Book Review: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
Book Summary: The tragic story of the complex bond between two migrant laborers in Central California. They are George Milton and Lennie Small, itinerant ranch hands who dream of one day owning a small farm. George acts as a father figure to Lennie, who is a very large, simple-minded man, calming him and helping to rein in his immense physical strength.

Liana's Summary: George and Lennie are an odd pair. One small and short with someone big and tall. However, one's size does not determine one's maturity, logical sense, and memory. But of course, it determines one's strength. And when one does not have logic sense, one cannot know or control their own strength, and that can lead to horrid things.

Rate(1-10): 8.5

As this book was school assigned, I honestly did not expect this much out of it. After all, it was 107 pages. However, when we started reading as a class, I somewhat got sucked into it.

But, I still hate reading with the class because there's always that kid who reads too quietly and that kid with the temporary dyslexia. Mean, but true. Also, the teacher's stopping and analyzing is seriously getting on my nerves. It's not just my English teacher-- I'm saying EVERY single English teacher does that when we read a book. Like, it's right there in plain text. "SO WHERE DID HE GO?" Unless it's critical thinking. My teacher actually stopped so we could critically think. (Very unlike all my previous teachers, which proves she's the BEST teacher ever) And it actually helped me understand most of the story. Like, when I read To Kill a Mockingbird, the questions we were assigned to answer let me think deeply in thought- therefore, I understood it.

So, as you've read in my summary, I said that Lennie, obviously cannot control his strength. That it will 'lead to horrid things.' Well then, it did. Just saying that. I don't want to spoil much.

Character Discussions: (They have the weirdest names.)

George: He's really short-tempered. He happens to yell "SON-OF-A-BITCH" a lot in this book. In the movie, he said it like, 5 times in a row. He tries to express control over Lennie, telling him what to do. He may seem horrible and mean, but in the end, you realize that he's actually a really kind and caring person.

Lennie: Has something called Intellectual Disability. He's sort of autistic, but not quite. He's like a small toddler, trying to please George whenever he can. So basically, he's a grown man, with a child's mind. Also, he can't remember NOTHIN'. Swear. Nothing. Except for the rabbits. He loves rabbits..

Curley: Him and his wife are the only people in this whole book I actually legitimately dislike. When I first got introduced to him, the first thought that came in mind was, "What kind of name is Curley." Like, curly whirly? Reminds me of Curly fries. Mkay, anyways. He's actually sort of the antagonist in this book. He hates on Lennie just because he's bigger than all the rest. And he has a glove full of Vaseline.. to keep his hand soft.. for his wife.. Just explore your mind. I know ya'll are very dirty minded. (: And I know that's totally gross.

Curley's Wife: *Clicks tongue* *Does it again* *Does it repeatedly fast* I cannot click my tongue enough for this stupid woman. After all, she's married, and she still goes around and hits on guys, showing her legs. Her fate was definitely deserved. But unlike Curley, I actually felt a little bad for her at the end. A LITTLE. She never got a name in the book. Only "Curley's wife." It's probably because, since this book was written long ago,(no women's rights) Steinbeck thought that she wasn't important enough.

Candy: Well, isn't he a talkative old man. At first, I thought he was really annoying and suspicious, but then after the people... *spoiler*(highlight the white space between the red text to view)> shot his dog <*end of spoiler*... I actually felt pity for him. Also, a liking. But he is irritable. I totally laughed inappropriately when he said "Poor bastard" on a sad part. omg.

Slim: He seemed quite kind and nice in the beginning. He's really respected. Honestly, I don't even know what to say for him. He's different from the rest?

Crooks: I thought it was really messed up how they called him the 'nigger' the entire story. And Curley's Wife is all like, "Listen nigger, blah blah blah," and I'm very uncomfortable with people's racism. Anyways, Crooks is actually pretty nice. He's a good listener!
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If my 'friends' didn't spoil the ending of this book to me, then I would have been more shocked at the huge twist at the end. BUT NO. But still, due to Steinbeck's great writing, I still got shocked and my heart still wrenched at the last two pages. There. Dramatic.

I'm very sorry to say, but, I don't have any quotes.(Which is why you got the Character Discussions. So I could talk about something and take up space. LOL.) I really wanted to do them as I read, but it was in-class, and, I did not have any sticky tabs. So yeah. This is a rare occasion though-- I will still be doing quotes for books that I myself choose to read!

So, what did you think of this review? (: