Of Mice and Men

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1. 
   amethystrose Teacher
   High School - 9th Grade

   The title is an allusion to Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse".  The section of the poem containing the allusion is:

   But Mousie, thou are no thy-lane,
   In proving foresight may be vain:
   The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,
   Gang aft agley,
   An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
   For promis'd joy!

   What this means is that the mouse (whose house had been destroyed by a farmer plowing the field and the farmer is feeling badly for the mouse) is like men in that sometimes plans (like the mouse's house) seem great until something unforeseen comes along to ruin them (the plow).  In the case of George and Lennie, the two had planned to "buy a little place" and "Live off the fat of the land", but when Lennie accidentally kills Curley's wife, the plans go astray.  George is put in the terrrible position of having to kill his best friend in order to protect him from an outraged and vengeful Curley.

   Of Mice and Men is part of a trilogy about migrant farm workers, and is the second book in the collection.  The first is In Dubious Battle and the last part is Grapes of Wrath.  All of the titles are allusions.  The first is an allusion to Milton's Paradise Lost while the other alludes to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".

   Sources:

   http://www.electricscotland.com/burns/mouse.html

   http://www.enotes.com/ofmice/overview

   http://www.enotes.com/paradise-lost

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   Posted by amethystrose on Tuesday June 17, 2008 at 3:28 AM
   
   

2. 
   pmiranda2857 Teacher
   High School - 11th Grade

   The title of the book relates to the story because Lennie is very fond of petting mice.  And, in a way, he has the intelligence of a tiny creature, like a mouse.  George takes care of Lennie, in a way, like a pet; he tells him what to say and what to do. Lennie is totally dependent on George.  When he is not around, Lennie gets confused.    

   While Lennie and George are walking on the road, he is hiding something from George. 

   "Lennie held his closed hand away from George's direction.  "Its on'y a mouse, George." A mouse?  A live mouse?  Uh -uh. Jus' a dead mouse, George.  I didn't kill it.  Honest! I found it.  I found it dead." (Steinbeck, pg. 6)

   The title of the book is very symbolic of Lennie and George's relationship. 

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   Posted by pmiranda2857 on Wednesday June 18, 2008 at 1:51 PM
   
   

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