Literary Analysis: Of Mice and Men

General

1. George and Lennie are on the road looking for work. They end up working at a ranch and that is the story begins. George is normal man and Lennie is a mentally unstable individual. They both dream of one day owning their own farm. This is why they work so they will save up money to buy their own land. Due to Lennie's mental instability they have a hard time finding a permanent and steady job. A man named Candy joins them in their dream to own their own farm. George starts to gamble and use his money on prostitutes. Their dreams eventually come to an end when Lennie kills a woman and George kills Lennie.
2. The novel's theme focuses on how fragile dreams are. Dreams can easily be destroyed. Both George and Lennie dream of owning their own farm but as time progresses on the ranch those hopes dwindle away. It dwindles away especially for George when he uses his money to pay fo prostitutes and alcohol. They strive for something better, but all there plans get ruined when Lennie kills a woman.
3. The tone throughout the novel is hopeful. Despite unfortunate events it seems there is still a slight glimmer of hope.

• "An' live off the fatta the lan'," Lennie shouted. "An' have rabbits. Go on, George! Tell about what we're gonna have in the garden, and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can barely cut it. Tell about that, George."

"Whatta ya think I am, a kid? I tell ya, I could of went with shows. Not jus' one, neither. An' a guy tol' me he could put me in pitchers..."

• “George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again.”
  
  
  4.Personification: Much of Steinbeck's description is direct and literal, but occasionally some more figurative description such as personification provides variety.

The silence fell on the room again. It came out of the night and invaded the room. (pg 48)

• Foreshadowing:There are hints dropped throughout the book as to where the plot is headed. However, like George and Lennie, the reader naturally clings to the hope that their dream is still possible.

"Well, he better watch out for Lennie. Lennie ain't no fighter, but Lennie's strong and quick and Lennie don't know no rules." (pg 27)

• Colloquialism: Literally every piece of dialogue in Of Mice and Menuses colloquialism. Steinbeck attempted to capture the environment in its entirety, down to the laborer's unique slang and inflections.

"You ain't wanted here. We told you you ain't. An' I tell ya, you got floozy idears about what us guys amounts to. You ain't got sense enough in that chicken head to even see that we ain't stiffs. S'pose you get us canned. S'pose you do. You think we'll hit the highway an' look for another lousy two-bit job like this." (pg 79)

• Foil:  George and Lennie's characters are created specifically to contrast each other.  George is small but quick-witted, while Lennie is large but dull.

...behind him walked his opposite... (pg 2)

• Flashback:  George makes references early on to fleeing the town of Weed with Lennie, but does not reveal the circumstances until considerably later while talking with Slim.

"An' you ain't gonna do no bad things like you done in Weed, neither." (pg 7)
"Well, that girl rabbits in an' tells the law she been raped.  The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie.  So we sit in an irrigation ditch under water all the rest of that day." (pg 42)

• Inference:  At the story's end, George shoots Lennie with Carlson's Luger.  The reader is never explicitly told when George steals the gun (he later says Lennie stole it and he took it back) but it can be inferred that George took the gun for the purpose of killing Lennie.

"How'd you do it?"
"I just done it."
"Did he have my gun?"
"Yeah.  He had your gun."
"An' you got it away from him and you took it an' you killed him?"
"Yeah.  Tha's how." (pg 107)

• Juxtaposition:  Throughout most of the story, George's description of their future home is a source of hope and delight.  More than anything else, it is the promise of this land that makes Lennie (and consequently, the reader) happy.  However, at the end of the novel, George describes the dream one last time as he prepares to kill Lennie.  In this context, it becomes the most heartbreaking moment in the book.

George raised the gun and his hand shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again.
"Go on," said Lennie.  "How's it gonna be.  We gonna get a little place."
"We'll have a cow," said George.  "An' we'll have maybe a pig an' chickens...an' down the flat we'll have a...little piece alfalfa--"
"For the rabbits," Lennie shouted.
"For the rabbits," George repeated. (pg 105)

• Repetition:  In order for that last scene, to be effective, Steinbeck has essentially the same wording of the dream repeated throughout the entire novel.

"Why'n't you do it yourself?  You know all of it."
"No...you tell it. It ain't the same if I tell it. Go on...George. How I get to tend the rabbits." (pg 14)

• Motif: Lennie's unintentional harming of those around him is huge motif (and the reasons for the book's title). It starts with him accidentally killing a mouse, then a puppy, then a women.

"I'd pet 'em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead--because they was so little." (pg 10)

• Zeitgeist:As with Steinbeck's other works, a major focus is on capturing the fell of the era in setting, speech, and situation.

A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Cabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees--willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctions the debris of the winter's flooding.

Characterization

1. Direct Characterization: This is mainly used to describe physical appearances.

• “Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose.”

Indirect Characterization: This is used to explain the moral concept throughout the novel

• “Slowly, like a terrier who doesn't want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again.”  
  2. The syntax and diction change when focusing on describing a character. When a character is being described the diction and syntax becomes very literal and detailed using descriptive words.

3. George is a round dynamic character.  At times, he can seem strict and controlling over Lennie, but it is quickly revealed that he does everything out of love.  He begins the story doubting that their fairy-tale land is unreachable.  Part way through, he begins to think that it might be possible after all.  The unfortunate turn of events leads to his disillusionment, leaving him more drained and cynical than he began.  Lennie is a round static character.  It is easy to shoehorn him into the role of a stereotypical "gentle giant", but his character has much more depth than that.  He is very much like a child who constantly breaks his toys.  In his mind, there is very little difference between killing a mouse and killing a woman; the important part to him is that George will be upset.  From beginning to bitter end, his his character does not change.
4. After reading the novel I cam away feeling like I melt a person. The character's problems, hopes, dreams, and situations made them seem more real and human. As I read through the novel I began to understand them and the problems they faced. I felt like I could relate to them on some levels.