Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The Short Novels of John Steinbeck

Publisher: Penguin Classic (2009)

624 pages, eBook (Purchased Myself for $19.56)

Book Rating: 5 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Summary:

George and Lennie, two migrant workers who have always travelled together, are moving on after Lennie got into a spot of trouble at their last job, and they are hoping the next place will work out better, so they can save up the money needed to buy their own place.

My Thoughts:

This is realistic and gritty . . . and therefore sad. Lennie is a bit slow, and George acts as his protector, constantly digging Lennie out of scrapes that his friend unknowingly gets himself into. Lennie’s compulsion to “pet soft things” combined with his extraordinary strength, and inability to regulate himself, is constantly getting him into trouble. George tries to insulate his friend from the world the best he can, knowing that Lennie doesn’t mean any harm, but there is only so much he can do. I cried at the end . . . it was so sad.

Edition Notes:

This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition of The Short Novels of John Steinbeck, includes: Tortilla Flat, The Red Pony, Of Mice and Men, The Moon is Down, Cannery Row and The Pearl. This ebook version has optimum organization, readability and maneuverability, and if you intend to read all of the stories anyway, the omnibus edition is cheaper than buying them individually. Great edition for the price.

Quotes:

“Evening of a hot day started the little wind to moving among the leaves. The shade climbed up the hills toward the top. On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones.” -John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

“Trouble with mice is you always kill ‘em.” -John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

“ . . . because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you—“-John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

“At about ten o’clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows, and in and out of the beam flies shot like rushing stars.” -John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

“Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is.” -John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

“Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.” -John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

“Guy don’t need no sense to be a nice fella. Seems to me sometimes it jus’ works the other way around. Take a real smart guy and he ain’t hardly ever a nice fella.” -John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

“We could live offa the fatta the lan’.” -John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

“A guy needs somebody—to be near him—A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you—“-John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

“They come, an’ they quit an’ go on; an’ every damn one of ‘em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ‘em ever gets it.” -John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

“I like to pet nice things with my fingers, sof’ things.” -John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

“As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment.” -John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

Movie Adaptations:

Of Mice and Men (1992)

John Malkovich, Gary Sinise, Ray Walston

Movie Rating: PG-13

My Rating: 5 Stars

Adaption: Verbatim-Tweaked-Veiled

Eye Candy: Plain-Pretty-Sultry

This adaption follows very closely to the book, using much of the original dialogue. The casting was perfect, in my opinion, and you could likely get away with watching the movie, instead of reading the book, and no one would know the difference. A great film version of a great book!