Of Mice and Men by John Ernst Steinbeck novella background of the writer and story

Of Mice and men

John Ernst Steinbeck

About the novelist and the novel

John Steinbeck was born on 27^th February 1902 and died on 20 December1968. He was born in Salinas, California. He graduated from Salinas High School in 1919 and went on to study English literature at Stanford University, but he left in 1925 without taking a degree. He worked as a manual laborer before achieving success as a writer. His works often dealt with social and economic issues. His works often dealt with social and economic issues. His first novel, Cup of Gold (1929), Of Mice and Men (1937) The Grapes of Wrath (1919). The Grapes of Wrath won "The Pulitzer Prize" and it was considered as his masterpiece and part of American literary canon. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. His works mostly explored the theme of fate and injustice. Most of his work is set in central California, particularly in the Salinas Valley. He died due to the flu pandemic in 1968 because of a heart problem.

During the decades of 1930s, there was a great depression in the world when 'Of Mice and Men' was published. American people were out of work. Many factories reduced their work and people became jobless. It was a great disaster for the people. They have to work only for food. Earning money and having prosperous life was beyond imagination. Farmworkers and their works were replaced by a machine. Therefore, Steinbeck tries to present the picture of this time through this novel. This novella captures the culture of those workers realistically and provides a vehicle for his thoughts about the common man.

Of Mice and Men is a novella. The novella is shorter than a novel and longer than a short story. This novella is based on the story of two migrant workers in California who are wandering for a job with have a dream of getting their own land. It narrates the story of two leading characters George Milton and Lennie Small. They travel from place to place to search for job opportunities during the great depression in the United States. They are planning to earn enough money to buy their own ranch/farm. They strive for a better life and long for self-respect, independence, freedom, and life security. They have a shared dream of owning their own piece of land where they will work hard to earn money. There would nobody to order them they can make their own plan and work. They would have a house and they would get some chicken, rabbit, and so on. They struggle for their life. The novella starts with the jungle scene and ends with great tragedy.

While going through the novel nobody wants to stop reading it. Its language is so impressive. There are many dialogues and setting as in the drama. The dialogues are mostly between Lennie and George. The language of Lennie is so impressive but sometimes George uses strong scolding words to Lennie. Lennie doesn't mind any words of George. Both of them love each other, George enjoys the partnership with Lennie and Lennie feels secure with George. Some contracted form of standard language is used in this novella. You may not find a strong plot description in the story but may find a sequence of events happening one after another. The fate of the character or nature of the character creates fun for the reader. Especially Lennie's innocent childlike behavior fascinates the reader. Lennie is not a bad fellow but his fate or mental slowness leads him to trouble.