The opening of the novel is a detailed description of the surrounding, making it look like a wonderful but mysterious place to be in. It is like a film camera; you get a good view of what nature can give us, but then you see a path which was touched by humans, with two men sitting down close. The opening didn't grab my interest as much because I quickly figured out that the story was not going to be so pleasant to read.
The climax comes when Lennie accidentally kills the girl in the barn. Here everything just topples over because Lennie is now in great danger. In fact, the ending is what makes this whole book turn from tragedy, to depression. You see that a man has just shot in the head his best friend because he had no choice. My eyes back then, while reading the book, had started becoming a fountain of tears. I just couldn't accept what had happened; Lennie is naive, he forgets things and doesn't really know that he is not just playing a game. George has tried throughout the whole novel to tell him, in his own 'friendly' way, that we need to accept the fact that not everything can be done. His ingenuous actions though, bring him to death; all he wanted was to fulfill his dream, nothing else.
The theme of this novel is clearly the importance of a close friendship and fraternity between men. Loneliness would only lead to disorientation and craziness in a person. Another theme is the impossibility of the American dream; that dream which is the wanting of something out of normal for normal workers in the 1930's.
We have understood that the main characters are George and Lennie. Lennie has a child-like personality and due to his mental disability, he completely depends on his companion. These to men share a dream of having a whole farm for themselves, which Lennie believes with all his heart. Gentle and kind, he does not understand his strength. His love for petting small soft things, bring him to disaster.
George is a small and clever man who cares and travels with Lennie. Although his continuous complains of what a better life he would have had without Lennie, he is still a part of him, and will not let him go. Thanks to Lennie's child-like faith, it enables George to actually believe in their future dream.
The story was written in third person, so the narrator could have been omniscient. This is when the narrator knows everything that is going on, even if the characters do not know it.
This novel is an interesting book to read, you will not settle down till you reach the end. When you eventually do finish the book, it is hard to touch it again because many things are hard to accept in this book and might sometimes be irritating, but at the same time, even depressing. Of Mice and Men is surely not a book for kids. I you choose to read it, do not expect the normal happy endings.
I think I would give it a score of 8 out of 10.
