Of Mice and Men Quotes

A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great Depression.

Why do so many people like the book "Of Mice and Men"?

I’m one of those people who appreciates “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck.

The novella is poignant and a very emotional narration of friendship between two farm hands for hire (George Milton and Lennie Small) who found a strong bond despite their different personality and great disparity in mental acuity; Lennie is a towering and strong fellow with a mental age of a child, while George is an able-bodied man with a “big brother” concern towards Lennie due to the latter’s disability.

Set against the 1930s Great Depression in America, the two friends set out to find work in a farm after running away from the last town they worked in because Lennie got fascinated with the soft texture of a woman’s dress that he caressed it to the point the woman felt uncomfortable, and he’d been accused of rape for that.

For some time, they have been dreaming of having their own farm with many kinds of livestock, poultry, and particularly rabbits for Lennie because they are soft and cuddly, just like puppies and mice, which end up maimed or dead since Lennie has no sense of control of his strength over things that he finds fascinating. Until he and George find work in another farm where Lennie gets fascinated with the soft beautiful hair of the young flirtatious wife of the farm owner. The flirtatious wife becomes agitated that she is starting to scream to get out of Lennie’s hold on her hair. Lennie shakes her so hard and muzzles her mouth in order to calm her down but in the process of doing so he accidentally breaks her neck because he does not know how to control his strength.

Lennie runs for safety towards the predesignated meeting place in the woods that George and him agreed upon because he is being chased by the rest of the farm workers for having killed the farm owner’s wife.

George separates himself from the vengeful mob and runs straight to Lennie’s whereabouts, and tells him to look to the horizon and imagine their dream farm with lots of rabbits that he can pet. As George helps Lennie fire up his imagination, he walks behind him, draws a gun and points it to the back of Lennie’s head. George would rather see Lennie dead by his own hands rather than see him caught and killed by the angry mob.

Such a powerful ending is both extremely shocking and thought-provoking. Steinbeck was able to capture the triumph and tragedy of friendship between two working-class men in the 1930s America where issues of sexism and prejudice towards people with disabilities and lack of means to achieve their life dreams can become even more entangled in social injustice. No doubt, this is still happening in modern society that Of Mice and Men can be considered a timeless masterpiece for successfully portraying social ills and showcasing them on the individual level.

I haven’t forgotten the tragic story of George and Lennie, and when I came across Steinbeck’s novella in a film of the same title, I watched it and the tragedy of the two characters never left my mind. I guess other people who have read the book or watched the movie felt the same way as I did, hence Of Mice and Men is quite popular.

That’s my take.