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Sophie Fouts
Professor Uglow
ENG. 1302
18 October 2016

Of Loneliness and Heartbreak

I remember about the rabbits, George, Lennie said in the opening chapter in Of Mice
and Men. The hell with the rabbits, George replied. Thats all you ever can remember is them
rabbits (Steinbeck 6). Published by John Steinbeck in 1937 (National Steinbeck Center), Of
Mice and Men has been acclaimed as one of the best novels of its period for its potency, colorful
dialogue, relevant historical themes, and its representation of human nature. Following the story
of two contrasting migrant workers, Of Mice and Men is an American literary classic.
John Steinbeck was born in Salinas Valley, California on February 27, 1902. Growing up
in a relatively stable family, Steinbeck had two older sisters and one younger sister. His father
and mother were John Ernest Steinbeck and Olive Hamilton (National Steinbeck Center). As
became evident throughout the later stages of the authors life, Steinbeck was very much
influenced by his childhood home in Salinas Valley. It became the background for a majority of
his works, such as Of Mice and Men, East of Eden, and The Red Pony (National Steinbeck
Center). From a young age, Steinbeck showed keen skills in the art of writing, isolating himself
to the attic sometimes so no one disturbed him as he worked (National Steinbeck Center). To
soothe his parents worries about him not being able to make a life for himself, Steinbeck
enrolled at Stanford University in 1919, but took all the writing courses the university had as
well as a few classes in ecology. His interest in ecology would later lead to his book the Sea of
Cortez, which he collaborated on with his friend Ed Ricketts (National Steinbeck Center).
Steinbeck, however, never graduated with a degree from Stanford.
After leaving Stanford, Steinbeck worked odd jobs and married Carol Henning, who
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became his writing confidant. Writing several more stories to try and gain traction, Steinbecks
first true success came with the publication of Tortilla Flat in 1935 followed by Dubious Battle
(1936), Of Mice and Men (1937), and The Grapes of Wrath (1939) (National Steinbeck Center).
All of these stories dealt with farmers and workers in the state of California, with Of Mice and
Men being Steinbecks first novella (National Steinbeck Center).
In Of Mice and Men there are two main protagonists, Lennie Small and George Milton
(Steinbeck 22). The oddity about these two characters is that they differ from one another and
they stick together despite the hard times. George is a lean man with a perceptive demeanor,
while Lennie is childlike, huge, and has mental limitations. Lennie also has an unnatural love for
soft things, which is first introduced when George makes him throw away a dead mouse at the
beginning of the book (Steinbeck 7).
The two are originally from Auburn. Lennie used to live with his Aunt Clara, but she died
and Lennie ended up going to work with George. George used to be mean to Lennie and would
often tease him, but after he almost got Lennie drowned and the bigger man was so nice about
the incident, George promised to take care of him. They ended up moving to Weed for work then
leaving because Lennie touched a girls dress on account of it looking nice and the girl cried
rape, though Lennie did no such thing (Steinbeck 39-42). Throughout the book, George is often
worried that Lennie will get in trouble again and tells him to come back to the watering hole and
hide in the foliage if he does. They have big dreams of one day having their own farm and
George promises Lennie will get to take care of the rabbits (Steinbeck 16).
As the book goes along, George and Lennie get jobs bucking barley at a ranch (Steinbeck
34). Here they meet Slim, Candy, Carlson, Crooks, Curley, and Curleys wife. Candy tells them
to watch out for Curley because he used to be a boxer and likes to pick on bigger guys like
Lennie. George tells him Curley better not mess with Lennie (Steinbeck 26-27). Candy also
warns George about Curleys new wife, who likes to hang around the other men giving them the

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eye (Steinbeck 28). Curley and Curleys wife continue to set themselves up as the main
antagonists through various points of contact with the other characters.
Time flows even more and Lennie, George, and Candy join together to make the farm a
reality. Lennie also ends up getting a puppy from Slims dogs litter. He eventually kills the pup
on accident and tries to hide it when Curleys wife comes in. Lennie ends up showing her the
dead little animal and they talk. She lets Lennie stroke her hair, but things go awry like they did
in Weed and Lennie breaks her neck. He runs to go hide by the pool and Candy and George find
Curleys wife (Steinbeck 83-89). Candy asks if their farm will ever happen now. George replies,
I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed wed never do her. He usta like to hear
about it so much I got to think maybe we would (Steinbeck 92). Everyone else finds out that
Lennie killed Curleys wife, and they set out to kill him. George joins them and misdirects them
a bit to find Lennie at the watering hole from the beginning of the book. Lennie had been
hallucinating. George tells Lennie about the farm they will get and tells him to look in the
distance. He then emotionally pulls out a revolver he took from Carlson and shoots Lennie in the
back of the head ending the book.
A big part of Of Mice and Men is the time period in which it takes place, The Great
Depression. After the stock market crash of 1929, the American economy continued to decline
until it ended in 1939 with the introduction of World War II (Carnes and Garraty 672-694).
Steinbeck attested that a lot of the suffering that took place in the Great Depression, although
natural and economic for the most part, was worsened by the sheer loneliness of the human soul.
This point is further shown by his characters (Sparknotes). Candy becomes lonely when his dog
is put down and realizes he will most likely be laid off soon. Curley and Curleys wife even
describe their unhappy marriage. Crooks also tells of his isolation because of his skin color due
to racism at the time (Sparknotes). Through these people, Steinbeck was able to illustrate the

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affects loneliness had on people across the social spectrum in the Great Depression. Lennie and
George try to conquer their loneliness by traveling together. George tells Lennie why its
different with them, saying, With us it aint like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk
to that gives a damn about us. We dont have to sit in no bar room blowin in our jack jus
because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody
gives a damn. But not us. (Steinbeck 15) In the end, however, the predatory nature of the human
race takes over and even the simplest of dreams fail.
Since its publication, Of Mice and Men has received many mixed reviews. Its relevance
and success, though important, were not enough to keep it from being banned in public institutes
such as schools and libraries for a time (National Steinbeck Center). The same can be said for
many other books of this time period in which stylistic niceties gave away to rough language of
the street and the factory (Carnes and Garraty 685). The book has also been adapted many times
for the Broadway stage as well as film with the first play being performed at the Music Box
Theater on November 23, 1937, the same year the book was released (Simonson). New York
Times critic Brooks Atkinson stated it eloquently when he wrote, Although many people may
shy away from the starkness of the fable, everyone will admire the honesty of the author's mind
and the clarity of its statement in the theatre. (Simonson) The play has continually been brought
back into production with James Franco as George in the last show (Simson).
In sum, Of Mice and Men is a touching tale about the sad realities that marked the Great
Depression. Although it has been met with harsh critique, John Steinbecks careful and colorful
construction of a book about two unlikely friends trying to stake it out on their own, but failing
in the end, has earned it a place on the shelf as one of Americas greatest pieces of literature. To
be sure, it will be a long time before Americans forget about George, Lennie, and Lennies
rabbits.

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Works Cited
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books, 1994. Print.
Carnes, Mark and John Garraty. American Destiny Narrative of a Nation Fourth Edition. United
States of America: Pearson Education Inc., 2002. Print.
Simonson, Robert. From Bestseller to Broadway: A History of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and
Men. Playbill. Brightspot. January 19, 2014. Web. February 29, 2016
National Steinbeck Center. John Steinbeck Biography. National Steinbeck Center. Full Steam
Marketing & Design. September 14, 2014. Web. February 29, 2016
Sparknotes. Of Mice and Men. Sparknotes. B&N. September 14, 2014. Web. February 29,
2016

Unpublished work 2016 Sophie D. Fouts.