Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
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Web ID: 15624959Devastating story, beautifully executed
Of Mice and Men is a beautiful, well-crafted novel. It depicts a story of two friends migrating from ranch to ranch with a dream of having their own one day. The friends are complete opposites. George is small, good with people, and smart; while Lennie is large, strong, and unintelligent. George finds himself in several situations looking out for Lennie and reminding him of what not to do. However, later in the story, Lennie gets caught in an inescapable situation, where George is forced to make a life-changing decision. The book itself was quite descriptive. Steinbeck painted a picture of the various settings in our minds and described the characters with such detail that we formed a connection and cared about them. At first, I thought that it was merely another nice book. I felt like the build-up was slow, which could be appropriate for some readers, however, for me, I didn’t always want to pick it up. That is, until the end of the book when it became so much more engaging. John Steinbeck has a formidable reputation, being most famous for The Grapes of Wrath. Of Mice and Men has stood the test of time and is considered a classic. It is an important book for all to read, at some point. Because this book tugs at the heart of readers and contains heavy emotional content, this book is best for all ages 14 and older. Of Mice and Men is a quick read with about 100 pages yet still packed with quality. Of Mice and Men is a beautifully written novel. It takes time to set up the climax which allows readers to form connections. This book teaches us the value of friendship and sometimes doing what's best for each other can be devastating. Overall, it is a must-read, but be sure to keep some tissues nearby.
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Of Mice and men
I read "Of Mice And Men" this month as required reading for school, and I found that it was very educational and interesting. For those who do not know, it follows the journey of George and Lennie as they attempt to save enough money to have their own peaceful piece of land in which they could call their own. It eventually ends with (spoiler alert) the death of Lennie, who is carefree, overly strong, and mentally challenged. When he passed away, it was a murder which was done by his own companion and friend, the small yet very intelligent and smart George. They ventured along to find work together, spending day and night with each other as companions. George would clean up Lenny’s messes and Lenny would hopefully learn from his mistakes. All until Lenny made the mistake of not knowing his own strength and murdering a man named Curly’s wife. They spent all that time together all for none of it to matter in the end, which was a little bit of a tear-jerker. However, it had a great many lessons such as sticking to your goals even when they seem difficult to achieve, which was expressed in George and Lenny’s perseverance to get that little piece of land. Also, another theme was that not knowing your own strength can be detrimental, as witnessed in the book by the exceptionally powerful Lenny after he accidentally killed Curly’s wife. Speaking of Lenny, I would describe him as a stuffed dragon--scary on the outside yet soft and kind on the inside. And the only thing in his brain is stuffing just like the dragon. I recommend this book to people who are not easily offended, since it does use some very derogatory terms regarding African Americans. Though, it is important to understand that the book was written in a time when these words were accepted in daily use by most people, so that is how the author, Mr. Steinbeck was able to get away with writing these things. This book was interesting and difficult to put down–I finished it in two days, since it was short and captured the reader’s (and my own) attention easily. Though the ending was very sad, I still say this is a very well written book, with a lot of useful information that could be applied to today’s world as well. I would give this book a ⅘ simply because of the usage of negative words and the excessively sad ending. Other than that it was a great book to pass the time and would be a great book for anyone looking to cry.
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Wonderful Story of a Snippet of 2 Men's Lives
When I first had this book recommended to me by my father, I was surprised by how he thought such a small book could be so influential. But by the time I finished it, I wondered why more people weren’t talking about how well written it is. I personally enjoy reading realistic fiction stories more than any other genres. Considering this is the first of his books I have read, I feel like Steinbeck does such a wonderful job at representing this style in this work. One of the parts of the book I love the most is how the characters feel, interact with each other, and talk. Everything about them feels so genuine as if they were real people I was overhearing in real life. The main duo, George and Lennie, work so well together. Lennie is a big and strong fellow, but lacks common sense and seems to be described as having mental problems. George on the other hand is small, but he uses his mind to be powerful, he also knows that he could easily take advantage of Lennie, but he still acts fairly and morally. One example of how the characters acted towards each other in a realistic sense is George and Lennie sharing their goals of being able to live on their own land and not have to rely on anyone else. The majority of the people they tell this goal to don’t believe in them, they mention how so many other people have this goal and they assume that they would waste away their money just like everyone else. Another literary feature that this book perfects is the use of dialogue. Such a simple idea of adding in what a character says gives us readers a deeper look into each character’s mind. One way Steinbeck makes this book entertaining to read is the fact that he uses each character to its fullest extent. He doesn’t back down on letting each character react to different situations in different manners. For example, when Candy is peer pressured into having his elderly dog put down, Candy says “Awright -- take ‘im” in a giving up style, not wanting to keep arguing over the matter. By backing down he is showing that he is powerless and fearful compared to the other men. The ending of this book was so thoroughly written and laid out that you could see the ending coming a mile away, but you would still be in awe after reading the last pages. Spoiler alert: When George kills Lennie at the end of the story, I was heavily disappointed that they weren’t going to be able to prove everyone wrong by buying their own farm. This conclusion makes this book stand out against others, they all want the good guys to get their way in the end and have a happily ever after. However, Steinbeck steps away from this idea and gives us such a genuine work that retells the hardships of living this lifestyle during the Great Depression.
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i genuinely hate this book
to be fair i read it in school but it's so ableist for literally zero reason. i hated it. i'm a casual fan of steinbeck, love the grapes of wrath, but what is this book, dude ?? why'd he write it ?? personally it's not enjoyable and i think this book should've been the one people burned instead of the grapes of wrath. the plot feels poorly constructed, the ending is disappointing, and it's just bad in general.
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An American Classic
Maybe if all books we read in school were this short and sweet I would’ve paid more attention (Don’t get me wrong… I was that nerd who read EVERYTHING). But this one has always stuck out to me with its simple brutality and big-hearted characters. Steinbeck knew what he was doing.
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Themes and quotes
Here are four prominent themes of the book and illustrative quotes: The American Dream: The main characters, George and Lennie, have a dream of owning their own land and being self-sufficient. This dream is shattered by the harsh realities of the world and their own limitations. Notable quote: "We're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and-" (Lennie, Chapter 1) Friendship and companionship: George and Lennie's friendship is a central theme in the book. Despite their differences, they rely on each other for support and friendship. Notable quote: "I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why." (George, Chapter 1) Isolation and loneliness: Many of the characters in the book are isolated and lonely, including Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife. They long for companionship and a sense of belonging but are often denied it due to societal prejudices and limitations. Notable quote: "A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you." (George, Chapter 1) Power and control: The characters in the book struggle for power and control over their own lives and the lives of others. This is exemplified in the relationships between the ranch workers and their boss, Curley and his wife, and Lennie and his own strength. Notable quote: "You get a kick out of giving hell to people, don't you?" (George, Chapter 3)
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My favorite classic
I reread this book every couple of years when it feels like the story is fading. A deeply moving story about friendship and hardships. With unforgettable characters like Curly, Lenny and George. I named my childhood cat Lenny. I hold this book so close to my heart.
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Quick Read
I semi read this book back in High School, but decided to read it again and gave it my full attention. It’s a classic indeed. This book touched based on a lot of issues that were underlying while some were plastered on your face to obviously see. The grand point is how they cover racism with Crooks, one of the workers who is black. I liked how Crooks had a voice and was able to speak up on the topic. In my opinion, I believe this book touches on Gaslighting, Domestic Abuse, (maybe autism? I don’t want to put the exact finger on it because on how Lennie was, but I believe he was around the spectrum), and probably a mental illness for Lennie. I have a theory on that, but that’ll spoil the book.
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