Sunday, August 21, 2011

Rabbits, Rabbits, Everywhere: Of Mice and Men

So far in my reading life, Steinbeck has been something of a mixed bag for me. I HATED "The Pearl," which was my first encounter with him, but that could very well be because my eighth grade English teacher made us read it three or four times over the course of studying it, which I did because I was a good little rule-follower. Again, this loathing could be misplaced and not Steinbeck's fault, but I do so detest "The Pearl." But I digress. My second encounter with Steinbeck was much better. The Grapes of Wrath was assigned as summer reading before my senior year of high school. At that point, I had a terrible track record with summer reading (despite being a rule-follower), probably because I was too busy reading what I WANTED to read during the summer rather than all the assigned reading which I diligently, and almost religiously, read during the school year. Imagine my surprise, then, when The Grapes of Wrath became not only the first summer reading book I ever actually finished but also was a book I rather enjoyed despite it coming from the same author who produced the oh-so-reprehensible "The Pearl." A while back (possibly years? my, time does fly), my book club read East of Eden. I didn't know quite how I felt about the novel and decided to reserve judgment until I could read it again over a shorter period of time.

When the Classics Circuit announced a Steinbeck tour, I knew I had to participate. While contemplating what book to choose, I will admit to being heavily influenced in my selection by Lost; ultimately I chose Of Mice and Men because of Lost (if you want to know how Lost is connected to the novel, you can go here. But be warned: there are spoilers for the novel and, depending on how you see it, the show itself.).


If Of Mice and Men is about anything, it is about dreams. Specifically, it is about the dream that George and Lennie have to own their own piece of land that they can work, control, and belong to. This dream of owning their own farm is really a thinly veiled desire for home and belonging, and it is their dream as a representation of home and belonging that becomes so appealing to other characters in the novel (especially Candy, an old, soon-to-lose-his-usefullness farmhand and Crooks, the ostracized Black stable hand). In typical Steinbeck fashion, however, this dream is not easily achieved, and many, many obstacles stand in the way of George and Lennie getting their farm.

Ironically, Lennie, who thinks about and clings to this dream more than anyone else in the novel, himself is probably the biggest and most consistent obstacle to achieving the dream. He longs to have rabbits he can care for, he is constantly telling George how he can't wait to live off the "fatta the land," and he is very, very strong, but Lennie has the mind and understanding of a child and often finds himself in trouble without knowing why. George, for reasons left unrevealed to the reader. takes care of Lennie, tries to protect him, and, ultimately, shows him kindness and love, but even he can't keep Lennie from destroying the possibility of achieving their dream.

I was reminded of two other works of fiction while reading Of Mice and Men: The Heart is a Lonely Hunger, by Carson McCullers, and East of Eden, by John Steinbeck. George and Lennie's relationship made me think about John Singer's friendship with Spiros Antanopolos; there's not really much of a comparison there, but this friendship from McCullers' novel popped into my mind several times as I read Of Mice and Men. It was the character of Crooks that reminded me of East of Eden. Like he does with Lee in East of Eden, Steinbeck writes Crooks to directly contradict many of the racial stereotypes and prejudices that would have been prevalent in the 1930s. Both Lee (a Chinese man) and Crooks (a Black man) are atypical according to stereotype, and I wondered while reading about Crooks, as I did while reading about Lee, what Steinbeck was trying to do with these two characters. I'd love to read more about it, so if you know of some resources, please let me know!

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel, which makes my Steinbeck experience more positive than negative or ambiguous. I think this would be a great introduction to Steinbeck (unlike "The Pearl"...okay, I'll stop complaining about "The Pearl" now): it showcases his writing style (there are some truly beautiful descriptions), it is set in California, a place he comes back to again and again, it deals with the struggling working American man, and many of the themes and ideas touched upon in the novel are expressed and fleshed out in Steinbeck's longer works.

10 comments:

picky said...

Oh my gosh, I hated The Pearl too. Ugh.

BUT. I love Steinbeck; East of Eden is my favorite, but I really enjoyed Of Mice and Men as well.

East of Eden is easily one of the most beautifully-written novels I've ever read, and it's interesting you would say the McCullers' novel reminded you of it. I read that last year and just loved it.

So glad you enjoyed this one. Such a fascinating book.

Read the Book said...

I really need to read East of Eden again; I've found that I don't do well when it takes me forver to read a book (probably because I'm so used to reading so fast). I decided to reserve judgment until my reread.

And yes, "The Pearl" is pretty much the worst thing ever. I hated it even more than Treasure Island, and I REALLY hated Treasure Island...

Karen K. said...

I hated The Pearl too -- so depressing; I'm terrible with books with certain types of tragedies (which I shall not mention for fear of spoiling it for others). I couldn't read The Red Pony either. In retrospect I guess it's good I was never assigned either in high school (but my 9th grade English teacher was horrible and we barely read anything other than the textbook anthology of short stories).

I see your point with McCullers's book, which I loved, but Of Mice and Men is not my favorite Steinbeck. I loved Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, and Travels with Charley. I still haven't read East of Eden but I do want to read it soon -- darn it, I have so many on the TBR shelf! The great thing about Steinbeck is he has a mix of longer and shorter works, so if you don't have time for one of the doorstops there are plenty of shorter works which are excellent.

Read the Book said...

That is such a good point, Karen. I really would like to go back and read McCullers' novel again; I was actually introduced to it through the film, which I watched in a film class in college. The film brought me to tears DURING CLASS (and this was in my pre-crying-during-movies-or-books stage) and then again when I read it. I would say George and Lennie's friendship is much more of a complex two-way street than John and Spiros' relationship (and it is interesting that both stories have protagonists with ironic names: John SINGER the deaf-mute and Lennie SMALL the large, superman).

Thanks for stopping by!

Rebecca Reid said...

I LOVE East of Eden and did feel it was wonderfully fleshed out in a way that this one was not. I really need to reread Of Mice and Men, though, because so many of those writing about it on the tour have praised it's depth. I think I read it too fast first time.

Read the Book said...

I read Of Mice and Men in one day, and I appreciated that the length made it possible for me to really experience it and be totally invested in the story. And I went into it knowing that it was pretty important because I'm a huge Lost fan!

Shelley said...

I had a similar experience with The Pearl and Grapes of Wrath. It was probably studying Grapes of Wrath my senior year that I started to really love literature. Of Mice and Men I read as an adult, but it's been long enough that my memory is pretty hazy. I loved Lost and was only slightly aware of the allusions in it.

Read the Book said...

Thanks for stopping by, Shelley! Of Mice and Men is referenced mostly in relation to Sawyer, which I find very interesting because I think he's a lot like George (tough on the outside, soft on the inside). If that isn't reason enough to watch the series again, I don't know what is!

Caroline Starr Rose said...

Being from NM, I've always remembered the the Joads lost a ball bearing in Santa Rosa, NM. :)

Read the Book said...

What a fun little fact! And thanks for stopping by! I just started May B and am really enjoying it so far!!