A Steinbeck Classic (Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck)

Name: Sandy01

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Product:	Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
Date:	17/06/07 (193 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A classic, great for GCSE's, powerful and moving .

Disadvantages: Speech is sometimes hard to read, some racism

Like most students, I had to study this book for my GCSE's. I had a really flamboyant English teacher who would make everyone get up and act out the scenes and was a really good teacher, getting everybody interested in the book and doing his best to make everyone understand the themes etc.
It took me a while to get this book, (I had a habit of switching off at school!) but by the end of the term just when I was taking my exams in it, I began to see why it was such a great read. The fact that I managed to get an A* didn't hurt my opinion of the book either!

A little about John Steinbeck-
The author John Steinbeck was born on February 27th, 1902 in Salinas, California. After deciding at 14 to become a writer he began writing short stories and sometimes sending them under a pseudonym to magazines. He then entered Stanford University in 1919, he never completed a degree but attended classes on and off for the next six years. He finally dropped out of college in 1925 and went to New York. He returned soon to California which is where he started work on a novel which was eventually to appear as "Cup Of gold", this was published in 1929. This set Steinbeck on the course which was to see him produce, over the next 10 years, some of his finest work.
The book being reviewed "Of Mice and Men" about two itinerant workers in the depression of 1930s America was published in 1937. This became a best seller.
John Steinbeck died in December 1968 of heart failure.

About the book-
This classic piece of literature is a very powerful and emotional read about friendship, dreams and the future. The book focuses on the two main characters- George Milton and Lennie Small. George is a short man, intelligent and confident, while Lennie on the other hand is a very big man, but only has the mind of a child. These two characters start work at a ranch in Northern California, having to have left their previous jobs following accusations that Lennie had raped a woman. You question why these two characters travel around together, as George says- "If I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble. No mess at all...an' whatta I got?' I got you!"
You wonder why he would want to stay with Lennie when he gets them both into so much trouble, however you come to realise that they both would be utterly lost without each other. Being so big and strong, Lennie doesn't know his own strength, and because he doesn't have a lot of sense, he gets himself into bad situations, George has to bail him out being the brains of the outfit.
Many times throughout the book Lennie wants George to tell him about the future and George says- "With us it ain't like that (meaning they're not lonely like other ranch workers) We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us...If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us." Lennie then breaks in- "But not us! Because...because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why."
Lennie asks George throughout the book to tell him this story, it is about dreams and the future. Lennie believes that they are going to get a plot of land with chickens and rabbits (which Lennie really wants to tend since he likes to touch soft things) and live 'off the fat a the lan'", they just needed enough money to get the place. George even began to believe this could happen, especially when Candy comes onto the scene (an old man at the ranch) and says he can help them to buy it.

There are six chapters with notes on each one in my book as it is published by New Longman Literature which specialises in 14-18 year olds reading. This is very helpful for anyone studying this at school as it helps identify the themes in the book and helps you to understand it more.

Other Characters-

Slim-
Respected by all of the ranch workers, he is very smart and fair and his opinion goes.

Candy-
The old man George and Lennie meet at the ranch. One of his hands is missing where he caught it in a machine-that is the only reason he is allowed to stay on at the ranch as he can't work much-because the others feel guilty about his hand. He overhears George and Lennie talking about getting a place with some land and their dreams of the future. He wants to join them. At first George is dubious because it was just going to be him and Lennie, but he comes round to the idea when Candy says that he has some money saved up that could help them buy the house they are hoping to buy. He has a very old dog which is his only companion, the others convince him to have it shot by one of them as it smells and is not much good anymore. Candy is really upset about this, in a way the dog symbolises himself- too old and weak to be of much use.

Curly-
A man short in stature, he is married to a woman known only as "Curly's wife", he doesn't treat her properly and is the bosses son so gets away with being mean to everyone on the ranch. He picks a fight with Lennie which has painful consequences for him (Candy says he doesn't like big people, it's as if he's mad at them because he's not a big guy).

Crooks-
The negro stable buck. He is mistreated by the boss and some of the other ranch hands because of his race. He lives with the animals. He reads a lot of books, but he is very lonely saying "Books ain't no good. A guy needs somebody- to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody." Crooks briefly lets down his defences when Lennie enters his place, because Lennie doesn't descriminate against anyone, he gives Crooks a person to vent his anger and sadness out on. Even though you couldn't have a proper conversation with Lennie, Crooks has someone to talk to for a while. Like he says to Lennie- "...A guy talkin' to another guy and it don't make no difference if he don't hear or understand...it's just the talkin'. It's just bein with another guy. That's all." He also tells Lennie about his childhood.
When Lennie lets slip about the plot of land to Crooks, he thinks Lennie's crazy, but when Candy comes in to talk about it too, he believes they could do it, and wants to join them for a second too.

Curly's Wife-
The fact that Curly's wife has no known name other than "Curly's wife" suggests how unimportant she is seen as being. She tells her story to Lennie too like Crooks, about how she was going to be in the movies and that was her dream, but she got stuck with Curly.
Curly's wife causes problems for Lennie and George, Lennie loves to pet soft things, so Curly's wife lets him feel her hair because it is soft. Lennie starts to mess it up and Curly's wife gets mad and scared, and then...well you'll have to read the book to find out, don't want to spoil it for you!

Themes-
Loyalty and Friendship-
George and Lennie travel around together and even though George says "I could have it so easy without you", he won't leave Lennie and would be lost without him. At first the relationship seems a little strange and the boss on the ranch thinks this, he can't understand why two men who aren't related would travel around together as they do, and suspects George of taking Lennie's money from him. Most ranch workers don't have what George and Lennie have, it's every man for himself for them.

Loneliness-
In America in the 1930s during the depression years, life was very lonely for ranch workers, and as George says- they'd earn their stake and then blow it all at a whore-house. George would be lonely without Lennie and Lennie would be lonely without George. Candy is lonely without his dog, Crooks is lonely being discriminated against and not being able to join in with the other workers. Curly's wife has no one to talk to as she is the only woman there and Curly's not a nice man who would talk to her much, George even warned Lennie not to talk to her believeing her to be trouble.

Dreams-
George, Lennie, Candy (when he overhears George and Lennie's plan), Crooks and Curly's wife all dream of a better life. it is "The American Dream", giving the opportunity for anybody who is willing to work hard enough to be successful. All George and Lennie want is a plot of land to call their own, but as Crooks says- "I see hundreds of men come by on the road an' on the ranches with their bindles on their back an' that same damn thing in their head...every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it. Just like heaven...Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody never gets no land."

Bad Points-
A couple of things that I don't like are 1) how long the chapters are, I like to read books with short chapters as I'm more likely to read more than with a long chapter. 2) The way the characters speech is written down. I know it's meant to be the way the characters are speaking, but it makes it hard to read sometimes, for example- "Got on'y our heads sticking outa water, an' up under the grass that sticks out from the side of the ditch. An' that night we scrammed outa there." There are worse examples I'm sure, but that's the one I came across first! Also the way Lennie talks can be a bit confusing because you have the added problem of him being a bit slow and confusing in how he talks.
There is some racism in this book. Crooks is discriminated against and outcast just because he is black, he reads a lot of books and appears to be very clever, but he can't join in because of his colour. There is also a nasty bit in the book where Curly's wife bullies Crooks and calls him a very horrible racially discriminate name and threatens him which is quite hard to read, but this was what America was like in those days, it is shocking to read but reminds us how far we have come, thank god we don't treat people like that anymore.

Good Points-
Just about anyone can enjoy this book, it's really not the sort of story I'd usually like to read, but my friends and I all love it. It really isn't bad to study for GCSE's etc as it is quite easy to spot the themes and get a good grade on.
It's not too long either (149 pages in mine including the notes), so it doesn't take forever to read.
I love the descriptions of the scenery too- "On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Galiban mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees - willows fresh and green with every spring ..." It helps to build a picture in your head of what it's like.
"Of Mice and Men" is a very poignant tale about friendship and the American dream, I won't tell you if George and Lennie achieve their dream in the end but I will say that in places this book is very emotional and moving.

Would I recommend this book?
Most certainly. I love reading it, like I said it took me a little while to start enjoying it, but now I think it is such a fantastic story, even though we had to go over and over it in school, it didn't get boring.
I love the film version too with Gary Sinise and John Malkovich. This is my favourite book I've read at school and I still read it on occasion now.
You can buy the one I have (New Longman Literature) with notes from Amazon for £6.16 new or £4.49 for the paperback version. If you're not studying it get the paperback version as the notes are annoying and come before the actual chapter. There's GCSE questions in there too which makes the read less enjoyable if you're just reading it for fun.

Chances are, most people have either read this at school, or have come across it somewhere, but if you don't own a copy I would definitely recommend you buy one, especially at the bargain price Amazon is selling them at.

Thanks for reading!
(This review is on Ciao also)

Summary: A moving tale of friendship and the American Dream