Sunday, February 7, 2010

Why did John Steinbeck chose 'Of Mice and Men' as the title of his novel?

John Steinbeck, Of Mice an Men, novelWhy did John Steinbeck chose 'Of Mice and Men' as the title of his novel?
The title comes from the poem ';To A Mouse'; by Roberts Burns. . . The poem is about plowing over a mouse's burrow and destroying its hard work. . .





The specific lines the title of this novel refers to are:


';The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley';





Meaning: ';The best laid schemes of mice and men go often askew';





The novel is somewhat based on broken dreams: George's dream of settling on a farm, Lennie's dream of the rabbits, Crooks, Candy's dream of working on George's farm, and Curley's wife's dream of fame. However, they all fail like the mice in the poem. . .





In the end of the poem, the poet compares humans and animals. . . He says to the mouse: ';Still thou are blest, compared wi' me! The present only toucheth thee.'; The author of the novel makes reference that Lennie is more animal than human. . . The character is well off because he can't remember the past or think of the future or worry about his dreams failing and his death. . .











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The poem can be found in the following site. . .





http://www.worldburnsclub.com/poems/tran鈥?/a>Why did John Steinbeck chose 'Of Mice and Men' as the title of his novel?
';The title of the novel comes from a poem by the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759 - 96):





The best laid schemes o' mice and men


Gang aft agley [often go wrong]


And leave us nought but grief and pain


For promised joy!';
It comes from a poem by Robert Burns...';The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry...';


In the book, this indicates that George and Lennie had a perfectly laid-out plan to buy their farm, but the plan went sour after Lennie killed Curley's wife.

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