Themes in Of Mice and Men

Author: John Steinbeck

Three Main Themes

• Loneliness

• The American Dream

• Friendship

Loneliness

• Candy has only his dog as his one companion. In time, Candy has no one and attaches himself to the dream George and Lennie share.

• Crooks feels”…A guys goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he with you…” He would work for nothing as long as he can communicate with others.

• Curley’s wife is overwhelmed by her loneliness and seeks friendship from other men.

The American Dream - Everyone has a dream to strive for.

• George and Lennie have a dream. They want to “live off the fat of the land” and be their own bosses.

• Candy, upon hearing about the dream, wants to join them.

• Crooks, the negro outcast, wanted to join them so that he wouldn’t be alone.

• The ranch hands wish to be their own bosses and actually have stability.

Friendship

• George and Lennie share a strong bond of friendship. Steinbeck often stresses how ranchers are loners, and George and Lennie are the only ones who travel in pairs.

• “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world…They got no family…We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us…” - George

Depression Era Salinas Valley

• In 1939, John Steinbeck put Salinas on the map with “The Grapes of Wrath.” However, "Steinbeck's writings were publicly burned in Salinas on two occasions, and at times he did not feel welcome in his own hometown.”

• Steinbeck reflected sympathies for farm workers and other manual laborers, which he described first-hand in his novels.

Migrant Workers in Salinas

Always at the bottom of the economic ladder, the migrant labor population was filled time and again with marginalized groups — the poor, immigrants and racial minorities.

The Salinas Valley Today

One of the crown jewels of Salinas is the National Steinbeck Center.  This center explores many of Steinbeck’s works through live theatre and priceless artifacts.  The National Steinbeck Center hosts the annual Steinbeck festival each year, with tours of Steinbeck’s home, visits to his favorite spots in Salinas, readings of his works, luncheons, and lectures.

Check it out!…

www.steinbeck.org