Of Mice and Men - The Movie

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     The flashback at the end of the movie shows Lennie and George helping each other carry and toss a sack into the back of a pick-up truck. Once they do that they both look at each other, turn around, and start walking off into the distance. George takes off his gloves, and Lennie puts his hand on George's back and they continue to walk away.

     The flashback leaves the audience feeling rather sad and sorrowful. Personally, a tear was welling in the corner of my eyes when George killed Lennie. I think it created this mood because it seemed a lot more real, and the characters expressions were passed on to the audience's. Making a work of writing into 'reality' also makes the emotions to start getting treated as if they were real.

     To me the feeling didn't really match with the end of the book, but it could've. The book's ending had more holes, in which I think the readers focused on mostly. It never really discussed how exactly George was feeling and how he was acting after he killed Lennie. In the movie his emotions and actions can be viewed, changing the mood entirely.  They could be similar if someone was really attached to Lennie and George's friendship.  The directer most likely chose this ending rather than the ending in the book because it gives more of a end to Lennie and George's friendship and it kind of shows that they really stuck together and truly did love each other. The book doesn't really display much emotion after Lennie's death other than the fact that it was uncommon for men to stick together back then. The movie's ending had more of an end, and is more sympathetic, which is what I think the director was aiming for.

     The last line of the book occurs after George had killed Lennie and Slim decides he and George need to go get a drink, while Carlson and Curley trail behind them. The official last line is, "And Carlson said, "Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?". This line tells us that Carlson and the rest of the guys don't understand what it's like to have a best friend and to have someone by their side. They don't understand the hurt and sadness that comes with losing someone very close to you, that may be not be family. They only care and worry for themselves because that's how life was back then, every man for themselves.

     The line leaves the readers left with anger/annoyance, based on my classmates reactions and responses. The reason it gives these feelings to the readers is because there is not a solid conclusion on what happened to George and Candy's dreams. There were also so many unanswered questions, such as how the rest of the ranch reacted and if George got to keep his job or not. Personally, to me, I believe the ending was pretty good. It allowed the reader to make their own solid ending, and fill in the holes. Although, I wanted a ending that actually happened, I think it was very well thought out because the book begins with Lennie and George's friendship and ends with their friendship dying. It was simple, yet complex at the same time.


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     My general thoughts about Of Mice and Men is that it's very well written, but kind of rushed. The whole book took place in a matter of three days! I also feel a bit upset with the book and movie because they didn't really have much of a closure. Ultimately, whilst reading I had no major reactions. This might've been because my sister spoiled the whole entire book the moment I told her we were reading about it! I already knew what was going to happen, therefore my reaction wasn't very dramatic.

       Lennie's death had the most profound impact while reading the story because it was a moment that defined the whole book. It helped people understand how rare friendship was, how hard work was, and how the people acted back then. I would recommend this story to anyone who likes a short read, and someone who enjoys a lot of drama. I would recommend this story to these people because the book is very short and if a person doesn't want to read a long story but a short good book then this is the novella for them. Also, to fhe people who like drama, Of Mice and Men includes a lot of it which can intrigue those certain individuals who like it. This book would be suitable for readers who like the genres, fiction prose and tragedy.