Publication of Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men is a short novel by the American writer John Steinbeck. It tells of two migrant farm labourers in California during the Great Depression, the quick-witted George Milton and the physically powerful but mentally slow Lennie Small, who dream of owning a piece of land of their own. Their hopes are destroyed by Lennie's inability to control his strength and by the harshness of the world around them. The title is taken from a line in a poem by Robert Burns about the plans of mice and men that often go wrong. The book was adapted as a Broadway play in the same year and has been filmed several times. It is frequently taught in schools, though it has also been challenged over its language.

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