# Discussion on Specific Authors & Books > Author List: >  Steinbeck, J. Of Mice and Men

## MaryLee

Hi, recently I picked up essay writing. And since my English isn't perfect I have no idea how good my essays are. So, I'd like to ask anyone here take *a look at it and let me know what I'm missing. I tried to analyze Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men; still not sure how successful that was. Many thanks. 

After reading Of Mice and Men, I felt the need to research the author. After researching the author, I realized that he based this book off of his experiences. Steinbeck grew up in Salinas, California and that is where the book takes place. Due to John Steinbeck growing up and experiencing the Great Depression, I think his inspiration to write this book came from the socialand economic issues that he had saw. He worked closely with migrants and itinerants and that deepened the empathy for workers as well as deepening his love for writing. Of Mice andMen depicts a migrant worker and the struggles they face while trying to make their dream become a reality. Steinbeck highlights the perceived isolation and fight for independence that can seem like such a problem when growing up. * * * *

An important thing I had the most trouble with while reading this book is the way of language he uses with the characters. I disliked that they talked country because it made it that much more difficult to read. If you did not read it the way it was wrote the book made no sense. One thing that made it easier for me while reading this book was being able to distinguish between characters. At the end of the book, I felt like I truly knew the characters. * * * *

One element I liked about the book is how George and Lennie interacted with each other. George was pretty much Lennie's older brother and he tried to get him to make smart choices, even though Lennie could not really control his "disability". Another element I liked in the book is the way the author depicts the different types of men who had to engage in awful farm labor because they had no educations and nowhere else to go. Such as Lennie and George, George was more of a working man while Lennies mind resembled a kids but they both had the same dreams. * * * *While reading the book, I thought about many of *things. I got multiple things out of this book. One of the biggest things I got out of Of Mice and Men is that you can not always judge a book by its cover. Lennie obviously had something going on his mind that only him and George knew about. I am sure that those workers did not know that he had something mental going on. He was just quiet. Another thing I gained from this book is that you should always let people know you are there for them. Curley's wife was lonely and felt that she needed attention. Nobody would be her friend because she was a wife and Curley would have beaten them. * * * *

The book has many themes. Loneliness is one of the major themes. Loneliness is all throughout the book and shines through many characters. Crooks shows loneliness because ofisolation due to his skin color. He is the only black man there so he is not allowed in the bunk house. Another way that loneliness shows in a character is through Candy. His dog was his best friend and after he died he could only cope with the loneliness by following Lennie and George's dream. Another way it is shown in the book is through Curley's wife. She tried to deal with it by flirting with other workers on the ranch because her husband does not give her attention. Another theme is dreams. This is basically the entire book. They went to this ranch, hoping to get enough money saved up to own their own farm. This was their dream. This is why they started working at the ranch.

Each character in this story symbolizes a person in the society. For instance, Crooks represents the part of society where people are discriminated against because he is black and is not allowed in the bunk house and Curley's wife being a symbol of gender because she was the only woman on the ranch.The farm that Lennie and George want to own is a symbol of the American Dream. Throughout the book John Steinbeck uses a large amount of improper grammar. He uses this to describe the backgrounds of the men. By using this kind of grammar it shows that these *men are country and uneducated. He spells words incorrectly to show how the characters speak in their everyday life.

Overall Of Mice and Men was a great book. I would highly recommend it to anyone. I found it very interesting because it seemed to be like society during the Depression of America. Oneof my favorite parts about the book is when the author describes the lives of working men. The amount of anticipation while reading the book was amazing. You never knew if Lennie was gonna kill something or not. The ending is very surprising because you do not expect George to kill Lennie. You also do not expect George to have the gun because Lennie was the one that ran away.

References:
Of Mice and Men - Study Guides. (n.d.) Sparknotes. Retrieved from sparknotes.com/lit/micemen/
Of Mice and Men. (n.d.) Jet Writers. Retrieved from jetwriters.com/of-mice-and-men-essay/
Of Mice and Men. (1992) *Movie. Directed by Gary Sinise, imdb.com/title/tt0105046/
Steinbeck, J. (1993) Of Mice and Men. Penguin Books; Reissue edition, penguinrandomhouse.com/books/532148/of-mice-and-men-by-john-steinbeck/9780140177398/

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