Of Mice And Men

A detailed Summary of Of Mice And Men

The novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck in 1937, was a tragic story about the poignancy and the complex life of two migrant workers: George Milton, and Lenny Small. These two dream of owning a small farm of their own one day. George acts as the father figure to Lenny, who is retarded, but George needs Lenny for his immense physical strength, and to keep him company. They find work at a vegetable farm working only so they can eat. Near the end, Lenny accidentally kills the boss's daughter because he "like(s) to pet nice things (her hair) with my (his) fingers" (90). She becomes scared as he pets her hair and he doesn't know what to do so he holds on, shakes, and kills her. George tells him to meet him at a certain spot where they camped out at before they got the job. This place happens to be "A few miles south of Soledad, (where) the Salinas drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green" (1). To save Lenny from being attacked by a mob of migrant workers, George kills him: not only to save Lenny, but also to save himself from the torment of his insipid friend. John Steinbeck wrote this great novel. He led an interesting life as well and most of this novel is based on life experience.

John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is a great book because of its portrayal of migrant workers in the 1930s, and its display of friendship between two different individuals. In my opinion, this novel is very significant because it shows an important time in history better than any history book. I also think that the bond between the two protagonists of the story is phenomenal and should be shared with people everywhere. Steinbeck's "experiment" (Unknown 398) was a complete success and he is one of the best writers to go down in history.

The fact that two perfect strangers could have such a strong relationship is another great example of Steinbeck's immense achievement with this novel. When George talked for Lenny during the job interview, that was an amazing and wonderful show of friendship because George was saving his best friend from losing a job. George also let Lenny have a puppy from Slim's (a worker) litter. The reason that this was great is because Lenny needed a companion that he could take care of, just like George did for him. Another great display of friendship is when Lenny said that he would move up to the hills and find a cave to live in, but George told him his favorite story of being different than most guys like them. The reason that they are so different is because they have got each other to look out for. George does end up killing Lenny near the end but it is the hardest thing he has ever had to do. He does it to protect Lenny from being attacked by a mob. The reason George thought that he should kill Lenny is because he was his only friend and he did not want any person to make Lenny suffer, he wanted to do it to leave Lenny his dignity. George and Lenny's friendship is extraordinary and is on a much higher level than the friendship most are faced with today.

thrilling tale was just one of twenty-three novels written by Steinbeck. Born in Salinas Ca., in 1902, Steinbeck grew up in a fertile valley about twenty miles fro

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Approximate Word count = 1327
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels