Of Mice and Men

"That's why I have you to look after me and you have me to look after you."

George and Lennie make an odd duo: although Lennie is a massive guy with the mental capacity of a tiny kid, George is "small and quick and dark of face". In spite of this, they have come to be known as a "family," sticking together through isolation and estrangement. Workers in the arid vegetable fields of California, they make ends meet by hustling jobs when they can. But George and Lennie have another idea: they want to acquire a hut and an acre of land that they can call home.

Although Steinbeck's writing from the late 1930s often deals with the helplessness of the working class, in Of Mice and individuals he focused more intently, painting a close-up picture of two individuals confronting a world full of misfortune, miscommunication, jealously, and callousness. Although the focus is limited, the theme—a friendship and a common ambition that gives life purpose—is universal.

This narrative, which offers an original viewpoint on life's struggles, has been so successful as a book, Broadway play, and three critically praised films that it has become a timeless classic.