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Of Mice and Men (1937), a popular and critical success, was selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club.

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Of Mice and Men (1937), a popular and critical success, was selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club.

Introduction

Literature, as defined in Cambridge Dictionary, was written artistic works, especially those with a high and lasting artistic value. Among different genres of literature, novel is described as a long written story, usually about imaginary characters and events, according to Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary. John Ernst Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California. Steinbeck grew up in the beautiful, fertile Salinas Valley, and most of his memorable novels and short stories would be set in California. Of Mice and Men (1937), a popular and critical success, was selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club.

Literature review

Literature, like other arts, is essentially an imaginative and creative act, that is, an act of the writer’s imagination in selecting, ordering, and interpreting life-experience. The exact details of everyday life as we know it, or as an author knew it in a particular time and place, may or may not be reflected in a literary work. However, the quality or nature of the writer’s conception and understanding of that experience is expressed by the complex structure of words that he or she creates (Richard, 1981). Richard (1981) argues that different surface details may be from the way things happen in life, that play does present a dynamic pattern of forces whose workings are very true to life: the way people are attracted to one another and the characteristics or circumstances that frustrate their coming together.

Richard (1981) argues that as readers, we must acknowledge and respond to essential truths that underlie the surface reality of literature. The particular actions, characters, and settings that the author chooses constitute the subject matter of the work, the surface meaning. If we are asked what John Steinbeck’s novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ is about. One could say it is about two men called Lennie and George, who were eager to hunt a job in the ranch as well as their tortuous experiences after finding the work. This is actually what happens in the novel. On another aspect, one can also say that it is a novel about tragedy among different characters, and this latter statement has the same validity as the former.

Richard (1981) argues that the theme of work- that is, the abstract idea that the subject matter exemplifies – is also part of the meaning. Themes cannot exist in a work of literature without the vehicle of subject matter, and it is in the relationship of one to the other that we see the objective of the author. On the one hand, John Steinbeck’s novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ symbolizes the nature of human beings as something reflected in the mice such as depression, darkness, gloom, and cowardice, which matches the characters like Candy, Crooks, and Lennie. On the other, mice can communicate with each other in a harmonious way that precisely reflected in the novel. Everyone in the ranch could get along well with one another at the early stage.

Richard (1981) argues that the distinguishing feature of narrative fiction is a story or a meaningful sequence of events. Characters and actions are so organized and presented that an idea or attitude (theme) becomes evident. John Steinbeck, in the same manner, structures the novel flowing in an organized structure and creating a narrative with proper flow. Lennie and George portraying different personalities, both mentally and physically, but develops an intimate relationship. The two moved from more than a friend to be a relative.

Harmon and Holman (1999) argue that characterization is the creation of imaginary persons so that they seem lifelike. Aristotle (as cited in Harmon and Holman, 1999, p.12) claims that the plot is the chief place of honor in writing and calls it “the first principle, and, as it were, the soul of a tragedy.” He called it “the imitation of an action” and also “the arrangement of the incidents.” It’s very evident in Steinbeck’s novel that how characters are made to represent the reality that was happening in the Mid-West of America. The current readers of the story can get the exact picture of the happenings those days.

Lynch- Brown, Tomlinson, and Short (2013) contend that the events of the story and the sequence in which they are told, constitute the plot of the story. In other words, the plot is what happens in the story. On the other side, John Steinbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men” introduces the novella by Lennie and George are two friends who are trying to survive during a depression period as migrant workers. Lennie is portrayed as physically healthy and mentally handicapped, while George is intelligent and small in traits. The whole world is very harsh and cruel against them. The second plot of the novella is where both George and Lennie leave the same place (North Weed) to go search for employment. Upon their arrival, things seemed well, but at once, the son to the boss Curley preferred Lennie to George.

Finally, Curley (the boss) is beaten up by Lennie imposing Curley’s wife to a lonely and desperate situation. Probably shows brutality as the men on the ranch decided to go Lennie’s life. Later on, when George heard about this, he shot Lennie, and the novel comes to an end. Lynch- Brown, Tomlinson, and Short (2013) contend that authors use a flashback to convey information about events that occurred earlier—for example, before the beginning of the first chapter. In this case, the chronology of events disrupted, and the reader is taken back to an earlier time.

For the case of Steinbeck, he wrote the novel with the intent of immediately turning his book into a stage play by referring to it as a ‘playable novel’ that could be easily used in the theatre stage or screens. The novel is very unusual and contains the least possible exposition. The aspect of character talk and dialogue carries essential information to the users either as stage plays or motion pictures. The readers of the story must know and understand the events that happen to the Town of Weed just at the initial stages of the story. Steinbeck narrates the story of the town of Weed through George and Lennie. In that case, when the novel is acted, the playing for George could copy the same thing at the stage.

Lynch- Brown, Tomlinson, and Short (2013) contend that the literary theme of a story is its underlying meaning or significance. Literature themes range from the obvious of the story to the unknown part connecting character, setting, dialogue, and the plot that is communicated via ideas and concepts arising from different parts of the story. Themes in the text provide means through which the author passes meaning to the audience or readers on matters that affect the socio-economic aspects of the society. In the context of “Of Mice and Men” novel, various themes such as loneliness, friendship, hope, sense of belonging, and powerlessness are presented in an interrelated manner and pegged upon the lives of multiple characters differently.

Analysis of the two titles

John Steinbeck’s original title for his classic novella, Of Mice and Men, was ‘Something That Happened.’ This deliberately nondescript title was intended to remove any sense of individual blame for the events that occur in the novella. This something quite different from the ironic intention behind the similarly titled play Stuff Happens, David Hare’s recent play about the Iraq War. Of Mice and Men, as the novel came to be known, focuses on two migrant workers, George(smart, quick-thinking man) and his friend Lennie (a simpler man, who is mentally disabled but physically big and robust – ironically, his surname is ‘Small’). They work on various farms during the Great Depression in America in the 1930s (Steinbeck was drawing on his own experiences as a ‘bindlestiff,’ as he also would for his next novel, The Grapes of Wrath).

Steinbeck explores the problems faced by the migrant workers who had no shelter, distorted future, and without a sense of honor in the entire novel. The migrant workers were removed from their habitats and became homeless. The farms that migrants cultivated had no humous rendering the region into a desert. Animal imagery is highly used in the novel. Furthermore, Lennie, in most cases, is compared to animals. Though he is strong physically and imposing, he is mentally dull, just like the mouse in the novel. His main problem is that he cannot remember things, thus making him have elementary and limited functions all through to the end of the story. These traits are precisely opposite to those of George.

According to Lynch- Brown, Tomlinson, and Short (2013), the time and place in which the story occurs constitute the setting of a story. The setting’s importance depends on account of the story.  Particularly significance of the novel of depression, just it happened during the Depression error where middle and low-class Americans were identified by the services they offered to the country to earn a living. They were basically defined by what they were doing. This is seen severally during the introduction to the inhabitants of the ranch.

Looking at page 21of the novella, Crooks remains unnamed until later on. Surprisingly, when the character is named, he is referred to as “nigger” with reference to his job. Crook’s boss also behaves in the same way as he remains nameless in the entire novel. Both the two get their identities defined from their jobs. This is concurrently true with the other characters, like Candy and Candy’s wife, being defined by her role. It’s evident that just as the mice (representing the week and vulnerable) in the society, they need to be protected as George protected Lennie in the entire novella.

Joseph Heller, the author of Catch 22, was possibly alluding to Steinbeck’s working title when he called one of his own later novels Something Happened. The novel’s last title, Of Mice and Men, is taken from a (frequently misquoted) poem by Robert Burns. Steinbeck knew Burns’ poem ‘To a Mouse’, which describes the poet’s sadness and sense of remorse over having destroyed the mouse’s habitat when plowing a field. Burns’s motivation was the pity he had for the mouse. Therefore, Steinbeck borrowing the same concept could possibly mean that he too had sympathy for the characters he described, and he could have a feeling that the reader could also pity while reading the novel.

Steinbeck’s suggestion to use Burns’s title implied that human beings are vulnerable to unexpected future disasters. Great writers like Charles Dickens, Leo Toldstory, and John Steinbeck suggested that people’s social conditions can only be changed by changing their minds and hearts. This is evident in Steinbeck’s story as George had to give up on his dreams, and Lennie was too killed. There was no better promising future by the end of the story as all dreams and plans are dashed, and not even one is accomplished.

Lynch- Brown, Tomlinson, and Short (2013) contend that the time and place in which the story occurs constitute the setting of a story. The setting’s importance depends on the story. Putting in mind that Dore Lange and Steinbeck experienced what was happening in the 1930s. They made a great effort documenting what happened to the people. Steinbeck, as a journalist, spent much time traveling with migrant workers. Looking at the historical setup of the novel ‘Of Mice and Men,’ the historical background is the reflection of what was exactly happening in the Middle West of America. The migrant workers in the region were mistreated and deprived of their rights.

 

Conclusion

Of Mice and Men is one of the classic novels in the 20th century. It shows us that human beings have less control over their lives, and unexpected things that change life-bearing can happen at any time. Even though Lennie and George hade drown closer towards achieving their dreams, they fail to make it through unexpected accidents. The novel’s style and structure have contributed to the conclusions drawn from the entire book. Notably, the two introductions of the bunkhouse and the inhabitants and the death of ranch created conclusions like loneliness, identity, hope, and the failure of Americans’ depression year being reflected. We can implicitly express the style and structure of titles introduction that the identity of a person lies in the importance of his or her job.

 

Cited Work

Harmon, W., and Holman, C.H. (1999). A Handbook to Literature. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, N. J.: Prentice-Hall.

Taylor, Y. (1981). UNDERSTANDING THE ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE. London and Basingstoke: THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD.

Lynch-Brown, C., Tomlinson C., and Short, K. (2014). Essentials of Children’s Literature. Edinburgh: Pearson Education Limited.

Kennedy, X. and Gioia, D. (1995). An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. HarperCollinsCollegePublishers.

Steinbeck, John. “Of Mice and Men.” 1937. http://staff.oswego.org/ephaneuf/web/ENG_9R/Steinbeck,%20John%20-%20Of%20Mice%20and%20Men.pdf

 

 

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