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A review by littlebirdbooks
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
5.0
I read this book as part of my GCSE English Literature course and I enjoyed every minute of it. Sometimes when you study books in school they're not very good and sometimes you can lose interest quite quickly. This one, however, kept me gripped. I think it's better to read a book like this in school because there are so many clever things you wouldn't necessarily pick up on if you were reading it yourself. The parallels; the light symbolism; animalistic quailities; foreshadowing. I could easily devour this book in one sitting. I think that this book is the type of book that you can read over and over again and still find something new. Something that you've missed. There's so much depth in this book.
At the start you meet the two protagonists George and Lennie. George looks after Lennie as Lennie is a little simple. He may be simple but you shouldn't underestimate him when it comes to his strength, even worse because where he is simple he doesn't understand his own strength. The relationship that these men had was very interesting as this book was set during the times of the recession and it was very much a "dog-eat-dog" world. Men tended to look after themselves, not each other. Throughout the book you're told of their dream, the one thing that kept them going (especially Lennie being able to tend to his rabbits).
You meet a lot of interesting characters as you read the book. There's Candy and his dog (which has a teary scene); Curley who is evil but get his comeuppance in quite a fitting way; Slim who is seen as the God on the ranch, even though you will find that there really is no place for God there; Curley's Wife who is seen as nothing but trouble by the other guys on the ranch and then there's Crooks who is the black stable buck who is ignored for most of the book and just gets a mention until the fourth chapter. Crooks is ignored because he's black however Lennie doesn't understand the prejudice and talks to him regardless, he even gets another character to talk to him and even stand up for him.
Before George and Lennie went to the ranch George told him to come back to where they were if he got into trouble, as Lennie sometimes got them into trouble in other towns. He also told him to stay away from characters like Curley and Curley's Wife because he didn't want them getting him into something he wouldn't be able to get out of. He reinforces this by saying if he does something bad he won't be able to tend the rabbits. This was his only way to tell if he had done something right or wrong - whether he got to tend to the rabbits. It was upsetting when Lennie would be taunted or teased whether by his own mind or other characters. This book isn't meant to be a happy one, it's one that makes you stop and think and realise what it was like then.
Steinbeck's writing and subtle views scattered in this book is so powerful when you see it. He is an amazing author which you really learn to appreciate when you study it. Sometimes it was hard to believe that he had put all of the meanings in the book intentionally, simply because they were so vast and thought provoking. Despite it only being six chapters long and on the surface it looks like a simple book it is very rewarding once you've read it. I couldn't wait to get to the ending! I never wanted to put it down! I loved a lot of the characters and even felt sympathy for Curley's Wife when you learn about her beginnings and that she too had a dream.
This entire book is about survival, society and dreams with a powerful, emotional end.
At the start you meet the two protagonists George and Lennie. George looks after Lennie as Lennie is a little simple. He may be simple but you shouldn't underestimate him when it comes to his strength, even worse because where he is simple he doesn't understand his own strength. The relationship that these men had was very interesting as this book was set during the times of the recession and it was very much a "dog-eat-dog" world. Men tended to look after themselves, not each other. Throughout the book you're told of their dream, the one thing that kept them going (especially Lennie being able to tend to his rabbits).
You meet a lot of interesting characters as you read the book. There's Candy and his dog (which has a teary scene); Curley who is evil but get his comeuppance in quite a fitting way; Slim who is seen as the God on the ranch, even though you will find that there really is no place for God there; Curley's Wife who is seen as nothing but trouble by the other guys on the ranch and then there's Crooks who is the black stable buck who is ignored for most of the book and just gets a mention until the fourth chapter. Crooks is ignored because he's black however Lennie doesn't understand the prejudice and talks to him regardless, he even gets another character to talk to him and even stand up for him.
Before George and Lennie went to the ranch George told him to come back to where they were if he got into trouble, as Lennie sometimes got them into trouble in other towns. He also told him to stay away from characters like Curley and Curley's Wife because he didn't want them getting him into something he wouldn't be able to get out of. He reinforces this by saying if he does something bad he won't be able to tend the rabbits. This was his only way to tell if he had done something right or wrong - whether he got to tend to the rabbits. It was upsetting when Lennie would be taunted or teased whether by his own mind or other characters. This book isn't meant to be a happy one, it's one that makes you stop and think and realise what it was like then.
Steinbeck's writing and subtle views scattered in this book is so powerful when you see it. He is an amazing author which you really learn to appreciate when you study it. Sometimes it was hard to believe that he had put all of the meanings in the book intentionally, simply because they were so vast and thought provoking. Despite it only being six chapters long and on the surface it looks like a simple book it is very rewarding once you've read it. I couldn't wait to get to the ending! I never wanted to put it down! I loved a lot of the characters and even felt sympathy for Curley's Wife when you learn about her beginnings and that she too had a dream.
This entire book is about survival, society and dreams with a powerful, emotional end.