"Of Mice and Men" is one of Steinbeck's greatest novels. It portrays the lives of two men trying to create a perfect life for themselves. At first, at the story's outset, it is a bit hard to follow as a reader must wait to learn more about the characters and their backgrounds before he or she can begin to gain a better understanding and engage properly with the plot. Even upon completion of this novel, the audience still may feel they do not know the characters very completely, unlike how, in Hemingway's "Farewell to Arms," solid character descriptions and backgrounds are provided early on.
             One aspect of the story I found unusual was the way that Lennie follows every command of George. Lennie's tremendous size over George seems like it should have given him control over George, yet he obeyed every command of George, including the part in which George told Lennie to go jump in the water which nearly drowned him. Another singular element of the story is that of Lennie's low self-control. He has no control over his actions, and only George being present could prevent him from doing major harm. When George was not with him, Lennie played around with the woman in the red dress which resulted in their banishment and in the death of Curley's wife.
             Steinbeck's use of language helped make the story engrossing, clearing away distractions, because it was simple and kept the reader focused in on the story. I felt hatred for George controlling Lennie like a mind-puppet and pity for Lennie because, without George, he would have done terrible things as a matter of course.
             The plot of the book is basically about two men who want to work hard to lead an easy and calm life. Lennie is a big man who has mental disabilities and who takes his commands from George who is a small yet wise and smart man. George insults Lennie continuously saying that he would do much better off without him, but in reality, George n...