Of Mice And Men :: essays research papers

Of Mice and Men, was a disturbing tale of friendship, and animosity and immoral nature of the human race. Along the Salinas River and underneath the Gablian Mountains of California during the Great Depression of the 1930’s this novel takes place. A famous writer by the name of John Steinbeck, who was also born in California, is the author of this book. He has also has written many other good books such as The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, and Winter of Our Discontent for which he won a Nobel Prize. He is truly a great writer, and Of Mice and Men is no exception, but while reading this book I was greatly troubled by its ending. I can see why it is an excellent novel, but at the same time it left me with a kind of unpleasant feeling in the back of my mind. I can’t see how an author could write a book with such a short and sudden ending. The last images he leaves the reader with is George and Slim walking off as Curly says â€Å" Now what in the hell is eating them?† thus the book ends on a harsh, cruel note, topped off by the lack of understanding and compassion of an extraordinarily immoral and cruel man. Whatever Steinbeck’s intent for writing such a jarring ending, he leaves the reader with a powerful sense of the world’s immorality. In this book there were several characters, but only a few had significant roles. I would have to say Lennie is the protagonist of the book even though George is an extremely critical character as well. Lennie Small is described as being a monstrous man with the mind of a child, a shapeless face, big pale eyes, sloping shoulders, and big feet that dragged a bit when he walked, much like a bear. George has taken Lennie under his wing and thus Lennie depends solely on George for everything. Ever since Lennie has been with George, he has told Lennie stories of a great place, with a cabin all to their selves, and rabbits for Lennie to care for. This leads me to his next obsession for feeling and caressing soft things such as fur, velvet, or human hair. This is eventually his downfall as when he kills Curley’s wife when he wants to feel her hair. Lennie is not an evil or devious man.