Gang aft agley [go often awry]
And leave us nought but grief and pain
For promised joy!
-Robert Burns
A tragic tale of shattered dreams? Or a heart-rending tale of the bond between two migrant workers? John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” is a gripping mélange of both these facets and more. Written in 1937, it is a subtle, ruggedly American, free flowing narrative of “mice”-weak hearted people like Lennie and Candy and “men”-strong hearted people like George and Slim with the American dream of depression era California as a backdrop and the highly sensitive bioethical topic of "Euthanasia" as a lynchpin. Furthermore, the lazy setting of the Californian ranch buttresses the rugged subtlety of the narrative beautifully. The book is in fact a part of Steinbeck’s trilogy on the labour movement of the 1930s commonly known as the “Dustbowl Trilogy”. The other two books being “In Dubious Battle” and “Grapes of Wrath”.
The Novella opens with a detailed description of a Californian creek. It is almost blasphemous, the way in which Lennie and George burst onto the setting disturbing the brilliant image of the serene landscape Steinbeck's planted in our minds. The two are migrant workers looking for a ranch job to raise a stake. George Milton is small, intelligent and cynical whereas Lennie Small is(ironically) a large, semi-retarted simpleton. They had to flee the last town because Lennie touched a woman's dress and had been accused of rape. George’s first words, a stern warning to Lennie not to drink so much lest he get sick, set the tone of their relationship.
. “Lennie, for God’ sakes don’t drink so much
You gonna
be sick like you was last night.”
They begin to work at a ranch near Soledad, California and share the archetypal ranch men’s American Dream: a piece land of their own and a ranch unto themselves. Their dream moves ever closer to reality when an old ranch worker, Candy pledges his modest fortune to them in return for a place in the ranch. At the ranch, a dog has a litter of pups. As the new pups are introduced into the ranch, the old, blind, and feeble dog that lived in the barn was put down with a pistol with the cited reason being to relieve it of a miserable existence. This becomes a foreshadowing parallel to what lies ahead for the men at the ranch.
The decisive moments of the novel revolve around Lennie's love of soft things. All he wants is to have a ranch unto himself with lots of soft pets to pet. This in a cruel twist of fate comes to bring his downfall and not surprisingly there's a woman involved.He accidentally kills a woman on the ranch when she panics as he caresses her soft hair. The other ranch men led by the woman's hot headed husband form a lynch mob and set out for Lennie. George, realizing the parallel between the situations of old dog and Lennie makes the cruel but essential decision to kill Lennie to palliate him of his travails in this world.
In a way, Of Mice and Men is an extremely morose novel. It shows the dreams of people and then brings them tantalizingly close to being realized and then boom! the dreams collapse. But even with all its pessimistic undertones the book does leave us with an optimistic message. Although they do not achieve their dreams George and Lennie's friendship stands out as a shining example of how people can live and love in a forlorn world of such disconnectedness.
The literary faculty of ‘Of Mice and Men’ rests firmly on Steinbeck’s usage of crude and authentically 'American' language throughout the book. This helps him to slip us into the world of the 30s American ranch effortlessly. Although it is the same unbridled use of the American slang which makes the book a vulgar spectacle. Another way of settling us into the novella was describing beforehand, each act (if I could say so) in excruciating detail which almost makes the book a play. It’s almost as if the reader is watching a play which,in a way, furthers our connection with the setting. Hence the book has also come to be known as a play.
But, the best aspect of the novella is in fact its niggardly economy. The fact that Steinbeck managed to fit every theme( some which include discrimination against the impaired, prejudice, racism, tension, friendship, euthanasia etc.) so perfectly into some 100 odd pages is in itself a huge achievement and a triumph of the classic short novel. This coupled with the heavy dose of ”American” in the writing makes this novella, for me at least, the pinnacle of the classic American short novel.
In the years following its publication and its gradual growth of popularity in the world, “Of Mice and Men” has been absorbed into popular culture with many recognizable archetypes. A huge dimwit unintentionally manhandling a vulnerable little creature is a common sight across all forms of art.
Highly recommended for people who want to go back to the joys of unbridled reading, this book although ridden with flaws in writing,is an exemplary piece of narrative genius. Not one for the purists but great for the enthusiasts, this is the quintessential 20th century American short novel. In a nutshell, I can only say that if you've got three hours with nothing to do then you’ll be delighted you spent them reading this brilliant specimen of the short novel.
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ReplyDeleteThe word 'soledad' is Spanish for loneliness or solitude and I think that's a great place to start if you want to understand the brilliance of this novel. In this description of rural America in the 1930's, John Steinbeck tells us about George, Lennie and a number of very different people who work on the ranch. However, the one common thread running between all of them is an underlying sense of desolation and underachievment. None of the characters can be deemed 'successful' in life and while the book is centered on the deep friendship between Lennie and George, the other characters all seem to be seeking companionship and understanding from their peers. As Crooks, Curley's wife and Candy open up to Lennie due to his mild manner, the reader can sense bitterness in all of their stories.
ReplyDeleteThe irony of this loneliness is striking because the novel is, in many ways, a celebration of friendship. George and Lennie stick with each other through thick and thin and this comradeship between two very different personalities is heart-warming to read about.
The second major theme of the novel is the concept of dreams. All the main characters have had high aspirations for themselves at some point or the other in their lives. However, none of these aspirations have materialised so far and while some people have given up, others plod on through the rigours of daily life solely because of them. George and Lennie live through day and night with the hope that one day, they will own their own land and be masters of their own free will. This is reflective of the society at the time Steinbeck was writing - the Great Depression had left plenty of people homeless and a lot of them constructed their own slice of paradise in their head to use as a retreat from reality. It was these dreams that kept people going through the difficult times they faced. All the work required to achieve one's ambitions becomes just a little bit easier if these ambitions are clearly visible. However, just like Steinbeck's characters, most Americans were never able to fulfill their dreams.
On the whole, Steinbeck has filled this little book with a great story and plenty of emotion. Despite the language being slightly difficult to understand, this is a book you want to read more than once.
That review was by Nishit, by the way :P
ReplyDeleteI must say there is nothing left to be said about the novel which the reviewer hasn’t already in his hefty account of it. But I would like to talk about certain things once more, aspects which I consider are indispensable in any discussion about “Of mice and men”.
ReplyDelete“With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.”
Lennie broke in. “But not us! And why? Because... because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.”
The above lines certainly say all that is to be inferred from the novel. Two guys bound by their love for each other. But, is there more? Yes, the dream they share, if not the American Dream then at least the harbinger of it, which ties them to each other. The title of the novella also neatly fits into the theme. The dreams of mice and men, the biggest schemers of all, also go astray. What does it matter, if these dream are shattered in the end, what remain is the love and hope that stands out amid all the gloom and sorrow.
I would agree with the reviewer as, Steinbeck himself calls it “a kind of playable novel, written in novel form but so scened and set that it can be played as it stands”. But however morose be the circumstances and callous the people around, the novel doesn’t cease to be a story of hope despite loss.
- Sanskar Jain
2008TT10701