About That Of Mice and Men Ending ...

[Scott]

During June, July, and August, I’ve implemented my Summer Rereading Program. First up: Of Mice and Men. The first time I read it, last year, actually, I blew through it pretty quickly and didn’t reflect on it much, hence the need to reread. This time around, there’s something I’d really like to discuss with others, and that’s the ending.

No, not that ending – not Lennie’s final fate. Rather, when Lennie is sitting, waiting for George, and we get a few visions from his perspective – the first being Aunt Clara, the second being the giant rabbit. Did anyone else find this wildly inconsistent with the rest of the book? I don’t know if stories come much more grounded than Of Mice and Men, and these two visions struck me as incredibly strange. At no other point do we get the story from Lennie’s perspective, and these two visions end as quickly as they began, as does the story from Lennie’s viewpoint.

What are your theories? Do the visions belong? What purpose do they serve? Is this a stroke of craftsmanship on Steinbeck’s part, or an oversight? Please do share your thoughts …

[Monty J]

Scott wrote: "Did anyone else find this wildly inconsistent with the rest of the book?"

I was wondering when someone was going to bring up this odd passage. To me it stuck out like a sore thumb. I took it that Lennie has gone delusional, a psychotic break brought on by the trauma of killing Curley's wife.

But now I will reread it and do a bit of research and get back to you.

[Erika]

I hadn't really thought too hard about that part until you brought it up. At the time I guess I interpreted it as it was just his imagination and he wasn't smart enough to recognize it as such. But I think now that Monty's idea of it being trauma makes sense. Also, exhaustion could have been a factor.
As to whether it belongs, I think it does. It shows what was going through his head at the time. Plus I feel that it's very sad because it highlights how simple and child-like his dreams were, but they were still enough to make him happy.

[Scott]

You both make really great points, and I agree with you both as well, but my only discomfort comes from the fact that at no other point in the book do we get the story from Lennie's perspective.

Any theories why Steinbeck did that? I think we all had a strong idea of his mental ineptitude and childlike ideology.

In my copy, this scene takes up only about a page. Very strange. Mind you, it doesn't make me enjoy the story any less. From a craft standpoint, though, I'm intrigued.

Thanks for humoring me!

[Monty J]

Scott wrote: "...my only discomfort comes from the fact that at no other point in the book do we get the story from Lennie's perspective. "

It is indeed jarring for Steinbeck to dip into Lennie's thoughts in this way, because throughout the rest of the story the author maintains a strict third-person objective-distant point of view, distant in that he doesn't dip into a character's head and actually give us their thoughts. So when he does it with Lennie it emphasizes his delusional/psychotic break with reality.

There is no indication Lennie has had other such events, so this dramatic scene implies that he's gone irretrievably "over the edge," perhaps further justifying his euthanasia.

Delaying our penetration into Lennie's point of view makes the scene more effective because of the shock of discovering his terrible inner world. Perhaps he was insane all along, not just retarded.

[Brad]

Excellent discussion. Whenever I have a question about a Steinbeck book, I first turn to A Life in Letters. This is a superb resource for learning more about what Steinbeck thought about specific literary works.
There are two references to Of Mice and Men that might help this discussion:
First, a letter written to George Albee in 1936:

"I finished a little book sometime ago [Of Mice and Men] . . . It is a tricky little thing designed to teach me to write for the theatre." (Viking Press, 1975 hardback edition, page 124)

Second, a letter written to Louis Paul in 1936:

"After two months of fooling around my new work [Of Mice and Men] is really going . . . I'm using a new set of techniques as far a I know . . . the unexplored in method makes the job at once more difficult because I can't tell what it will get over and more pleasant because it requires more care. I'm not interested in method as such but I am interested in having a vehicle exactly adequate to the theme." (Ibid, page 116)

First point, because Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men as an exercise to learn how to write for the theater, maybe he had some theatrical idea in mind with the Lennie rabbit vision/dream.

Second point, as mention in the last quote, Steinbeck wanted of Mice and Men to be "a vehicle exactly adequate to the theme." Of Mice and Men is filled with the dreams of various characters (ie. ranch hands, George, etc.). The theme revolves around the unfulilled, even broken, dreams of individuals. In keeping with this idea, maybe Steinbeck chose to include a Lennie dream at the very end to tie the theme together. The Lennie dream also serves the purpose of setting the stage, so to speak, of showing the complete nulification of Lennie's overall dreams, since Lennie is moments away from being killed.

[Scott]

@Monty

I love that you introduce the idea that perhaps Lennie was actually insane rather than handicapped. It's an interesting idea because he's regularly called "crazy" by George and other characters in the book. Could Steinbeck have been toying with us? Or am I reading this with too much of a 2013 perspective?

[Scott]

@Brad

"The theme revolves around the unfulfilled, even broken, dreams of individuals. In keeping with this idea, maybe Steinbeck chose to include a Lennie dream at the very end to tie the theme together. The Lennie dream also serves the purpose of setting the stage, so to speak, of showing the complete nullification of Lennie's overall dreams, since Lennie is moments away from being killed."

Excellent theory! This makes a lot of sense, and is definitely consistent with the rest of the book when taken in a "dream" context.

Thanks for mentioned that book, by the way. I had no idea Of Mice and Men as meant as practice for theater. Do you think he meant it as practice because he wrote the dialogue so realistically? Did he write it the way he would intend actors to actually say it?

[Monty J]

Scott wrote: "Could Steinbeck have been toying with us? Or am I reading this with too much of a 2013 perspective?"

Good question.

I don't think he was toying as much as experimenting. I think his aim was to tell a great story within the boundaries of realistic literary fiction. He was very much into psychology, and I would expect the way he portrayed Lennie was as realistic as he could make it.

By delaying, if that is the case, the revelation of Lennie as insane, Steinbeck allows us to ponder and guess whether this is the first time Lennie has had a psychotic break with reality. The important point is that he's that way at the end, making him unredeemable and perhaps helping justify George's execution of Lennie. The reader will be more sympathetic toward George, knowing that Lennie is hopelessly insane.

How does one portray an insane person without getting into their head? Most of us have seen someone talking to themselves in public and thought they were unbalanced, so we have at least that point of reference. Lennie's hallucination is jarring but familiar enough to be effective.

[Brad]

I believe so. In fact, shortly after the story was published, Steinbeck spent a great deal of time and energy making sure the theater production of the story matched his thematic ideas.

An excellent Steinbeck publication to compare to Of Mice and Men is Burning Bright. Burning Bright was written as a theater play. It is an excellent story, with, of course, a tragic theme.

I own all of Steinbeck's works, including numerous first editions. I have thoroughly enjoyed studying his works over the years. Thanks for starting such a great Steinbeck discussion.

[Brad]

I believe Monty is right. Steinbeck never "toyed" with his reading audience. His personal letters are filled with references to his experimenting with certain literary styles and themes.

[Scott]

Thank you both so much for the great insight! I've thoroughly enjoyed this discussion.

[Monty J]

Scott wrote: "Thank you both so much for the great insight! I've thoroughly enjoyed this discussion."

Thanks for making it possible. I've thoroughly enjoyed it as well.

[Ali]

I read this novel a very long time ago and I confess that Lennie's visions had not left a lasting impression on me. I loved the book though.
Having now looked up the final scene, I would venture to suggest paying more attention to the PEOPLE he imagined (a rabbit and his Aunt Clara). He could've imagined George, a cop, or some other form of authority, but it is a rabbit that appears (he has killed so many, and has experienced guilt for harming something he loved too much). I think George is another rabbit for Lennie.
I would have to reread the novel if I wanted to analyse it any further but I hope my ideas have maybe helped with your own analysis of "Of Mice and Men"

[Crystal]

Well it occurred to me that lennie is psychotic with seeing and hearing things.... that is sad and lonely.
Scott wrote: "During June, July, and August, I’ve implemented my Summer Rereading Program. First up: Of Mice and Men. The first time I read it, last year, actually, I blew through it pretty quickly and didn’t ..."

[Crystal]

Well it occurred to me that lennie is psychotic with seeing and hearing things.... that is sad and lonely.
Scott wrote: "During June, July, and August, I’ve implemented my Summer Rereading Program. First up: Of Mice and Men. The first time I read it, last year, actually, I blew through it pretty quickly and didn’t ..."

[Catriona]

Scott wrote: "During June, July, and August, I’ve implemented my Summer Rereading Program. First up: Of Mice and Men. The first time I read it, last year, actually, I blew through it pretty quickly and didn’t re..."
Personally, I see Lennie's hallucinations as a number of things:

1) Firstly, the most obvious one is that it shows how weak and sick Lennie actually is, which puts into perspective how little help there is for mental illness in the 1930s.

2) They show his worst fears. Lennie is afraid of being abandoned, and these hallucinations show this.

3) They show the unattainability of his dreams. His Aunt Clara is dead, and he will never get to tend the rabbits he dreams of. This fits into one of the main themes of the novella, which is that characters' dreams are often the antithesis of their reality.

4) Perhaps the most complex interpretation of his hallucinations, they could also show how the prejudice Lennie faces actually affects him. Throughout the book, we see Crooks', Curley's Wife's and Candy's response to the prejudice they face, but we never see Lennie affected by it. If you look closely however, you can see the rabbit frequently call Lennie 'crazy bastard' and Aunt Clara also swears. At no point in the book does Lennie swear, and more specifically, 'crazy bastard' is the name George calls Lennie, albeit fondly. This shows that although they are in Lennie's head and they are speaking with Lennie's voice, they are not his words, indicating how much the prejudice directed towards him has really affected him over time despite his (possible) lack of understanding of it.

There's my theories, two years too late, but still really helped me to read more into the book.

[Kety]

...There is no indication Lennie has had other such events, so this dramatic scene implies that he's gone irretrievably "over the edge," perhaps further justifying his euthanasia..."
From my interpretation, there is one indication that Lennie has had other such events, in fact, I would say that this is a common trend in his life. It has been a while since I read this book, but from what I remember, Lennie has no reaction to these delusions. He acts as though it is perfectly natural. I believe this is a result of constant exposure to these visions to the point that it is normal.
As for the shift in perspective, I am not certain what the true purpose was. I believe they are significant in a sense because they almost justify what George has to do next and provides significant insight into the nature of dealing with mental illness during the Great Depression. Also, as previously mentioned in this thread, I believe the delusions depict his guilty conscience.