Of Mice and Men

"Of Mice and Men" is a book about 2 men and their struggle to achieve

their dream of owning a farm through their companionship. The two men

are completely different, one being a retarded fellow(Lennie), and the

other, a typical ranch hand(George) who travels with him. On the path

to achieving their dream, they run into obstacles, but stick together,

stressing the importance of true friendship. Steinbeck wrote this book

to tell us how important it is to have a friend to share your life

with.

The book starts off set in Soledad, which, when translated into English

means "lonely". But when Lennie and George are together, they are

anything but lonely. They share a friendship so great that if either

person dies, or both are separated, they other could not survive.

Their friendship is a true one, where they share their lives together,

benefitting from each others company. "Guys like us, that work on

ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family.

They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake

and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing

you know they're pounding in' their tail on some other ranch. They

ain't got nothing to look ahead to....With us it ain't like that. We

got a future. We got somebody to talk to that give as a damn about

us. We don't have to sit in no bar room blow in' in our jack jus'

because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail

then can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us. But not us!

An' why? Because.....because I got you to look after me, and you got

me to look after you, and that's why."(p.13-14) Because of the extent

of Lennie and George's friendship, they go beyond the mere sharing of

words. George and Lennie share a dream of owning a farm, due to their

friendship with each other. Their friendship makes this dream

possible, because if there were only one person, there would be no one

to share the dream with, it would be just a silly old thought, and not

a serious possibility. "With us it ain't like that. We got a future.

We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us......O.K.

Someday--we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a

little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and' An'

live off the fatta the lan, An' have rabbits. Go on, George! Tell

about what we're gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the

cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the

cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it. Tell about that,

George."(p.14)

In the third chapter of this book, Candy is center of attention due to

his dog, which Carlson wants killed. Candy is an old man who has no

one to talk to or keep him company