Of mice and Men

Steinbeck's Purpose

It was the first work to bring John Steinbeck national recognition as a writer. The title suggests that the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, a reference to Robert Burns's poem "To a Mouse." Of Mice and Men was selected for the Book of the Month Club before it was officially published, an honor that encouraged 117,000 copies of the novel to be sold before its official publication on February 25, 1937. Critical response to the novel was generally positive. There were, however, critics who were offended by the rough earthiness of the characters and their lives. By April 1937, the book was on best-seller lists across the country, and it continued to remain a top seller throughout that year. Steinbeck said that he was not expecting huge sales, and he was surprised by the substantial checks he received from his agents.

Of Mice and Men opens with a physical description of the topography of the Central Valley of California. "A few miles south of Soledad," the Salinas river winds through an idyllic scene of yellow sands, golden foothills, and deer that come to the shore to drink at night. It is in this setting that we first meet Steinbeck's two protagonists, George Milton and Lennie Small. George is "small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features." Lennie is "his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders." They have just come from the town of Weed in Northern California where Lennie had gotten into some sort of trouble, forcing them to flee south. There they are now looking for new work on a ranch. As the two talk it becomes clear that Lennie is mentally handicapped: he cannot quite remember what had happened in Weed; he speaks with a child's vocabulary; and he bursts into tears when George makes him give up the dead mouse that he has been secretly petting in his pocket.

2) George: A small, wiry, smart man who travels with and cares for Lennie. Although he frequently speaks of how much better his life would be without Lennie, George is obviously devoted to him. George tries to protect Lennie and eventually deliver them both to the farm of their dreams. Though George is the source of the story of the perfect farm, it is Lennie's childlike faith that enables George to actually believe his account of their future.

Lennie: A large, lumbering migrant worker with a mild developmental disability. Lennie depends completely on George for guidance and protection. The two share a vision of a farm that they will one day own, a vision that Lennie believes in wholeheartedly. Gentle and kind, Lennie nevertheless cannot understand his own strength and his love of petting things, like animals, dresses, and hair, leads to disaster.

The action of the novel occurs over the course of three days. Steinbeck created the novel's two main characters, George Milton and Lennie Small, to portray victims ...