Analysis Of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

897 Words4 Pages
“Of Mice and Men” – John Steinbeck (1937) “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.” After publishing his novella “Of Mice and Men” in 1937, John Steinbeck succeeded in delivering one of the most famous books in the 30’s along with “Grapes of Wrath”. Both are considered classics in English-language literature up until now. “Of Mice and Men” focuses on a pair of migrant field workers on their way to a new ranch in Salinas Valley, California. Whereas George acts as the head of the pair, Lennie struggles to uphold his companion’s authority due to his childish behavior and mental disability. After dealing with their new boss they soon find themselves in the company of other ranch workers such as Slim, the charismatic…show more content…
The reader gains a grand overview of the current situation as the author focuses on multiple characters in every chapter such as George, Lennie, Crooks and Candy. His chapters mostly start off with an extensive description of the surroundings. The beautifully detailed nature is in contrast to the brutal everyday realities of the lives of migrant field workers during the Great Depression. A similar conflict can be found in Lennie’s deep admiration for soft things which he tends to destroy and kill by means of his brute strength of which he is seemingly unaware of. Steinbeck prefers clipped and provocative sentences and has a tendency to choose phrasings that are regarded as very informal. With the publication in 1937 John Steinbeck stated that “the language of books was different from the language of men. To the men [he writes] about profanity is adornment and is never vulgar and he [tries to] write it so.” However, his choice of offensive language in the novella that has been prohibited since 1950 is not the only way by which he tries to recreate the atmosphere that was present during the Great Depression. Several of the characters are found in a rather lonely state. Candy’s isolation comes out of his lack of future, Curley’s wife’s longing for admiration is a consequence of the women’s role during
Open Document