Of Mice and Men

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Of Mice and Men

• by John Steinbeck

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Title inspiration

• The inspiration for the title of the novel,
• Of Mice and Men, came from a poem by Robert Burns
• The best laid schemes omice and men
• Gang aft agley (often go wrong)
• And leave us nought but grief and pain
• For promised joy!

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Background of John Steinbeck

• born in Salinas, California, on February 27, 1902
  of German and Irish ancestry
• love of reading and the written word
• During summers he worked as a hired hand on
  nearby ranches, nourishing his impression of the
  California countryside and its people
• Books deal with the lives and problems of working
  people
• Characters in his books are immigrants from
  Mexico or from other parts of the USA who went to
  California looking for work and a better life

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Other Novels by John Steinbeck

• The Grapes of Wrath
• Tortilla Flat
• All have themes of friendship, dreams, and
  tragedy.
• They are all about Migrant workers with a dream
  who work hard. Each story has love and pain and
  tell of the struggles they endure. The setting
  in all his stories is along the seacoast of
  California.

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Migrant Farm Workersmigranta person who moves
regularly in order to find work, especially in
harvesting crops

• Men travelled the countryside between the 1880s
  and the early 1930s harvesting wheat
• They earned 2.50 or 3.00 a day, plus food and
  very basic accommodations
• During the 1930s, when there was very bad
  unemployment in the United States, agencies were
  set up to send farm workers to where they were
  needed and the workers received work cards

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The Great Depression

• What do you know about the Great Depression?
• When did this happen?

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The American Dream

• From the 17th century, when the first settlers
  arrived, immigrants dreamed of a better life in
  America
• Many dreamed of making fortunes in the goldfields
• For many, hopes were shattered, especially those
  affected by the Great Depression

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Setting for the novelOf Mice and Men

• Set in the farmland of the Salinas Valley in
  California
• Takes place during the 1930s, Great Depression
  Era
• The ranch in the story is near Soledad, which is
  southeast of Salinas on the Salinas River
• John Steinbeck is very familiar with the area he
  writes about because he grew up there

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Characters

• Lennie Smalls
• Mentally challenged
• Needs watched over
• George Milton
• Caretaker for Lennie
• These two are close friends who travel together
  as migrant farm workers. It is a complex
  relationship with George always looking after
  Lennie.

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Vocabulary

• Bindle a small bundle of items rolled up inside
  a blanket and carried over the shoulder or on the
  back
• Tart a woman of loose morals one who is prone
  to be unfaithful
• Liniment a medicated liquid rubbed on the skin
  to ease sore muscles and sprains
• Bunk house a building that provides sleeping
  quarters for workers on a farm
• Swamper a handyman someone who performs odd
  jobs often involving cleaning

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• As you read this novel, you will be able to
  relate to the messages woven throughout the
  storyline. John Steinbeck showcases the lives of
  migrant farm workers during the Great Depression
  in California. The powerful bond between two
  migrant ranch hands, George Milton and Lennie
  Smalls, magnifies the loneliness felt by other
  ranch hands. To defeat this emotion, each
  character dreams of living a more promising life.
  Of Mice and Men is a fictional, yet realistic,
  piece of literature that uses the Great
  Depression as a backdrop to emphasize the
  importance of friendship, the consequences of
  loneliness, and the much sought after American
  Dream.

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Themes in Of Mice and Men

• Loneliness
• The American Dream
• Friendship

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Loneliness - Throughout the novel, a main
characteristic most of the characters contained
was being lonely.

• Candy has only his dog as his one companion. In
  time, Candy has no one and attaches himself to
  the dream George and Lennie share.
• Crooks feels A guys goes nuts if he aint got
  nobody. Dont make no difference who the guy is,
  longs he with you He would work for nothing as
  long as he can communicate with others.
• Curleys wife is overwhelmed by her loneliness
  and seeks friendship from other men.

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The American Dream - Everyone has a dream to
strive for.

• George and Lennie have a dream. They want to
  live off the fat of the land and be their own
  bosses.
• Candy, upon hearing about the dream, wants to
  join them so that he wont be alone.
• Crooks, the negro outcast, wanted to join them so
  that he wouldnt be alone.
• The ranch hands wish to be their own bosses and
  actually have stability.
• Curleys wife wants to be in the pictures

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Friendship - Every man needs someone to make him
feel special.

• George and Lennie share a bond so strong that
  when one is destroyed, the other is as well.
  Steinbeck often stresses how ranchers are loners,
  and George and Lennie are the only ones who
  travel in pairs.
• Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the
  loneliest guys in the worldThey got no familyWe
  got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about
  us