I’ll begin this post by stating that I had high hopes for Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck after reading The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden, and was left feeling rather disappointed upon the completion of Of Mice and Men because of how thoroughly I enjoyed the other two. Out of all of Steinbeck’s works that I have read, East of Eden is my favourite.
I would consider Of Mice and Men to be more of a short story than it is a novel, and when I finished it, I literally exclaimed aloud, “That’s it?!” to myself. Thankfully, I was in an isolated environment when this occurred, and I don’t think I’ve left anyone concerned for my well-being upon witnessing this outburst.
Of Mice and Men tells the story of two gentlemen named Lenny and George who have known each other for many, many years. George is described as small and a bit wiry, whereas Lenny is depicted as a hulking mass of a man who evidently has some sort of cognitive disability. Lenny is an adult, however, he seems to possess the maturity and intelligence of a child, and George sort of acts as his caretaker and tries to keep Lenny out of trouble.
Seeing as Lenny is so large, he is incredibly strong. The two men are seeking out a farm to employ them, but were forced to abruptly abandon their former position because of an incident involving Lenny and his accidental strength. I won’t give too much away, but when the men manage to secure employment at a different farm, they find themselves in a similar predicament.
I despise how Lenny is treated throughout this book, and I didn’t love most of the other characters. This story is awful, sad, jarring and cruel, and it is, in my opinion, a rid.
Photo by Ricky Kharawala on Unsplash
