O´ Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The special bond between men, the heavy clasp of History, solitude and shattered hopes for a middle-class life contribute to making this story one of the most striking American novels of the 20th century.

The novel, which takes place during the Great Depression, in California, where two migrant workers, Lennie Small and George Milton, are on their way to a ranch. They had recently fled from a farm where Lennie, a mentally deficient yet docile man, was wrongly accused of rape when he touched a woman to feel her soft dress. George, his physical opposite, insinuates that he would be better off if he didn't have to travel with his retarded friend. Both have a dream: together they will raise enough money to buy a patch of land. George tells Lennie that if he gets into trouble he should return to the brush near the river and wait for George to find him. Once they arrive, they meet an old man named Candy who since he can't work anymore is banned by the others. They also meet Curley, a short man that's always looking for a fight and that constantly brags about his new wife who everyone suspects is unfaithful. When George tells Lennie the story about the house that they will have, Candy proposes to pool in. Meanwhile, Curley searches for his wife as usual and gets into a fight with Lennie who crushes his hand in self-defense and does not stop until George tells him to do so. While other men are at the whorehouse, Lennie goes to visit Crooks, the Black cripple stable buck who's ostracized by the other men because of his race. One day, Curley's wife finds Lennie in the barn and allows him to feel her soft hair. Unfortunately, he handles her too forcefully and snaps her neck. He has no other choice than to escape and hide where George had told him to in the beginning of the novel. Curley alerts the other men and forms a search party to lynch Lennie. George steals a man's gun and points the men in the wrong direction to buy some time. Upon finding Lennie who was dreading George's reaction until then, George tries to reassure him by telling him about their plan for a house and a rabbit hatch. Realizing Lennie can never fit in this world, he shoots his best friend in the back of the neck to spare him a more painful and barbaric death.

The special bond between men ?that of George and Lennie being utmost fascinating - the heavy clasp of History, solitude and shattered hopes for a middle-class life contribute to making this story one of the most striking American novels of the 20th century. The two main characters are unforgettable, especially since they are stereotypes. George is the parental figure who must care for the simplistic Lennie, the archetypal gentle giant. It really is Lennie's innocence that makes him dangerous rather than any malicious intent. He operates on the basis of his desires rather than on any conception of propriety. George often forgoes tact and reprimands Lennie for his actions, while Lennie strives to please and placate George. However, if George realizes what he has given up for Lennie, he nevertheless judges the merits of his travels with him to be greater than the solitude of an aimless man. An example of lonely man on the ranch is Candy, an aging man no longer of much worth to society and incapable of taking any dramatic action. Another example would be Crooks, a proud and bitter man. His rude demeanor stems from this isolation but it's just a defense mechanism because he is aware of how others exclude him. However, Crooks has the benefit of insight that other characters lack. He is openly skeptical of Lennie's claim that he will soon own a piece of land. The lonely and weak characters are in sharp contrast with the other men on the ranch. Although Curley represents a dangerous force, behind his cocky boasts, he's extremely insecure. His wife is an obvious tramp as she shamelessly flirts with the workers. Incidentally, she is the only female character and also the only character not given a name. This is where Steinbeck's is explicitly misogynous. A woman is always potentially dangerous as Curley's wife is the source of contention between him and the other characters. However, Curley's wife reveals some depth of emotion. She realizes that she is loathed by the men and that her presence makes them uncomfortable, blaming this on male insecurity. Yet Steinbeck rests a great deal of blame for the murder on the victim herself. Her offer to let Lennie touch her hair may be construed as a sexual advance.

The theme of sacrifice is present throughout the novel, starting with the killing of Candy's worthless mutt, which foreshadows further sacrifices. George, who resorts to a form of murder, does so because he has cares that occur beyond a narrow scope of self-interest, a view that clashes with the widespread individualist mindset. He thinks that men lack any articulated dreams or concerns that do not derive from self-interest. Yet even with George and Lennie there is the sense that they will never achieve the dream that they seek. For George and Lennie, who draw their strength from friendship, their dream serves as a diversion from the travails of everyday life and not as a realistic goal, even in its simplicity. But in the end, all is lost because of Lennie's "mistake". George resorts to an obvious mercy killing after giving Lennie his soothing speech about the rabbit hutch they will own one day. George knows that Curley will murder Lennie as soon as he finds him, and would prefer to do so himself. So he decides to put him out of his misery before the other men commit a more brutal murder ? in one of the most heart-breaking scenes in all of American literature.

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07/05/2006

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