But, even when we are sure how it must end, we are drawn through it, mesmerized by the men's hopes, lulled by the continual repetition of evocative phrases, which make aįable of their dreams and become a near-religious liturgy, an old trick of dramatic recitation going back to ancient times.Īnd then the concluding scene with a typical Steinbeck twist. Which is to say, it doesn't work out at all for the main characters. It all works out as fated, as several characters predict and later remind us they'd predicted. And when the boss's belligerent young son and the son's provocative wife appear, you can practically hear the Greek chorus prophesying doom at their hands. In short order, the secondary characters are paraded through, all quickly revealing their strengths and (mainly) weaknesses, their sensitivities and cruelties-their confusions.

We quickly learn their recent pasts.Ī scene or two later, the large, lumbering Lennie Small and the canny, caring George Milton appear at the ranch to take their place among other itinerant farm workers.

Coming in from stage right, are two men, whose names we learn first from their dialogue and whose characteristics and characters are built in short order from their speech and interaction. Start with the beginning shot: the clearing by the stream where animals come to rest or drink. John Steinbeck's greatest work before The Grapes of Wrath is a classically concise piece of theatre. A poignant and disturbing story told seemingly effortlessly, involving simple folks on the fringe of society who turn out to be quite complex.īut read Of Mice and Men a second or third time and its clever structure becomes more apparent. It has always seemed like the perfect little American novella.

CRITIQUE | THE TEXT | THE MOVIES Small but punchy

Of mice and men first edition