Student Essay on Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Essay

The story we have read deals with pessimism. Pessimism is the belief that this world is as bad as it could be, or that evil will ultimately prevail over good, or always looking on the bad side of things. This story may seem pessimistic at first on the outside, but when you really dig a little deeper into the story, it's not what it seemed to be in the beginning. It was more of a story about two friends surviving with each other. Of Mice and Men is not a pessimistic novel.

In the story Of Mice and Men, George sticks by Lennie. For example, it says, "`An' I got you. We got each other, that's what, that gives a hoot in hell about us,' Lennie cried in triumph" (115). Lennie is always there for George, and George is always there for Lennie. George could leave Lennie and have a better life, but he doesn't. For instance, George says, "`no..., I want you to stay with me here'" (114). George cares about Lennie, and he doesn't want Lennie to leave him. Lennie loves George and would do anything for him at any expense. George and Lennie go from job to job until they end up working at the farm.

Throughout most of the story, George and Lennie both believed that they would make money to buy a farm. For example, George says, "`someday we're gonna get enough jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs...'" (15). George has very big dreams for the future with a bright outlook. This dream is what keeps George and Lennie's hopes up. In addition, Lennie says, "`George, how long's it gonna be till we get that little place an' live on the fatta the land an' rabbits'" (62)? Even though George has told Lennie the story several times, he always enjoys telling Lennie about the ranch. Lennie likes to hear the story of their ranch "dream". Even though they have big dreams, they still have hopes of them coming true.

As bad as Lennie and George's life seemed, they seem to be happy with each other. They kept eachother going, and gave eachother hope during the worst times. Even though things didn't go exactly as planned, in the end it turned out to be the best for both Lennie and George.