Of Mice and Men is one of John Steinbeck’s major novellas. It tells of George Milton and his mentally-handicapped friend, Lennie Small. George, a short, shrewd operator is the foil to Lennie: a humongous, infantile oaf whose last name “Small” embodies nothing but utter irony, for he is not by any means small. Similar to the majority of Steinbeck’s books, Of Mice and Men’s setting is in the Salinas Valley, California— however, this one takes place in the 1930s. The novel revolves around the idea of the American dream and the hurdles the characters face in their quest to achieve it. The novella takes place during the great depression. During that horrid period, each individual has their own idea of the American dream. Steinbeck touches on several themes related to the dream such as the actual dream itself, loneliness, powerlessness, and the future’s unpredictability. Steinbeck adequately utilizes these themes to depict the unfeasibility of the American dream.
The characters’ dreams are asserted throughout the novella. Curley’s wife’s aspirations for fame were eradicated once she married him. “I don’t like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella. Coulda been in the movies an’ had nice clothes, all them nice clothes like they wear” (Steinbeck 89). The wife’s statements epitomize the internal conflict she has regarding the choice she made of marrying Curley as opposed to embarking upon her dream of becoming famous. She is clearly aware that she had a superb chance at becoming famous, but the fact that she had to settle for Curley causes her a substantial amount of bitterness. Curley’s wife is also involved in another type of conflict; this one external—between her and George. “Don’t you even take a look at that bitch? I don’t care what she say...
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...eph Warren, et al. John Steinbeck Draper, James P., ed. World Literature Criticism. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1992. 3372-3389. 4-6-2014.
Gray, James. John Steinbeck American Writers: A collection of Literary biographies. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. 1961. 49-72. 4-11-2014
Scarseth, Thomas. "A Teachable Good Book: Of Mice and Men." Censored Books: Critical Viewpoints. Ed. Nicholas J. Karolides, John M. Kean, and Lee Burress Scarecrow Press, 1993. 388-394. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Los Angeles Public Library. 4-16-2014.
Hearle, Kevin. "John Steinbeck." Twentieth-Century American Western Writers: Second Series. Ed. Richard H. Cracroft. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 212. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Los Angeles Public Library. 4-19-2014
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath, The Moon is Down, Cannery Row, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men. New York: Heinemann/Octopus, 1979. pp.475 - 896.
Levant, Howard. The Novels of John Steinbeck: a Critical Study. Columbia: U of Missouri Press, 1974.
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath, The Moon is Down, Cannery Row, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men. New York: Heinemann/Octopus, 1979. pp.475 - 896.
Levant, Howard. The Novels of John Steinbeck: A Critical Study. Columbia: U of Missouri P, 1974.
John Steinbeck was perhaps the best author of all time. He was the winner of a Nobel Prize, and among other accomplishments, Steinbeck published nineteen novels and made many movies during his lifetime. All of his experience and knowledge are shown through his novels. A reader can tell, just in reading a novel by Steinbeck, that he had been through a lot throughout his life. Also, Steinbeck worked very hard to accomplish everything that he did during his lifetime. Nothing came very easily to him, and he had to earn everything he owned. This helped him in his writing, because he was able to write about real people and real experiences. John Steinbeck got his inspiration from life experiences, people he knew, and places he had gone.
The quote that inspired John Steinbeck was the best laid schemes often go off track can be seen in the novel of Mice and Men. When Curley's wife met a man in her childhood that offered her to be an actress but the chance went away and she later died. Then Curley wanted to be a professional boxer but the dream never happened and he became a farmer then got his hand broken for trying to be tough. George and Lennie were going to buy a farm to live off the fat of the land then Lennie had to get in trouble and George had to give up the dream and kill Lennie for what he had done.
Hayashi, Tetsumaro. A New Study Guide to Steinbeck's Major Works, with Critical Explications. Scarecrow Press, Jan 1, 1993
Levant, Howard. The Novels of John Steinbeck: a Critical Study. Columbia: U of Missouri Press, 1974.
His works were focused on several different themes; such as the nature of dreams, the nature of loneliness, man 's propensity for cruelty, powerlessness and economic injustices, and the uncertainty of the future. John Steinbeck’s work is characterized by symbolism and allegory, which can be seen in several of his novels. He was an excellent character based author of the twentieth century and his use of literary devices and techniques make him relevant in modern literature. He made an important impact on society and American literature overall, as well as being the recipient of a Nobel Prize. Through analysis of his literature, many can begin to see the true beauty of each of his distinct works. This versatile writer’s compositions comprise twenty-seven works, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books, and five collections of short stories. Several of Steinbeck’s works ended up being huge hits in the literary community, including the comic novels Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row, the multi-generation epic East of Eden, and the novellas Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. John Steinbeck gives a sense of perspective to the world he was living in at the
Thesis: Through Steinbeck’s experiences and styles, he have revealed to write a book that contained what many readers see as a well-written classic book – noteworthy, represent a bigger picture, speaking directly to the harsh realities for its readers, and constitute a treasured experience for those who have read and loved it to illustrate the engaging of the book through its common emotion and historical events.
Scarseth, Thomas. "A Teachable Good Book: Of Mice and Men." Censored Books: Critical Viewpoints. Ed. Nicholas J. Karolides, Lee Burress, and John M. Kean. Scarecrow Press, 1993. 388-394. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 11 Jan. 2012.
Reuben, Paul P. "John Steinbeck (1902-1968): A Brief Literary Biography." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide. N.p., 11 Nov 2011. Web. 9 Dec 2013.
This is a novella written by John Steinbeck in 1937, about two men that lived during the depression. They were migrant workers, who wanted to buy a farm. ()
Zirakzadeh, Cyrus E. A Political Companion to John Steinbeck. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2013. Print.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2013. Print.