Recommended Reading
Steinbeck has set his novel during the Great Depression, after the Wall Street Crash in 1928 in The USA. The setting is important because times are tough, unemployment is high and it is difficult to find a job. Lennie and George are itinerant workers, moving from ranch to ranch to find work. The fact that Lennie's behaviour needs to be continually managed by George makes their chances of finding and holding down a job even harder.
At the ranch in Soledad, Steinbeck introduces Candy, the old swamper and his dog, Crooks, the stable buck and Curley's wife. These three characters are all on the peripheries of society; they have no status and their futures are bleak. This is why the theme of owning your own piece of land gains increasing importance, particularly when it seems it could become a reality. However, Steinbeck makes it clear to the reader that the novella cannot end happily. The title, a quote from a poem by Roberts Burns suggests that "the best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry" (go wrong). In addition, Steinbeck gives the story a cyclical structure; the story starts and ends in the same place by the banks of the Salinas River. There is no progression for George and Lennie, they are back where they started.
Steinbeck includes important themes in the novella - poverty, racism and the status of women in those times. Look at how Crooks is treated when he is invited to join the others on Christmas Day. Also look at the description of Curley's wife when she is lying in the barn.
A good essay is well structured, so plan your ideas first, making sure you have answered all parts of the question. Try to make your introduction and conclusion interesting. Refer to the text as much as possible and include appropriate quotations (they can be brief) to display your knowledge of the book. When you are asked about how Steinbeck creates a particular effect, you are being asked to write about the techniques he uses. They include foreshadowing, (Candy and his dog), the structure of the novella, the significance of the title, his use of detailed description, use of repetition (the dream) and his focus on vulnerable, trapped people.
My final piece of advice is to make sure you know your set texts well. This means reading them at least twice, preferably three times - luckily "Of Mice and Men" is short. Enjoy reading it!
