Ruth’s Comments (group member since Nov 15, 2023)

Ruth’s comments from the 24 Classics for 2024 group.

What did you think?!

I believe that there are a lot of controversial opinions on this book and I want to see what they are! Use this thread as a place to vent your frustrations with it or express your love for it :)

Adult/minor relationship
Death
Incest
Pedophilia
Sexual content
Violence

Abuse
Animal death
Character death
Misogyny
Murder
Racism
Rape (mentioned)
Violence

Ableism
Blinding/Eye Trauma
Death
Ethnic slurs
Fire
Illness
Mutilation
Parental/Guardian abuse
Sexism
Suicide

- Animal death
- Blood
- Death (including child and loved one)
- Murder
- Plane crash
- Violence

In case anyone is struggling to keep up with the millions of characters

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One of my favorite things about this book is the characters. In my opinion they are well written. This is particularly impressive to me because we get introduced to a lot of characters in such a short book, yet, after I read it I felt like I knew and understood each of them personally. Each character is so different, but in this book they are all connected by a similar theme - loneliness.


George - Even though he has Lennie, from the start you can still notice how he quietly yearns for the companionship of an equal. His care for Lennie is undeniable, but even so one can see that he wishes to have someone he did not have to care for 24/7.
Crooks - The obviously isolated and excluded character. He "knows his place," and what I mean by this is that he is aware of where he stands socially, not only in the farm but in the world at the time. This comes to show that regardless of race, as a person and human being, he is not immune to the want of companionship.
Candy - Outliving his "usefulness" There's a lot of parallels found between Candy's dog and Lennie, but I also see parallels between Candy and his dog. Just like his dog, even though he was nearing not being physically useful, he still has value. His dog was his companion, and the rest of the characters failed to see that.
Curley's Wife - She's a victim. Sure she was pretty flirtatious, but it is obvious she just wanted attention, and was sad to not being able to pursue her own dreams.
Curley - Vaseline hand. Must I say more? His possessiveness over his wife is not healthy, but even if its desperate, the need of companionship is still the same.
Slim - I think out of all of the characters he is the most neutral. Maybe, like George, he was waiting for an equal to show up. He was the only one to comfort him after what happened to Lennie, and I'd like to believe that they became close friends after the fact.

That's my little rant.

Was doing some background/context reading as I head to reading it for the second time, and I found this interesting fact about the title.

Probably good to have already read the first chapter before reading this.


"Steinbeck chose the title Of Mice and Men after reading a poem called “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns, in which the poet regrets accidentally destroying a mouse’s nest. The poem resonates with several of Of Mice and Men’s central themes: the impermanence of home and the harshness of life for the most vulnerable.

The struggles of the mouse whose home is destroyed parallels with the struggles of George, Lennie, and other migrant workers whose dreams of purchasing land are destroyed by the trials of the Great Depression. Their own fate is not so different from the poem’s mouse, or the dead mouse Lennie pulls from his pocket—the characters are destined for destruction beyond their control."

Fairly simple, just do.

Sharing recommendations or alternatives is highly encouraged. Members can benefit from them if they DNFd a listed book or don’t want a reread.

Just make sure to:
1. Note if it’s an alternative for a current read and specify the month/book
2. If it’s a misc./non-classic related book, title it with the genre and explain why you’re recommending it.

I've been interested to where everyone is from! Share what you're comfortable with :)

I am currently based in Los Angeles. Very odd to experience the cool weather.

Third time's the charm. Ignore any duplicates of this post.

Here are my recommended alternatives for this month's reads:

To Kill a Mockingbird
The Grapes of Wrath

Like Water for Chocolate
The House of the Spirits

Daniel wrote: "its really beneficial too look into the history of colombia/latinoamerica before reading in my opinion"

Context is so important! do you have any recommended sources for this?

Mark wrote: "Thanks to Ruth I tasted Steinbeck for the first time and I liked it."

SO glad you enjoyed it! I read this book a couple of months ago to see if it was a book that I wanted to add to the list (this is not to say that I have read every single book on the list but I did my best to research) It may not be my favorite book of all time, but it is up there. I am not an expressive reader, but this short story managed to make me cry. The scenes and characters are fleshed out so well.

In context of the first 4 chapters:

As Bessie and Abbot discuss Jane, what does their language tell us about how beauty and class affect a young woman’s prospects? Does it strike you as fair to call Jane a “little toad” in comparison to the “lovely” Georgiana?


I was interested in this question because I know that later on Jane gets a love interest. What do you think?

How are everyone’s reads so far?! Have you started the second book?

I envy those who got to read this book over with a teacher. Currently in chapter 4 and I can already see so many layers and symbolism intended by the author. The contrast of these characters is so interesting.

What do you guys think each of these characters represent?

I envy those who got to read this book over with a teacher. Currently in chapter 4 and I can already see so many layers and symbolism intended by the author. The contrast of these characters is so interesting.

What do you guys think each of these characters represent?

Thanks for this! I’m reading Lord of the Flies first but this will be useful soon!

Use this discussion board to share alternatives to January

Here are some of my recommendations:

Villette
The Turn of the Screw

The Coral Island
Fahrenheit 451

Hello everyone!

We are two days away from starting! Very excited to see what you all have to say about the books we will be reading this year!

In the mean time, continue to introduce yourselves and fill out the polls 😊

Which book will you be starting first?