Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Of Mice And Men - My Experience
John Steinbeck is a genius that I couldn't find myself worthy of reviewing. So, to start out, I'd like to assert that this isn't as much a review as an opinion or an almost-tribute to a work of his I recently read, Of Mice and Men.
I have a habit of reading books blind, that is to say, without reading up about them. So when I read Of Mice and Men, (and I should probably admit I read a bootleg copy off the net), I was a little surprised at the length. Especially since The Grapes of Wrath, his popularly acclaimed masterpiece is so much longer. So that's how I found out that I was reading my second novella (after Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea).
Coming back to the book, it tells the story of two day labourers, or migrant ranch workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, and their experience in some part of California back during the depression.
Of Mice and Men would probably characterize as a tragedy, but its essence is about the lingering dream of man. George and Lennie hunt for a job, with the express purpose of nurturing their dream. Their life thus far has not been idyllic, far from it, in fact, and they want their own small piece of land, where Lennie can have his rabbits, and they can have their own happily ever after.
Through the book, we come to realize that lingering attachments at that time were not often between members of the opposite sex, mainly because of the constant moving. George and Lennie find their solace in each other instead, with George playing the two-tiered role of father and brother to Lennie, who lacks in social skills and a sense of belonging with other people. Another interesting facet of Lennie is his need to nurture and look after small animals, and his overzealousness often causing more damage than good. George readily accepts the responsibility of meting out forgiveness when Lennie goofs up, and always walks with him, through all their travails.
In the end of the short book, George makes a fatal choice, finally being unable to protect his ward, and even in that act, he does Lennie a favour.
Of Mice and Men is about friendship, camaraderie, reliance, and the tough life. It explores the human mind, even one that isn't as developed as we believe ours to be, and represents accurately, the truth of giving, even just a chance for redemption.
I personally was more moved by the tale of the anti-establishment hero in The Grapes of Wrath, but I found this to be a fitting precursor to it.
The language might seem offensive to the young reader, but even so, I would highly recommend it to anyone because of the effortlessly engaging story and the style and setting that is so exclusive to Steinbeck.
To quote from the source of the book's title, an old Scottish poem;
"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley."
Make sure this one plan doesn't.
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