Of mice and humans

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Of Mice and Men ( English Of Mice and Men ) is a novel of the American writer John Steinbeck . The book was published in 1937 and was first translated into German by Elisabeth Rotten in 1940 . It tells the story of two migrant workers who dream of a better life and is considered a typical work of the American Dream .

Steinbeck initially wanted to call the novel Something that happened . With the title Of Mice and Men , he quoted the poem To a Mouse by the Scottish poet Robert Burns , which describes a farmer's relationship with the mice in his field.

The author himself was a migrant worker in California for around two years in the early 1920s after leaving Stanford University without a degree. The character Lennie has a real role model: On a farm, Steinbeck saw one of his colleagues, a strong man, kill a foreman.

content

Steinbeck conceived the novel from the outset as a drama and screenplay, so that the dialogues could be taken over directly and the narrative passages in between could be used as directing instructions. Like scenes, the six chapters have a clearly defined location: by the river, twice in the crew quarters, in the stable owned by Crooks, in the stable, by the river.

Chapter 1

George and Lennie fight their way through life together as migrant workers and dream of a better future. The work is hard. They move from farm to farm, from harvest to harvest. Tall and strong as a bear, but mentally retarded, Lennie has a comradely friendship with the dexterous and clever George, who constantly looks after Lennie. But this is not entirely clear: When Lennie strokes a girl's dress and this is mistakenly perceived as sexual harassment, both lose their jobs. George instructs Lennie to stay in the background on the way to the next odd job. At the campfire he tells Lennie how difficult it is to have to look after him all the time. But when Lennie offers to move on alone, George takes everything back: he would rather stay with Lennie. He notices that migrant workers like himself and Lennie are some of the loneliest people, without a family, without a home, who immediately knock their savings back on the head. But with Lennie he would like to invest his earnings one day in a piece of land with a house, cows, pigs, chickens and rabbits.

Chapter 2

In the sleeping quarters of the farm, George and Lennie meet the farm worker and cleaner Candy, who tells them how things are on the farm. The two of them should especially watch out for Curley, the son of the farm owner. He likes to mess with other men. He got married recently, but his young wife likes to turn men's heads. When Curley appears a little later, he immediately shows his rowdy side. George and Lennie feel uncomfortable and want to leave the farm as soon as possible, but not without earning a few dollars first. Curley's wife shows up briefly at the accommodation, supposedly to check on her husband, and Lennie is intrigued by her. George has been a thorn in the side of this woman from the very first moment.

Chapter 3

In the evening, George starts a conversation in the sleeping barracks with foreman Slim, a careful, experienced and tall man whose word counts among the workers. He is amazed at how the unequal couple George and Lennie get through life together. This is the exception among migrant workers. Everyone just thinks of themselves. George tells Slim how it came about: that at first he didn't take Lennie seriously either, but after many experiences together he got used to him because he is like a child he no longer wants to be without. Slim gives Lennie a puppy, whom Lennie takes care of.

More and more men come into the barracks, including old Candy with his dog and the worker Carlson, who cannot stand the stench of the old, frail dog and wants to shoot it. But Candy is attached to his dog, which he has raised since he was a little puppy. But finally, with a heavy heart, he lets Carlson persuade him to give the animal the coup de grace. Slim also offers him a small puppy as a replacement.

Later, Lennie lets George tell Lennie again about their dream together, about their own house, the country, the animals. George has an exact idea and already knows where to buy land and houses. Candy, who was also listening, intervened and would like to join them and toss his savings into the scales. George and Lennie are initially confused, but with Candy's money they would be one step closer to their dream. Candy, who lost his right hand while working on the farm, suggests that he would later make himself useful in the household and garden of George and Lennie.

Suddenly the jealous Curley comes into the room with other men, starts an argument with Lennie and hits him. Lennie does not react for a long time, only after Curley has hit his face bloody, he defends himself at George's command and unconsciously breaks the hand of the farmer's son. Now all fear for their earnings and the dream that goes with it. But the cunning Slim can convince Curley that it is better not to tell his father the real story.

Chapter 4

In the shack of the black groom Crooks, Lennie comes into conversation with him when he is looking for his puppy. Most of the others went into town to drink. Lennie tells Crooks about his dream of owning his own country with the rabbits he'd love to pet. Crooks is skeptical that all the migrant workers he knows have these dreams and that no one has ever realized them. But Crooks, handicapped by a spinal injury, also has his dreams: he longs for company. As the only black man on the farm, he lives in isolation, cannot confide in anyone, cannot talk to anyone. When he offers Crooks and Candy, who has joined them, to take part on their dream farm, Curley's wife arrives. She joins the men's conversation and says she deserves better than sitting alone in the farmhouse and waiting for Curley. She sees that Lennie has been punched in the face and can make him admit that he injured Curley's hand. She thinks that serves her boastful husband right. When Crooks finally tries to push her out of his shack, she humiliates him because of his skin color and his low position in the farm hierarchy.

Chapter 5

Lennie strokes his dead dog: he caressed it too hard and hit the animal uncontrollably. Now he tries to hide it in the stable, because George is not allowed to know about it. If he learns that Lennie has "done such bad things" again, he will not let him care for and pet the rabbits. At that moment, Curley's wife enters the stable. Although Lennie reacts defensively and backs away, she doesn't let up and tells him about her life and her dreams. She lets Lennie, who loves touching soft things, run her fingers through her hair. However, when it becomes too much for her and Lennie does not stop, she wants to tear herself away. Lennie covers her mouth so she can't scream. He accidentally breaks her neck. Panicked, Lennie flees to a hiding place outside the farm that he had previously agreed with George. When the returning men discover the manslaughter shortly afterwards, they rush after Lennie with Curley to lynch him. George and Slim know they can hardly stop Curley.

Chapter 6

Lennie sits alone on the bank of the Salinas River. He fears that he has done everything wrong again and wonders whether George will now send him away for good. When he shows up and the pursuers can be heard from afar, George is persuaded by Lennie to tell him again about their dream, about the country and the house and above all about the rabbits. George does him a favor and instructs Lennie to look across the river and imagine her imaginary house there. Then he points Carlson's Luger , which he stole from him earlier, at the back of Lennie's head and shoots his friend - in time before the lynch-mad pack reaches them.

The main characters

  • Lennie Small is a retarded worker with almost irrepressible strength. He is led by George, without whom he would not be able to cope with his life. He is filled with the urge to touch everything soft and beautiful, which repeatedly brings him into difficult situations. He wants to breed rabbits on a farm they share with George so that he can care for and pet them.
  • George Milton is Lennie's friend and is intelligent and cynical, but also worried about Lennie, whom he repeatedly has to maneuver out of unpleasant situations. Together with Lennie, he dreams of a farm on which they want to live together.
  • Curley is the boss's son. Curley boxes in the lightweight and is quite successful there. He provokes all people so he can fight them and show that he's a tough guy. When he tries the same thing with Lennie, Lennie breaks his hand.
  • Curley's wife is the only woman on the farm. She originally wanted to become a film star and is dissatisfied with her situation. Since she flirts with the workers, they see her as a slut. She is the only important character in the book whose name is not mentioned, a flaw that underscores her impersonal role and contrasts with Lennie, with whose feelings she plays unscrupulously and thus contributes to its tragic end.
  • Candy lost a hand and is an old farm worker. Because of this, it is no longer really integrated. Candy wants to join George and Lennie's dream of having their own farm, do the housework there, and is willing to invest his $ 350 savings on it.
  • Slim is a charismatic foreman and a smart head who assesses all situations correctly and acts accordingly. He therefore enjoys the greatest respect among the workers.
  • Carlson is the counterpart to Slim. He is insensitive, inconsiderate and disrespectful, for example when he shoots Candy's old dog without considering Candy's feelings. He's not popular, but respected for his strength.
  • Crooks is an educated, hunchbacked, black-skinned stable boy who no one wants to have contact with. But he turns this fact around and claims that nobody is worth having contact with him. He has a copy of the California Civil Code from 1905.
  • The boss is called the impersonal employer on the farm who only appears briefly.

German language transmissions

The first German translation, obtained by Elisabeth Rotten , was published in 1940 by Humanitas Verlag , Zurich. Georg Hofer then produced a second German translation , which Diana Verlag , Stuttgart and Konstanz published in 1955 . Another transmission comes from Otto Kyburg . It was first published in 1969 by the German Book Association , Berlin, Darmstadt and Vienna. All of these three translations were regularly republished in the years that followed. In 2002 Mirjam Pressler then submitted a new translation, published by Deutsches Taschenbuch Verlag (dtv) , Munich.

Film adaptations, radio plays, homage and parodies

Immediately after the first film adaptation in 1939, the first parodies appeared . Tex Avery created characters based on George and Lennie for the cartoon Of Fox and Hounds (1940). The parody intent was even clearer in Avery's short-lived cartoon series about George and Junior , which began in 1946 with Henpecked Hoboes .

In 2016, Steinbeck's novel was parodied in the Family Guy series . In the episode literary lesson (season 15, episode 7; original title: High School English ), two other books are also parodied, which are also considered typical school reading in English lessons: The Great Gatsby and Huckleberry Finn .

literature

  • John Steinbeck : Of mice and humans. Roman (Original title: Of Mice and Men ). German by Mirjam Pressler . With pictures by Thomas von Kummant and an afterword by Katja Schmid. Unabridged edition. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag (dtv), Munich 2002, ISBN 3-423-62072-2 , 139 pages
  • John Steinbeck : Of mice and humans. Roman (Original title: Of Mice and Men ). German by Elisabeth Rotten . Unabridged edition, 10th edition. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag (dtv), Munich 1995, ISBN 3-423-10797-9 , 112 pages
  • John Steinbeck : Of mice and humans. Roman (Original title: Of Mice and Men ). German by Georg Hofer. Unabridged edition, 142. – 153. Thousand. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin / Vienna 1980, ISBN 3-548-02693-1 , 141 pages
  • John Steinbeck : Of mice and humans. Roman (Original title: Of Mice and Men ). German by Otto Kyburg. Reclam, Leipzig 1986
  • Michael Goodman: Reading aids John Steinbeck “Of mice and men” . 3. Edition. Klett-Verlag for knowledge and education, Stuttgart / Dresden 1995, ISBN 3-12-922233-2 , 86 pages

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Robert Burns : To a Mouse . Original English text ( Wikisource )
  2. ↑ a b Introduction by Susan Shillinglaw to the Engl. Edition Of Mice and Men . Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0-14-118510-1
  3. ↑ Of Mice and Men in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  4. ↑ Of Mice and Men in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  5. ↑ serienjunkies.de