Of Mice and Men

Outline

Of Mice and Men (1937) tells the story of George and Lennie, two poor farm workers who travel together through California during the Great Depression, dreaming of one day owning a small farm of their own. George is quick and practical, while Lennie is strong but childlike. John Steinbeck’s short and powerful novel explores friendship, loneliness, and the fragile hopes of ordinary people, and ends in heartbreak.

• George and Lennie travel together through California during the Great Depression, working on farms and sharing a dream of owning land.
• George is quick and practical, while Lennie is strong but childlike, and each depends on the other.
• Their plan for a small farm of their own gives them hope in a hard, uncertain life.
• Steinbeck shows how loneliness shapes ordinary people and how much they need companionship.
• The short novel shows that fragile hopes can carry a painful cost, and it ends in heartbreak.

John Steinbeck (1902–1968) was an American novelist known for his compassionate portraits of working people and their struggles. He received the Pulitzer Prize for The Grapes of Wrath and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962. His works include Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, and East of Eden.