Of Mice and Men

Title: Of Mice and Men

Author:  John Steinbeck

Copyright: 1937

Summary: This is a story about two migrant workers, George and Lenny, also good friends, who are starting a new job on a California farm. Lenny has a mild mental disability and is very dependant on George, while George willingly accepts this responsibility to help care for Lenny and help protect him (often from Lenny’s own actions). Giving much more of a summary will give away the ending, so I will end by saying that George finds it to be increasingly difficult care for Lenny, to protect him and to protect others around them.

My Opinion: First of all, I think Steinbeck is a great writer and he tells a really good story. This book, however, has some pretty sad parts (as if most Steinbeck books don’t). George finds himself in a very tough situation where he really wants to help Lenny and many times in the past, he has really stuck his neck out for Lenny. However, over time he finds it very difficult to continue doing this. As a person who used to work at a mental hospital and has seen hundreds of people that are literally a danger to themselves and others, I can really feel for George when he has situations where he has to choose between being loyal to his friend or doing what many consider to be right for society’s sake. Regardless of whether or not we agree with George’s decisions, it is very interesting to think about what we would do in a similar situation at a similar time in history.