Of Mice and Men PDF, published in 1937, is a novella written by John Steinbeck. It narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers. George, who is a mountain of a man, has taken care of Lennie since they were young. Lennie has a mental disability. He enjoys stroking soft things, but sometimes accidentally kills small animals from squeezing too hard.
These two travel from place to place in California in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression in the United States. They dream of one-day buying land and starting a farm of their own.
Steinbeck based the novella on his own experiences working alongside migrant farmworkers as a teenager in the 1910s. The title is taken from Robert Burns’ poem “To a Mouse”, which reads: “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley”. (The best-laid schemes of mice and men / Often go awry.)
While it is a book taught in many schools, Of Mice and Men has been a frequent target of censors for vulgarity, and what some consider offensive and racist language.