Of Mice and Men: The Book: The Movie: The blog

On Thursday (1/11) we watched the Of Mice and Men (OMAM) movie adaptation of the book.
The plot in the two is obviously very similar, but the movie had different scenes play off differently, or different characters were portrayed in a slightly different way, etc. 

Section III

Although the plot has the same ending in both the book and the movie, the actual ending moments of each piece are different. The movie ends with a flashback; the book ends with dialogue.

1. What does the flashback show?

It’s a flashback of George and Lennie throwing a bag of hay into a truck (probably at another ranch), then they walk off as the screen fades away with slightly depressing piano music.

2. How does the flashback leave the audience feeling at the end of the movie?

I personally felt more upset/melancholy at the ending of the movie compared to the book. The book ended with Curley saying “Whaddya suppose is eating those two?” which kind of kills the mood for me in the book. The movie’s ending with the two happily walking into the sunset was cast over by the darker music, which seems like something that would be played at a funeral.

3. Does that feeling match the feeling at the end of the book? Why do you think the director chose to use a different ending rather than just showing exactly what’s in the book?

It does not match the feeling at the end of the book. I feel like the director maybe thought that Carlson’s reaction ruined the end of the book for some. So he probably changed it in order to make the ending match the mood of the scene preceding it.

4. What is the line of dialogue that ends the book?

“Now, what the hell ya suppose is eating those two guys?” - Carlson

5. What does that line tell us about the speaker?

It shows that Carlson is extremely callous to not understand the situation. I wonder how he doesn’t feel more emotional about seeing someone being forced to kill their best friend. On the other hand, it seems that Slim was able to put two and two together and tried to comfort George.

6. What feeling does that line leave the reader with? How does it make you feel when he says that?

I feel kind of aggravated at Carlson for saying something so cold like that. I also thought he ruined the last scene, which *slightly* upset me.

Section IV

What are your general thoughts, feelings, reactions of Of Mice and Men? What had the most profound impact on you or your understanding of the novella? Who would you recommend this book to and why?

I really liked Of Mice and Men. I enjoyed both the movie and the book, but I preferred the book due to it not feeling as rushed as the movie (I felt as if the Movie’s events moved by way too quickly). The nice blend of Steinbeck’s vividness in his description and the characters in the novella really made it for me.

The thing in OMAM that had the most profound impact on me was that each character in OMAM had their own personal struggles, and they still have problems with understanding each other. Even when the characters opened up to each other, they somehow still couldn't sympathize.

I would recommend this to anyone who I think would enjoy OMAM for the vividness of its story, profoundness of the concepts represented, or is a fan of books with moral dilemmas.