John Steinbeck: Of Mice And Men

Mice is my favorite of his works, with Grapes a close second, and the Paisanos of Tortilla Flat not far behind.

zooeyg said:

Mice is my favorite of his works, with Grapes a close second, and the Paisanos of Tortilla Flat not far behind.

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Boo!, I'd put Grapes first, then this book. I will say that it is better than The Winter Of Our Discontent.

I recently read Of mice and men for school, and I can say I admired the way Steinbeck illustrated the society of the 1930's.

Thinking of the messages the book gets across, I feel that George was forced to kill Lennie because otherwise he (Lennie) would suffer a painful death; he would be lynched. I don't think he could get away with it this time; think about the dangers he expereienced simply for touching a girl's dress when he was in Weed.

After all, the foreshadowings that Dayspring analyzed earlier, point this ending as the only possible, even if it is sad

Lennie had to die at George's hand. It was quick and he was gone. If George let him live, Lennie would have been horribly mistreated and lynched in a horrific scene of terror for a "simple man" who simply did not understand what was going on around him.

The comparison to the dog was very apt.

of mice and men

In essence, a love story - beautiful and disturbing.

Great book though.
I have read any others and I really ought to!

Mod Edit: added spoiler tags for those who've not read it.