Resumo de Of Mice & Men - John Steinbeck

?Of mice & men? by the American modern author John Steinbeck is a powerful and moving analysis of life in Depression era America. It deals with the lives of two ranch farm hands, Lennie and George. Lennie is a simple, backward man who is tall and powerful, but kind at heart. George is the brains of the outfit, who organises and arranges for them to get work on the ranches and farms, as they travel and dream of getting their own place, where they can make some money, have a home, and where Lennie can have lots of rabbits to play with and stroke.

The short novel is set out in acts, as though it were a play, and begins with the two men having to run away from the ranch they are working at, as Lennie has gotten too fond of one of the women on the ranch who was kind to him, and as he is simple and likes soft things, he stroked the dress of the lady and was accused of trying to attack her. They run off and hide until the men stop searching, then they move on to another ranch where they have work lined up.

At the new ranch, they bale hay and work hard but there is a bad atmosphere there because the owner?s son, who is called Curley, is a mean, short, arrogant and unfriendly type who likes to try to be the boss and speaks down to the other men. Lennie and George try to keep their heads down, and out of trouble, but Curley?s wife, who is pretty and flirtatious, takes to talking to the men a lot and this causes problems. Lennie accidentally kills one of the new born puppies, by stroking it too hard with his big powerful hands, and has to hide it. George meanwhile is out at a cathouse, where men are entertained by girls in the town, and when he gets back Lennie is trying to hide the kitten in the barn. Curley?s wife comes in and starts to befriend him and talk nicely to him. She has long soft hair and as they talk, she trusts him and confides in him at her unhappiness there, saying how she wanted to be a start, and isn?t happy in her marriage.

She lets Lennie stroke her hair, which is fine at first, but typically he likes the feeling and strokes her head too hard, which starts to frighten her, and as she moves away, he gets frightened that he has done something wrong again, and tries to tell her to calm down and not to get nervous or call out. She tries to move away and he wont let her, so she starts to call out and he covers her mouth and grabs hold of her tight. His strength is too much for her and he breaks her neck by accident. He runs away, to a secret place that George told him to hide, and the story ends with George deciding to put him out of his misery and he shoots him dead. He doesn?t want him to go to prison when it was an accident.

Overall, the novel is about friendship, loneliness, plans, and broken dreams in Depression hit America in the nineteen fifties. A must read.

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