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

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is a classic story written in the early 1900's. The story is based on two men and their struggle in life. One man, George, small in nature, looking over his large friend Lennie. This is a definite must read for anyone. This story is very popular and is frequently used as a beginner's read by many high schools across the nation. George and Lennie first set out to find new jobs after being forced to flee from their current jobs. At first you are not told why they were fleeing but you knew from the dialect that something bad had occurred and Lennie was to blame. Lennie was a friendly, child-like dimwitted man. What he lacked in brain power he made up tenfold in brawny. He had a large muscular build which enabled him to be a good worker. George on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Lennie. He was small but definitely smarter than his counterpart Lennie. George looked out for Lennie and tried to keep him out of trouble, albeit an impossible task. While reading the story you inevitably know the ending before you even get there. At every turn you are expecting the well intended Lennie to do something horrible. George tries to keep him in line and is successful for most of the story. The main idea is the search for happiness. George and Lennie are working to save enough money to buy their own land and work their own fields. George constantly reassures Lennie that they can achieve their goal and Lennie can have his rabbits to tend to. If Lennie ever slips up then George has to remind him of the future they intended. John Steinbeck has a tremendous ability to set up a visual representation of his story. In the beginning to every chapter, the landscapes and surroundings are vividly detailed making the reader actually believe he is there watching the events take place. Steinbeck follows his structure throughout the book. Each chapter sets up the scene and the conversations between characters tell the story for the remainder of the chapter. Each character in the story is well described. Always described upon first entering the story. Steinbeck also ensured that each person was flawed in some way. Each one had their good traits and their bad. George and Lennie seem to be the good guys in the story even though Lennie is a walking nightmare waiting to happen. You can tell George and Lennie develop a loving relationship. Lennie listens to George and George in return keeps an eye on Lennie. This is definitely a heavy burden placed on George. Finally, in the end Lennie slips up. He kills the boss' daughter-in-law. The event that was being set up all along. A lynch party is sent out to find Lennie. Ultimately it is George that find Lennie. George is forced to kill Lennie for his discretions. Lennie died at the hand of George whilst being promised that brighter future yet another time. Steinbeck makes it seem as though we're all searching for that brighter future that's just out of our grasp. This is one of those books that you can't put down. Although it is not a long read, it is extremely well written.

This is another one of the classic works of American literature that is frequently assigned to high school students. As always, there are the idiotic 1-star non-reviews as a result, but compared to most other "assignment" books, relatively few compared with the 5-stars, so it must still hit a responsive chord in high school. Though I have been re-reading numerous high school "assignment" books, in order to judge how my impression changed over the decades, regrettably this was a first-time read for me, thanks to the encouragement of a fellow Amazon reviewer. I have read, and some cases re-read some of Steinbeck's other works, most notably The Grapes of Wrath , as well as Travels with Charley in Search of America , East of Eden (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics) and Cannery Row: (Centennial Edition) . "Of Mice and Men" is set during The Great Depression, in California, and there are similarities between it and "Grapes" as well as "Cannery," which also portray the "down and out" who are sometimes "abstracted" into terms such as "surplus labor" or "lumpen proletariat." One of the beauties of this book is that there is nothing "abstract" about Steinbeck's heart-rendering depiction of two "drifters," Lenny and George, who move from farm to farm, as "casual" laborers, harboring dreams of being able to set just enough aside to get their own place, where they will be eternally happy. Seemingly an odd couple, Steinbeck describes a symbiotic relationship. Lenny is of barely functioning intellectual capacity, but has enormous strength. George is wiry, with the relative brains to take care of the two of them. The foreshadowing of ultimate doom occurs early, around the campfire along the river, as they discuss how they will act at the next farm, with George doing the talking. At the farm, a small group of other characters is revealed. Perhaps the most interesting is Crooks, the only Black in the group, who endures the segregation and second class status due to his skin color that was all too prevalent as an "acceptable fact" during the 1930's. Curley is ugly and vicious, and very insecure, having married a "tart," who still harbors her lost opportunities of making in big in the pictures. She taunts virtually all the men with her sexuality. Slim is the straw boss, and seems to fulfill that role admirably. And the amusements and diversions of migrant men are also depicted, in the trips into town when the work is done, and all the hard-earned money is frittered away on an evening's pleasure. An thus those dreams of a place of one's own all too often remain only that. Ah... the ending is a fulfillment of that initial "doom" that was forecast, like an ancient Greek play. Utterly unforgettable. Throughout this rather short book, Steinbeck proves a master at furnishing the details that develop the characters. Sparse, while maintaining high dramatic tension. 5-stars, plus.

The book I read was Of Mice and Men. It was written by John Steinbeck. The main conflict of this book was for these two men George and Lennie to make their dream of farming their own farm and where they could raise rabbits come true. They would travel from farm to farm and do work on different farms to make their living. In this book there were many things I liked and a few things I didn't like. The book was very exciting to read. It was so exciting because I was always wondering what was going to happen next and I didn't want to put the book down. I really felt like I was actually in the book. I felt this way because Steinbeck described everything so well, and I could picture every scene that happened. The main conflict interested me a lot. It interested me because there were many obstacles that Lennie and George had to face throughout the book and I just wanted to see if they could make their dream come true. I thought that the characters felt very real. They seemed real because Steinbeck gave the right amount of descriptions about each of them. The ending was very satisfying. It was a bit sad and I think it could have been better but if it ended differently the book wouldn't have been as good. The author John Steinbeck's writing style is unusual. The author's voice is a narrative style and it's written in the way the characters actually spoke. The characters talk like poor, uneducated people. The author uses vocabulary in an interesting way. He uses poor grammar and slang words to speak like the characters. The author uses a lot of dialog in this book. The two main characters speak to each other a lot. I think that the author is a very good writer because I could actually hear the voice of the characters. He describes things but he doesn't go overboard to make it boring. Compared to other books that I have read I would rate this book an eight out of ten. I give it this rating because it was a very good book and held my attention but there were a few parts he could have changed, like the ending. I recommend this book to any guy or girl. It is a very fast and good read. Overall this was one of the best books I have ever read. I would put this book in my top twenty favorite books. I've read another book by Steinbeck called The Pearl that I didn't really enjoy. I hope other books by Steinbeck are this god. Some other things that happened in this book was that Lennie wasn't very educated and George would always have to look out for him. Lennie loved to pet soft things. He would catch a mouse put it in his pocket and pet the mouse and squeeze it so hard that the mouse accidentally died. This would upset George a lot.

Great classic

This review is a work in progress. I have the 1953 book with an introduction by Joseph Henry Jackson. I found the introduction by Mr. Jackson to be very instructive and enjoyable. However it may be for more a student than the casual reader. My book is from The Viking Press. It contains six short novels. They are mostly chronological in the order that John Steinbeck published them. The one exception is that the first short novel in the book is "Tortilla Flat". The second is "The Red Pony". These were composed, I think, in the opposite order. Mr. Jackson explains this. These are followed by "Of Mice and Men", "The Moon Is Down", "Cannery Row", and "The Pearl". I read "The Red Pony First". There is a lot in "The Red Pony" which reminds me "Of Mice and Men". It is episodic. The first episode is "The Gift", which is about a child Jody, and his pony. It is beautiful, poignant, and ultimately painful. The second episode is "The Great Mountains". It actually is about a visitor to the same ranch that is the setting for first story. Jody and his family are in this story, along with an elderly visitor. The next episode is "The Promise" which is, more or less, a sequel to the first story. It is somewhat painful. The last episode is "The Leader of The People" which is a bittersweet story about a senior citizen member of the same family at the ranch. It is my personal favorite episode. I completely enjoyed this novella "Of Mice And Men". It is a relatively short work. It was written in 1937, before The Grapes of Wrath. I had previously read The Grapes of Wrath. I enjoyed this book more. I have very little formal education in regard to literature. So my opinion may be very faulty. Anyway, I felt this work was a more artistic work than The Grapes of Wrath. This work reminded me more of Ermest Hemingway. I was very impressed. As is common with many shorter works, the author leaves a lot of questions unanswered. The reader is left to speculate why certain issues develope and are resolved in certain manners. I felt all the aspects of the relationship between George and Lenny were slightly unclear. The book ended with me wishing I knew more about George. My guess is that is intentional on the part of Mr. Steinbeck. I would like to note that I purchased this "Of Mice and Men" on Kindle and at the same time purchased the audiobook narrated by Gary Sinise. I felt Mr. Sinise was really excellent and I highly recommend the audiobook version as read by Mr. Sinise. Mr. Sinise really added to the pleasure of the reading experience with his very professional performance.

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.

The voice. The depth of characterization. The mastery of story pattern. Steinbeck lives on. I’d never read this. So glad I finally did.

This is a decent classic that I gave a second chance. It's a short, easy read you could finish in 1-3 days. A few things could be learned from this book, highlighting life's harsh realities and powerlessness during the Great Depression

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Just perfect thank you

I have not read this Steinbeck for years. It is such a powerful short novel that I will want to read it again soon. The friendship between two men in California in the depression era leads to some very difficult dilemmas for the man with the stronger personality. He cares for his friend who is intellectually slow. They share a dream to own their own farm. Reality gets in the way! The different personalities of all the cast are beautifully written in the minimum words. The only female in the tale is so sensitively written that even as she causes problems for all the men, I felt sympathy for her. Steinbeck's talent to create a whole world in a few short sentences has been a source of pleasure to me over my reading history. I think I first read him in the mid 1960s and have reread most of hid books since. I don't know why I hadn't read Of Mice and Men more often.

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