Of Men and Mice
Warning, this novel will absolutely knock your socks off. I would strongly recommend that anyone and everyone read this novel. It is a tear jerking book that will make your heart melt and keep your head spinning with suspense. Right when you think you know exactly whats going on, everything suddenly changes. When my teacher first told me that my class was going to be reading “Of Men and Mice”, I instantly began to feel a sense of boredom take over me. I remember thinking to myself,”Here we go again, with these boring and old classic novels.” But, to my surprising the novel was actually really good, even though it is not really a book of my taste. There were a lot of symbolism and meaningful themes mixed with some adventure and suspense, in the novel.
Everything all begins, when the two main characters named, George and Lennie, set off on a journey to a new ranch to avoid running into past troubles. Even though the two are total opposites and are a weird pair, they both still rely and depend each other. Lennie having a mental disorder depends on George to take care of and guides him along his way through life. Lennie looks up to George, idolizes, and admires him. George depends on Lennie for companionship and way out of loneliness. Lennie is in a way is like the only family that George has. But, running from their problems does not seem to solve anything. After you know it, trouble starts to stir up on the new ranch. Everywhere they go trouble seems to follow right behind. And when things seem to be at its worst, things just keep tumbling down hill. Will Lennie and Georges almost brotherly bond be enough to protect and save their friendship from coming to an almost tragic ending? The only way you can solve this question is by simply reading the novel.
Out of everything the one thing I loved through out the novel, was all of the symbolic themes that took place. Some of the main symbolic themes that occurred through out the novel were: power struggles, loneliness and companionship, and the impossibility of the American dream. There were many instances where characters in the novel struggled to gain power over one another. For instance, to give them selves more credibility than what society had already left them with. Additionally, in the novel many of the characters have admitted to suffering from deep loneliness. They almost all entirely struggle with the idea of loneliness and finding someone to share a companionship with. Correspondingly, in the novel every character at one point or another had a dream of leading another life. Such as, one of George’s fantasies, were he did not have to take care of Lennie and can go along as he pleased. But, George and Lennie also had a fantasy were they were able to get there own piece of land. Their favorite saying in the novel was,” We are going to live off the fat of the land.” That was their dream life that they both wished they could conquer and achieve. That is just one of the many symbolism themes of impossible American dreams that are wished in “Of Men and Mice”.
On a scale of A through F, I would definitely rate this book an A. Even if this is not a book you would typically go for, just try it. I know for a fact classic books have never been my favorite, and have been a drag to read in class; but I had a change of heart when I read this novel. You might end up surprising yourself and really enjoying it, like me. I believe this is a classic novel that every young adult should read. It shows a lot of real life lessons and symbolism that is very useful to know and understand.