I recently read John Steinbeck’s, short novel, Of Mice and Men. I was curious about this book because it is a classic and the author lived in California. The story takes place during the Dust Bowl and the main characters George Milton and Lennie Small are migrant ranch workers who traveled to Salinas, California looking for work. George is small and the leader. Lennie, even though his last name is Small, is actually very big. He is like a simple-minded giant and comforts himself by petting soft things like mice, rabbits and even a woman’s hair. The problem is that Lennie doesn’t know his own strength and ends up petting the soft things too hard which gets him into trouble.

 

George and Lennie talk about owning their own ranch one day. This is their American Dream and it keeps them going during hard times. Lennie says,” An live off the fatta the lan.” “An have rabbits.” George describes their dream ranch in more detail with a vegetable patch, a rabbit hutch and chickens, and how they will be their own bosses. p 14.

 

Along the way, Lennie and George meet more characters including The Boss, the owner of the ranch they work on; Curley, a tough guy and son of Boss; and Curley’s wife, who doesn’t even have her own name and is beautiful with long soft hair that Lennie touches too hard.

 

In the end George is faced with a dilemma of protecting his dream and protecting his friend, Lennie. I was surprised by the ending. I recommend this book but I think it would be more interesting to read it in a group or as a class.