City News
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Reviewed by Christina
Dwarf and giant. Brains and brawn. George and Lennie seems to be an unlikely pair, contrasting one another in every way possible. George is the feeble mastermind while Lennie is his dog, the one who scares away predators with his indestructible strength but has the mind of a toddler. It seems impossible that two migrant workers could find company during the Great Depression, yet George and Lennie formed a “family.”
“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place… They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to” (Steinbeck 13.)
Oh, but not George and Lennie, they’ve got a plan. They’re going to save up their stakes to buy an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. By then, they could do whatever they wanted! After spilling their plan to Candy, an old laborer who wanted to provide the majority of the funds, their dream seems to be within reach! However, even smart George could never predict what Lennie did in the face of the provocations of a flirtatious women. Lennie’s intelligence has placed George in a tight spot again, but this time, is there a way out?
Of Mice and Men explores the theme of loneliness making life meaningless. That’s why George and Lennie stuck together and why everyone was secretly jealous of their friendship. That’s why Candy begged to use all his savings to be a part of George and Lennie’s plan. That’s why so many characters would spill their backstories to Lennie, a stranger, when they have no one to talk to. I love the message this book sent, but it did make me a little confused toward the end when I saw characters behaving opposite to this theme.
This book focuses heavily on foreshadowing and characterization. A character blocking the light coming through the doorway could foreshadow that she is an antagonist. A character’s reaction to the death of his dog could foreshadow what could become of the main characters. This intrigues me and gets me thinking on every sentence I read.
My favorite and least favorite part of this book is the ending. I love it because of the element of surprise. I could never have imagined in a thousand years the way this story ended. But I also dislike this ending. The end seems to come from nowhere, from nothing. I would like more buildup. Or else it makes me feel like the author simply wanted to finish and get this book over with.
I give Of Mice and Men a score of 6/10. This is most likely due to the fact that I’m not the target audience. As a girl with no interest in the Great Depression, it is hard for me to relate to the characters in this book. Though it gave me an interesting tour of the lives of migrant workers, the lack of connectivity made the story fall short. However, I do encourage those with strong interests in history to give this book a try!
Check out Of Mice and Men at the Newport Beach Public Library.