Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men is a novella, a short novel, written by John Steinbeck and published in 1937 first as a novella and then as a play. It was written during The Great Depression and set in California. Steinbeck got his inspiration from his childhood observations of poor migrant workers going from ranches to farms searching for work during The Great Depression. Steinbeck himself was a teenager working alongside migrant workers in the 1910s. The story is about two migrant workers, George Milton and the mildly mentally disabled Lennie Small. Lennie loves soft, furry animals but often pets them until he accidentally kills them. George and Lennie travel through the state of California looking for new job opportunities until they end up on a ranch with handyman Candy and the boss's mean-spirited son Curley, where most of the tragic story takes place.