Of Mice And Men (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)

“Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.” I realised recently that I was one of only a few people who had not studied, or read, Of Mice and Men. As someone studying English Literature, this seemed like a crime, so I instantly set to rectifying that. Of course, everything I say in this review will not be discussing anything that has not already been covered on Of Mice and Men, and I will probably just be expressing myself in a less interesting manner. But, if you’re interested in reading some of the points that stuck out most to me, then go ahead :). I think this is a brilliant story, and well-deserving of its reputation. It has a very distinctive style, with unique central characters and a philosophical layer over the entirety of it which appears to act as a commentary on human nature. Being my first exposure to John Steinbeck, I imagine this is the style he is renowned for, and I look forward to engaging with it more in the future, perhaps with Grapes of Wrath in a couple months. “Guy don't need no sense to be a nice fella. Seems to me sometimes it jus' works the other way around. Take a real smart guy and he ain't hardly ever a nice fella.” This is a story that revolves around our characters, which is driven by several powerful concepts, such as the often paradoxical nature of life, that interweave and act more as a subtle intrusion more as the main focus of the story. George and Lennie are our main protagonists, with George looking after Lennie, who has a mental disability. I think that these are both crafted fantastically, with their strenuous but genuine friendship being depicted in an authentic manner that was amazing to read. We have other key characters in Of Mice and Men, but I would say that these were not as well crafted as George and Lennie. But this is no bad thing. Steinbeck obviously made a conscious decision regarding this, and as such makes George and Lennie the focus, with others, such as Curley, appearing to represent the harsh life of the working class during The Great Depression. Throughout Of Mice and Men, I felt this air of perpetual melancholia, and a sense of dread that somehow permeated from every word. As George and Lennie discuss their dream, it just felt like the whole time that they would not achieve their aspirations, and because of this, Of Mice and Men was incredibly impactful, and a tense reading experience throughout which I have rarely felt before. To do this, John Steinbeck was obviously a master of his craft. “Guys like us got nothing to look ahead to.” Of Mice and Men is of course a brilliant read, with memorable characters, fantastic prose and also a read that allows for a philosophical reading that you can return and build on a long time after reading. I have not nearly covered the interesting aspects of this canonical story, nor could I if I tried, but these are just a few reasons you should read Of Mice and Men. For its size, it offers so much, and as a reader you can have the freedom of just enjoying a read, or engaging with with the concepts Steinbeck discusses. This was a good read, with unique central characters and a very distinctive, page-turning prose. Throughout the entirety of the read, there was an air of melancholy and sadness that was leading to the ending that I suspected would occur, but dreaded throughout.

The introduction to this edition tells us that Of Mice and Men continues to be banned by school boards throughout the US, mainly because of the earthy, racist language used by the characters throughout. There are plenty of UK students who wish the same applied here. For some reason, Of Mice and Men occupies the same risible space in the minds of many english students as that other course staple To Kill a Mockingbird - that is, they hate it. A pity, because Of Mice and Men is superb, and touches on universal themes such as loneliness, poverty, friendship, jealousy and cruelty, which are part of its enduring relevance and appeal. It is a dream within a dream - the dream of two itinerant farm workers, Lenny and George, to scrape enough money together to buy a small farm of their own, become independent and 'live off the fat o' the lan'. Susan Shillinglaw writes a revealing introduction to this edition, which also tells us that Steinbeck conceived a new narrative form - the 'playable novel' i.e. a story that could equally be read as a conventional narrative or seen in dramatic performance. The plot is staged as a play, with theatric scenes and a narrative that guides us carefully from one set piece to the next. It is clear from the outset that this will be a tragic 'play', and so it proves. The intro also tells us that Steinbeck saw with his own eyes a hired hand kill a ranch foreman with a pitchfork when working as a farm hand himself. This episode is reimagined as one of the pivotal points of the narrative, and leads to the tragic ending. GCSE students may hate it, but Of Mice and Men has stood the test of time as an enduring, precautionary tale of what happens when man is pitched against fellow man in a society that has lost its true sense of morality. It is this universality and the razor-sharp tightness of Steinbeck's storytelling, that makes Of Mice and Men a profoundly moving and richly rewarding read.

The film, `Of Mice and Men,' - 1992 version, will always be one of my favourites. It encouraged me read this book. Firstly, I was amazed at just how short the book is at 150 pages! It's a book you can read in day with time to spare! The story though, still comes across as just fine and is never less than interesting and engaging with many topical points to dwell on. This particular book is also written for GCSE study, which I don't intend to comment on, as many have already done so. For me the main player here, and centre of attention, is Lennie. He is intellectually disabled, with a childlike imagination. A comparison to some degree would be Forest Gump or `Karl' from `Sling Blade.' He drifts during the Great Depression, and looks for work under Roosevelt's 'New Deal' , with his best and only friend George, who continually mothers him and keeps him out of mischief. They are like chalk and cheese but need each other? They follow the American dream of one day owning their own bit of land - it eventually transpires that they are not the only ones? Eventually they end up on a farm in California and this is where we meet several different characters and the story unfolds. Steinbeck's writing style describes them all perfectly well and this is a feature of his writing. It is also quite clear that he is very knowledgeable about farm life and also the countryside that surrounds it. Whilst I'd seen the film first, I still found the book totally engaging, even though it was very similar to the film. The characters (including the leads) do leave a lasting impression and stir the old grey matter! They are all so different - even though the tale is so brief. They raise questions of: loyalty, pity, vulnerability, sadness, anger & inferiority, loneliness / isolation and of course, from that period - racism. Finally, what helps to make this book such an interesting read is the dialogue and slang used - the book's glossary is very helpful.

Of Mice and Men is the story of George and Lennie. They work various jobs and travel around looking for new work as one job runs out or they run out. The story begins as they head towards their next job. George has a dream to one day own his own plot of land and Lennie is happily caught up in this vision of the future. Lennie is a gentle giant of a man and is referred to as being not very bright but will work hard and do as he is told. George looks out for Lennie and knows that many would not want a man like Lennie working for them, prejudice at this point in history is ripe so anyone being slightly different is not acceptable to many. Even though George is often frustrated by the simple nature of Lennie, he is a friend and will support him. They are each other has. This is a simple tale of friendship between two men travelling for work. Rather than being loners as many travelling labourers are, they have a bond in their friendship, they are able to talk about their dreams for the future and it gives them hope. George tries his best to keep Lennie out of trouble, but this is not always possible and misunderstandings do happen. This is a quick read at only 121 pages and is easy to read in one sitting. It’s style is one I like, a slow meandering yet descriptive and emotional one. It explores various inequalities and prejudices that were relevant at the time. A wonderful read that slowly rolls along until it picks up speed as a sense of tension begins to build. This is a book I would recommend to readers who enjoy American Social History, Literary Fiction and Classic Fiction.

A great book can inspire generations by perceptive characterisation and a meaningful take on the human condition. The farm that large, lugubrious and slightly backward Lennie and his companion George work on has a feel of anyplace, anytime near anytown. It's not a cheerful place, but has its' routines, had Steinbeck wanted, he could have asked Judy Garland to stop off there on the way to Oz. It might have cheered us all up, had she done so. But there's something about misery, especially fatalistic misery, that is significant and may even help us consider our own direction of travel. Dickens was begged by readers of his penny magazines to end some of his books happily - but rightly refused. Travelling to different places, hewing a rough living, dreaming of their own land, with rabbits for Lennie to pet, presumably a cathouse nearby for George to socialise in, without the insecurity, drudgery and hopelessness, makes this an aspirational novel. For a while. Until Lennie veers closer and closer to doing 'bad things', albeit, innocuously. John Steinbeck didn't need to write a 964 page novel like War and Peace to capture emotion, loyalty, buddy-mentality and destiny. Curley's wife - never named, just an appendage of Curley - is as much a victim of fate as of circumstances. The mannerisms, boredom, dislike of her jealous husband and belief she could have become someone in Hollywood is the same now for wannabes on tv talent contests and reality shows. All that's missing is talent; this great book's got plenty of reality. The climax is bitter, sad, but inevitable. Those horses in the barn are still clanging and rattling their halter chains, flies are still buzzing, Curley probably has a new wife - called Curley's wife - Candy, Crookes, Slim and the others are still breaking their backs, hoping for the American Dream to become a reality with their own purty little farm and cottage; but Lennie is petting no more.

Unlike many reviewers, I wasn't lucky enough to read this back when I was at school (having Lord of the Flies thrust upon me instead.) However I'm on a mission to read all the classics and modern classics of the literary world, and yesterday I read this. Wow. WHAT a read. It amazes me that 100 pages can be so brilliantly written, so powerful, and so profound, that I was left a sobbing mess for a good thirty minutes after I turned the final page. I already want to re-read it, because the motifs and themes are so intricate and yet so simply portrayed that I think it will all gain more meaning on further reading. However I am still too sad about the tragedy of Lennie and George to consider reading it again just yet! Please, if you are reading this review because you aren't sure whether it's worth paying nearly a tenner for such a short book, I promise you it will be the best tenner you have ever spent. I wish I hadn't waited until I was 27 to discover it, but I'm definitely glad I got there in the end. NB - A note on the Kindle edition. I got it on my Kindle because it was cheaper and kind of got my just desserts - the formatting isn't great, so where there should be paragraph breaks that break up scenes or time of day, the text just carries on, which in places was a bit confusing. So I'd recommend spending the extra on the paperback!

This book is satisfactory. Indeed, it is highly accessible to all ages and the simplicity of the written text belies the sheer complexity of the plot. Steinbeck discusses a wide range of social and economic issues in the Dust Bowl of America. The description of Salinas is majestic and the character development is highly well-crafted. The reason why this book is merely "okay" is that, personally, the excessive usage of foreshadowing made the outcome of the novella far too predictable. Perhaps the build-up was more painful to read, as the inevitability of the dream farm crumbling felt all too tangible! Even the title: "Of Mice and Men" refers to a poem by Robert Burns, in which he explains that even the most well-thought out plans of anyone or anything (mice or humans) often go wrong and leave nothing but sadness and grief. Many characters do not develop throughout the novella - most notably Lennie - and as many critics have argued, the characters are therefore very one-dimensional. Lennie's obsession with rabbits and alfalfa is intended to be childlike, although lacks complexity. Similarly, Candy always remains an "old swamper". The most interesting character was Curley's wife, as Steinbeck persuades the reader to invest in the dream as much as the characters themselves, and fear that she might destroy it altogether. By the end, the reader is encouraged to sympathise with her plight. For a story as short as this, it is difficult to complicate the plot and resolve all loose ends in so few pages. I enjoyed reading the book, although the ending was quite depressing. Unfortunately, there is some aspect of human nature that would absolutely deplore a 'happy ending'. I would rather have seen Candy and George try to make something of the dream farm (or even say that they would go on with it). Without Lennie, the dream would be incomplete and in closing, the farm would have come true, but only to the depressingly constant reminder that Lennie is not alive to experience it. The novella did not end exactly as I may have wished, in that sense. The dream primarily brought sadness - whatever happiness that came with it died along with Lennie. Nevertheless, Carlson's last line condenses Steinbeck's views on isolation and friendship; Carlson's sheer lack of understanding produces a powerful effect on the reader. Overall, I would recommend it! At a good reading pace, the novella can truly be read in one sitting, which might be ideal for some light reading. Whilst not profoundly earth-shattering, it is sophisticated enough to make it worth reading.

John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men tells a story about the friendship of two working class men, George and Lennie, trying to achieve the American Dream in the 1930s. Also included are themes of discrimination towards learning abilities, racism and sexism. The novel contains a sombre mood throughout. This reflects the feelings of the working-class people of America at the time, especially depression, powerlessness and isolation. Steinbeck does a wonderful job catering to the younger audience. Humanising the characters by including traits which can be instantly picked up on and familiarised with gives a real sense of attachment to the characters. Of Mice and Men is a short novel and does well to fit in themes of the ambition of working class American’s whilst also dealing with racism, sexism and tragedy. Its lack of excitement is compensated with the importance of human nature and friendship. The short length means that the reader’s attention retained throughout the novel. Of Mice and Men is a moving story of two men in hard times whose friendship stays at the forefront of their journey. During their tough times, the moral presence is prominent throughout the novel. Steinbeck’s teaching of human nature and the social discontent delivers a strong message. A message which is still true today.

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Just perfect thank you

Of Mice and Men is one of those classics that lives up to its reputation. Steinbeck’s writing is clear and simple, but the emotions and themes run deep. The story of George and Lennie, two men chasing the small dream of land and stability, is touching, raw, and tragic all at once. What stood out most to me is how human the characters feel. The friendship between George and Lennie is tender and complicated, and it captures both the hope and the heartbreak of people trying to build a better life in tough circumstances. Even though the book is short, the weight of the story stays with you long after you finish it. Pros: Accessible writing style that’s easy to follow Memorable characters and themes of friendship, dreams, and loneliness Short length makes it approachable for students and casual readers Still feels relevant and thought-provoking today Cons: Emotional intensity may feel heavy for some readers The ending is difficult and may not appeal to everyone looking for a hopeful story This is a beautifully written, deeply human story that’s as relevant today as when it was first published. If you’re looking for a classic that’s easy to read but leaves a lasting impact, Steinbeck delivers exactly that.

Buen libro, para alumnos de inglés avanzado.

Would give 5 stars but amazon puts stickers on the book directly, instead of maybe wrapping the book in plastic and putting the sticker on the plastic. Sticker leaves a stain on the book that's ugly and can't be removed to my knowledge