Of Two Mice, a Comparison
Of Two Mice, a Comparison
“The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, often go awry, And lead us nought but grief and pain” The poem To a Mouse, by Robert Burns is used not only as part of the title in Of Mice and Men, but it also mirrors many of the same themes raised by the poet. To a Mouse is about the poet, Robert Burns, destroying a mouse’s nest. Burns then attempts to console the mouse, telling him that, “the best laid scheme o' mice an' men. often go awry,”. John Steinbeck, the author of Of Mice and Men, took this line to heart when writing his novel. Just like the mouse, the two major characters, Lennie and George’s dreams and plans for the future all go wrong. In To A Mouse, the poet Robert Burns sympathizes with the mouse, looking at the mouse’s plans, similar to a humans. The mouse had been collecting its nest for months, but taking just one blow to be shattered, much like a human’s dreams. The dreams take much preparing, but in the end, they too can ultimately shatter in one ‘blow’. This is what happens with Lennie and George’s dreams of owning their own land. “An live off the fatta lan’,” Lennie shouted “An’ have rabbits. Go on, George! Tell about what we’re gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it. Tell about that George!”(p.14) ” Their dream was particularly simple, acquire a mere few acres of land and live there, contently for the rest of their lives. Eventually, like the mouse’s home, their dream was shattered all with one ‘blow’. “And cozy here, beneath the blast, You thought to dwell, Till crash! the cruel plough passed Out through your cell.” In this, Robert Burns is stating that the mouse thought it was safe in the nest, that it was protected here. All of the sudden disaster struck when the plough hit its home. This section of To A Mouse is comparable to Lennie’s fleeing after the accidental killing of
“The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, often go awry, And lead us nought but grief and pain” The poem To a Mouse, by Robert Burns is used not only as part of the title in Of Mice and Men, but it also mirrors many of the same themes raised by the poet. To a Mouse is about the poet, Robert Burns, destroying a mouse’s nest. Burns then attempts to console the mouse, telling him that, “the best laid scheme o' mice an' men. often go awry,”. John Steinbeck, the author of Of Mice and Men, took this line to heart when writing his novel. Just like the mouse, the two major characters, Lennie and George’s dreams and plans for the future all go wrong. In To A Mouse, the poet Robert Burns sympathizes with the mouse, looking at the mouse’s plans, similar to a humans. The mouse had been collecting its nest for months, but taking just one blow to be shattered, much like a human’s dreams. The dreams take much preparing, but in the end, they too can ultimately shatter in one ‘blow’. This is what happens with Lennie and George’s dreams of owning their own land. “An live off the fatta lan’,” Lennie shouted “An’ have rabbits. Go on, George! Tell about what we’re gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it. Tell about that George!”(p.14) ” Their dream was particularly simple, acquire a mere few acres of land and live there, contently for the rest of their lives. Eventually, like the mouse’s home, their dream was shattered all with one ‘blow’. “And cozy here, beneath the blast, You thought to dwell, Till crash! the cruel plough passed Out through your cell.” In this, Robert Burns is stating that the mouse thought it was safe in the nest, that it was protected here. All of the sudden disaster struck when the plough hit its home. This section of To A Mouse is comparable to Lennie’s fleeing after the accidental killing of