What did Steinbeck mean by "Of Mice and Men"?

Question

Shouldn't it have been "Of Rabbits and Men"?

Answer 1

The rabbits are only a part of the theme.
The title is taken from Robert Burns's poem "To a Mouse," often quoted as: "The best laid plans of mice & men go oft awry."
Steinbeck has brillantly given us a story of two men, who "appear" a dichotomy, physically & mentally. The protagonist, George, is small in stature, intelligent, cynical & caring, who befriends Lennie, (one could say this symbiotic relationship is very strong & focused), who is physically a big man, but with a child's mentality. Lennie has a dream to raise rabbits; he's obsessed with soft things & cuddly animals. While loving, he doesn't know his own strength & ultimately, kills a woman while trying to stroke her hair.
To save Lennie from the painful death of a lynch mob, George shoots him in the back of the head while Lennie is still distracted with his dream of the rabbits. (George also knows he's doomed to a life of loneliness, as the rest of the migrant workers in this Depression era).
One might ask: Who is the mouse, & who is the man?
There is far, far more to this than the quote.

Edit: that_is-: Lennie wasn't careless, he simply didn't know his strength, & there were a series of events before the death of the woman whose hair he wanted to stroke. (Not just mice.) I would say that the conclusion can be drawn that no one is guilty here. Lennie was innocent of the danger he presented; George was noble in sparing him a horrible death. I read this at least 15 years ago, & shall never forget it.

Answer 2

no, because even though lennie is always talking abou the rabbits...that would be too obvious. it is called of mice and men because throughout the book steinbeck has the character call each other a mouse or a "rat trap" you need toanalyze the story while reading because it really hard to understand =] good luck!!

Answer 3

Steinbeck choose that title from a sentence in a poem that he liked, "the best laid schemes o' mice an' men." The poem describes a situation similar to the situation of the main characters in his novel, how there dreams go awry after working on a ranch.

Answer 4

All of the previous posts tell you what a designer cat is... and I want to know why you would consider such a profession? Ask yourself if you plan on finding owners for all the kittens you breed that do not meet your standards? What will you do if you can't find owners? Will you dump them on a dirt road somewhere so they might get shot, eaten or starve?? Have a vet euthanize them? Send them to animal control? It costs taxpayers approximately $100 per cat to euthanize in the state of Georgia! Designer cats are only here to fill a niche in a market with lots of money to blow.. don't be involved with such a shallow, inhumane profession.

Answer 5

It's a reference taken from a poem by Robert Burns a scottish poet. "The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley"
Which is scots dialect for the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.
This refers to the plans that George and Lenny were talking about for their future.

Answer 6

ooooh i had to do this for literature 2 years back. i absolutely adore literature... hmm well this is MY opinion. remember the two characters george and lennie??

lennie was the one who always killed mice because of his strength and carelessness. and remember how in the end george had to shoot lennie but he was innocent considering that he was mentally challenged. well basically i guess the title is asking and also challenging the reader who is the innocent one here? who is the one actually guilty, george or lennie. and also it could be a metaphor. mice = innocent men = guilty

once again, thats just my opinion

Answer 7

Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck

Study Guides

These links will give you a chapter by chapter summary of the book, character analysis, plot and much more, so that you will be able to answer literary questions.

http://www.bookrags.com/notes/omam/

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/micemen/

http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/miceandmen/

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-101.html

http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/monkeynotes/pmOfMiceMen01.asp

Answer 8

From Robert Burns' poem To a Mouse, 1785. It tells of how he, while plowing a field, upturned a mouse's nest.
The resulting poem is an apology to the mouse:

.....But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane ("thy lane" = not alone)
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft a-gley, ("Gang aft a-gley" = often go awry)
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promised joy

Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e'e.
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!...

The farmer intended to do good by plowing his field. The mouse only built its nest in a spot it felt best.

That story is about Lennie, a man who has great physical strength but a feeble intellect, and he unwittingly commits homicide.

Sometimes our best intentions and plans go wrong, who's to blame? We can't place blame on the innocence of good intention and circumstance.

Answer 9

It's derived from the saying, "The best-laid plans of mice and men go oft awry."

Answer 10

I believe it is a reference to Robert Burns, "...the best laid plans of men and mice are aft gang astray..."