In John Steinbeck’s novella “Of Mice and Men”, two friends, Lennie and George, work on a ranch in Soledad. They initially hope it will be their final stop as migrant workers in California, as they dream of buying their own land — Lennie desires to keep rabbits and George wants a piece of property. Once hired at the farm, they encounter Curley, the Boss's small and aggressive son, who dislikes and targets larger men like Lennie. Lennie is drawn to Curley’s flirtatious wife, creating tension. Curley confronts Lennie, and during a fight, Lennie crushes his fist. Unbothered, George goes to town with other ranch hands the next day, while Lennie stays and talks to Crooks, a black ranch hand, as Curley’s wife flirts with them. The next day, Lennie is stroking a dead puppy, and Curley’s wife lets him stroke her soft hair, but he accidentally strangles her to death. Eventually they are going to lynch Lennie, so George mercifully kills him. To have a deeper understanding of this novella, readers should first think about why the title of this story is such? Readers also should discuss the idea of broken plan and Marginalization.
The title of the story, “Of Mice and Men” comes from Robert Burns’s poem, named “To A Mouse”. Steinbeck chose this line for his book’s title to not only highlight the fate of its characters but also underscore the similarities between humans and animals in their struggle for survival. Both are vulnerable and rely on others for support. In the poem, “The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley, / An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, / For promised joy!” (Burns, lines 39-42) This means that the best laid schemes of mice and men often go wayward, and leave nothing but grief and pain. Mice don't have dreams. No dreams, foresight, schemes, plans, expectations, which is basically no future. In this story, there is no future for the men on the farm. It is not only George and Lennie not having a future, nobody in the story has a future, just like the mice. Mice are weak, and Lennie is also weak and Crooks is weak. Candy is weak, Candy's dog is weak. Curley's wife is weak. Lennie is not physically weak. He is mentally weak. George is also mentally weak. George likes to tell the story, just like Lennie likes to hear the story. For George, it is like emotional support. It supports his dream. The dream they want is that they are going to have a ranch and a good life. Did they realize the dream? No. Nobody in the ranch gets it. George says, “Well,” said George, “we'll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we'll just say the hell with going' to work, and we'll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an' listen to the rain comin' down on the roof.” (Steinbeck 14) This is a fantasy that they will share, but it will probably never come true. He retreats into a dream of he and Lennie having their own farm: a distinctly American dream of self-made independence, plenty, and harmony. Candy, another laborer on the ranch where George and Lennie find work, is also swept up in the romantic vision of owning a farm, offering up his savings to help secure a plot of land. Humans and animals, particularly mice, share a common vulnerability, as both are often helpless and small.
People frequently aspire to plans and dreams, yet these dreams may fail due to their inability to control fate. This tragic novel depicts the relentless pursuit of dreams by lower-class workers and how reality harshly crushes these aspirations. George and Lennie consistently hold onto a beautiful dream of owning their own land and living a free and stable life. However, society mercilessly shatters this dream. Initially, Lennie and George dreamed of owning a ranch to raise rabbits and have their own land. However, after Lennie’s death, George was devastated, having had to kill him himself. More important;y, their shared dream of the ranch died with Lennie. Similarly, other ranch workers’ dreams were shattered. Candy wishes to join George in creating a ranch to ensure his future, but Lennie’s death destroys that dream, too. They have all their dreams, but they are all broken. Even now lots of people have the American dream, and it is not wrong. All people have their own dream. What is Lennie's dream, and what is George's plan? It seems the same. The difference is that Lennie is very optimistic, and he believes that they are able to do it. Nothing is impossible. He is continuously talking, talking, talking. They set a very high goal. you will be defeated by reality. It is not how high you will dream. it is how low you will carry it out. Lennie’s mental disability also poses a problem. Their dream is to live happily, and raise rabbits. They will have Candy join them. They might have a very good future. But Lennie has a fascination for soft things. He often touches and strokes them. If he is not doing it today, he is doing it tomorrow. The duo ran away from the town? He was touching the dress, and a woman accused him of being inappropriate. “No, Lennie. I ain't mad. I never been mad, an' I ain't now. That's a thing I want ya to know.” (Steinbeck 106) George distracts Lennie with a story about how they’ll soon get their farm before shooting him in the back of the head in order to save Lennie from the wrath of the other laborers, who are out for revenge. Lennie’s death symbolizes the death of their dream. People often lose sight of their dreams when they become discouraged in making their dreams come true. Often, individuals harbor dreams and aspirations, yet they find these ambitions shattered by the harshness of reality.
During the Depression era, individuals were frequently marginalized into minority groups, including those with disabilities. In the novel, the fate of the vulnerable symbolizes social oppression and exclusion. Of Mice and Men is set in the 1930s, a time when women, minorities, and people with disabilities possessed nearly no rights. The socioeconomic instability of the Great Depression further exacerbated the oppression of the period. During difficult times, the struggles exacerbated social divides, often leading to the exclusion and sidelining of those who were vulnerable or disadvantaged. This pattern illustrates how challenging circumstances frequently intensified existing inequalities and isolation. Crooks and Candy are both marginalized. The character Candy has a disability where he lost his hand in an accident. Crooks has a disability because he was also involved in an accident which resulted in a crooked spine. Also, Curley's wife is also marginalized because she is a woman and in the depression era. Finally, Lenny is also marginalized because he has a mental problem where he has a fixation for small and soft things. Lennie is physically strong but has a mental disability that leads to misunderstanding and mistreatment. Lenny's marginalization highlights society's inability to understand or care for people with mental disabilities. Crooks is the only Black character in the story and faces constant racial discrimination. Crooks is doubly marginalized: he is black, which, in the 1930s, makes him a second-class citizen in the eyes of his peers and of society more largely. Candy, an elderly man who lost a hand in an accident, is reduced to performing menial tasks. His situation is symbolized by his old dog, which is also suffering and eventually euthanized. Curley's wife is the only woman on the ranch and is thus marginalized. They cannot be weak. They can't be understood and tolerated. And all this is the Great Depression, and the economy is not good. The first batch of people facing the conflict are the weeds, where they fight for survival among the strong. Candy desperately tries to show strength in front of his dog, and Carlson kills him. “I ought to have shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.” (Steinbeck 61) Candy allows Carlson to shoot his dog in order to appear detached and emotionally “strong” in the face of death. Steinbeck thus demonstrates how the desire to crush any form of weakness warps people’s very souls, causing them to act cruelly toward others and even devalue life itself. Candy was very sad when he lost his sheepdog, but in order to not be bullied, he had to stay strong. When individuals encountered hardships, marginalization was a widespread occurrence.
Of Mice and Men clearly illustrates the hardships of life in the Depression Era, where many people are broke and devoid of money. The title of the story, “Of Mice and Men” is from a poem by Robert Burns, named “To a mouse”. Steinbeck borrowed this line as the title of the book, which not only hinted at the fate of the characters in the novel, but also emphasized the common points between humans and animals in the dilemma of survival. People often have plans and dreams, and sometimes these dreams don’t come true, because they cannot control their fate. This is a tragic novel that shows the persistent pursuit of dreams by the lower-class workers and how reality ruthlessly destroys these hopes. In the depression era, people are often marginalized into minority groups, such as people with disabilities. In the novel, the fate of the weak becomes the embodiment of social oppression and exclusion. Of Mice and Men takes place in the 1930s, a period when women, minorities, and people with disabilities had almost no rights.
Works Cited
Steinbeck, John. "Of Mice and Men", HIIS Laboratory
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