Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men is a novella (although this categorization of written work is often debated) written by author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it tells the story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression in the United States.

     Based on Steinbeck’s own experiences as a bindle stiff in the 1920s (before the arrival of the Okies he would vividly describe in The Grapes of Wrath), the title is taken from Robert Burns’ poem “To a Mouse,” which read: “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley.” ("The best laid schemes of mice and men / Often go awry.")

     Required reading in many schools, Of Mice and Men has been a frequent target of censors for vulgarity and what some consider offensive and racist language; consequently, it appears on the American Library Association’s list of the Most Challenged Books of the Twenty-First Century.