American Literature Prof. univ. dr.

Felicia Burdescu Home Assignment Submitted by: Anisa Roxana Armoiu 17/01/2013

The man-animal relationship in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men

Men are sometimes portrayed by means of animal imagery or in relation to animals in order to reveal natural instincts, unleashed physical power, weakness, vulnerability, defenselessness, but also loyalty. The purpose of my essay is to present and analyze this kind of relations and associations in Of Mice and Men. Therefore, the connections between Lennie, his rabbits, his mice and puppy and Candy with his old dog will be considered. Moreover, the frequent comparisons of Lennie with animals (bear, horse and dog) could also be of great interest when clarifying Steinbecks intentions regarding the relationships established in the novella. In order to understand the development of the action, the characters and their deeds and the main themes encountered in the text it is important to keep in mind the economic situation and the historical background of America at that time. John Steinbecks novella was published in 1937, immediately after the Great Depression, a tough period for the American society when the country faced a very high unemployment rate after the Stock Market Crash (1929) and people struggled to survive because they had lost their savings and houses and they had nothing left. Ranch hands like Lennie and George, the main characters of the novella, are representative for the American migrant workers, who travelled most of the time alone, trying to find a job which usually offered a bunk-house to live in, some food and very low salaries. However, they are willing to follow and fight for their American dream. For both of them, this dream means stability, peace and a house of their own surrounded by animals and trees. First of all, from the very beginning, the author uses the association man-animal to establish the status of men and their destiny as far as their plans and dreams are concerned. By positioning mice first within the title, the author is somehow trying to bring mice and men at the same low level. Even Lennie, who loved to pet all kind of soft things, underlines at some point the inferiority of mice: Sometimes Ive even pet mice, but not when I couldnt get nothing better1.
1 Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men, Penguin Books, 1993, Kindle Edition.

The title of the novella Of Mice and Men was inspired from Robert Burns (a Scottish poet) poem To a Mouse whose lyrics could briefly summarize the tragic destiny of the characters The best laid schemes of mice and men/often go wrong/ And leave us nothing but grief and pain/ Instead of promised joy.2 Men can be as vulnerable as mice and it does not matter who you are, a mouse or a man, things can go wrong even when you carefully plan them. Secondly, the associations of Lennie with animals like bears, terriers, dogs or horses are essential when analyzing the relationship man-animal in the novella. They are meant to highlight Lennies character and traits: he is doom, mentally weak, but he has a huge physical strength and he walks like a bear. Through these comparisons the man is brought again at the same inferior level of animals. Lennie is presented either by being compared to animals or by being in relation to them. He is constantly in need of petting soft animals and his dream of tending the rabbits gives him hope, strength to cope with the harsh real world and motivates him. The rabbits symbolize comfort for Lennie. His American dream is reduced to the opportunity of tending them. Rabbits are, according to the Dictionary of Symbols3, a sign of maturity, irrepressible renewal of life and continuity. Lennie wishes to tend the rabbits only when he and George can build their dream house. He might see them as a symbol of growing up, as a fulfillment of his dream, his major source of happiness. Although he gets to pet mice and puppies, the rabbits are Lennies obsession and his main wish Thats all you can remember is them rabbits!4 because they will not get killed so easy: I wisht wed get the rabbits pretty soon, George. They aint so little.5 When George allows Lennie to pet Slims pups, he spends almost the entire day with them. Lennie love animals, but he is not capable of taking care of them. Although he has a good heart, his obsession and his physical strength will kill both the mice and the puppy. Animals are also believed to have a therapeutic effect on people. Taking into consideration Lennies mental disability and his childish behavior, this kind of relationship he wishes to create with soft-furred animals could be regarded as a therapy for his condition. Moreover, essential for the analysis of man-animal relationship in the novella is the bond between Candy, the old swamper, and his dog. In a deserted world, Candy hopes to keep his dog next to him for fear not to be left alone. Through Candys relationship with his dog
2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/prosemicemen/3prose_mice_men_themerev1.shtml
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Chevalier, Jean and and Gheerbrant, Alain. Dicionar de Simboluri, vol. 2, ed. Artemis, 2005, p. 319.

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men, Penguin Books, 1993, Kindle Edition.

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and his tragic end, Steinbeck intends to reveal, on the one hand, the importance of companionship, but on the other hand, the intention here is to highlight the sad reality that there is no protection for the weak ones in this kind of world. The old dog was not useful anymore and that made him unworthy of protection or even pity. Candys connection to his dog is somehow similar to George and Lennies relationship. Again, the author chooses to make a point by constantly relating characters or human traits to animals. Both George and Candy do not want to forgo their companions because they are aware that they will end up alone and because they pity them. They also have a history together: Candy has had the dog since he was a puppy and George has known Lennie since he was a child. Lennie and Candys dog are both symbols of innocence and weakness. The purpose of the similarity between the two is to underline the cruel destiny of the weak in this society, in the social and economic context of the time. The powerless and debilitated will end up being killed. Candy regrets not having shot the dog himself I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldnt ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.6 George seems to have paid attention to the old mans regret and prefers to shoot Lennie himself. Shooting could be regarded in the cases of Lennie and the dog as a way out of sufferings and trouble and as a release from pain and misery. Finally, it could be asserted that the man-animal relationships depicted in Of Mice and Men succeed in describing the cruel American society after the Great Depression. All the connections made in the novella to animals are meant to give a lesson, to show real facts of the society and they all could be considered as having an anticipatory function. Man-mice relationship indicates how men are as helpless and weak as mice and how their plans and destiny might have the same tragic end. Moreover, the dead mouse from the beginning foreshadows this type of end where the weak is killed by the strongest. The same thing is also suggested by the dead puppy which was killed by Lennies uncontrollable strength and by Candys dog, shot because he was not useful anymore. John Steinbeck came to see human behaviour in a perpetual comparison with the animal behaviour 7.Thus, he managed to expose his intentions in a natural, unsophisticated manner through animal symbolism by drawing attention to the fact that men and animals can be reduced at the same low level, that in spite of dreams and hopes the best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley.
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Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men, Penguin Books, 1993, Kindle Edition. Burdescu, Felicia. Hermeneutics of American Literature , ed. Universitaria, Craiova, 2012, p. 143.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Burdescu, Felicia. Hermeneutics of American Literature, ed. Universitaria, Craiova, 2012. 2. Chevalier, Jean and and Gheerbrant, Alain. Dicionar de Simboluri, vol. 2, ed. Artemis, 2005. 3. Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men, Penguin Books, 1993, Kindle Edition. 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/prosemicemen/3pros e_mice_men_themerev1.shtml, accessed on 9/01/2013.