Of Mice and Men

full title * Of Mice and Men

author * John Steinbeck

type of work * Novel

genre * Fiction; tragedy

language * English

time and place written * Mid-1930s; Pacific Grove and Los Gatos ranch, California

date of first publication * 1937

publisher * Covici, Friede, Inc.

narrator * Third-person omniscient

climax * Lennie accidentally kills Curley's wife in the barn

protagonists * George and Lennie

antagonists * Curley; society; the cruel, predatory nature of human life

setting (time) * 1930s

setting (place) * South of Soledad, California

point of view * The novel is told from the point of view of a third-person omniscient narrator, who can access the point of view of any character as required by the narrative.

falling action * Lennie runs away from the barn; the men return and find Curley's wife dead; Curley leads a mob of men to search for and kill Lennie; George finds Lennie in the clearing and, while retelling the story of life on their farm, shoots him in the back of the head

tense * Past

foreshadowing * Lennie petting the dead mouse, Lennie being run out of Weed for the incident involving the girl in the red dress, and Lennie killing his puppy--all of which anticipate Lennie accidentally killing Curley's wife; the death of Candy's dog, which anticipates the death of Lennie; Candy's regret that he didn't kill his old dog himself, which anticipates George's decision to shoot Lennie

tone * Sentimental, tragic, doomed, fatalistic, rustic, moralistic, comic

themes * The predatory nature of human existence; the importance of fraternity and idealized relationships between men; the impossibility of the American Dream; the destructive imbalance of social power structures in American society

motifs * The corrupting power of female sexuality; strength and weakness; loneliness