Of Mice And Men Quote Analysis

Of Mice and Men Essay
Have you ever noticed how authors turn a book into a classroom? In the novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck took readers through a journey of life lessons. He taught them the importance of friendship, the importance of having a goal, and he portrays how just anyone can struggle against loneliness. He used all the characters in the book to convey his messages to the readers. To sum up, Steinbeck weaved in many messages throughout his novel that allowed his readers to learn many lessons while reading. Let’s go more into detail on the lessons he really taught us.
Furthermore, one of the many messages Steinbeck conveys in his story is the importance of friendship. The two characters he used to get this message across were Lennie and George. They kept each other company, but also gave one another hope and reassurance. “‘ We got a future, we got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about

us’ [...] ‘ Because... because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, that’s why.’”(Page 7 PDF.) This example from the text shows that they are giving each other reassurance. Both characters wanted to let one another know that they will always be there . It’s always good to feel that sort of comfort. Thus, showing how friendship is important.
Continuing on, another message Steinbeck gives in his story is the importance of having a dream or goal. Lennie and George had the dream to own their own house, with a couple of farm animals, and ten acres of land. “Lennie said craftily - ‘Tell me like you done before.’
‘Tell you what?’
‘’Bout the other guys an’ about us.’
George said, ‘Guys like us got no fambly. They make a little stake an’ then they blow it in. They ain’t got nobody in the worl’ that gives a hoot in hell about ‘em—’
‘But not us,’ Lennie cried happily. ‘Tell about us now.’ George was quiet for a moment. ‘But not us,’ he said. ‘Because—’
‘Because I got you an’—’
‘An’ I got you. We got each other, that’s what, that gives a hoot in hell about us,’ Lennie cried in triumph.”(Page 52 PDF.) Readers know that George and Lennie are not in the best living situation. Having this dream to buy their own house brought them happiness in their darkest moments. Like in the example above. Even though George knew he would have to take Lennie’s life, that one dream still brought them happiness. Hence, portraying to readers how important it is to have a dream or goal.
Going on, one of the deeper lessons readers learn in the novel, Of Mice and Men, is how anyone can struggle with loneliness.

Crooks is the perfect character to convey this message. On the outside he seems like an old stable-buck minding his own business, but when you really analyze him, he is one of the loneliest characters in the book. An example from the text is, “Crooks said gently, ‘Maybe you can see now. You got George. You know he’s goin’ to come back. S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunk house and play rummy ‘cause you was black. How’d you like that? S’pose you had to sit out here an’ read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody—to be near him.’ He whined.” In this part of the text Crooks admitted to readers that it sucks to be alone. He puts out this front that makes people believe that he isn’t bothered by his situation. As we can see, that is all just an act. Therefore, showing just how anyone can struggle against

loneliness.
To conclude, throughout his novel, Steinbeck put in many messages that allowed readers to learn lessons while reading. Some of those messages were the importance of friendship, the importance of having a dream or goal, and how anyone can struggle against loneliness. When you analyze this story you really see how it’s like you were in a classroom, and the subject was life. Readers just have to take the time to uncover these messages.