Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck Centennial Edition)
by John Steinbeck

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Book Summary Information

• ISBN13: 9780142000670
• Condition: New
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Book Reviews of Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck Centennial Edition)

Book Review: A timeless look at society and the nature of friendship.
Summary: 5 Stars

The two men are traveling laborers, moving around as the availability of work dictates. To keep Lennie motivated and obedient, George pacifies him with stories of a future bright with luxury and free from worry. They'll buy a small farm, he tells his avid companion, and live off the fat of the land. They'll have their own crops and their own livestock, and go to shows whenever they feel like it. And if Lennie stays out of trouble, he can even have some rabbits of his own to take care of. Captivated by this vision, Lennie does his honest best to obey George and avoid doing anything that might jeopardize their dream. But his best just isn't good enough, and just when their plans look like they might actually be falling into place, Lennie makes the biggest bungle of all, leaving George with an extremely hard decision to make.

One of the social problems Steinbeck seems to be commenting on here is the place of the mentally ill or impaired in society. What was their place at this point in time? Did they even have a place? This story makes it clear that there really weren't many avenues open to the mentally ill at the time. They could be institutionalized, but such places had little merit during the 1930s, when mental illness was not yet really understood. Patients were treated little, if at all, better than criminals. The other option would be for such people to try to get along in the outside world of "normal" people, as Lennie does. When Lennie's Aunt Clara dies, he is left with no family and so falls in with George, who becomes his new guardian. But the outside world is no more understanding of Lennie's handicaps than the doctors of the time, and provides countless pitfalls of its own.

The other major theme of the story is friendship. What is true friendship? To what extent does one have responsibility to a friend, and what does this responsibility entail? This is something George must struggle with every day. He feels obligated to care for Lennie and help keep him out of trouble, though he clearly realizes that his own life would be far simpler if he were on his own. In the end, when Lennie commits the ultimate, irredeemable blunder, George must sort through this inner conflict to decide what is best for both of them. Should he continue to protect his companion, or should he save his own skin? And if he chooses to put Lennie's best interests first, what course of action would be the most just? The conclusion he arrives at is both intricately complex and, in another light, quite obviously simple at the same time.

Aside from these two overriding themes, Steinbeck also gives us glimpses into other issues of the time, among them racism and labor conditions. On the farm where the bulk of the story takes place, one of the characters is a black stable hand. Nicknamed "Crooks" because of his crooked back, this man is estranged from the rest of the workers (all white). The only one who fails to comprehend why Crooks should be treated any differently than anyone else is Lennie, whose simple mind doesn't grasp the idea of racism. We also see what life was like for Depression-era vagrants, moving from place to place in search of work. The living conditions were not ideal (though those in this story are far from the worst imaginable), the food provided often lacked proper nourishment, and employers could treat their hired help in just about any way they pleased. After all, the laborers were lucky to find any paying work at all. Even if they didn't like the conditions, where else could they go?

I'd definitely recommend this book to any reader. Though times have changed somewhat, the issues Steinbeck comments on are still very relevant today. The ideas presented in "Of Mice and Men" are many and deep, and much time can (and should) be spent contemplating them, but the book remains very accessible. It is a very short story, and can easily be read in one day. The style of writing is simple and direct, while retaining detail and a startling depth of feeling. However, it is by no means a feel-good story, so don't read this one at a time when you're already down in the dumps. While the ending has a very nice sense of resolution, and one is left feeling that George made the best decision he could under the circumstances (or, at least, this is the feeling I was left with), it is still rather depressing.

Summary of Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck Centennial Edition)

Classics Books

• Subjects > Literature & Fiction > Classics
• Literary