Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men Henri Frederic Amiel once stated, “Destiny has two ways of crushing us- by refusing our wishes and by fulfilling them.” In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, this is very true for George and Lennie. The pair has moved from ranch to ranch trying to keep down a job but Lennie who easily gets in trouble always thwarts them. They long to live the American Dream but they, like all the other workers, will never reach their dream that seems to be just beyond their fingertips. George watches over Lennie as they travel together but he cannot stop the mess that Lennie will get into at the newest ranch. Steinbeck conveys through the symbolism of playing cards, light, and Lennie’s hands that we are destined to play the hand fate deals us even if our hopes and dreams are dashed in the process of our destiny. Steinbeck uses the symbolism of cards to represent that no matter how hard we fight, we are destined to live the life fate plans for us. George only plays solitaire to show that he has given in to fate and will be alone with no one else alongside him. Even with other people around him, George only plays alone which represents that he will always feel alone even if he is physically not. “George stared at his solitaire lay, and then he flounced the cards together and turned around to Lennie.”(p. 29) George would play cards without Lennie who “was…just watching him.”(p.29) representing that Lennie would not be involved with George’s destiny. It also shows that although George and Lennie travel together they didn’t play cards together because no matter how many times they could have played together, they never would have won and beat fate. Naturally, George “was small and quick…with restless eyes and sharp strong features”(p.2) and when he spoke he always did it sharply. His repeated sharpness indicates a higher intelligence and it is to be expected that a more knowledgeable person would survive longer in the real world longer than an