Of Mice and Men in Reading the Classics

Jun 29, 2011 Henry Avila rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A kind of modern fairy tale of a little intelligent man and a big powerful giant, however shall we say quite dumb ( intellectually challenged). The friends wander California's many dusty roads and get any job possible, as lowly migrant farmhands during the harsh lengthy Great Depression, 1929- 1939 just trying to survive the deluge, nothing very special here the sad truth be told, as so many millions of
others are in the same frightening situation, starvation. George Milton the little guy is al A kind of modern fairy tale of a little intelligent man and a big powerful giant, however shall we say quite dumb ( intellectually challenged). The friends wander California's many dusty roads and get any job possible, as lowly migrant farmhands during the harsh lengthy Great Depression, 1929- 1939 just trying to survive the deluge, nothing very special here the sad truth be told, as so many millions of
others are in the same frightening situation, starvation. George Milton the little guy is always telling Lenny Small, (the name sure doesn't fit him) the large fellow what to do, guidance the poor man desperately needs. The two arrive at another farm where they meet Curley the boss's sin , make that son. A bully who pushes Lenny too far, some people don't know when to quit, he pays the price. Best scene in the novella is Lenny crushing Curley's hand, like it was made of jelly...you can almost literally feel his bones crack and crumble, the result makes for a sickening sound. The childlike behemoth likes tiny cute things animals or women, still with a bad habit of killing them by accident, he means well, yet they're nevertheless... dead. The men are always talking about buying a modest ranch, the goal more a dream than a probability for that era, keeps them together, George feels responsible for Lenny and the truth they need each other. However Curley's wife, no name just "wife" she wasn't an important enough character the author believed, to have one is killed, the dream shattered. Can Lenny escape punishment or does he ...the crude would say , buy the farm? John Steinbeck; history has shown him to be a great writer, the critics much less numerous now, in one of his most famous books for the interested, the title comes from an old Robert Burns poem "To a Mouse". The if I may judge its meaning is misunderstandings... can lead to hate and violence, all people will be good to each other if only they knew their enemies better, love not hostility would prevail; this may in today's atrocious climate seem naive but we must believe or there is no future. ...more

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Jan 17, 2015 Jibran rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nobel

Told almost entirely in dialogue-driven colloquial, it is a haunting portrayal of the labouring class of Salinas Valley (California). Through the story of two friends who travel to another town to find petty work, Steinbeck in his easy brilliance has painted a grim picture of their lives. They are hard men for hard work, sweating in the fields to bring out the best crops to life; but they have a self-destructive streak; their hubris and wastefulness destroys what they seek. The story focuses on ...more

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May 02, 2020 Whitney rated it it was amazing

Shelves: banned-controversial, history, classics, fiction, western

Most serious. This is one of the most beautiful stories I've ever read. My goodness.... it's going to take me some time to get over this one. #bookhangover ...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Kathy (ebookkat) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: library, 2012-read, top-favorites, fiction

"Of Mice and Men" is a novella by John Steinbeck. This book is a classic that most people read in high school. However, this is the first time I have read it. I liked how the book was a page-turner that kept my interest from the the first page to the last. Once I started reading the story I did not stop until I was done. In the future I hope to read more of the classics by John Steinbeck. ...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Frances rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favoritter-2011, 2011, favoritter

Den her var virkelig, virkelig god!
Jeg havde lyst til at læse den fra ende til anden. (hvilket også let kan lade sig gøre, da den er så kort.)
Igennem bogen er der en følelse af uhygge, som jeg elsker, man forventer det værste, men håber på det bedste.

En af de bedste bøger læst i år! Anbefales til alle.

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