Of Mice and Men

They are an unlikely pair: George is "small and quick and dark of face"; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has a young child's mind. Yet they have formed a "family," clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. Laborers in California's dusty vegetable fields, hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. But George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own.

While the powerlessness of the laboring class is a recurring theme in Steinbeck's work of the late 1930s, he narrowed his focus when composing 'Of Mice and Men' (1937), creating an intimate portrait of two men facing a world marked by petty tyranny, misunderstanding, jealousy, and callousness. But though the scope is narrow, the theme is universal: a friendship and a shared dream that makes an individual's existence meaningful.

With a unique perspective on life's hardships, this story has become a timeless classic due to its remarkable success as a novel, a Broadway play, and three acclaimed films.