Book #85: Of Mice and Men

Book #85: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

April 29, 2014


What motivates people? How do people find purpose in their lives? I've always believed that a life without purpose is tragic. If a person isn't living for a reason, then what's the point of it all? The message of this book (which is essential; I believe that Steinbeck is most powerful when he is brief) is just that: a life without purpose is a life of despair. George, against the odds, had a reason to live, and when that reason was gone, he was just like every other guy bumming around the country, looking for temporary work wherever, because what else could any of them do?

George's reason to live is Lennie. Lennie is a fascinating character; this book was published in 1937, long before people knew much about the mentally handicapped, so I wonder how audiences in Steinbeck's time would have reacted to him. It's clear that they, like the other men in the book, would probably think that Lennie, whom George has known forever and whom he has sworn to look after, is just a burden to his caring friend. And yet while Lennie does cost George some of his freedom, and several previous jobs, he also provided him with a purpose. Without Lennie to see to, to care for, all George had was his wages to spend on booze and cheap skank pussy. He knows that that's no kind of life.

To be sure, Lennie is dangerous, though it's society's misunderstanding and intolerance that often gets him into trouble. In some ways, even though George has good intentions, he sometimes puts Lennie into these situations. I wonder now if lonely George wasn't selfish not to leave Lennie in the care of other people, some kind of hospital or home with a less stressful environment for big but fragile Lennie. But then again, who would really care about Lennie as much as George himself?

I'll keep this post brief. This book connected with me, and it broke my heart. I wish I'd read it years ago. It was actually part of the curriculum in some of the sophomore English classes at my high school, but not in the section I took. And my teacher that year was a dotty old twat who was one semester away from retirement, so was basically checked out professionally. I might have enjoyed that class more had I read this book.