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Gianna Brucato

English III

Mrs. Dill

13 April 2018

More Than One Scheme Foiled

John Steinbeck devised the title Of Mice and Men based on the poem "To A Mouse" by

Robert Burns to reveal the parallel of the plot within his novel and the poem. Within the first

stanza of “To A Mouse,” the speaker addresses a cowering mouse that is panicking and

“start[ing] away so hasty / With hurrying scamper” (Burns 3-4). Like the mouse, the

consequences that Lennie knew would come from killing Curley’s wife cause him to flee in

fright. After Lennie snapped her neck, he knew that he was in trouble, as “he whispered in fright,

‘I done a bad thing. I done another bad thing’” (Steinbeck 91). Like the mouse, who was afraid

of the actions that were to come of the speaker, who is more dominant and intimidating, Lennie

was terrified of the consequences that he would face from George, who is more advanced and in

command of Lennie’s life. Also, the speaker told the mouse that he “would be loath to run and

chase [him]” with the intent to murder him (Burns 5). As George came to the realization that he

needed to kill the man he has traveled with all his life, “his hand shook violently” (Steinbeck

106). In the context of the poem, the view of Lennie is that of a mouse forced to flee the scene,

while George is seen as the man who is dominant, but not looking to kill his friend.

The novel and the poem are also comparable in the sense that society crushes Lennie, as

the man destroys the mouse. In “To A Mouse,” the speaker apologizes for the dominance of men

causing the destruction of the mouse itself (Burns 6-7). Lennie was ultimately hurt due to the

world putting down those with disabilities. After George had found that Lennie murdered
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Curley’s wife, he attempted to reassure himself by thinking that the people who lock him up

might take pity and be kind to him, but ultimately he knew that Curley would kill him. Due to

Lennie being disabled, he would starve by himself and anyone that he would meet would look

down upon him. Also, in the poem the speaker says to the mouse that it “justifies that ill

opinion/Which makes thee startle / At me, thy poor, earth born companion / And fellow mortal”

(Burns 9-12). The speaker believes that the justification of the mouse is valid in its distrust in

humans because man’s dominance broke nature’s social union; men, being superior and

intimidating, was the cause of the inevitable destruction of the mouse. When he first arrived at

the farm, George instructed Lennie to refrain from speaking because the boss could not find “out

what a crazy bastard [Lennie is]” (Steinbeck 6). Like the mouse, Lennie was not trusting of other

men (besides George) due to their superiority and not being understanding of his disability. The

man speaking within the poem stated that the mouse was his “earth born companion / And fellow

mortal” (Burns 11-12). The mouse is afraid, even though the speaker does not seem to be a

threat. The speaker refers to him as a “fellow mortal” to show that he is not alone and to relate to

the inferior mouse. George comforted Lennie when he explained that they are to take care of one

another, as when Lennie regurgitated his words “I got you to look after me, and you got me to

look after you” (Steinbeck 14). Clearly, the world viewed Lennie as all men viewed the mouse;

however, Lennie found a companion in George, as the mouse found a companion in the speaker

of the poem.

Lennie and the mouse are both influenced by their nature, which they can not always

control. The speaker in the poem accuses the mouse of stealing from the farm. The mouse is not

aware of the fact that what he is doing wrong; he is looking to stay alive and not starve to death.

Lennie, in the same way, has done many things that he does not view as wrong. Lennie’s nature
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was the cause of George and Lennie having to flee Weed. He saw a red dress he liked and felt

the need to reach out to touch is, not expecting his actions to cause any disturbance. When the

girl cried out, his nature told him to hold on to the dress, due to him being terrified. Although the

mouse and Lennie act based on instinct and are usually forced to pay for it, the speaker of the

poem and George are both defending them. The speaker states that “an odd ear in twenty-four

sheaves / is a small request,” which shows that he is sympathetic and does not blame the mouse

for its wrongdoings (Burns 15-16). Before explaining to Slim the story of Weed, George justified

Lennie by saying “‘he ain’t mean . . . he gets in trouble alla time because he’s so God damn

dumb” (Steinbeck 41). Obviously, the mouse and Lennie are impulsive in their nature, but both

the speaker and George understand and are willing to defend their respective counterparts.

The mouse in the poem can also find a parallel to Candy within the novel. After the

plough disturbed the mouse’s nest, the “small house, too, [was] in ruin” (Burns 19). After Lennie

murdered Curley’s wife and George realized he needed to kill his best friend, Candy asked

George if they can still buy the farm themselves. When George decided that the dream of the

house was a lost cause because of the inevitable death of Lennie, Candy’s entire dream house

was ruined. Curley’s wife, the dominant, merciless plough, ran straight through Candy’s dream

of leaving his current farm. After he lost his dream, there was no point “to build a new one, / of

coarse grass green,” because he needed George’s leadership and the money from both George

and Lennie (Burns 21-22). The mouse was not able to build up his house anew, due to the winds,

though there was a “bleak December’s winds coming,/Both bitter and keen!” (Burns 23-24). The

keen winter is the symbolism of death, which ultimately was the cause of Candy’s dream

crashing. Lennie was the force holding the dream together and when his death came from

George, Candy’s dream was forgotten. Candy will live on his current farm until the boss fires
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him and he “won’t have no place to go” (Steinbeck 60). Steinbeck and Burns make it clear to the

reader that the destructive forces, which are outside of their own control, are what ruins both

Candy and the mouse.

Additionally, the mouse is comparable to Crooks within the novel. The mouse in “To A

Mouse” is content before the plough crashes into its dwelling, just as Crooks is unbothered

before Curley’s wife and Lennie enter the barn. Robert Burns speaks for the mouse in saying that

he found a cozy spot to dwell, out of the “fields [that] laid bare and wasted” (25). Like the

mouse, society separated itself from Crooks, as his race segregated him. Though Crooks’s

isolation did not gratify him, he lived an unchanging and uninterrupted life. However, while the

mouse was sitting in his sanctuary of a home, “the cruel plough past / out through [his] cell” (29-

30). When Lennie entered the barn and began talking to Crooks, Crooks slightly let his guard

down; Lennie and George’s plan to create their own farm enticed Crooks, causing him to show

interest. As he spoke to Lennie and Candy, Crooks forgot his race was what separated them,

causing him to lash out at Curley’s wife. After he had gotten his hopes up and planned to work

on the dream farm, Curley’s wife was what brought him back to earth. She explained that she

could get him “strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (Steinbeck 81). Before Lennie

was a variable in Crooks’s life, there was little to bother him and he always kept his guard up

around others on the farm. Crooks is comparable to the mouse, while Curley’s wife is the

remorseless plough that crashed throughout his cell.

George can also mirror the hardships of the mouse by the loss of his best friend. After the

careless farmer and the ruthless plough destroy the mouse’s home, the mouse has nothing left. It

“endure[s] the winter’s sleety dribble” and mourns all of the hard work that it has put into the

creation of a home (Burns 35). Likewise, George has spent all of his life working to take care of
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Lennie. After Lennie’s Aunt Clara died, Lennie began working with George, who tried his best

to keep Lennie out of trouble. The duo traveled together, working on various farms and George

found himself a best friend and companion. Whenever the two settled George was at home

because he was with Lennie. In the instant that the bullet traveled into Lennie’s skull, George

was left homeless and without someone to confide in. As the mouse was “turned out, for all [his]

trouble,” George was left alone after his many years of keeping Lennie safe and protected (Burns

33). As the reader can see, both George and the mouse were left mourning the loss of their

homes. The outside force of the plow destroys the mouse’s home and George put an end to

Lennie by shooting him in the back of the head.

Though the first six stanzas are able to compare the mouse to the tragic characters that

have lost much due to their various “ploughs” in life, the speaker in the poem uses a volta in the

seventh stanza to speak on what the mouse should be grateful for. The speaker tells the mouse

that it is not alone, which shows that he is there for it. In the novel, George takes care of Lennie,

while also keeping him out of harm’s way. When the speaker explains that “The best laid

schemes of mice and men / Go often askew,” it is reminiscent of the foiled plans of Lennie,

Candy, Crooks, and George (Burns 9-10). At one point, the men are all convinced that their

dream will take place, and they will be free from the farm they currently work on; however, the

actions of Lennie, George, and Curley’s wife eventually undo the plans for everyone’s dream.

George, Lennie, and Candy all plan how to obtain the land and pay for it, they do not realize the

difficulties that will arise. Crooks was the only one of the men to foresee the inevitable

destruction of their dream by saying that “‘Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’ . . . and nobody

gets no land” (Steinbeck 74). Like the speaker explains, though many have an idea of a dream

that they would like to make reality, something outside of their control often derails their plans.
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After a force impedes upon one's plans, according to the speaker in Robert Burns’s poem, they

are left with “nothing but grief and pain, for promised joy” (41-42). A promise of a dream come

to life fills Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and George, though they are left to mourn the lost hope after

Lennie’s death. Similarly, the mouse is left to lament over its broken home, which the farmer ran

down with his brutal plough.

In addition, the farmer realizes that the mouse living without memory is a blessing for the

creature, as George believes that Lennie is better off having a mental disability. The mouse and

Lennie are only touched by the present, completely forgetting most things that happen prior to

whatever situation they are currently in. George repeatedly complains throughout the novel that

Lennie can never remember anything he told him, though George is put under the burden to

remember it all. He can look into the past and only imagine a life in which he has nobody to care

for except himself. When Lennie would mess up, ultimately hurting their chances of reaching

their dream, George would go on to say that he “‘could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble”

(Steinbeck 11). If George had never taken Lennie under his wing, he might have had a

completely different life, though his thoughts of his prospective life only bring misery when he

realizes he had missed opportunities. The speaker of the poem glances “forward, though [he]

cannot see” and fears what the future is yet to bring. Both the mouse and Lennie do not have the

sense to attempt to figure out the future, though the speaker and George are fearing it. George

has always been the one to find a new job and decide how to survive, while Lennie relies on him

and is never plagued by the unknown. When George has to shoot his companion and is left to

fend for himself and live alone, he is still the one to worry of the future. He must change his

entire life to accomodate for the loss of Lennie. Obviously, John Steinbeck chose to title the
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novel Of Mice and Men due to the evident parallel between the plot of both the novel and the

poem.