Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck review
A classic staple of American Literature, I first read Of Mice and Men in high school, and then again in college. In high school I enjoyed reading the works of John Steinbeck, because he often focused on working class people and their aspirations to achieve the “American Dream”. This time reading Of Mice and Men, I pickled up on more subtle themes and realized that the story is a tragedy.
For those that are unfamiliar with this story, it's simple. Two grown men, George and Lennie go to work at a ranch after having to leave their last place when Lennie got into trouble. The plan is to work for a month to save up enough money to buy their own farm. They meet the other ranch hands and the boss's son, Curly, who is looking to pick a fight over his wife. After two days, Lennie accidentally kills a puppy and Curly's wife comes to console him. When she lets him touch her hair, he gets overly aggressive and when she tries to stop him, he accidently kills her. Now, in some trouble, George finds the only solution is for him to shoot Lennie rather than a mob kill him.
Firstly, something to keep in mind of the story's treatment of African Americans and women is that the novella is a product of its time. While it's not acceptable it is something that occurs regularly in classic works of literature. So, I'll acknowledge here that certain parts of the story are hard to read. Going forward I won't bring it up in other classic literature, unless it's a part of the actual story plot. In this book, the only female that we meet is made out to be a “tramp” and then dies for her curious nature in men or companionship. It's not a good look for women, but it plays into the idea that women corrupt men. Since, George has no plans for finding a woman in his plans to buy and live on a farm. The lack of women is to show the strong male friendship and bond between George and Lennie. Showing that George killing Lennie, meant him letting go of his only companionship.
On this reading I realized that the entire novella takes place over a weekend, despite George saying repeatedly that he and Lennie would be staying for a month. Throughout the book, George has to recite to Lennie their plan of owning a farm and how Lennie will get to tend to the rabbits. This plays on the idea of the “American Dream”, the boys want to own their land and not answer to anyone. For Lennie, he just wants a simple life of caring for the animals and George wants to keep Lennie out of trouble. Of course this vision is too idyllic to be realistic and at the end of the book I think that reality catches up to George.
As much as I root for the pair to achieve their dreams, there are some clues as to how the events play out. For instance the shooting of Candy's dog, foreshadows the death of Lennie. Candy tells George that he should have killed his own dog and not let someone else do the job. That pays off by having George, not Curly be the one to shoot Lennie. Lennie was George's responsibility, his burden, and when he realizes that Lennie will cause trouble for him no matter where they go, George makes the decision to shoot him. Instead of running away again, which is what he told Lennie they would do if he had got into trouble, George decided to end the fantasy and deal with reality.
The animals are also symbols. Lennie's puppy and the dead mouse in Lennie's pocket symbolize the weak and innocent. Lennie's strength and zealous for petting animals, results in a dead mouse and him accidently killing the puppy. But for all his strength, Lennie has the innocence of a small child or animal. Again, foreshadowing Lennie's ultimate death. The death of innocence.
I really enjoyed reading this novella, it's a short, breezy story that reads like a play. There's more thematic motifs and symbolism that I picked up on this time. The story plays out as a tragedy about two friends with grand ideas that will never come true. As I'm making my way through Steinbeck's work, I am noticing certain repeating themes, about working class men and striving for the “American Dream”. The idealism mixed with the flaws and fears of people make for compelling stories that I enjoy reading. Again, disclaimer for the racist and sexist views of characters, but I highly recommend any literary enthusiast read Of Mice and Men as well as other classic works of Steinbeck.
This is the second book in what is considered Steinbeck's “Labor Trilogy”, which also include In Dubious Battle and The Grapes of Wrath.
No comments:
Post a Comment