OF MICE AND MEN, by JOHN STEINBECK

THEMES: PEOPLE TEND TO DESTROY THE THINGS THEY LOVE, and MOST PEOPLE LIVE SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE ANIMAL LEVEL

As Mark Twain knew, one must sometimes exaggerate to make a point. For that reason, Steinback used Lennie as an exaggerated case of how people destroy what they love, and/or of what they really need.

Lennie is an extreme example of what all those who function slightly above the animal level so often do—Ruin their own lives. Lennie inadvertently kills what he loves. True, Lennie kills in dramatic fashion. And yet, as one sees in the characters in the novel, others do likewise, albeit in more or less socially approved, less-dramatic ways.

Examples: George knows he needs money to purchase a plot of land. But he wastes his salary on an outing at a “cat house.” Moreover, although neither he nor the prostitutes are aware of the more subtle consequences of their sexual malfeasance, their loose sexual morality works against their best interests. George undoubtedly develops a less than wholesome attitude toward women in general that will prevent him from even recognizing a good women if and when he ever meets one. Neither George nor the prostitutes will likely ever perceive that the primary purpose of marriage is not sexual gratification, but the procreation of children. That ruins their chances for a good marriage and in the long run, works against the whole idea of a family. Moreover, taking taking this concept to the social level-- without a critical mass of strong families, a society will not function. One sees this is contemporary America in which large masses of young people are endlessly amusing themselves rather than creating families.

Consider Curly. He assumes that he owns his wife, as if she is his personal property. His determination to protect his “property” inevitably leads him into a pointless fight leaving him with a permanently injured hand. Curly protected his wife much as a bull elk protects his harem. With good reason, he feared that his promiscuous wife will stray. And there were plenty of would-be other bull elks just waiting for an opportunity. How true it is, the veneer of civilization is thin indeed; man quickly descends to an animal level.

Curley's wife may be defined as a “primordial female.” They are beautiful, they are clever manipulators, they attract men, and they delight in destroying the men they attract. Because she was married to an overly possessive male, their marriage was a formula for disaster. In a way, she was similar to Lennie. Lennie killed what he loved; had she lived longer, she would have caused the death of a loved one herself. Nevertheless, although she was the archetype of the primordial woman, she actually showed a maternal concern for Lennie. Ironically, that moment of goodness was fatal. She allowed Lennie to touch her soft hair. He did, she panicked, he went berserk, and he carelessly killed her.

Sigmund Freud famously asked, “What does women want?” It was, of course, a rhetorical question. Whatever it is, Curley's wife never came close to it while living more or less like an animal confined like a caged animal, to living in Curley's house.

SUPERNATURAL DESTINY

Steinbeck's characters have difficulty living as rational humans. Worse than that, no character even suspects that man is called to a higher than natural destiny. St. Augustine famously said, “Thou hast made us for They Own O Lord, and our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee.” (Confessions of St. Augustine). Herewith a crucial point all but forgotten by contemporary Catholic theologians. As Cardinal Newman put it, Natural goodness is not sufficient onto salvation. That's correct. God calls everyone to, and demands, supernatural goodness. C. S. Lewis said it this way—We are not called to be something better than what we are; we are called to be something other than what we are. And of course that Other is to be one with Christ. S teinbeck's characters were barely on the natural level of rational beings, let alone on the supernatural level.

Lennie was described in animal terms, i.e., “he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws... he drank [from a pool] with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse.” Lennie lived close to the animal level; the other characters only incrementally above that.

George's wants are also animal like, only they are more socially acceptable. He says that without Lennie he would have money, which he would spend at a “cat house all night, [and] I could eat any place I want … and order any damn thing I could think of.” In other words, George seems different than Lennie in degree, not in kind.

Be that as it may, George does show goodness that is of a supernatural level. He cares for Lennie, even at great personal expense. In that sense he is doing something God-like because adopts persons as His children. So, strangely enough, George shows that man is indeed made in the “image and likeness” of God.

George's last name, “Milton” suggests the 17^th century English poet John Milton and although George Milton is no John Milton, the name suggests that he has a more profound personality than is evident in his everyday life. Lennie's last name is “Small,” which is contradictory to his size and strength. That suggests that he is vulnerable, which he is, given that he is doomed to function in a society he cannot adequately understand.

Note that ranch owner. He is suspicious of George. He cannot understand why George burdens himself with Lennie. “Well, I never seen one guy take so much interest in another guy. I just like to know what your interest is.” Principle: Evil cannot understand goodness. Consequence: Be suspicious of those who are always “looking for an angle.” Here again, one sees the primary value of reading literature—good authors know and therefore reveal what we need to know about human nature.

PSYCHOLOGICAL REFLECTION

Lennie is a tactile person. Jungian personality theory refers to such persons as sensates. They are the ones that must feel everything. One sees them in the produce department of the local supermarkets squeezing the fruit or at the department stores touching the clothes. There is nothing per se wrong with being a sensate. However, as psychologists know, excessive behavior is the mark of a neurotic. Lennie's need to touch soft material of any kind was clearly excessive.

St. Thomas Aquinas taught that “all know ledge comes through the senses.” Lennie had a compelling need to gather knowledge by touching, but like an animal, he had limited ability to understand what he felt.

Note on human intelligence: When Crooks starts telling Lennie his life story, Lennie's response is a non sequitor—he asked about the puppies. Principle: Low intelligent persons rarely follow a train of thought. Personal success in the academically driven, high tech environment of contemporary America requires the ability to follow complex chains of thought. That was difficult enough in the time and place of the novel; it is now far more important. And too many people lack the requisite thinking skills.

Living alone. Because Crooks is a Negro, he is forced to live by himself. He has little company. Only persons with an active prayer life can handle that. Crooks, talking about himself, says “Sometimes he gets thinkin, and he got nothing to tell him what's so an' what ain't so. Maybe if he sees somethin', he don't know whether it's right or not. He can't turn to some other guy and ast him if he sees it too. He can't tell. He got nothing to measure by.” There is indeed an intellectual danger in prolonged isolation.

Freudian psychology seems appropriate to understand the two major characters. According to Freud, the id is the unconscious level, so to speak, wherein arise inclinations towards violence and sexual activities, many of which are perversions. Everyone has such id level contents, but Lennie's id inclinations are near the surface.

Moreover, the ego is the conscious level that controls id desires. Lennie had a weak ego, too weak for a man to function in society. George functioned as Lennie's ego. Note how he continually warned Lennie about misbehavior.

The superego is the social equivalent of the personal ego. In other words, society tells persons that some behaviors are socially inappropriate. In contemporary times, America has a weak superego, except for actions considered politically incorrect. But that is another story. In the novel, the fellow employees function as a supergo.

Note on Curley: “Curley's like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he's mad at 'em because he ain't a big guy.” Steinbeck had that right. Small guys often attempt to compensate for their size.

SOCIOLOGICAL REFLECTION

Note two more recurring themes: A desire for land, and a desire to be self-employed. The desire for land, for a place of one's own, is a universal desire. The Russian Communists took control of their government in 1917 by promising the peasants that they would soon have land. What they meant was land held collectively, not that they told that to the peasants. Joseph Stalin, future Party Secretary, said the peasants would side with the Communists because, “The peasant dreams of land in his sleep.” George and Lennie hoped to purchase a small plot of land. Two other workers, when learning of the plan, expressed a strong desire to join them. One of the best things about living in America is that the desire for land is a desire that can be fulfilled. However, as George knew, hard work and money is necessary and both demand delayed id gratification. Think about that. Man wants land. Moral behavior can make that desire happen. In other words, American capitalist society has a built-in way of strongly encouraging good moral behavior.

The desire to be self-employed is akin to the desire for land. To desire land masks a strong desire to be independent, to not be required to answer to a superior. America makes that possible also. In the novel, Candy feels confident to stand up to Crooks when he believes that soon he will be at least a partial landowner. In sum, two strong universal wants are capable of fulfillment is America, thanks to a system that favors self-reliance.

Lennie attempted to excuse his violent action, “I didn't mean no harm.” That a common “excuse,” especially among young people. It points out something that ought to be engraved above every school door in the country: “Stupidity kills more people than maliciousness.”

Curley's wife: Most violence is committed by unattached males. Women therefore have the God given, or one may say, Nature given, task of civilizing makes. The primordial female does nothing to fulfill that socially necessary task. That has always been true. Now, however, so many American females, obsessed with some form of self-fulfillment, are indifferent to their civilizing obligation.

MANAGEMENT REFLECTION

The ranch boss manages with a strict, no nonsense approach. Obviously he has had lengthy experience with the kind of rough men he employees. As the men are one step above the animal level, he treats them as such. Perhaps,in the context of the ranch work they had to do and the time in which they were living, that was necessary. However, management theory has come a long way since then. Threatening employees with dismissal is a legalistically way of compelling effort. Unfortunately, such bosses receive nothing more than that which is legalistically required. A demanding yet sensitive, caring boss is rewarded with employees willing to go beyond requirements. This proves an important point still not understood by too many bosses—people like to work. Treat them well and they will rise to any occasion.

Slim, the man in charge of the day-to-day operations, managed more effectively. His men respected him because he could do every ranch job well. There are three reasons why employees do as they are ordered. The boss and Slim possessed legal authority. Men obeyed them simply for that reason. Slim also possessed referent authority. Men respect a boss with referent authority because they know he has adequate expertise. A third type did not appear in the novel. Some managers possess charismatic authority. Excuse the digression, but in any organization, there is nothing more damaging than a charismatic leader who lacks expertise.

MORALITY REFLECTION

Strictly speaking, there is no Catholic morality. Morality is based on natural law, which is based on human nature. In other words, all humans have an in-built sense of right and wrong. They discover this law simply by thinking about it. Because people oftentimes misinterpret natural law, the Church has the God-given task of clarifying and serving as the final authoritative source of natural law.

As stated above, two in-built desires are for land and independence. Or, to put it another way, those desires are specific to human nature, and so they are legitimate desires. How very nice that America law makes possible the realization of these basic human desires. Morally, George was wrong to shoot Lennie. However, it was a humane act because George thereby saved Lennie from the wrath of Curley.

FARM MECHANIZATION

Many men were required to buck the barely bales. Bucking bales means piling them. Today, a single farmer with the requisite equipment can do the job. Despite the high expense of the equipment, in the long run, the job is done less expensively now that a farmer need not pay personnel costs. This means that ranch produce, usually beef, will cost less. The consumer benefits. Granted, men lost jobs due to mechanization, but men can be better employed than they were doing those backbreaking jobs.