The poem “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns is obviously about a man talking to a field mouse whose nest he has just destroyed with a plow. The man feels bad for destroying the mouse’s home and apologizes for what has happened. The deeper meaning of the poem is that no matter how much preparation goes into planning for the future, fate, or even someone else’s plan, can get in the way and demolish your plans. Burns compares the mouse and the man to one another in saying, “The best-laid schemes of mice and men/ Go often astray,” (Burns 39-40). The mouse in the poem worked hard to build its nest in preparation for the winter it was to endure in the future.
This shows how the movie differs by starting off in a different time frame than the book. Another case in point of a small but noticeable plot change was when Lennie kills the puppy. The book states that Lennie is sitting on the ground of the barn crying with the puppy lying in front of him. On the contrary, the movie shows Lennie standing up with the puppy in his hands pacing back and forth while worried yet not crying. Hence, the movie provides a different picture for the viewer than Steinbeck gives for the reader.
Of mice and men Compare the episodes in which candy dog and Lennie are killed. The reader responds to each death with empathy and compassion. I believe this is the way Steinbeck would have wanted us to respond. the way the chapters are worded ,you can understand both the characters and their lives. We know that Candy and his dog grew up and worked together herding sheep, we also know they’re both older and can’t work as well as they used.
Candy represents what happens to everyone who gets old in American society: They are let go, canned, and thrown out of their jobs were they expected to look after themselves. Candy shows this by presenting his greatest fear as that once he is no longer able to help with the cleaning he will be ‘disposed of.’ Just like his old dog, he has lived beyond his usefulness. Carson makes clear when he insists that Candy let him put the dog out of its misery. Candy’s dog serves as a harsh reminder of the fate that awaits anyone who outlives his usefulness. Though the pet was once a great sheepdog, it was put out to pasture once it stopped being productive.
In comparison, Slim was more thoughtful and wanted the dog dead for its own good because of its poor health: “He ain't no good to you, Candy. An' he ain't no good to himself. Why'n't you shoot him, Candy?” At the end of the novel when Lennie must die, similarly, Carlson is only interested in killing the weak (Lennie), so he says, “I’ll get my luger” not thinking about anyone else. The scene that includes the killing of the old dog foreshadows the death of Lennie too; one clue is that the dog is shot in the back of the head completely unaware and with no pain with the luger. Towards the end of the novel, Lennie is also secretly shot in the same place with the same weapon by George out of mercy so his friend doesn’t experience a cruel painful death.
This is shown during an argument over a dead mouse as it says ‘”Give it here!” said George. “Aw, leave me have it, George.” “Give it here!” This shows that when Lennie doesn’t respond to George he has to treat him as if he was a dog by repeating commands over again until eventually Lennie gives in. As Lennie says “Aw…” it shows that Lennie really wants the mouse and doesn’t want George to take away his possession relating back to the idea that Lennie is presented as an animal as he is very persistent at getting what he wants. This shows the reader how Lennie gets his way as George treats him like an animal due to it being the only that he can obtain his attention and get him to follow what he is doing. As the story progresses George is shown treating Lennie like a child as if he was a parent.
His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely." He shares a dream with George to own a piece of land. Lennie's special job would be to tend the rabbits. He likes to pet soft things, like puppies and dead mice. We know this got him into trouble in Weed when he tried to feel a girl's soft red dress: she thought he was going to attack her.
I remember about the rabbits, George.” (Steinbeck 4). Rabbits are a symbol of the impossibility of dreams by showing how all Lennie wants is to take care of rabbits, but since he has a history of hurting whatever he pets, it is apparent that he would kill them too, in effect killing his dream. The rabbits also show how people who
Of Mice and Men’, a novel by John Steinbeck, is set in the 1930's during the great depression and tells a story of friendship, loneliness and aspiration between two wandering farm labourers named Lennie, who is a slow simlpe-minded man and has a passion for petting things especially mice, rabbits and other soft silky things, and George who is small, quick and intelligent, he takes care of Lennie who is innocent of the world and its ways. They are on the run from a town called Weed, where Lennie caused trouble by innocently fondling a girls dress. They have dreams of one day owning a small ranch where they can live and work for themselves. The story then ends when George takes Lennie’s life. They travel to a ranch where they have work, when Lennie and George arrive on the farm they are shown their quarters by Curley’s wife, on one of her ‘looking for Curley’ routines, sees them both and immediately starts flirting with them.
Of Mice and Men The title “Of Mice and Men” is appropriate for this book because in the poem it says “And leave us naught but grief and pain”, and this book will bring you grief and pain at the end. Lennie was a big , not bright fellow. He loved to play with small animals such as mice and puppies etc. George, Lennie’s guider, didn’t like or want Lennie to play with mice cause he know he would kill him with his big hands and try to hide them while they’re dead in his pocket. George had to always look after Lennie because he was always getting into some sort of trouble with things.