Part 2 of Book Analysis: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Main Theme Explanation
John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a novel woven with themes that remain as piercingly relevant today as they were in the 1930s. Through its characters, setting, and recurring motifs, Steinbeck dissects the American Dream, loneliness, and the fragile balance of power in a world that favors the strong.
The American Dream: A Promise or a Mirage?
The Great Depression left countless Americans clinging to the hope of a better life, and George and Lennie are no exception. Like many migrant workers of the era, they drift from ranch to ranch, chasing the illusion of stability. Their shared dream—owning a small piece of land where they can “live off the fatta the lan’”—is more than just a fantasy; it’s a lifeline.
Yet Steinbeck challenges the very foundation of this dream. Is it truly attainable, or merely an illusion dangled before the powerless? For George, Lennie, and even Candy and Crooks—who briefly dare to believe in the dream—it represents an escape from a world that sees them as disposable. But fate, much like the social and economic realities of the time, has other plans. The novel forces us to confront a sobering truth: for those pushed to society’s margins, the American Dream may forever remain just out of reach.
The Mouse and the Man: Steinbeck’s Nod to Robert Burns
Steinbeck didn’t pluck his title out of thin air. He borrowed it from Robert Burns’ poem To a Mouse, in which a plowman, having accidentally destroyed a mouse’s home, laments:
“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley.”
Plans go awry—that’s the painful heart of the novel. Like the mouse’s fragile nest, George and Lennie’s modest dream is crushed by forces beyond their control. And yet, hope is a necessary thing, especially in times of crisis. During the Great Depression, dreams—however fragile—kept people moving forward. But Steinbeck reminds us that some obstacles are insurmountable. Just as the mouse in Burns’ poem is powerless against the plow, so too are George and Lennie against the unforgiving world they inhabit.
Burns’ poem carries an unmistakable tone of pity, as if he is mourning the mouse’s suffering. Steinbeck does much the same—he doesn’t judge his characters; he grieves for them.
Loneliness, Isolation, and the Search for True Companionship
Loneliness is a shadow that lingers over nearly every character in Of Mice and Men. Crooks ostracized because of his race, spells it out plainly: “A guy needs somebody—to be near him.” Curley’s wife, trapped in a loveless marriage, reaches out for companionship only to be met with suspicion and rejection. Despite his bond with Lennie, even George carries the weight of solitude.
However, there’s an important distinction between Lennie and Curley’s wife. Lennie has George—someone who, for all his frustrations, looks out for him. Curley’s wife, on the other hand, is utterly alone. Her fate is tragic, but it’s not the same kind of tragedy Lennie faces. In Steinbeck’s world, true connection is a rare thing, and survival often demands its sacrifice.
Power: Who Holds It, Who Lacks It, and Who Misuses It
Steinbeck masterfully dissects the power struggles embedded in society. Curley, small but seething with insecurity, compensates with aggression. His wife wields power in the way she catches men’s attention, yet she remains powerless in shaping her own destiny. Crooks, though intelligent and capable, is confined by racial discrimination. And Lennie, the strongest man on the ranch in sheer physicality, is paradoxically the most vulnerable because of his intellectual limitations.
The novel is a quiet but sharp critique of a world where power is unevenly distributed—where strength does not always equal control and where those at the bottom are left at the mercy of forces they cannot fight.
Motifs
Hands: Strength and Fragility
Hands in Of Mice and Men are more than just body parts—they are symbols of power, control, and, at times, helplessness. Lennie’s enormous hands, likened to paws, are tools of both creation and destruction. He cradles mice and pups with innocent affection, yet those same hands inevitably crush them. Curley, on the other hand—quite literally—obsesses over his own hands as symbols of masculinity. One, he keeps soft for his wife (a rather desperate flex of dominance), while the other, he weaponizes against weaker men. But when Lennie shatters his hand like brittle glass, Curley’s illusion of power crumbles with it. Steinbeck suggests strength is not just about what you can hold—it’s about what you can control.
Animals: Innocence on a Collision Course with Fate
Steinbeck laces his novel with animal imagery, especially when it comes to Lennie. From the outset, he is compared to a bear, his strength overwhelming and untamed. Yet his love for soft creatures—mice, puppies—reveals his childlike innocence. The tragedy, of course, is that he cannot calibrate his own power. What he loves, he destroys. This cycle of unintended harm is a grim foreshadowing of his own fate.
The mouse in Robert Burns’ poem To a Mouse—the very inspiration for the novel’s title—is another creature too small to fight back against forces beyond its control. Just as the plow razes the mouse’s nest, so too does society crush men like Lennie. In drawing this parallel, Steinbeck doesn’t just tell a story—he mourns for those who, like Lennie and so many migrant workers, are left vulnerable in an unforgiving world.
Dreams: The Mirage of Freedom
The dream of a little farm, a safe haven where a man can reap what he sows, is a bright and shining hope in the novel. George and Lennie speak of it like scripture, each repetition reinforcing its promise. And for a moment, it even seems possible—Candy and Crooks, hardened by life, allow themselves to believe. But Steinbeck, ever the realist, doesn’t deal with happy endings. The dream is a mirage, an illusion shimmering on the horizon, forever out of reach.
The cruel irony is that hope keeps people going, yet hope also sets them up for heartbreak. Steinbeck does not offer easy answers—only the bitter truth that, for some, the American Dream is not a dream at all but a quiet tragedy waiting to unfold.
Character Tie-ins
George and Lennie’s friendship stands in stark contrast to the prevailing loneliness of others in the novel. In an environment where men drift from job to job, forming no real attachments, their bond is rare. Yet, ironically, this friendship is also their greatest burden—George must navigate the difficult reality of protecting Lennie while knowing he cannot truly shield him from the world.
Crooks and Curley’s wife embody the theme of societal rejection in different ways. Crooks, isolated due to his race, is relegated to a lonely existence, his intellect and desires dismissed. Curley’s wife, nameless throughout the novel, is defined only in relation to her husband. Both characters highlight how society pushes the powerless into the shadows.
Examples and Quotes
Steinbeck weaves his themes through powerful dialogue and imagery:
- Loneliness: “A guy needs somebody—to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody.” (Crooks)
- Dreams: “We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.” (George)
- Power and Powerlessness: “They left all the weak ones here.” (Curley’s wife, acknowledging the hierarchy of the ranch)
Reflection Questions
- Do you think the American Dream is still achievable today, or has it remained an illusion for many?
- How does isolation affect characters in the novel, and how does it compare to modern experiences of loneliness?
- Does Steinbeck suggest that power is inherently corrupt, or is it the way power is used that matters?
Steinbeck’s novel remains a compelling study of human nature, dreams, and the limitations placed upon us by society. Its themes are as relevant today as they were during the Great Depression—perhaps even more so.