Comparison Of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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The title of Of Mice and Men, a novella written by John Steinbeck, is based off a line in a poem called “To a Mouse” written by Robert Burns. The line reads, “[t]he best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men often go awry”. Mice are perceived as helpless, insignificant, and incapable of choosing their fate; are humans the same? Based off the characters and their actions in Steinbeck’s story, it seems to be so. Both mice and men need social interaction, can be powerful in groups but are weak alone, and sometimes make bad decisions when trying to fulfill their desires. Under the cape of the main plot of the story lies a deeper, philosophical meaning about the true nature of humans. Men cannot survive without other people around them. A recurring theme…show more content…
Just like how mice are fooled by traps after being lured in by the bait, humans blow themselves off course by being enticed by other ideas or objects that appeal to them. A strong example of this is when Lennie keeps trying to pet soft animals, even though George repeatedly scolds him not to. He tries to sneak out a puppy to fulfill his selfish desire, even though it was just born and needs to be with its mother (42). George isn’t free of vices either. Instead of saving the little money he has in order to buy his, Lennie’s, and now Candy’s, dream ranch, he goes to a brothel (76). This is why both Crooks and Curley’s wife are skeptical of them; they’ve seen so many people share the same dream and never get it because “ever’ time a whorehouse or a blackjack game took what it takes” (76). The problem with human nature is that humans have a bad habit of craving for too many objects that only satisfy them for short periods of time, which can end up being detrimental toward long term goals. Fate cannot be left in men’s hands because they are too easily distracted by the sweet scent of procrastination and other egotistical
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