    • 1753 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Of Mice and Men is a novel set on a ranch in the Salinas Valley in California, during the Great Depression of the 1930s by John Steinbeck. It was the first work to bring Steinbeck’s national recognition as a writer. The book addresses the real hopes and dreams of working-class America. Steinbeck's short novel raises the lives of the poor and dispossessed to a higher, symbolic level. The title suggests that plans of Mice and Men often go awry, a reference to Robert Burn’s poem "To a Mouse." Since the novel has been published, it has been called “Vulgar” and “Offensive”; perhaps because of the way it mentally handicapped people, people of different races (black people) and the way in which women were portrayed.…

    • 2542 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice and Men is a spectacular depiction of the migrant workers’ hardships during the Great Depression. The tale shows the trials and troubles that the two protagonists, George Milton (Gary Sinise) and Lennie Small (John Malkovich), share. Based on John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, and this movie follows it’s events rather precisely.…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Of Mice And Men Newspaper

    • 879 Words
    • 3 Pages

    TASK: The newspaper you work for has assigned you to create a four page newspaper related to the characters, setting, themes, and plot of the novel Of Mice and Men. As you write articles for your newspaper, you need to be conscious of your audience and the time period in which you’re reporting. These elements are crucial to the success of your project.…

    • 879 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays