OF MICE AND MEN by John Steinbeck

You know how A Samad Said is a pretty awesome laureate and all Malaysian students ever think of is that poem of his, “The Dead Crow”? It isn’t his best work. Hell, it isn’t even one of his best. But kids all over Malaysia will be thinking of that obscure little poem and associate that with A Samad Said. And not read his other works, which is a real shame.

People do the same with John Steinbeck’s works. “The Pearl” is a masterful portrayal of human tragedy but it is nowhere near as good as Steinbeck’s other giant novels. And because SPM students get so bored out of their wit reading “The Pearl”, they get the impression that “The Grapes of Wrath”, “East of Eden” and “Of Mice and Men” are the same. Again, a real shame, because “Of Mice and Men” is probably one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s not in my top 5 list only because it made number 6. Seriously.

So forget about the lengthy description of Salina, California that Steinbeck has waiting for the reader at the very beginning of the novel. It’s a pretty tedious task if you don’t dig descriptions of nature in its very detailed way, but once you get through that, you’re in for a real human drama. The novel is about an unlikely friendship between George Milton, a small framed man and Lennie Small, a gentle giant who is a bit of a simpleton. He is probably born that way since Steinbeck made it clear that “he wasn’t kicked in the head by a horse”. But beyond that little piece of information, we’re left with no clue as to what caused Lennie’s stupidity. George has been taking care of Lennie since forever and he’s not always tolerant with Lennie’s forgetfulness. Nonetheless, behind that harsh and strict exterior, the reader can tell that George wants no harm in Lennie’s way.

Gary Sinise as George and John Malkovich as Lennie
in the film version of Mice and Men (1992)

If you strip the humour away from the friendship you got a very depressing situation that ties up two men with no hope of ever finding that light everyone dreams of. But Steinbeck wouldn’t let that happen. On almost every page, there’s bound to be something that cracks the reader up, whether it be George’s awkward way of telling Lennie that he cares despite the seemingly harsh treatment, or Lennie’s constant blundering and funny remarks at every little thing that George does. At this point in the novel you get a feeling that in another world, these two would be happy together because they do love each other. But that is not to be. The reality is a nasty place for simple men. In a world that confuses Lennie, things happen to each of them that makes it impossible for them to continue living without being hurt.

It’s the bond between these two men that makes “Of Mice and Men” a difficult literary work to forget. The kind of selfless acts that George commits to get himself and Lennie out of trouble’s way is just too moving. You’d have to be a cold-hearted person not to be touched by this little tale of friendship at its most endearing. There’s a story that George keeps telling Lennie whenever the latter gets a little too excited, a tale that George would repeat to calm Lennie down,

“ Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong to place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake, and the first thing you know, they’re pounding their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.

With us, it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys get in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.

But not us! An’ why? Because... because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.”

At the end of the novel, you’d cry your eyeballs out as these words play in your head. A really powerful invocation of how far a man is willing to go to take care of another. I dare you to read this without crying at the end. And good luck with that! =)