Of Mice and Men
George Milton and Lennie Small are itinerant ranch workers during the Great Depression, drifting from job to job across California with a shared dream: to save enough to buy a small plot of land where they can live off "the fatta the lan'" and, crucially, where Lennie can tend rabbits. George is sharp and protective; Lennie is a gentle giant of enormous strength and the mind of a child, prone to accidentally crushing whatever he loves too hard.
Arriving at a new ranch, they find a fragile foothold among a cast of the dispossessed — the aging swamper Candy, the isolated Black stable hand Crooks, and the lonely, unnamed wife of the boss's son, whose need for attention becomes dangerous. For a moment their dream of land seems within reach, buoyed by Candy's offer to pitch in his savings. But Lennie's inability to control his own strength sets in motion a tragedy that forces George into an impossible final act of loyalty.
John Steinbeck's 1937 novella is a spare, devastating parable about friendship, dreams deferred, and the loneliness of migrant labor in Depression-era America. Frequently taught and frequently banned, it remains one of the most widely read short novels in American literature.
A sharp, protective ranch worker caring for his gentle, mentally disabled friend Lennie.
An enormously strong man with the mind of a child, prone to accidentally hurting what he loves.
John Steinbeck drew inspiration for the novel from his own experiences working alongside migrant farm laborers in California during the Great Depression. The story reflects the harsh realities and transient lives of these workers.
Several film adaptations exist, with notable versions released in 1939 and 1992. The 1992 film, directed by and starring Gary Sinise alongside John Malkovich, is generally considered a faithful adaptation of the novella.
The novella is frequently included in high school curricula due to its accessible prose, exploration of universal themes like friendship, loneliness, and the American Dream, and its historical context of the Great Depression.