Steinbeck's ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a novella/tragedy based during the Great Depression (1929-1939) in America. The novel is based around two friends (George Milton and Lennie Small) who tour America in search of a job. The title was based on the Scottish poem “To A Mouse (on turning her up in her nest with the plow)” by Robert Burns written in 1785. The poem explains how we should accept and tolerate all lifeforms of all sizes (this is similarly portrayed in the novel). The name of the novel was taken from a line from Burn’s poem which says 'The best-laid schemes o' Mice an' Men/Gang aft agley'. This vaguely translates to even the best plans can go wrong even if it is from the most intelligent and biggest creatures to the smallest and least intelligent. This can be applied to George (the smart one) and Lennie (the intelligent one) when they decide to invest in a large piece of land and be their own bosses. However, this does not go to plan.
The character I feel the most sympathetic about is Curley’s wife. In the novel, she doesn't have a name but is only known as her husband's wife and nothing else. She is not able to relate to other women and is not allowed to converse with other men due to her husband's jealousy. In addition, he went to a brothel with his friends and told them that their relationship was not a solid one. The narrator of the book used a third-person omniscient point of view. This enabled Stinebeck to use detailed imagery to describe the scenery and each character. This made me feel like I was in Steinbeck's novel going around with the characters. In addition, the narrator uses a rather sympathetic tone towards the characters. However, he does not create a happy ending for them. Steinbeck made the characters talk like how men usually do but they conversed on a deeper level. This made the language complex yet simple.
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Whilst reading this book, I learned how people during that time had to deal with when their lives changed drastically due to the Great Depression. People born in the 21st century usually do not know how people lived and felt during these times. However, Steinbeck was able to write in such detail that made me feel empathy towards the people and characters (in the novel) living through this very tough time. I loved how precise the author wrote and the imagery used. Although the novel was shorter than most novels, it was a bit low moving during the beginning. However, it did become better towards the middle and the end.
This novel made me want to read more books written by Steinbeck as his writing style is refreshing and makes you feel like you are with the characters. Because of this, I thoroughly enjoyed Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. Lee’s book was as captivating as Stienbecks as it also used a lot of imagery to describe the scenery and characters. Because of this, I was also able to understand (even more) people during the Depression but also racism and prejudice in the 20th century.
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Book Review Essay on ‘Of Mice and Men’.
(2023, October 09). Edubirdie. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/book-review-essay-on-of-mice-and-men/
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2023 Oct 09 [cited 2024 Nov 21].
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