Of Mice and Men: Dreams, Fate, and Steinbeck's Themes
This essay analyzes John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men through the lens of Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse," from which the novella takes its title. The paper traces how the poem's central theme — that even the best-laid plans often go awry — plays out through the lives of George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife. By examining each character's unfulfilled dreams and the chain of events that destroys them, the essay argues that Steinbeck uses fate and circumstance to demonstrate the fragility of hope for society's most vulnerable people.
- Introduction: Burns' Poem and Steinbeck's Theme: Burns' poem establishes the novella's core theme
- George and Lennie's Dream: George and Lennie pursue a farm together
- The Supporting Cast and Their Hopes: Candy and Crooks join the shared dream
- Curley's Wife and the Collapse of the Dream: Curley's wife fatally disrupts the plan
- George's Impossible Choice: George kills Lennie to protect him
- Conclusion: The Price of a Broken Dream: Survivors reckon with the cost of lost hope
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What makes this paper effective
- Opens by connecting the source poem directly to the novella's central theme, grounding the literary analysis in an intertextual framework from the start.
- Uses direct quotation from Burns' poem to establish thematic context before moving to Steinbeck's characters, demonstrating close reading across two texts.
- Traces the theme of broken dreams across multiple characters — George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife — showing that the theme is systemic rather than individual.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates intertextual analysis: it reads one literary work (Steinbeck's novella) through the lens of another (Burns' poem) to argue that a shared thematic concern — the futility of planning against fate — unifies both texts. This approach is particularly effective because the connection is not incidental; Steinbeck explicitly borrowed Burns' line for his title, making the intertextual reading authorially sanctioned.
Structure breakdown
The essay follows a clean chronological-and-thematic structure. It opens by establishing the Burns poem as a thematic frame, then introduces George and Lennie's dream and the supporting characters who join it. It next examines how Curley's wife inadvertently destroys that dream, then shows George's tragic response, and closes by reflecting on what remains for the surviving characters. Each section builds on the last, moving from hope to dissolution.
Introduction: Burns' Poem and Steinbeck's Theme
Much like the poem from which it takes its name, Of Mice and Men confronts its characters with the harsh reality of being unable to fulfill their dreams. Published in 1937, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men tells the story of two migrant workers and the challenges they encounter as they try to achieve their dream of owning a rabbit farm.
The most poignant and meaningful stanza in Robert Burns' "To a Mouse" — from which Of Mice and Men derives its title — helps set the tone for the novella. In "To a Mouse," Burns apologizes to a mouse for destroying its home and everything it has worked so hard to build. Though the mouse has prepared for winter and "saw the fields laid bare and wasted / and weary winter coming fast / and cozy here, beneath the blast / Sought to dwell / Til crash! The cruel plough past / Out through your cell" (Burns). In an attempt to comfort the mouse for all that it has lost, the speaker reassures it that it is not alone and that many have shared its fate. The speaker tells the mouse: "Mouse, you are not alone, / in proving foresight may be vain: / the best laid schemes of mice and men / Go often askew, / and leaves us nothing but grief and pain, / for promised joy!" (Burns). This theme is further exemplified through George and Lennie, and to a lesser extent through Curley's wife.
George and Lennie's Dream
At the beginning of the novella, George and Lennie are looking to work as hired hands. Because Lennie is intellectually limited, George must look after him and tries to ensure that he stays out of trouble. Early on, the reader is introduced to George and Lennie's dream of owning and tending to rabbits on a farm. Throughout the novella, all money they earn is intended to be put toward the purchase of that farm. At this point, the reader is also introduced to Lennie's habit of petting soft things — a tendency that has caused trouble in the past and will ultimately lead to his demise.
The Supporting Cast and Their Hopes
Once the two men are hired to work on a farm, the reader meets a cast of characters, each with dreams of their own that they have been unable to fulfill. Candy, a one-handed ranch hand, eventually learns of George and Lennie's plans and offers to invest in the farm. Crooks, the Black stable hand, is also made aware of their plans and wishes to become part of the dream. While the men work the fields and contemplate their future, Curley's wife intrudes upon their vision.
Conclusion: The Price of a Broken Dream
At the end of the novella, not only is Lennie's dream effectively ended, but George, Crooks, and Candy must reconsider what they had hoped to share. Though the dream had seemed possible to achieve, they now realize the price that must be paid when anything goes awry.
Works Cited
Burns, Robert. "To a Mouse." The World Burns Club. 2004. Web. 19 January 2011. <
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics. New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, 1994. Print.
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