John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men: A Review

Abstract

John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is a touching tale of the friendship between two men set against the backdrop of the United States during the Depression of the 1930s. Subtle in its characterization, the book addresses the real hopes and dreams of working-class America. Steinbeck's short novel raises the lives of the poor and dispossessed to a higher, symbolic level.

The novella is poignant and a very emotional narration of friendship between two farm hands for hire (George Milton and Lennie Small) who found a strong bond despite their different personality and great disparity in mental acuity; Lennie is a towering and strong fellow with a mental age of a child, while George is an able-bodied man with a “big brother” concern towards Lennie due to the latter’s disability.