Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (1937)
Fiction | Classic
Blurb:
“The compelling story of two outsiders striving to find their place in an unforgiving world. Drifters in search of work, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie have nothing in the world except each other and a dream–a dream that one day they will have some land of their own. Eventually they find work on a ranch in California’s Salinas Valley, but their hopes are doomed as Lennie, struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and feelings of jealousy, becomes a victim of his own strength. Tackling universal themes such as the friendship of a shared vision, and giving voice to America’s lonely and dispossessed, Of Mice and Men has proved one of Steinbeck’s most popular works, achieving success as a novel, a Broadway play and three acclaimed films.”
–Goodreads
pooled ink Review:
A classic book with a riveting story that still haunts me. Steinbeck does not mince words nor reality choosing to write a story about two drifters as they reach for a dream and tumble along the path that the world offered them. The journey of George and Lenny is both heart-breaking and eye-opening giving us a sharp glimpse of life in the United States during the Great Depression, a stinging touch of the complex bond of friendship, and a rough scrub of reality on the “American Dream.”
an excerpt from my 8th grade essay:
“Of course, some may say that, in the end, George & Lennie’s friendship was pointless but it wasn’t. No true friendship is ever pointless or a waste of time & effort. George, eventually, began to really care for Lennie and Lennie grew loyal and trusting to George. They kept each other company for years and shared a dream, which they worked together to make it possible. Because of George, Lennie was able to live a life instead of being stuck somewhere where no one treated him like a man but a child. Because of Lennie, George lived a life with a purpose, to take care of Lennie and to buy that small farm.
I think that the writer, John Steinbeck, chose to end Of Mice and Men the way he did because it effectively shows the reality of the time. He didn’t want people to think of his book as a nice little story and he didn’t want people to think of the Great Depression as an exaggeration. Life in the 1930s was rough and hard. I think that he may have wanted the book to end with a bang to knock the hard truth into the reader’s face.”
Cheers.
Purchase here: Of Mice and Men
Meet John Steinbeck!
John Steinbeck III was an American writer. He wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939 and the novella Of Mice and Men, published in 1937. In all, he wrote twenty-five books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and several collections of short stories.
In 1962 Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Steinbeck grew up in the Salinas Valley region of California, a culturally diverse place of rich migratory and immigrant history. This upbringing imparted a regionalistic flavor to his writing, giving many of his works a distinct sense of place.
-Goodreads
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