Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a novella that follows two migrant workers traveling across California looking for work during the Great Depression. George Milton is a ranch worker that is close friends with Lennie Small, who is an extremely small but disabled man. The two escape their last job after Lennie’s uncontrollable strength causes a girl to accuse him or raping her. At their new farm, they meet Crooks, Candy, Curley, and Curley’s wife. Crooks is an African-American man with a crooked back, Candy is a man who lost his hand and worries a lot about his future, Curley is a small man who likes to pick fights with bigger man, while Curley’s wife is a woman that dreamed of becoming a star but had her dream crushed with her marriage to Curley. The novella is a complex story that explores themes of the parallel between humans and animals, the fragility of dreams and the role of uncontrollable forces in life due to marginalization and the discrimination of minorities.
The parallel between humans and animals is thoroughly expressed in this novella. The animals that are compared to the people come from Robert Burns’ poem. The mice, in the poem, are expressed as weak animals that have no control over their future and solely rely on others to determine their destiny for them. The humans are select characters from this novel: Curley’s
wife, Candy, Crooks, and Lennie. All of these people have great potential, but due to their many weaknesses, they are not able to fulfill their dreams. For example, “"Well, I ain't told this to nobody before. Maybe I ought'n to. I don'like Curley. He ain't a nice fella."....."Coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear. An' I coulda sat in them big hotels, an' had pitchers took of me.” (Steinbeck, Ch 5). Curley's wife always wanted to be a star, but she continued to lack determination and the ability to do so as she was a woman and subject to being ruled in society. Her weakness was something that prevented her from following her dream. The mice are portrayed as animals that don’t have foresights, schemes, plans or expectations in their lifetime. This perspective can also be applied with the same logic to humans. The individual weaknesses of the characters in this book are their greatest obstacle. They are unable to overcome them, and thus are always stuck on the opposite side, never able to move on and continue in life. Through this introspective lens, we are able to understand that though humans are known as intelligent animals that are above humans, sometimes, they can be on the same level. Each person/animal has their weakness. It is an inevitable part of life. What matters the most is whether you are able to get past it and focus on your strengths, playing them in your favor.
Dreams in Of Mice and Men are seen as crystal balls, able to be molded into strong reality and broken, shattered into a million pieces that will never be found again. In this novella, dreams are fragile things that each character possesses. George and Lennie are the greatest examples of this. They both share a dream of owning a farm and raising rabbits, hoping for a stable future where they are in charge of their lives. Lennie is optimistic, while George is realistic. However, Lennie’s obstacles are too much to overcome (being both mentally disabled and having uncontrollable strength), and after Lennie’s death, George loses hope, as Lennie’s death symbolized the inevitable failure of their dream. The theme of the fragility of dreams can also be applied to many other characters. Curley’s wife wanted to become a Hollywood actress, but her marriage to Curley sealed her fate of isolation and ignorance from everybody around her. She seeks attention from farm workers, but is killed by Lennie. Candy, after losing his hand, takes George and Lennie’s dream as his last chance for redemption, but after Lennie dies, he resigns himself to reality and his fate. Crooks is a cynic man that doesn’t believe in the dream at all. He briefly considers joining, but being the most realistic man of the entire group, he doesn’t let himself get into it as he knows it will only cause pain when the plan fails: “Crooks interrupted brutally. "You guys is just kiddin' yourself. You'll talk about it a hell of a lot, but you won't get no land….” (Steinbeck, Ch 4). The fragility of dreams in this story is highly realistic and relatable to real life. Dreams are something that gives a person motivation, but also the biggest offender when the person doesn’t get to reach it.
“Omnia ratione fiunt” (Latin proverb). This quote states that everything happens for a reason. But it’s not entirely true. Sometimes, fate just seals your future. The role of marginalization and discrimination of minorities is prominent in the role of the characters’ process of dream fulfillment. In Of Mice and Men, all of the characters experience some sort of uncontrollable force that ruins their dreams. Lennie has a mental disability, but is shunned by the rest of society because they are unable to, and unwilling to learn how to accept people that are different and might process things in a different way. Candy, an aging and disabled man due to his hand injury, is also scorned by the public. Symbolized by his dog which was later euthanized, Candy was fated to perform menial tasks until his death. Crooks faced much discrimination for being African American, and his crooked back definitely did not make things any better. For instance, “ "Come on in. If ever'body's comin' in, you might just as well." It was difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger.” (Steinbeck, Ch 4). The quote shows us how Crooks was always neglected on the ranch. He was marginalized and ignored, without anyone paying attention to him. When someone visited on their own accord, he took it as a luxury. The physical danger ranch workers faced during the Great Depression also highlighted his vulnerability. Curley’s wife, being female, was regarded as lesser and worse than other men. Her dream of becoming a star was crushed by her disastrous marriage to Curley, in which neither party actually loved the other. The marginalization and discrimination that the characters face in this book completes the theme of uncontrollable forces in a person’s dreams. Fate is something that can either be strong or weak for someone. For people like Candy, Crooks, Lennie, and Curley’s wife, it is a strong obstacle to overcome because they are met with much isolation and hover on the edges of society. They have no position of power to turn their lives around, and are destined to succumb to fate for their future up to their death.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a deep and meaningful novella that explores many themes relatable to in real life. The theme of a parallel between humans and animals shows us how each individual’s weakness can set back their dream by a lot. The fragility of dreams that is expressed through his novella is shown through many different characters’ failures in fulfilling their dream of life. Marginalization and discrimination in this story play a role in people’s dreams, as discovered through the theme of uncontrollable forces playing a role in a person’s future. This novella has complex themes that are deepened through the different characters’ struggles, successes, and failures. With Of Mice and Men, we discover many different lessons that will be useful in life, no matter the circumstances. This story is a historical novella with a tragic setting that explores many themes of fulfilling one’s dream and life.
Works Cited
Steinbeck, John. “Of Mice and Men”, HIIS Laboratory
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