Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck

called his approach non-teleological thinking, or “is thinking.” The term non-teleological was coined by Steinbeck’s best friend, Edward F. Ricketts; and as the two men articulated their shared philosophy, they emphasized the need to see as clearly as a scientist: that is, to accept life on its own terms. “Is thinking” focused not on ends but on the process of life, the Aristotelean efficient cause of nature.

When reading Of Mice and Men, we are asked to acknowledge the inevitability of a situation in which two men, each with a particular weakness and need, cling to the margins of an unforgiving world. It is a parable about commitment, loneliness, hope, and loss, drawing its power from the fact that these universal truths are grounded in the realistic context of friendship and a shared dream. It is the energy of that friendship, real but hardly sentimental, that charges this richly suggestive and emotional text.