Of Mice and Men

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Summary: Summary of novel and positive influences of book.
Review: Review of: Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men is a novel about two men named George and Lennie who have the dream of owning their own farm one day. The problem however, is that George and Lennie do not have nearly enough money to pay for their own farm nonetheless pay for a decent living. George is a small dark man who is pretty smart, and his counterpart Lennie is a little different. Lennie has a slight mental disability because he nearly drowned in a river that he and George swam in a long time before the novel started. Because George felt that he did not to enough to save Lennie, he vowed to take care of Lennie for the rest of his life.
The next day, Lennie and George apply for a job at a local farm. They get a job and are allowed to live in a bunker house on the farm. In the house, they meet Candy, who is a another "hand' around the farm, and Curley, who is the boss' mean-spirited son. Lennie and George work on the farm for the next week or so, when Candy overhears George and Lennie discussing their plans for the farm they are going to buy. Candy vows to not tell anyone about the plans and says he will donate his life savings if he is allowed to live on the land. From that point on, whenever someone threatens Lennie or tries to make fun of him because of his disabilities, (example is Curley when he is jealous that his wife is hitting on everyone) Candy is there to back Lennie.
During one of the following evenings, Lennie and Curley's wife get into a discussion about how they love to touch things that are soft. Curley's wife allows Lennie to feel her hair, and after a couple of minutes Lennie is yanking at Curley's wife's hair and ends up breaking her neck. Previously before this incident, Lennie had killed his baby puppy that had been given to him as a present. The next morning, George shoots Lennie in the back of the head as an act of mercy, to relieve him of a life, that he obviously never wanted to live.
I thought that there were a couple of aspects in this novel that could have made it a banned book. An aspect may have been, who and who isn't allowed to work legally in the United States. I thought in the past, there may have been a law that said that no person with mental disabilities would be allowed to work manual labor. Because of this law, I thought they may ban this book because it is a prime example of how a retarded person got away with working on a farm and how the novel may show examples for other mentally-challenged people in the world to find jobs. Because this book, I thought promoted illegal policies, it would be banned. Also in a moral standpoint, I think this book may have been banned to relieve the public about a story of a retarded person who's life turned out so badly for him. I think this book may have disturbed many people in the past, therefore, the book was banned so when people saw mentally-challenged people, they would not relate the person to the story of Lennie in Of Mice and Men.
I think this book positively aspects the literary world and its' themes should be shared by everyone that can read a book. I have many reasons why I believe this. First of all, I really liked how Of Mice and Men portrays the value of human existence. At one point in the book, we notice how Lennie has the need of a friend, yet he will cling to a stranger, such as Curley's wife, for self-comfort. In scenarios such as this one, we can see that tyranny does not come from those who are rich and powerful, and I believe that this is a very powerful concept to have the knowledge of because oppression does not come from "the hands of the heavens," which is something everyone needs to know.
Another aspect of this book that positively influences the outside world is how there is no possibility of everything happening perfectly, or "The American Dream." There are many examples of this throughout the book. For example, Curley's wife wishes to one day be a movie star, Crooks wishes to be the hardest worker on Lennie and George's farm, and Candy wishes that he will have a friend, (George) own a large piece of land. Obviously, none of these wishes came true. The moral to this is, what makes dreams is the desire to follow their own freedoms, and dreams, as shown by Of Mice and men, will never occur. And that is something that every American needs to know, is that dreams are meant to be dreams, and the sooner you know that, the better it is; which is why this book is a positive influence to the outside world.
I would recommend this book to all advanced readers because it not only provides an interesting setting, climax, and plot, it provides a great understanding of the world, and what meanings of life the world has to offer. If you would like to have a story told to you that tells you the journeys of two young men who are looking for answers to life, but get them in symbolic form, read this novel, because you look at things a whole lot differently, once you look at life from a different standpoint.

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Summary: Of mice and Men
Review: Of Mice and men, by John Steinbeck, is the tragic story of two men who share the same dream of someday owning a farm. it was written in 1937, a time when certain topics we consider acceptable would be considered contriversial. one topic that the story explores is mental retardation, which probably was a new and scary topic to explore at that time. Racism was addressed throughout the book, a topic that probably wasn't shown in literature at that time. Finally, sexuality was talked about many times in the novel. I can imagine that this was a major reason why the book was banned. Because of its themes of mental retardation, racism and sexuality, Of Mice and Men was banned from bookshelves.

One theme that would be considered controversial from a social and moral standpoint is mental retardation. Lennie, one of the principal characters, suffers from this illness. in 1937. the time when the book was written, it is possible that retardation was an idea that wasn't addressed very often. When Steinbeck wrote about it in Of Mice and Men, people didn't know how to deal with it. At the time, people who were mentally retarded were put in hospitals and often didn't live normal lives. But Steinbeck wrote the book in a way that Lennie lives a fairly normal life, with some help from his companion George. This theme is also the cuase of Lennie's downfall. When he kills Curleys wife, all the men wanted to kill him. George killed him so that he wouldn't have to suffer a horrible death.With Lennie dies the two friend's dream of owning a farm of their own.

Another Controversial theme that is explored in the book is racism. Crooks is the only black man on the ranch that George and Lennie work on. he has a crooked back because when he was a kid he was kicked by a horse. Throughout the book, the men on the ranch refer to him as a nigger. He is not allowed to be with the men unless he is working or playing horseshoes. He lives alone because he is not allowed to have a bunk with the other men. But Crooks is used to this because he has faced racism his whole life. Through the character is Crooks, Steinbeck is trying to draw attention to the problem of racism and the alienation of the result of prejudice.

Throghout Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck makes many sexual references. George would always say to Lennie that is he didn't have to look after him that he would be able to go to whore-houses every once in a while. Also, whenever the men on the ranch would talk about Curly's wife, they would call her a tart, which is another word for a whore. People in the 1930's were very conservative about sex. They weren't as open about it as we are today. When Steinbeck brought these sexual references to his novel and people read it, they must have been uphauled to see it in literature. People would just ban the book because they were not used to reading the sexual themes.

Of Mice and Men was banned when is was published for many reasons. But the main reasons are for themes of mental retardation, racism and sexual references. People were not willing to deal with these subjects publiclylike we do today. The novel pushed the boundries and said what was not supposed to be said It is a great novel and it has made an amazing positive contribution to the literary world.

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Summary: The review of book "of Mice and Men"
Review: This story took place in the Salmos Valley,Californiain a small town called Weed,during the great Depression.Lennie and George were like son and father.Lennie had a mind of a child and George was like his father who always took care of him.Lennie always gave troubles to George,but George understood him because he knew Lennie didn't know what he was doing .Curley was the boss'son.curley's wife gave big problem to Lennie.George did something to Lennie,he didn't want to do it,and Lennie also didn't think that he could do something like that to him.

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Summary: Am Enduring Classic for All Time
Review: Wonderful story of friendship, sacrifice and self-denial. Ordinary "common man" his trails and tribulations, his goals and dreams in an account of his daily life experiences. Excellent for classroom discussions and character study, especially for freshmen high school students. Often required reading and is a good beginning book for students learning analytical skills.
Evelyn Horan - author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl Books One-Three

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Summary: Lonely Califorinia fields
Review: John Steinbeck delivers a powerful and gripping story in his book, Of Mice and Men.

It tells a tale of two friends on a journey to find joy in the California horizon. George and Lennie are the pair that departs together to find work that would bring them closer to the dream of owning a farm. The dream becomes harder for George because of the continuous hassle from Lennie, a mentally disabled man. Yet the two travel together because of the loneliness of being alone and the company they bring each other. Together they find work in Salinas Valley. The dream of owning a farm comes closer until Lennie causes more conflict at their work. But this time George puts the decision in his own hands.
Steinbeck explores the nature of man and friendship in his book. George's decision to end the cycle at the end of the book shows his character of understanding the situation that he was in. George understood that together their dream was unachievable. The constant struggle between George and Lennie did not help achieve their dream and put it into reality. Many times before, George put up with this conflict because of their bond and friendship together. Steinbeck shows that where there is a conflict the knowledgeable one should solve it. In of Mice and Men, George realizes Lennie probably could never truly be happy. So as a friend George tries to make Lennie's last memory of getting, "to tend the rabbits,"(105") in a farm with him. Steinbeck provides some insight to what a good friend is and what man needs to do for survival.
Steinbeck provides superb storytelling. From beginning to end the novel makes you stick with their journey though their happiness and hardships. He shows the connection of a powerful friendship and the limits they take to make each other happy. Recommend this book to anyone looking to travel on a journey that will not let you go until the end. John Steinbeck delivers the goods with this one.

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Summary: Of Mice and Men
Review: John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is the tale of two traveling laborers in California named George, who is small, quick and intelligent, and Lennie, who is enormous and incredibly strong but posseses the mind of a child. The story follows George and Lennie as they work on a small ranch in California's Salinas Valley trying to achieve their dream of owning their own little patch of land. George tries to protect Lennie from getting into trouble with the boss' pugnacious son, Curley, and his overly "friendly" wife. However, just when it seemed that their dream was in reach, Lennie's unwavering devotion to George and his determination not to disappoint him bring the story to a tragic end that could bring a tear to even the most stoic of eyes.

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Summary: Classic Tale from an American Tradition.
Review: As one of Steinbeck's most renowned stories, along with The Grapes of Wrath, this novella really does deliver what it promises in the way of true emotion and friendship during times of extreme adversity.

When isolation was common, George, a short yet sharp man and his pal Lennie, a large man who is slow of mind, work on a ranch in Salinas, California, during the Great Depression. With a dream in mind, they work towards their goal of living in a somewhat ascetic nature, secluded with only each other to keep company. But as the title explains, even the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Steinbeck is probably the mascot of modern American literature, and his other works, namely Travels with Charley, Grapes of Wrath, and In Dubious Battle, entertain to the letter. He is common reading in high schools, and due to his soft and affable writing style, he is accepted nearly unanimously.

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Summary: a believable story
Review: This isn't an uplifting book. This is what would really happen. There is none of that perfection that always happens to characters in books. The story feels real.
It is a great story, and easy to read, but the ideas are not meant for people bellow high school age.
Steinbeck has a very descriptive style that is wonderful for some people. I found the descriptions long and dull, but they put vivid images in my mind.

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Summary: of mice and men
Review: During the geart deperssion. In salinas, california. Lennie and George traveled together from ranch to ranch hoping to earn enough "stake" to achieve their dream. Lennie, the large man, with a small mind, often got in trouble and always looked up for George for help, who is small, quick, and smart. Together they formed a family. At the ranch they met old Candy. With his help George and Lennie were one step closer to their dream, but just then Lennie...
I gave this book 5 stars, because this book turned out different than what i had throught. This book not only taught us about friendship, but also showed the other side of it.

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Summary: A real friendship?
Review: That was a tipic life in the 1930's, where the depretion was combinated with the racism. There, in a simple ranch, some day two migrants workers friends, decided to start a new life. George,the older but the smaller, was a person whu take care of his friend, and always save him of the troubles. Lennie, with a giant body, but with mind of a baby, always finish doing something that he don't except, that block their dreams and relationship.

Great feelings are showing in the book... lonely, desires and hopes follow a tremendes adventure to get their own land. But the inocent force of Lennie, will change some decitions and plans on the ranch of the suspence...