A comparison of Great expectations and Of Mice and Men.

Of Mice and Men was written by John Steinbeck. It takes place during the great depression in America. This was a period when work was scarce, and people travelled to find what little there was. These people were known as migrant workers, and the story is set around two such men called George and Lennie. The pair are physical opposites of each other, George being, ‘small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features,’ while Lennie is described as, ‘a huge man, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders, and he walked heavily.’

At the novels outset, Stienbeck goes to great length to familiarise us with the setting, using poetic imagery to describe the, ‘golden foothill slopes,’ of the Salinas River Valley. The two main characters are introduced, and there status almost immediately established. It is apparent who is in charge when George orders Lennie not to drink too much from the river, and how Lennie carefully imitates George’s actions at the riverbank. As the chapter progresses, it is apparent that George becomes irritated by his companions forgetfulness and child like manner. George angrily discovers that Lennie has been concealing a dead mouse in his pocket, and his childishness is confirmed further with his justification, ‘I could pet it with my thumb whilst we were walking along.’ This curious desire of Lennie’s to pet soft things should be noted, as this is a key point in light of the events that occur in the future, and indeed of that which have occurred in the past. We are also introduced to the idea of Lennie’s dead aunt Clara, and are left to assume that the pair is somehow connected through her. However, Lennie has trouble remembering who she was, and simply refers to her as ‘the lady.’ At this point we learn a little more about the characters and they’re past. We learn that they had to leave Weed where they were living previously, as Lennie was faced with charges of assault, again down to his desire to pet soft things, in this case a lady’s dress. George muses on how much better his life would be without Lennie, but Lennie responds to George’s anger with self-pity, giving him a guilt trip until George retracts his statement and apologises. Lennie then relieves the tension by asking George to tell him the story.

And so it is that in the first chapter we are introduced to the dream of the protagonists, the dream of having ones own piece of land and the money and means to live off it. George tells Lennie how they are different from other workers, how they have ambition and each other. Lennie listens contentedly, even though he has heard this story many times, even finishing off George’s sentences occasionally. The most pleasing aspect of this dream in Lennie’s estimation is the prospect of having rabbits, the care of which will be put in his charge, and how they will, ‘live of the fatta the lan!’ so the desired outcome of the novel is presented to us through George.

Although it is apparent these two texts are very different, there are many similarities. Both novels are based on dreams and aspirations, Pips dreams to become a gentleman, and George and Lennies dreams to have there own farm. However both have there own obstacles and adversities to over come. Pip has the prejudice that he is faced with being of a low class and having no money, whereas George has to deal with Lennie, and him being mentally retarded. Both of the opening chapters have a great impact on the rest of the story. In Great expectations Pip first encounters Magwitch, who turns out to be his secret benefactor, and the father of his beloved Estella. In Of Mice and Men, we are introduced to George and Lennie’s dream, and how Lennie likes to pet soft things, which is important in understanding the conclusion of the book. The main similarities between the two texts, is that in both cases, there was a key event that changed the characters life. In both cases it was in the first chapter. In great expectations it was Pip meeting Magwitch that changed his life, and in Of Mice and Men it was Lennie being accused of assaulting the women in weed. Although that one text was pre Victorian and one contempary, it is interesting to see both texts investigate important issues, such as class and wealth and mental retardation, and how the authors have used the books to get there messages across. In both novels the characters start out with dreams and aspirations, but neither end in the way that was suggested at the beginning, and it seems the dreams were nothing but, ‘Great expectations.’