Literature Analysis: Of Mice and Men

I decided to read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck after reading Matt Patel's Cannery Row Literature Analysis.  It made me want to re-read a book, but I didn't want to just copy his choice, so I chose Of Mice and Men instead.  I read it the summer before freshman year and vaguely remembered liking it.  Re-reading was interesting, especially knowing how the story ends.

GENERAL
1.  The plot begins with George and Lennie trying to find work on a ranch (the parallels to my last literature analysis, All the Pretty Horses are purely coincidental).  George is a small but clever man, while Lennie is a hulking "gentle giant" with a child-like mind.  George and Lennie have a dream to one day own a plot of their own land and grow their own crops.  However, before they do this, they need work for the money.  Unfortunately, Lennie has a propensity for hurting others accidentally.  Because of this, George and Lennie have difficult time holding jobs.  The duo find work on a ranch, and quickly befriend the other laborers.  An elderly man named Candy joins them on their dream, contributing $350 toward their goal.  With their dream just barely out of reach, George and Lennie resolve to hold the job until the end of the month, when they can get their pay.  Just when things are looking up, the wife of Curley, the ranch owner's son, interferes.  She makes advances on Lennie, inviting him to touch her hair after he admits that he likes to "pet nice things" (Lennie means this in a completely innocent way -- he legitimately likes petting things mice, dogs, and velvet).  Lennie, being unaware of his own strength, makes her uncomfortable.  When she begins to object, he instinctively grabs on harder, and she begins to scream.  Lennie freaks out, thinking this will get him in trouble with George.  Desperately, he tries to quiet her and ends up breaking her neck.  Curley and the rest of the ranchers begin hunting him.  George, knowing that there is no way out of the situation, shoots Lennie himself, attempting to minimize the pain.

2.  Of Mice and Men's theme is the fragility of dreams.  George and Lennie have grand scheme about an idyllic life.  At first, only Lennie really believes that it is possible.  George mostly tells the dream to entertain Lennie, who particularly aspires to feed the rabbits (he wants to pet them, and reasons that since they are bigger than mice, he won't kill them accidentally).  As the dream becomes more realistic, more and more people are drawn in.  First is George, then Candy.  Crooks, the black stable buck, even buys into the dream briefly, until Curley's wife cruelly reminds him of his place in their society.  However, just as quickly as Lennie's mice are killed, the dream is shattered.  It is also worth noting that the theme isn't necessarily just the "American dream", it's more of the "human dream".  All the characters in the story strive for something better than what they have.  Crooks dreams of not being separated from others by race.  Even Curley's wife dreams of a life beyond the ranch, and laments for her lost opportunity to be a movie star.

3.  Steinbeck's tone varies between hopeful, wistful, and morose.  The entire story is characterized by longing, whether it be for something lost or something to be gained.

"An' live off the fatta the lan'," Lennie shouted.  "An' have rabbits.  Go on, George!  Tell about what we're gonna have in the garden, and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can barely cut it.  Tell about that, George." 

"Whatta ya think I am, a kid?  I tell ya, I could of went with shows.  Not jus' one, neither.  An' a guy tol' me he could put me in pitchers..."

The following quote does not display the tone well outside of its context.  The reason I included it is that for the reader, the shot represents the definitive end of George and Lennie's dream.  When George pulls the trigger, both he and the reader mourns for what could have been.  Just before this, George recites their dream one last time.  However, this time it is in remembrance of the dream, not a celebration of it like at the novel's start.

George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head.  The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied.  He pulled the trigger.  The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again.

 

4.  [quotes and page numbers taken from the 1993 Penguin Books edition]

Personification:  Much of Steinbeck's description is direct and literal, but occasionally some more figurative description such as personification provides variety.
The silence fell on the room again.  It came out of the night and invaded the room. (pg 48)

Foreshadowing:  There are hints dropped throughout the book as to where the plot is headed.  However, like George and Lennie, the reader naturally clings to the hope that their dream is still possible.
"Well, he better watch out for Lennie.  Lennie ain't no fighter, but Lennie's strong and quick and Lennie don't know no rules." (pg 27)

Colloquialism:  Literally every piece of dialogue in Of Mice and Men uses colloquialism.  Steinbeck attempted to capture the environment in its entirety, down to the laborer's unique slang and inflections.
"You ain't wanted here.  We told you you ain't.  An' I tell ya, you got floozy idears about what us guys amounts to.  You ain't got sense enough in that chicken head to even see that we ain't stiffs.  S'pose you get us canned.  S'pose you do.  You think we'll hit the highway an' look for another lousy two-bit job like this." (pg 79)

Foil:  George and Lennie's characters are created specifically to contrast each other.  George is small but quick-witted, while Lennie is large but dull.
...behind him walked his opposite... (pg 2)

Flashback:  George makes references early on to fleeing the town of Weed with Lennie, but does not reveal the circumstances until considerably later while talking with Slim.
"An' you ain't gonna do no bad things like you done in Weed, neither." (pg 7)
"Well, that girl rabbits in an' tells the law she been raped.  The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie.  So we sit in an irrigation ditch under water all the rest of that day." (pg 42)

Inference:  At the story's end, George shoots Lennie with Carlson's Luger.  The reader is never explicitly told when George steals the gun (he later says Lennie stole it and he took it back) but it can be inferred that George took the gun for the purpose of killing Lennie.
"How'd you do it?"
"I just done it."
"Did he have my gun?"
"Yeah.  He had your gun."
"An' you got it away from him and you took it an' you killed him?"
"Yeah.  Tha's how." (pg 107)

Juxtaposition:  Throughout most of the story, George's description of their future home is a source of hope and delight.  More than anything else, it is the promise of this land that makes Lennie (and consequently, the reader) happy.  However, at the end of the novel, George describes the dream one last time as he prepares to kill Lennie.  In this context, it becomes the most heartbreaking moment in the book.
George raised the gun and his hand shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again.
"Go on," said Lennie.  "How's it gonna be.  We gonna get a little place."
"We'll have a cow," said George.  "An' we'll have maybe a pig an' chickens...an' down the flat we'll have a...little piece alfalfa--"
"For the rabbits," Lennie shouted.
"For the rabbits," George repeated. (pg 105)

Repetition:  In order for that last scene, to be effective, Steinbeck has essentially the same wording of the dream repeated throughout the entire novel.
"Why'n't you do it yourself?  You know all of it."
"No...you tell it.  It ain't the same if I tell it.  Go on...George.  How I get to tend the rabbits." (pg 14)

Motif:  Lennie's unintentional harming of those around him is huge motif (and the reasons for the book's title).  It starts with him accidentally killing a mouse, then a puppy, then a women.
"I'd pet 'em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead--because they was so little." (pg 10)

Zeitgeist:  As with Steinbeck's other works, a major focus is on capturing the fell of the era in setting, speech, and situation.
A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green.  The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool.  On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Cabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees--willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctions the debris of the winter's flooding.

CHARACTERIZATION
1.  Direct Characterization:
The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features.  Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose.

...a huge man, shapeless of face, with large pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.  His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely.

Indirect Characterization:
"Aw, Lennie!"  George put his hand on Lennie's shoulder.  "I ain't takin' it away jus' for meanness."

Slowly, like a terrier who doesn't want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again.

In regards to George and Lennie, Steinbeck uses both direct and indirect characterization to address different elements of their characters.  He uses direct characterization to describe physical attributes, while using indirect characterization to explain some of their more complex attributes.  Often there is a connection between the two that helps create a more complete picture.  For example, Curley is described to be on the smaller side, but indirect characterization indicates that he's irritable and constantly looking for a fight.  This leaves the reader with an "angry chihuahua" impression of his character.

2.  Steinbeck's diction and syntax stay during direct characterization.  His descriptions are typically very literal, showing exactly what is present in great detail.  Despite being descriptive Steinbeck can also be extremely terse, describing tense scenes in sharp, concise sentences.  However, indirect characterization (a majority of which is speech) is written in gruffer, informal language that fits the characters.

3.  A case can be argued for both George and Lennie as protagonists, so I will address both.  George is a round dynamic character.  At times, he can seem strict and controlling over Lennie, but it is quickly revealed that he does everything out of love.  He begins the story doubting that their fairy-tale land is unreachable.  Part way through, he begins to think that it might be possible after all.  The unfortunate turn of events leads to his disillusionment, leaving him more drained and cynical than he began.  Lennie is a round static character.  It is easy to shoehorn him into the role of a stereotypical "gentle giant", but his character has much more depth than that.  He is very much like a child who constantly breaks his toys.  In his mind, there is very little difference between killing a mouse and killing a woman; the important part to him is that George will be upset.  From beginning to bitter end, his his character does not change.

4.  After reading the book, I came away feeling like I've met a person.  The characters are written in ways that captures their life.  None of them are created simply as embodiment of ideals.  All of them have aspirations and pain to deal with.  Helped along by realistic dialogue, the characters are extremely lifelike.  The following textual example describes Candy after his dog is put down:
A shot sounded in the distance.  The men looked quickly at the old man.  Every head turned toward him.  For a moment he continued to stare at the ceiling.  Then he rolled slowly over and faced the wall and lay silent.

In this case, the phrase "the silence was deafening" is incredibly appropriate.  Steinbeck doesn't use any extravagant description in the scene.  In fact, it is rather understated.  However, the lack of emotion that Candy shows speaks far more to his emotional state than any explosive outburst could.  The tension that permeates the scene is palpable.  It is moments like this that makes the reader sympathize with characters.