OF MICE AND MEN

'''Of Mice and Men''' is a novella by John Steinbeck, first published in 1937, which tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced Anglo migrant ranch workers in California during the Great Depression (1929-1941).
The title is taken from Robert Burns's famous poem, ''To a Mouse'', which is often quoted as: "The best-laid plans of mice and men go oft awry (or astray)." (Scots: ''The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley.'') The name for the book is an ironic literary allusion to the problems of the main characters, at the same time making reference to an episode in the story in which one physically powerful, but developmentally disabled, character accidentally kills a mouse while trying to pet it, foreshadowing a manslaughter.

Contents

Overview

The creation of the novella

Plot

Main characters

Notable adaptations

Cinema

Theater

References in other works

Controversy

References

External links

Overview

''Of Mice and Men'' is based on Steinbeck's own experience as a 'bindle stiff' in the 1920s, before the arrival of the 'Okies', who he would vividly describe in ''The Grapes of Wrath''. The story is set on a ranch a few miles from Soledad, California in the Salinas Valley.

The creation of the novella

''Of Mice and Men'' was Steinbeck's first attempt at writing the form of novel he called the play-novelette.^[1] He wanted to write a novel that could be played from its lines, or a play that could be read like a novel. He considered this work a failure in the sense that it did not accomplish this.
Steinbeck originally titled it ''Something That Happened,'' however, he changed the title after reading Robert Burns's poem, ''To a Mouse.'' Burns's poem tells of the regret the narrator feels for having destroyed the home of a mouse while plowing his field; it suggests that no plan is fool-proof and no one can be completely prepared for the future.
Steinbeck wrote this book, along with ''The Grapes of Wrath'', in what is now Monte Sereno, California. Steinbeck's dog ate an early manuscript of the novel. First drafts Robert McCrum

Plot

Two migrant workers in California during the Great Depression – George Milton, small in stature, intelligent, and cynical, but caring, and Lennie Small, a physically strong, but mentally limited man – come to a ranch in Soledad, California to "work up a stake". They are fleeing from their previous employment in Weed.^[2] There, the childlike Lennie has been run out of town (with George accompanying him) because Lennie, who loves to stroke soft things, tried to stroke a girl's dress; she thought he was trying to molest her. Once they are out of town and into safety, they hope one day to carry on with fulfilling their shared dream of settling down on their own piece of land. Lennie's part of the dream, of which he never tires being recounted by George, is merely to have soft rabbits on the farm, which he can pet. George tries to keep Lennie out of trouble by telling him that if he gets into trouble he won't let him "tend them rabbits."
At the ranch, the dream appears to become possible. Candy, the aged, one-handed ranch-hand, offers to put in his few hundred dollars with Lennie and George so that they can buy the house and land by the end of the month. Then, the dream crashes down as the limited, but volatile, Lennie accidentally kills the young and attractive wife of Curley, the son of the ranch owner, while trying to stroke her hair. A lynch mob led by Curley quickly gathers. George, now realizing he is doomed to a life of loneliness and despair like the rest of the migrant workers, and wanting to spare Lennie a slow, painful death at the hands of the vengeful and violent Curley, shoots Lennie in the back of the head before the mob can find him. The shot comes while Lennie is distracted by one last retelling of the dream.

Main characters

★ 'George Milton' – The protagonist: a quick-witted man who is friends with Lennie. He looks after Lennie and dreams of a better life. He has formed a familial bond with the very different Lennie. His struggles to take care of Lennie, and his stories of a different life, illustrate a longing to escape the atomized and segregated communities of working people which were common to the Depression. The longing to form a lasting relationship or family is common to nearly all characters in this novel.

★ 'Lennie Small' – A developmentally disabled, possibly autistic man, who travels with George. There is irony and description in his last name: he is a very big man physically, but with the small dreams and attributes of a child. He dreams of ''"living off the fatta' the lan'"'' and being able to tend to rabbits, his obsession being soft materials and cuddly animals. His possession of the mental ability of a child but the strength of a "bull", results in him being unable to control or judge even his own strength. This results in a series of accidental killings when they try to escape him (e.g. mice, his puppy, and eventually Curley's wife).

★ 'Candy' – A ranch-hand who has lost a hand in an accident and is near the end of his useful life on the ranch. He knows he has little to look forward to, especially when another hand, Carlson, decides to kill Candy's dog because it annoys everyone in the bunk house with its bad smell and old age. Candy's powerlessness is illustrated by his inability even to influence his dog's euthanasia (the matter is ultimately decided by Slim). However, he is given renewed strength and self-respect by the prospect of settling down with Lennie and George, willing to make the largest contribution toward the dream.

★ 'Candy's dog' – Candy's dog has a parallel with his owner. They are both old and regarded as useless and redundant on a busy ranch. The dog is finally shot in the back of head by Carlson and Candy is sorry for not killing it himself. The question of the fate of the dog foreshadows the ending, as Candy, who cared for the dog, didn't kill it, but thought he should have, while George, who cares for Lennie, kills Lennie out of the same sense of responsibility.

★ 'Curley' – The boss's son - an unpleasant, young, pugnacious character, once a semi-professional boxer. He is incredibly jealous and protective of his wife, sure she is being unfaithful. He is aggressive and short-tempered.

★ 'Curley's wife' – A young, pretty woman, sometimes called a "tart" by the men and mistrusted by her husband. The other characters refer to her only as "Curley's wife," and she is one of the only characters in the novel to whom Steinbeck does not give a name. She had dreams of becoming an actress, and is often mean-spirited and bullying towards the ranch-hands. Her inappropriate dress and flirtatious manner are meant to attract attention because she is lonely, however, the men do not respect her; they are unable to see these efforts as pleas for attention. She and her husband Curley do not spend time together, and spend most of the time looking for one another.

★ 'Slim' – A "jerk line skinner" (the main driver of a mule team) and the moral yardstick at the ranch, referred to as "prince of the ranch". Slim decides on the mercy-killing of Candy's dog and later tells George he had no choice in the mercy-killing of Lennie. Before this, it is Slim who helps Lennie avoid getting fired after Lennie's fight with Curley. The fight illustrates Lennie's strength and makes Curley the object of ridicule: despite Curley's boxing experience, the fight ends as George finally gives Lennie permission, dog-like, to "get him", and Lennie simply stops one of Curley's punches with a hand, crushing it in his grip. The hatred for Lennie engendered by the act makes George sure of what Curley will do to Lennie later, after Curley's wife is killed by Lennie.

★ 'Crooks' – The only African American hand on the ranch, referred to as a "nigger" by almost all. Like Candy he is crippled; his nickname is due to a crooked back from being kicked by a horse. He sleeps segregated from the other workers, but is fiercely protective of his so-called "rights". When Lennie visits his room, he immediately takes the opportunity to dominate him – a rare chance for him to exercise power. Crooks offers to work for free if George, Lennie, and Candy are able to get their own ranch, a measure of his loneliness.

★ 'Carlson' – Another ranch-hand crippled in yet another way: unable to empathize with anyone or any creature. He wants to shoot Candy's old and infirm dog merely because he doesn't like its smell. He finally does so with the same pistol which will be used by George to shoot Lennie. He has the final and supremely ironic line of the book, wondering (as Slim buys George a consoling drink after the horrific killing of Lennie): "What the hell ya' suppose is eatin' them two guys?"

★ 'Whit' – A young, inexperienced man; enthusiastic about life on the ranch, but missing a friend also from a previous ranch, and mourning the relationship.

★ 'The Boss' – Curley's father; owner and director of the ranch.

Notable adaptations

Movie poster for 1939 film version of ''Of Mice and Men''.

Cinema

''Of Mice and Men'' has been cinematized several times, the first in 1939, only two years after the initial publication of the novel. This adaptation of ''Of Mice and Men'' starred Lon Chaney Jr. as Lennie, Burgess Meredith as George, and was directed by Lewis Milestone.^[3] It was nominated for four Oscars. In 1981 it was made into a TV movie. This version starred Randy Quaid as Lennie, Robert Blake as George, Ted Neeley as Curley, and was directed by Reza Badiyi.^[4]
The most recent film version of ''Of Mice and Men'' (1992) was directed by Gary Sinise, who was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes.^[5] In addition to directing, Sinise also played the role of George opposite John Malkovich. For this adaptation, both men reprized their roles from a 1980 Steppenwolf Theatre Company production.^[6]

Theater

Stage adaptations have also been produced. The first production was by Sam H. Harris, and opened on November 23, 1937, in the Music Box Theatre on Broadway.^[7] Running for 207 performances, it starred Wallace Ford as George and Broderick Crawford as Lennie. Also of note, the role of Crooks was performed by Leigh Whipper, the first African-American member of the Actors' Equity Association.^[8] Whipper repeated his role in the 1939 film version. It was chosen as Best Play in 1938 by the New York Drama Critics' Circle.^[9] In 1939 the production was moved to Los Angeles, still with Wallace Ford in the role of George, but now with Lon Chaney, Jr., taking on the role of Lenny. Chaney's performance in the role would result in his being cast in the movie.
The play was revived in a 1974 Broadway production in the Brooks Atkinson Theatre staring Kevin Conway as George and James Earl Jones as Lennie.^[10] Noted stage actress Pamela Blair played Curley's Wife in this production.
In 1970 Carlisle Floyd wrote an opera based on this novel. One departure between Steinbeck's book and Floyd's opera is that the opera features The Ballad Singer, a character not found in the book.

References in other works

''For more references in other works, see Of Mice and Men in popular culture''
Characters similar to George and Lennie have been popular since the publication of ''Of Mice and Men''. Theatrical cartoon shorts of the 1940s and 1950s, particularly the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons released by Warner Bros., are particularly awash with ''Of Mice and Men'' parodies. The ''Of Mice and Men'' reference most often in the form of one character asking another, ''a la'', Lennie, "which way did he go, George; which way did he go?" Tex Avery, who worked as a director on Warner-released cartoons during the 1930s and early 1940s, started the trend with ''Of Fox and Hounds'' (1940). The formula was so successful that it was used again and again in subsequent shorts, notably Robert McKimson's ''Cat-Tails for Two'' (1953) and Chuck Jones' ''The Abominable Snow Rabbit'' (1961). Avery used it again when he went on to direct several cartoons starring the George and Lennie dopplegangers George and Junior for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the late 1940s. What's more, Avery himself provided the voice of "Junior." The parody also appears in ''Mystery Science Theatre 3000'' when a stereotypical 'dumb' person asks, 'Tell me about the rabbits, George'.

Controversy

The novel was banned from various American school libraries or curricula in 1993 and 1994 for "promoting euthanasia" and for being "full of racism, profanity, and foul language", but remains required reading in many other American, Australian, British, New Zealand and Canadian high schools. Due to the novel's content, it has been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000 at number six.^[11] Steinbeck introduced many controversial discourses which contradicted ideologies of the time and raised questions about the hegemony of American society. Steinbeck’s handling of discourses such as racism, sexism, euthanasia, mental disability (intellectual impairment), and idealism have been put in such a strong manner that his book has been banned in many American states.

References

1. John Steinbeck, American Writer Dr. Susan Shillinglaw
2. [1]
3. ''Of Mice and Men'' (1939) film adaptation information at IMDB; last accessed December 27 2006.
4. ''Of Mice and Men'' (1981) television adaptation information at IMDB; last accessed December 27 2006.
5. ''Of Mice and Men'' (1992) film adaptation information at IMDB; last accessed December 27 2006.
6. ''Of Mice and Men'' (1992) film adaptation information at RottenTomatoes.com; last accessed December 27 2006.
7. ''Of Mice and Men'' (1937) play adaptation information at IBDB.com; last accessed December 27 2006.
8. Leigh Whipper information at IBDB.com; last accessed December 27 2006.
9. Information about Steinbeck at Steinbeck.org, last accessed December 28 2006.
10. ''Of Mice and Men'' (1974) play adaptation information at IBDB.com; last accessed December 27 2006.
11. American Library Association list of the 100 Most Challenged books of 1990-2000 atAmerican Library Association; last accessed December 27 2006.

External links

★ Photos of the first edition of ''Of Mice and Men''