Of Mice and Men
I. About the Author:
1. Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California.
He was of German, English, and Irish descent. Johann Adolf
Großsteinbeck (1828–1913), Steinbeck's paternal grandfather,
was a founder of Mount Hope, a short-lived farming colony in
Palestine that disbanded after Arab attackers killed his brother
and raped his brother's wife and mother-in-law.
2. Steinbeck graduated from Salinas High School in 1919 and
went on to study English literature at Stanford University,
leaving in 1925 without a degree.
3. In 1930, Steinbeck met the marine biologist Ed Ricketts, who
became a close friend and mentor to Steinbeck during the
following decade, teaching him a great deal about philosophy
and biology.
4. Steinbeck and his first wife, Carol Henning, married in January
1930 in Los Angeles. By 1940, their marriage was beginning to
suffer, and it ended a year later. In 1942, after his divorce from
Carol, Steinbeck married Gwyndolyn Conger. With his second
wife Steinbeck had two sons, Thomas Myles Steinbeck (1944–
2016) and John Steinbeck IV (1946–1991).
In May 1948, Steinbeck returned to California on an emergency
trip to be with his friend Ed Ricketts, who had been seriously
injured when a train struck his car. Ricketts died hours before
Steinbeck arrived. Upon returning home, Steinbeck was
confronted by Gwyn, who asked for a divorce, which became
final in October. Steinbeck spent the year after Ricketts's death
in deep depression.
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In June 1949, Steinbeck met stage manager Elaine Scott at a
restaurant in Carmel, California. Steinbeck and Scott eventually
began a relationship, and in December 1950 they married,
within a week of Scott's finalizing her own divorce from actor
Zachary Scott. This third marriage for Steinbeck lasted until his
death in 1968.
5. Career
He authored 33 books.
- 16 novels (many of them from the series of California novels)
- 6 non-fiction books
- 2 collections of short stories
Steinbeck's first novel, Cup of Gold, published in 1929, is loosely
based on the life and death of privateer Henry Morgan. It
centers on Morgan's assault and sacking of Panamá Viejo,
sometimes referred to as the "Cup of Gold", and on the
women, brighter than the sun, who were said to be found
there.
- First critical success with “Tortilla Flat” (1935) Before this
novel, Steinbeck was an obscure writer "with little success".
Although he had not achieved the status of a well-known
writer, he never doubted that he would achieve greatness.
- Series of “California novels” – Of mice and men, East of
Eden, Tortilla Flat
- Most famous book - “Of mice and men” – his masterpiece –
14 million copies sold.
- In 1962, Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for literature for his
"realistic and imaginative writing, combining as it does
sympathetic humor and keen social perception". The
selection was heavily criticized and described as "one of the
Academy's biggest mistakes".
Of Mice and Men
6. Political views:
- Steinbeck's contacts with leftist authors, journalists, and
labor union figures may have influenced his writing. He
joined the League of American Writers, a Communist
organization, in 1935. Steinbeck was mentored by radical
writers Lincoln Steffens and his wife Ella Winter.
- Documents released by the Central Intelligence Agency in
2012 indicate that Steinbeck offered his services to the
Agency in 1952. What work, if any, Steinbeck may have
performed for the CIA during the Cold War is unknown.
- The Soviet KGB suspected him of being an American agent
when he visited locations within the USSR, including Kyiv, in
1947. Consequently, they watched Steinbeck closely and
solicited information about him from their informers.
- In 1967, when he was sent to Vietnam to report on the war,
his sympathetic portrayal of the United States Army led
the New York Post to denounce him for betraying his leftist
past. Some say that Steinbeck's friendship with President
Lyndon B. Johnson influenced his views on Vietnam.
Steinbeck may also have been concerned about the safety of
his son serving in Vietnam. Steinbeck opposed the anti-war
movement in the United states.
Of Mice and Men
II. “Of Mice and Men”
1. General Information:
- Of Mice and Men is a 1937 novella. Steinbeck based the
novella on his own experiences as a teenager working
alongside migrant farm workers in the 1910s.
- The novel takes its title from Robert Burn's poem "To a
Mouse, on Turning Her up in Her Nest with the Plough"
(1785) in which Burns writes, "The best laid schemes o' mice
an' men/ Gang aft agley".
2. Plot:
- George Milton, an intelligent but uneducated man, and
Lennie Small, a bulky, strong but mentally disabled man - are
on their way from Soledad to another part of the state.
Lennie relies on George because he is unable to function
independently.
- Their dream of having a land with animals
- Lennie’s part of the dream – to take care of rabbits and to
ped them
- Lennie loves touching soft things, especially animals but he
accidentally kills them but petting them too hard every time.
- They fled from Weed, the city they worked before, because
Lennie grabbed a young woman’s skirt because he thought it
was pretty. He wouldn’t let go because he holds on tighter
when stressed. This led to an accusation of rape.
- The two friends are hired at a farm, where the boss’s son
confronts the pair. He has a Napoleon complex and dislikes
larger men.
- The two men meet Curley’s woman, and Lennie gets
immediately attracted to her.
- They meet Candy and his ancient dog, then they are
introduced to Slim – an intelligent young jerkline-skinner. His
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dog recently had a litter of puppies. He gives two puppies to
Lennie and to Candy, whose loyal sheep dog, was put down
by Carlson – a fat fellow ranch-hand.
- In spite of their problems, they don’t stop dreaming about
their own place. Candy hears the story George tells Lennie
every day and offers them all of his savings $350 if they get
him to live with them. He is worried about his future on the
ranch and fears he would be kicked out with nowhere to live.
- Then when Curley is angered by Slim he chooses Lennie as
an easy target to channel his rage and picks a fight with him
but Lennie crushes Curley’s hand in the altercation. Slim
warns Curley that if he tries to get George and Lennie fired,
he will be the laughingstock of the farm.
- - The next night Curley’s wife notices the cuts on Lennie’s
face and suspects that he is responsible for hurting her
husband which amuses her
- - The next day, Lennie accidentally kills his puppy in the
barn. Curley’s wife enters and consoles him. Lennie tells her
that he loves petting soft things, and she offers to let him
feel her hair. When he grabs too tightly, she cries out. In his
attempt to silence her, he accidentally breaks her neck.
- - Lennie flees back to the meeting place that George had
designated should either of them get into trouble. As the
men back at the ranch discover what had happened and
gather together a lynch party, George joins Lennie. Much to
Lennie’s surprise, George is not mad at him. George begins
to tell Lennie the story of the farm they will have together.
As he’s doing so George shoots his friend in the back of the
head.
- - When the other men arrive, George lies to them. Only
Slim understands what has really happened, that George has
killed his friend out of mercy.
Of Mice and Men
3. Characters:
- George Milton: A small and quick-witted man who is Lennie's
guardian and best friend. His friendship with Lennie helps
sustain his dream of a better future.
- Lennie Small: A gigantic, physically strong imbecile who
travels with George and is his constant companion. He
dreams of living on his own land and being able to tend to
rabbits. His love for soft things is a weakness, mostly because
he does not know his own strength
- Candy: An aging ranch handyman, Candy lost his hand in an
accident and worries about his future on the ranch.
- Slim: A "jerkline skinner", the main driver of a mule team
and the "prince of the ranch". Slim is greatly respected by
many of the characters and is the only character whom
Curley treats with respect. He is significantly the only
character to fully understand the bond between George and
Lennie.
- Curley: The Boss's son, a young, pugnacious character, once
a semi-professional boxer. He is described by others, with
some irony, as "handy". He is very jealous and protective of
his wife and immediately develops a dislike toward Lennie.
- Curley's wife: A young, pretty woman, who is mistrusted by
her husband. The other characters refer to her only as
"Curley's wife". She has no function, except to be a foil – and
a danger to Lennie." Curley's wife's preoccupation with her
own beauty eventually helps precipitate her death.
- Crooks: Crooks, the black stable hand, gets his name from his
crooked back. Proud, bitter, and cynical, isolated from the
other men because of the color of his skin.
- Candy's dog: A blind dog who is described as "old", "stinky",
and "crippled", and is killed by Carlson.
Of Mice and Men
- Carlson: A "thick bodied" ranch hand, he kills Candy's dog
with little sympathy.
- The Boss: Curley's father, the superintendent of the ranch.
The ranch is owned by "a big land company" according to
Candy.
- Whit: A young ranch hand
4. Themes:
- Steinbeck emphasizes aspirations throughout the book.
George - become independent, to be his own boss, to be
"somebody".
- Lennie - to be with George on his independent homestead
- Candy - to reassert his responsibility lost with the death of
his dog, and for security for his old age
- Crooks - a small homestead where he can express self-
respect, security and acceptance.
- Curley's wife - to be an actress, to satisfy her desire for
- Loneliness is a significant factor in several characters' lives.
Candy - his dog is gone.
- Curley's - her husband is not the friend she hoped fo
- The companionship of George and Lennie is the result of
loneliness.
- Crooks states the theme as "A guy goes nuts if he isn’t got
anybody. Don't make any difference who the guy is, long's
he's with you."
- Steinbeck's characters are often powerless, due to
intellectual, economic, and social circumstances. Lennie
possesses the greatest physical strength of any character but
his intellectual handicap undercuts this and results in his
powerlessness. He is the only one who is basically unable to
take care of himself and the real danger of his mental
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handicap comes to the fore. The other characters are
powerless since they are victims of the Great Depression
- Regarding human interaction, the evil of oppression and
abuse is a theme that is illustrated through Curley and
Curley's wife. She is not physically but verbally manipulative.
She uses her sex appeal to gain some attention, flirting with
the farm hands.
- Curley uses his aggressive nature and superior position in an
attempt to take control of his father's farm. Curley's
Napoleon complex is evidenced by his threatening of the
farm hands for minuscule incidents.
- The idea that inherent limitations exist and despite all the
squirming and struggling, sometimes the circumstances of
one's existence limit their capacity to live the fairy tale lives
they wish to. Even the title of the novel itself references this
"the title is, of course, a fragment from the poem lay Robert
Burns, which gives emphasis to the idea of the futility of
human endeavor or the vanity of human wishes".
- Animals play a role in the story as well, the heron shifts from
a beautiful part of the scenery from the beginning of the
novel to a predator near the end.
- Candy’s dog which has been always loyal
5. Adaptations
- As a "playable novel", it was performed by the Theater Union
of San Francisco as written. This version opened on May 21,
1937
Of Mice and Men
- In 1958, a musical theater adaptation by was produced Off-
Broadway in New York City
- In 1970 an opera based on this novella is produced
- In 1939 a Hollywood movie is released
- In 1992 is released a second movie, featuring John Malkovich
and Gary Sinise
