Q. What is the theme of the novella? Discuss briefly.
Answer:
We find various themes here in this novella "Of Mice and Men". Among them, the major themes we find are loneliness and alienation, dreams versus reality, friendship and loyalty, and freedom versus captivity.
Loneliness and alienation:
The town close to the ranch where the novel is set is named Soledad, which is translated from the Spanish word 'solitude', so loneliness is immediately established as an important theme in "Of Mice and Men".
In the novella, most characters on the ranch are seen as lonely. They are different from others. Both George and Lennie stand out because their friendship means that they are not isolated and this is very unusual, making some others (like the Boss) suspicious of them. Steinbeck presents here how the lifestyle that the men lead is very damaging to their relationships, making them lack compassion for others.
In the novella, the loneliest characters are Candy, Crooks and Curley's wife. All of these characters seem different to the others on the ranch: Candy is the oldest one than the others; Crooks is the only black man there, and Curley's wife is the only woman on the ranch. All these factors make these characters isolated and the men on the ranch show no empathy towards them, instead of making them more isolated by treating them badly.
Dream versus Reality:
The theme of dream versus reality is quite important in the novella. The characters in the novella are too connected with their dreams. The major characters George and Lennie have their dream of owning their own farm where they can properly live their life. Their dream is of working for themselves, of being independent, and it is a dream sufficiently powerful to draw in Candy and, temporarily, even the cynical Crooks. We also know it is a dream shared by many thousands of travelling ranch workers. This is not the only dream in the novel yet. Curley's wife has also a pathetic dream of being a movie star, and the ranch workers dream of being the cowboy heroes they read about in the pulp magazines.
But the reality is far beyond their imaginations. Most characters fail in the novella to attain their dreams. We find them on the wrong way quite away from their life's dream. The characters in the novella remain barehanded at last and they get nothing except for lamentation.
Friendship and Loyalty:
We find this major theme in the relationship between George and Lennie. Both George and Lennie have a very close friendship where we find care, respect, trust, loyalty etc. In the novella, we find a character named Lennie who makes many mistakes. Except for George, he has almost no one on his side. George is one and only Lennier's true loyal friends.
George always shows his loyalty to Lennie on almost every page, especially when Lennie does terrible mistakes. From the beginning of the novella to the end, George keeps on doing things for the welfare of Lenny. George takes care of Lennie most of the time because Lennie has the mind of a younger child, so he makes many mistakes. George protects and cares for Lennie Lennie reaches out to feel the red dress of the girl who accuses Lennie of rape. George takes risks in his life and tries to help Lennie stay out of trouble. He always protects him even when he makes mistakes. The loyalty of George to Lennie remains till the end. George tells him his favourite story regarding the American dream at last. He asks him to take off his hat and look toward the riverside. Finally, he makes him quiet painlessly.
Freedom versus Captivity:
This novella "Of Mice and Men" illustrates how working-class people possess little meaningful freedom and are often held captive by their circumstances. Many characters in the novella desire their freedom and expect better living standards. Their lives on the ranch somewhat reveal their hardship and obligations. They want to seek out a way of liberation most of the time. Their desire to have a life of freedom somewhat seems trapped due to different circumstances. Most of them have become failure to attain freedom and even lost their lives.
Q. Write a brief summary of the novella 'Of Mice and Men'.
Answer:
"Of Mice and Men" is a famous novella by John Steinbeck. The story of this novella is about the friendship between two poor migrant workers Lennie and George. Both of them want a better life and have plans to own their own farm. Lennie is a big, powerful man with the mind of a child. He doesn't know how to control his emotions or his strength. He is too fascinated by soft things and a story related to their plans. He prefers to listen to his favourite dream story from George most of the time. George plays a very vital role as a caretaker of Lennie. Due to Lennie's kid's mindset, he mostly gets into trouble. George protects and defends Lennie. He instructs Lennie in his overall activities.
In a ranch near the town of Soledad, both George and Lennie meet different workers and know about their different living styles. They even meet with the boss and his aggressive son Curley and his beautiful wife. George keeps Lennie away from the boss and even Curley's wife. The scene of Candy's old and smelly dog's shooting is a quite bad experience for all except Carlson. Due to Lennie's less understanding as well as his kid's mindset, he accidentally kills first a puppy by petting it so hard and later Curley's wife by stroking her hair and flopping her. At the end of the novella, George meets Lennie at the exact hiding place which he suggested to him at the time of trouble. George tells him his favourite story and finally shoots him. Along with Lennie's death, their dream of owning a farm where Lennie can look after rabbits dies too.
Q. What does the title Of Mice and Men mean? Explain.
Answer:
The title "Of Mice and Men" means both weaker and more powerful aspects of humans' lives. The mice in the title of the novella "Of Mice and Men" means the helplessness of humans against larger forces. The title suggests both aspects as helpless and powerful aspects.
The title refers to the poem by Robert Burns "Of Mouse" in which the poet laments the accidental destruction of a mouse's nest while he ploughs a field. The main character Lennie frequently kills mice by accident because he wants to pet them but can't control his strength. Here, we find the worse situations for both Mice and Men. Life seems bizarre for both and fate is unfortunate during the time of the great depression.
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