Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," Great Book & Movie

Updated 12-8-18 to include the very ending. 


John Steinbeck is generally considered by many to be one of America's greatest writers. His best known works are "The Grapes of Wrath," "East of Eden" (my personal favorite), and a little novel called "Of Mice and Men," the title of which was taken from Scottish writer Robert Burns' poem, "To A Mouse," from the late 1700s. You can read the novel quickly, as it is so small, it is often referred to as a "novelette" or "novella," comprising only about 100 pages, depending upon the edition. The book was released in 1937, followed shortly thereafter by a stage play version. By 1939, a movie version, with generally minor variances from the novel, had also been released. The film received several Oscar nominations, including for "Best Picture." Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" has had its share of controversy, as its "salty" language was considered a bit much for some in those days, but hey, it was about farm hands, not nuns in a convent. The movie toned down the language considerably, as "Gone With The Wind," also released in 1939, shocked some viewers when Clark Gable's Rhett Butler character said "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." We may laugh about such "propriety" today, but in those days, it was quite real. The book also dealt with sex, although in the sense of "flirtatiousness." Perhaps its most controversial aspect was about "euthanasia," made an even hotter topic just a few years later as the Nazis actually implemented a euthanasia program in Germany to murder mentally and physically disabled people, although it took Hitler's defeat to actually bring out the details of the policy. Further, the book also deals with racism, as a black ranch hand is isolated from the others. Steinbeck's sympathetic portrayal of the black man was highly controversial in the America of the 1930s, especially in the South, and unfortunately, I'm sure it still rubs some people the wrong way. 

The book deals with people's loneliness and their desire for companionship. Written during the Great Depression, it certainly also dealt with people's desire for economic security. Just generally, the story evolves around two itinerant California farm workers, George Milton and Lennie Small. George is the protector and keeper of Lennie, a large and powerful man physically, but whose mental limitations make him like a big child. Lennie's childlike mind draws him to small animals, especially rabbits, as he likes to hold them close and pet their soft fur. The whole practice proves fatal for the animals, as Lennie's feeble mind leaves him unaware of his tremendous strength, and he always ends up killing the animals.

George has a dream of getting a few acres with a little house, where he and Lennie can settle down and work their own land with no worries of being let go by bosses. Lennie loves to hear George tell about this dream and "how it's gonna be," although Lennie has heard the story so many times, even with his limited mind he can repeat the story word for word. Lennie is especially taken with the idea of their dream farm having rabbits, which he will look after and get to pet. The two men get a job on a farm and George has a plan for them to save enough money to make their dream into a reality. Even though George tells Lennie to keep their plan secret, Lennie's absentmindedness brings him to tell one of the other ranch hands about it. This man, named Candy, is older and with physical limitations due to the loss of one hand. He's troubled by the thought of no longer being needed in a time when "survival of the fittest" was still a big part of American thought, the revival of which has been a major part of more recent American right wing ideas. Candy is immediately drawn to the plan and offers financial help with money he has saved, if George will let him join, which he does.

Then there's a man called "Crooks." He is a black stable worker with a crooked spine. He has a small room in the stable area all to himself, separate from the white workers. He's proud, but bitter, due to his treatment by white society. One night Lennie comes to Crooks' door, unaware that he's not supposed to associate with a black man (racism and bigotry are taught, not inherent). Crooks' bitterness relents, and Lennie is invited in. Crooks tells how tough it is not having any friends or even anyone to talk with. Lennie eventually brings the subject around to the rabbits he'll soon be tending and he tells Crooks of the plan. He too wants in.  

All the while these events have been going on, there is potential trouble on the horizon. The farm's boss has a highly insecure adult son named "Curley," due to his curly hair. Curley is a little guy who is so insecure (weak ego), he needs to constantly demonstrate his power to others. He's especially bothered by men bigger than he is. He's a boxer and he likes to threaten others with a beating, but like many bullies, he looks for easy prey. Lennie fits the bill, as he's big, but his mental capacity is so limited, he looks like easy pickings for Curley, who tries repeatedly to lure Lennie into a fight. Finally one time, Curley hears Lennie laughing. His insecurity imagines that Lennie is laughing at him, which is untrue, but he begins punching Lennie mercilessly. George yells to Lennie to go after Curley and Lennie grabs Curley's fist. Now Lennie's tremendous strength comes into play as he mangles Curley's hand. George fears that Curley will eventually want to get even.

Then there's Curley's wife. She is locked in an unhappy marriage to her insecure husband, who runs around the farm keeping tabs on her and threatening any of the men who even dare talk to her. She too is lonely, as Curley tries to keep her away from everyone. She likes to flirt and her vibrant personality and soft look attract Lennie's attention, but he keeps his distance as George has told him; that is, for the most part. While the farmhands have a bit of a party, Lennie remains in the barn. He has accidentally killed a pup that had been given to him. He frets about how George will react to the pup's death, as he's always fearful that George will not let him tend the rabbits they are going to have on their little farm. Curley's wife comes in and when Lennie tells her how he likes soft things, she has him pat her soft head of hair. Lennie's strength begins to hurt her and Lennie panics and, just like with the little animals, he accidentally kills her. Earlier on their way to this farm, George had shown Lennie a place to hide if there were ever trouble. Lennie's feeble mind is sometimes able to keep George's orders straight, and Lennie runs for the hiding place. Curley's dead wife is discovered and the whole ranch takes out to find Lennie and to kill him. George figures Lennie has gone to the hiding place and he goes there and finds him. George has Lennie sit with his back to him as he tells him the story of how things will be on their own little place. George shoots Lennie in the back of the head to keep him from torture and horrible death at the hands of Curley and the others.
     
There have been several remakes of the movie, but in my opinion, the best is the 1939 film, starring Burgess Meredith as George and Lon Chaney, Jr. as Lennie.

Photo is from the Image Entertainment/Corinth Films DVD

WORD HISTORY:
Mouse-This word goes back to Indo European "mush/moosh," which meant "mouse, rodent," but also "leg or arm muscle," perhaps from the scampering mouse like appearance of the muscle when being flexed. Remember, while some of the meanings of various words seem strange to us today, in ancient times there undoubtedly was more reason to them than we now see. Who knows, if mankind even just lasts to 2500, people may look back on some of our words today and say, "Why the hell did they say that?" Anyway, the Indo European form gave its Old Germanic offspring "mus," with the same meanings, but apparently the muscle meaning was limited to the lower arm. This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "mus," which retained the meanings (the plural was "mys"). This then became "mous," before the modern version, but the "arm muscle" meaning died out, but of course, in more recent decades, "mouse" has come to be applied to the computer device, due to its appearance. A verb form developed from the noun in the 1200s, which meant "to hunt for mice," but this is now certainly obsolete. Common in the other Germanic languages: German has "Maus" (pronounced very similarly to the English word/ German plural "Mäuse," pronounced as if "moyzeh"), Low German Saxon has "Muus," Dutch has "muis," West Frisian has "mûs," Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish all have "mus."