AP Lang students at North are given the ability to choose which Great American novel they read for their Synthesis unit: “The Great Gatsby” or “Of Mice and Men”. The popular choice was “Of Mice and Men”, and the novel was indeed a great read; however, the ending was terrible and abrupt.
While there are many Great American novels, “Of Mice and Men” is one where the ending is not clear. Main characters Lennie and George struggle to make a living during the Great Depression, traveling through California’s barren fields to find work. They manage to get jobs at a ranch in Salinas Valley and make several friends among the other workers, but Lennie has a mental disability. His childlike mind has not caught up to his adult body, which brings trouble for him and George. Author John Steinbeck wrote the book to perfection, performing his job as the author perhaps too well, for after reading, there was no other way it could have ended.
Junior Munn Patel shared similar agreement on how the ending was sad, but in the end, Steinbeck wrote it perfectly. He said he “felt like it was a selfless decision…it had to be done” and even though Patel wasn’t pleased with how the story ended, he claimed “it made sense.”
The entire concept of the novel is focusing on “the American Dream” and how everyone can achieve prosperity. George’s dream was to own a farm and live a quaint life, but the ending of the novel saw no final triumph for George and his dream. I was disappointed as it was unclear if he achieved his goal or not, or if he ever found a living other than being a migrant worker and bouncing from location to location for work. The ending was unsatisfying and left me with far more questions than answers.
Bailey Calwell, another junior, expressed her displeasure at the ending. She said she “personally didn’t like the ending” because she forms attachment to characters and though the book had a good message, she “found it a little jarring.” She felt it ended abruptly and that was “dissatisfying” for her.
I agree with Caldwell, as the ending didn’t clear up the confusion surrounding George. Did he achieve his American Dream? How did the other ranchers fare afterwards? Was it happily ever after? No one knows.
