An introduction to the novel and novelist
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men - Eva Banathy
The Novelist
John Steinbeck( 1902-1968)
 Known for his fiction –
his novels about the American
Condition
and for his non fiction – his essays
on many issues to do with American life,
his philosophy and his beliefs
 The Grapes of Wrath 1939 is
considered to be his greatest work
 Worked as journalist, labourer,
fruitpicker, scientist,caretaker
 Pulitzer Prize for Grapes of Wrath
 Nobel Prize - 1962
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Of Mice and Men - Eva Banathy
Of Mice and Men
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One of a series of “classical” novels such as Grapes
of Wrath, Cannery Row, East of Eden, The Pearl,
Sweet Thursday
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The novel is set in Steinbeck’s own familiar
territory – he was born in Salinas
The novel deals with the issues dear to Steinbeck’s
heart - poverty, homelessness, the exploitation of
itinerant workers, the failure of the Dream,
America’s general moral decline
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The Man
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1965
Steinbeck didn’t preach but he cared.
Behind reporting things as he saw them,
focusing on the small but telling
experiences in life, he was also a moralist
and idealist. All his life he was essentially
an idealist; that is, he searched to find the
essence of things, the meanings or
patterns behind what he observed…. He
looked away from himself, observing the
commonplace and the common people in
order to see the whole picture as a
democratic vista as accurately as he
could… to see the whole as clearly as
possible and to see it with his heart as well
as with his head.
Of Mice and Men - Eva Banathy
The Title
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Taken from a line of poetry – the Scots Poet Robbie Burns
wrote:
“The best laid schemes of mice and men
gang aft agley”
The best laid schemes of mice and men often go wrongreferring to a little mouse who had so carefully built her
burrow in a field to protect herself and her little mice
babies – and the burrow is turned over and destroyed by
the man ploughing
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Salinas Valley
The
valley
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Salinas and Surrounds
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Soledad
Soledad Mission- the
area is now grape
growing
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The Valley today
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Steinbeck: Travels With Charley...
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"I remember Salinas, the town of my birth, when
it proudly announced four thousand citizens. Now
it is eighty thousand and leaping pell mell on in a
mathematical progression - a hundred thousand in
three years and perhaps two hundred thousand in
ten, with no end in sight. Even those people who
joy in numbers and are impressed with bigness are
starting to worry, gradually becoming aware that
there must be a saturation point and the progress
may be a progression toward strangulation."
Of Mice and Men - Eva Banathy
The Beauty of Salinas
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Rich, fertile soil
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The Region Today
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Salinas - Monterey Overview
Located in the central coast region of California, Monterey
County encompasses the fertile, agriculturally important
Salinas Valley. The valley, framed by mountain ranges on
the east and west, runs the length of the county and is the
site of most of the agricultural activities in the county. The
north end of the Salinas Valley opens to the Pacific Ocean,
source of the marine influence that cools the valley and
makes possible the wide range of crops found here. With a
total value of over $1.9 billion, Monterey County is the
fourth highest agricultural producing county in California.
The total land devoted to agriculture is approximately 1.4
million acres, and irrigated land is around 220,000 acres.
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1930’s
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A photo of the time
and an ad – note the hoe
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Laguna Beach 1930’s
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The problems
The dustbowl
unemployment
H. Hoover,
President
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The Dustbowl
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The clouds appeared on the horizons with a thunderous
roar. Turbulent dust clouds rolled in generally from the
North and dumped a fine silt over the land. Men, women
and children stayed in their houses and tied handkerchiefs
over their noses and mouths. When they dared to leave,
they added goggles to protect their eyes. Houses were shut
tight, cloth was wedged in the cracks of the doors and
windows but still the fine silt forced its way into houses,
schools and businesses. During the storms, the air indoors
was "swept" with wet gunny sacks. Sponges were used as
makeshift "dust masks" and damp sheets were tied over
the beds.
"The Dust Bowl, Men, Dirt and Depression" by Paul Bonnifield.
Of Mice and Men - Eva Banathy
Information
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A summary - http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/micemen/summary.html
John Steinbeck Internet Pre Quiz
1. National Steinbeck Center Site Location:
http://www.steinbeck.org/MainFrame.html
Read the site information and create a timeline of at least 8 events in the life of
Steinbeck. Include when he received the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes.
2. Steinbeck: A Brief Chronology Site Location:
http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/steinbec/chron.html
Predict what experiences Steinbeck might have drawn upon in his life to write
Of Mice and Men. (Obviously, before 1937.)
3. Of Mice and Men - Themes Site Location:
http://www.englishresources.co.uk/workunits/ks4/fiction/ofmicemen/small
heath/themes.html
What four themes from Of Mice and Men are explained at this site?
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Come to..
Land
of
Opportunity
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The Dream – the land of Opportunity
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“Give me your tired, your poor, your
huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the
wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to
me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
( Emma Lazarus)
Written on the base of the Statue of Liberty
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The Dream
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The American Dream
You can be successful if you work hard and live
morally
America is the land of opportunity
Freedom to work hard and BE is enshrined in the
Constitution
Suggests it is a right, not a privilege
The Dream assumes equality of opportunity, no
discrimination, freedom to follow goals and
freedom from victimization
Of Mice and Men - Eva Banathy
Animal Imagery of the Novel- one of
the symbolic aspects of the novel
 Title:
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Of Mice and Men
Alliterative connection between mice and men –
both subject to fate. Context of title gives biggest
clue of tragedy/pessimism for the dream
Struggle for survival of subject of Burns’s poem –
hints strongly at vulnerability – powerful image of
innocent helplessness against a much stronger
force. Underlined in Lennie’s character in first
chapter
Simple logic. Dead mice in first chapter signals
possible human tragedy, given the novel’s title
Of Mice and Men - Eva Banathy
Animal Imagery in the Novel
Characterisation- Lennie
 Bear metaphor significant. Legendary strength. Bear hug
– over-enthusiastic and therefore painful – pre-cursor to
Curley’s wife incident. Bear-baiting is effectively the
catalyst which propels the plot towards its tragic conclusion
 Lennie and mice both vulnerable – mice physically, Lennie
emotionally- both are positioned as victims
 Lennie’s childlike “blubberin’”
when mouse is thrown away is further
evidence of his emotional vulnerability,
easily susceptible to exploitation
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Animal imagery in the Novel
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Where do the animal characteristics of George
fit in?
How are we positioned to see him?
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Animal Imagery in the Novel
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Setting
Mystery of events in Weed. Lennie petting girl’s dress,
“jus’ wanted to pet it like it was a mouse” – trouble in the
past – recurring cycle of events?
Rabbits run for cover when situation becomes dangerous.
Parallels with description of how “we got to hide in a
irrigation ditch all day and…sneak out in the dark.”
Probability of this happening again with tragic result
Tranquillity of setting is deceptive. Rabbits presented as
innocent, cute and playful in their natural setting, but hint
of calm before the storm hallucinatory, grotesque rabbit of
last chapter
Of Mice and Men - Eva Banathy
Animal Imagery in the Novel
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References to the Discourses
Rabbits’ story represents the dream that from the outset
seems unrealistic
Other animals are used to paint picture of land ownership
and self-sufficiency, but since George is relating the story
to the childlike Lennie, there is the quality of fairytale set
against struggle for survival
Rabbits’ description at the end of chapter one is used to
eliminate possibility of any aspect of dream having any
realistic meaning – fantasy world of the imagination only –
the Dream is an illusion for most people
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Clarifying the discourses of the novel
The Discourse of the Dream
 The Discourse of the Outcast
 The Discourse of Injustice
 The Discourse of Responsibility of the
powerful…….
 The Discourse of Defeated hope……..
The question to answer is: How is the
Discourse privileged through character
construction?
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The techniques available to an author
Positioning the reader through
 Characterization
 Binary opposition
 Foregrounding/ privileging of events and responses
 Use of symbol
 Emotive language, emotive description
 Silences
 Gaps
 Author intrusion
 ……..
All of the above assist in the development of discourse and
dominant reading
Of Mice and Men - Eva Banathy
Review – choose one and outline
your discussion
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The novel deals with the discourses of
despair, hope and the celebration of the
human spirit
In society, the victims are the ones who do
not survive the demands of society
The novel addresses a number of issues –
among these are the issue of injustice and
the victimisation of the helpless
The American dream has failed
Of Mice and Men - Eva Banathy