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258 of 272 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece -- and I will never forget it!, November 3, 2001
John Steinbeck wrote this classic gem in 1937. It's been a Broadway play and there have been several adaptations of it in movies and TV. I was generally familiar with the story but this was the first time I actually read the book. Wow! I was completely blown away! This is the story of a two lonely and alienated men who work as farm laborers, drifting from job to job in California. Lennie is gentle giant, physically strong but mentally retarded. George guides and protects Lennie but also depends on him for companionship. Together, they have a dream to someday buy a little farm where they can grow crops and raise rabbits and live happily ever after. This, of course, is not to be as the title suggests. "The best laid plans of mice and men" is a line in a poem by Robert Burns, which describes how a field mouse's world is destroyed by a plow. Steinbeck's narrative voice is seemingly simple in his descriptions of nature of as well as the details of the bunkhouse. His characterizations of the people are magnificent. We meet the other workers, all loners, and appreciate the beauty of the unique friendship between Lennie and George. We meet Candy, the old man who is outliving his usefulness. We meet Crooks, the black stable hand, shunned by the men and therefore turning to books for companionship. We meet the cruel Curley who taunts Lennie into a fight. And we meet Curley's wife, another lonely soul who uses her femininity to get the wrong kind of attention. There's tension in every word and I found myself holding my breath, knowing that something awful would happen, my eyes glued to the page, the world of Lennie and George deeply etched into my consciousness. I was pulled right into the story, wanting to shout warnings as I saw the inevitable consequences. The ending was incredibly sad, but yet satisfying. It couldn't have ended any other way. It's a small book, only 118 pages long. But it is a masterpiece and I will never forget it. I give it my highest recommendation.
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50 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Post-Depression American Tragedy, March 17, 2004
"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck remains properly on the reading lists of high school students because of the regional imagery through succinct dialogue. Unlike "Grapes of Wrath," Steinbeck brings us swiftly into each moment, never letting us linger too long before walking us to the next place.
The American Dream has many variations, but always, it is about independence and the pride of being one's own man. Lennie and George want this independence more than most men, but have less than most men to get there. In their case, it isn't a white picket fence, but a farm where they can raise rabbits.
Lennie is not a bright man. He desires to care for someone and to be loved, but is unable to think past his own fear. George tries to protect him, but he too, although smarter than Lennie, is managed by his insecurity and foolishness.
The story surrounds Lennie and George's efforts to get and retain work on ranch near Soledad, and more so, toward their American Dream. The big picture is always with them, but it is the day-by-day difficulties they have with being outsiders. Their intrinsic inability to be free is sheer tragedy, as they both fail again and again to make the right decision.
It's a lonely story about two men who hope more than they can think, who are destined by their misery never to enjoy true companionship and happiness.
Few books are as thematically pure as "Of Mice and Men," which follows Man's search for self and meaning carefully. It is harsh in language and image, and the abstract ideas might be too much for younger readers to comprehend, but any intelligent teen will gain from it where John Knowles' "A Separate Peace" and J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" leave off.
I fully recommend "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck.
Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com
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35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"A guy needs somebody to be near him....A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody.", October 22, 2006
Written in 1937, when the Depression was still affecting all aspects of the farming community, this powerful novel depicts the lives of migrant workers--grim, pessimistic, and offering little hope for an improved future. Focusing on two characters who arrive in the Salinas Valley during peak season, Steinbeck creates touching scenes between Lenny, a big, severely limited worker who does not know his own strength, and George, a whippet-thin man who serves as Lenny's constant companion and protector.
Both Lenny and George have dreams of one day living on their own farm, where Lenny, who loves the feeling of soft things--even dead mice--wants to take care of rabbits. George hopes one day to benefit from his own hard work on his own farm and to create an environment where Lenny can be safe from his own impulses. As Steinbeck brings the characters on the ranch to life, he shows how every person there has dreams of a different life but few opportunities to change the lives they already have. Some are physically handicapped from accidents on farms, while others are emotionally handicapped by lack of opportunity or their own personal limitations.
Life is lonely, uncertain, and harsh but George tries to make life for Lenny more bearable by allowing him to have one of the new puppies in the barn. When Curley, the boss's son, brings his flirtatious wife to the farm, he introduces a new element which eventually leads to a tragic ending. Women are considered dangerous to the status quo, as they reinforce the need for "soft" elements in lives that otherwise offer little softness.
Giving vivid pictures of the natural surroundings while also creating vivid pictures of the interactions of these men, Steinbeck shows that even among those whose lives offer little hope, there is a desire to take advantage of each other. Crooks, the black stable hand who is forced to live alone in the barn, undermines Lenny. Carlson takes advantage of Candy's love for his old, smelly dog and causes pain to Candy. Lenny's puppy, Candy's dog, a heron capturing a water snake, and dreams of their own farm all become symbols which add to the drama of the conclusion. In this powerfully sad novel, Steinbeck offers little hope that the lives of these men will improve and even less hope that they will ever be able to control what happens to them. n Mary Whipple
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