Of Mice and Men was published in 1937, early in Steinbeck’s career. From the first he intended it to be staged – he wrote it as a novel that could be played as a play or a play that could be read as a novel. The first stage production was in New York, also in 1937. It is usually regarded as one of Steinbeck’s most pessimistic works. Its portrayal of migrant workers in California depicts lonely lives and hard work with low wages. Even the setting of the story conveys the sense of isolation – the town’s name Soledad translates into English as “solitude.” George and Lennie have a dream that sustains them – the desire to start a farm of their own – but a sense of futility about this plan is felt from the beginning.
At its core the play is about friendship and commitment. George’s bond to Lennie is so powerful that he is willing to perform a kind of mercy killing rather than submit Lennie to the fury and violence of his pursuers. This goes both ways, for without Lennie, George would not have the dream of the farm and the hope it gives him. With Lennie’s death, George becomes a man without a dream and must continue on his own. The tragedy is not Lennie’s death, but the loss of their friendship.
The original title was Something That Happened, which points the arbitrary nature of life for migrant farm workers in California. From as early as 1900, migrants from all over the US and Mexico, had sought farm work in California and other states. Their lives were always harsh, especially so during the Depression of the 1930s. Beginning in the 1920s, there were a number of reform efforts spearheaded by various groups to improve their conditions. It was not until the mid-1960s, under the leadership of Cesar Chavez, that any significant progress was made.
John Steinbeck’s name is inexorably linked with the history of migrant labor in California, and he is among those who can be credited with bringing their plight to national attention. He himself worked as a “bindlestiff” for short periods on local farms. It was from these experiences that he became aware of the difficult conditions of migrant workers. He wrote a series of books, the first of which was the 1936 In Dubious Battle, an account of an apple harvesters’ strike. The second was Of Mice and Men. The third, The Grapes of Wrath, was published in 1940. Upon reading the novel, President Roosevelt is said to have announced that “Something must be done and done soon” to help California farm workers. Steinbeck had given history a human face.
Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1962. In his acceptance speech he said that a writer must believe in the “perfectibility of man.” This in spite of the depiction of the vanity of human dreams and the profound feeling of flawed humanity portrayed in Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck’s farm labor writings can be considered pleas for reform.
