Of Mice and Men

Abstract

Published in 1937, tho book narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression in the United States. Steinbeck based the novella on his own experiences working alongside migrant farm workers as a teenager in the 1910s. George Milton is an intelligent but uneducated man, and Lennie Small, a bulky, strong man but mentally disabled. George feels his own obligation to take care of Lennnie, though this limits him in setting his own life. They both hope to one day attain the dream of settling down on their own piece of land and make their ranch there. Still, this dream was not fullfilled.