Dahnielson

Of Mice and Men (1937) by John Steinbeck tell the tragic story of George and Lennie, two farm workers in California during the Great Depression. The story is set on a farm in the Salinas Valley, not far from Soledad. And not far from Steinbecks own birthplace, born to two first-generation Americans of German and Scot-Irish descent in the beginning of last century. An American author familiar with the hardships of the working man.

After dropping out from Stanford University in 1925, being enrolled in literature and writing courses, Steinbeck moved to New York where he developed a skill as freelance writer while working construction sites. But returned to California when he was unable to find a publisher. Settling down in California’s agricultural region, near where he once grew up.

While the debut in 1929 was unsuccessful the popularity and financial security came with Tortilla Flat (1935) about a couple of Monterey’s paisanos. The next three novels of his in the late 1930s would focus on the Californian laboring class: In Dubious Battle (1936) about the organizing of a major strike by the workers, The Grapes of Wrath (1939) the book considered by many his finest about farmers driven from their land by drought, and of course Of Mice and Men.

The exceptionally short novel is structured into six scenes. In fact, Steinbeck wrote the first draft with the intention of creating a play. Unfortunately his dog ate the manuscript. After reworking the story into the book published in 1937 it was also adapted into a play on Broadway that premiered the same year. The origin as a play shows. The story exposition is entirely performed in dialog and stage directions. While the dialog is realistic, truthfully rendered in southern Californian and redneck speak, almost to a point it become unbearably annoying to some readers, a language that otherwise feels smooth when spoken.

The novel is essentially about loneliness. Curley’s wife is lonely because she as the only female on the farm can’t talk to any of the men without making Curley jealous, and the workers afraid of the boss’ son is calling her names to shield themselves. Crooks is lonely because he’s the only negro and has to live for himself; feeling trapped while being more literate than the workers that comes and go, as the worn dictionary and code of law can tell compared to the simpler western magazines read in the bunk houses. And Candy looses his only friend as Carlson convince him to put down his dog. Everyone is lonely except Lennie and George.

Together they have a dream of a place to call their own, a piece of land to live off, and a hutch full of rabbits which Lennie will get to tend. But George knows the dream is never going to happen. We don’t even know if the folks selling the farm in deed do exist. It’s just something to keep the thoughts on something, keep them away from the hard work, trying to see a point in an otherwise hard and pointless world.

But the promise of tending rabbits has grown extremely important to Lennie. For Lennie likes to tend and pet soft things; foreshadowing the event that will ultimately end their stay since the wife of Curley is the only soft thing on the hard farm, while she seeks what all the others lack: friendship.

The characters of Curley and Carlson never learn the value of compassion and friendship. Curley isn’t even that interested in his own wife. When she dies, he do not feel grief or sorrow but see it as an opportunity to finally kill a big guy. Just like her nameless character imply, she’s only a possession he now lost. As Curley set out to kill Lennie by shooting him in the guts, the most painful way to be shot, a certain slow and painful death, George has no choice but finding him first. Putting him down more gently, just like Carlson put down Candy’s dog, and just like Candy loosing his only real friend.

Because, the best-laid schemes of mice and men, often go awry.