To a Mouse

1. To a Mouse Robert Burns

2. Purpose of the poem • “Written by Burns after he had turned over the nest of a tiny field mouse with his plough. • Burns was a farmer and farmers are generally far too busy to be concerned with the health of mice. • This poem is another illustration of Robert Burn’s tolerance to all creatures and his innate humanity.”

3. Video • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixy33czhTbI&safe=active

4. Standard English Translation • Small, crafty, cowering, timorous little beast,
O, what a panic is in your little breast!
You need not start away so hasty
With argumentative chatter!
I would be loath to run and chase you,
With murdering plough-staff. • Meaning: The poet is doing his utmost to assure this terrified little creature that he has no intention of causing it any harm.

5. I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
And justifies that ill opinion
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth born companion
And fellow mortal! • Meaning: He then goes on to aplogize to the mouse for the behavior of mankind using beautiful prose which requires neither translation nor interpretation. Listen to what he is saying, and you will be well on your way to understand what made Burns such a greatly loved man. Note how he equates himself with the mouse in life’s great plan.

6. I doubt not, sometimes, but you may steal;
What then? Poor little beast, you must live!
An odd ear in twenty-four sheaves
Is a small request;
I will get a blessing with what is left,
And never miss it. • Meaning: Here he tells the mouse that he realizes its need to steal the odd ear of corn, and he does not really mind. He’ll get by with the remainder and never miss it.

7. Your small house, too, in ruin!
Its feeble walls the winds are scattering!
And nothing now, to build a new one,
Of coarse grass green!
And bleak December's winds coming,
Both bitter and keen! • Meaning: Dismay at the enormity of the problems he has brought on the mouse causes him to reflect on what he has done – destroyed her home at time when it is impossible to rebuild. There is no grass to build a new home and the December winds are cold and sharp. Her preparations for winter are gone!

8. You saw the fields laid bare and wasted,
And weary winter coming fast,
And cozy here, beneath the blast,
You thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel plough passed
Out through your cell. • Meaning: Where the mouse had thought that she was prepared for winter in her comfortable little nest in the ground, now she is faced with trying to survive in a most unfriendly climate, with little or no hope in sight.

9. That small bit heap of leaves and stubble,
Has cost you many a weary nibble!
Now you are turned out, for all your trouble,
Without house or holding,
To endure the winter's sleety dribble,
And hoar-frost cold. • Meaning: It seems probable that here the poet is really comparing his own hard times with that of the mouse – a life of harsh struggle, with little or no reward at the end

10. But little Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy! • Meaning: The sadness, the despair, the insight contained within this verse are truly remarkable and deeply moving.

11. Still you are blest, compared with me!
The present only touches you:
But oh! I backward cast my eye,
On prospects dreary!
And forward, though I cannot see,
I guess and fear! • Meaning: This final verse reveals the absolute despondency that Burns was feeling at this stage in his life. Not at all what one might expect from a young man of twenty-six, supposedly so popular with the lassies, and with his whole life ahead of him, but nevertheless expressing sentiments with which many of us today can easily relate.

12. Connection with Of Mice and Men • Steinbeck’s choosing of the title Of Mice and Men was derived from this poem “To a Mouse” and deliberately misses out the rest of the verse. • This is virtually the whole story – The shattered dream, the grief and pain instead of the promised plan.

13. In the poem there is no doubtfulness at all in the meaning and interpretation. • Burns is the philosophical farmer with equally little control over his destiny as that of the mouse. • Mankind, though superior to the mouse can think things through, can feel regret, remorse, disappointment, etc.

14. Steinbeck retains this thought process because Lennie (as the mouse) had a lot of his choices made for him and lives only for the present “the present only touches thee” and at the same time Lennie (as the man) was able to have a dream and devoted himself to the fulfillment of this dream. • He also (as the man) was more powerful than many and was capable of killing thus overturning and destroying George’s dream of owning land.

15. With a bit of imagination, Steinbeck has virtually turned an eight verse poem into a novel.

16. Of Mice and Men By John Steinbeck

17. John SteinbeckOne of The Great American Writers of the 20th Century

18. A Look at the Author • Born February 27th in 1902 in Salinas, California, John was the third of four children, and the only son. • During his childhood, Steinbeck learned to appreciate his surroundings, and loved the Salinas countryside and the nearby Pacific Ocean; it would be this appreciation that would later come out in his writing. • Steinbeck worked during his summers as a hired hand in nearby ranches.

19. The Fields of Salinas, California

20. The Beauty of Salinas • Rich, fertile soil

21. At the age of 14 he decided to be a writer and spent a lot of time writing in his room. • In high school, Steinbeck did well in English and edited the school yearbook. • From 1919-1925 Steinbeck attended Stanford University to please his parents, but only chose courses that interested him, classical and British Literature, writing courses, and an odd science course. • However, Steinbeck did not receive a degree because he would drop in and out of school, sometimes to work with migrant workers and bindlestiffson California ranches.

22. What’s a Bindlestiff? A hobo, especially one who carries a bedroll.

23. During the late 1920s and 1930s, he concentrated on writing and wrote several novels set in California. • Steinbeck gained great success by readers and critics.

24. In 1929, he published his first novel, Cup of Gold • In 1930, Steinbeck married Carol Henning, and they moved into his family’s home. His father helped support the struggling couple, but unfortunately, they divorced in 1942. • In 1935, he won his first literary prize, Commonwealth Club of California Gold Medal for Best Novel by a Californian for his novel, Tortilla Flat. • In 1936, Of Mice and Men was published, and was so widely accepted that Steinbeck began a book tour that led him to Europe.

25. In 1939, The Grapes of Wrath was published and became an instant best-seller; in 1940 it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world. • This novel, just like Of Mice and Men, stemmed from his experience working among migrant workers. • Steinbeck’s experiences in the fields researching migrant workers led him to have more compassion for these workers, and stirred up his concern for social justice.

26. In 1943 he married Gwendolyn Conger who would father him two sons before their divorce in 1948. • In 1943 Steinbeck worked as a war corre- spondent for the New York newspaper, Herald Tribune.

27. While living in Monterey, California, Steinbeck said that he felt unwelcome as no one would rent him an office for writing, and he was harassed when trying to get fuel and wood from a local wartime rations board.  • Steinbeck wrote that his old friends did not want to be around him, partly because of his works, and partly because he was so successful: “This isn't my country anymore. And it won't be until I am dead. It makes me very sad.” He left Monterey the next year and moved to New York.

28. In 1948 he moved back to Monterey. A year later he met Elaine Scott, who in 1950 became his third wife. • Although he continued to write and publish, he never felt at ease in his life, and once wrote to an aspiring writer from Salinas: “Don't think for a moment that you will ever be forgiven for being what they call ‘different.’ You won’t! I still have not been forgiven. Only when I am delivered in a pine box will I be considered ‘safe.’ After I had written the Grapes of Wrath the librarians at the Salinas Public Library, who had known my folks remarked that is was lucky my parents were dead so that they did not have to suffer this shame.” 

29. One of Steinbeck’s two sons fought in the Vietnam War, while Steinbeck himself was in Asia covering the war for Newsday, a Long Island newspaper. • Steinbeck lost a number of friends during the anti-war movement due to his open support of the war and America’s involvement.

30. Steinbeck’s last two books were nonfiction. • Travels with Charley in Search of America was an account of his trip from Maine to California with his poodle, Charley. • His final book, America and the Americans, was about his belief that in time, America would once again feel united.

31. John Steinbeck died on December 20, 1968, at his apartment in New York City. • His wife took him home to Salinas to be buried near the land that he spent his life writing about.

32. Mural overlooking The National Steinbeck Center in Salinas

34. The Book • Of Mice and Men was originally called Something That Happened. • When Steinbeck first thought of the idea for the book he intended it to be for children. Steinbeck told a friend that he was experimenting with a new “dramatic form.” • In May 1936, he wrote a manuscript, but his puppy (a setter called Toby) ate it! • He said of the book: • "It is an experiment and I don't know how successful."

35. Of Mice and Men • The novel deals with the issues dear to Steinbeck’s heart - poverty, homelessness, the exploitation of itinerant workers, the failure of the Dream, America’s general moral decline.

36. Main Characters: Lennie & George

37. Lennie is a large, lumbering, childlike migrant worker. Due to his mild mental disability, Lennie completely depends upon George, his friend and traveling companion, for guidance and protection. The two men share a vision of a farm that they will own together, a vision that Lennie believes in wholeheartedly. Gentle and kind, Lennie nevertheless does not understand his own strength. His love of petting soft things, such as small animals, dresses, and people’s hair, leads to disaster. Lennie Small

38. George Milton • George is a small, wiry, quick-witted man who travels with, and cares for, Lennie. Although he frequently speaks of how much better his life would be without his caretaking responsibilities, George is obviously devoted to Lennie. George’s behavior is motivated by the desire to protect Lennie and, eventually, deliver them both to the farm of their dreams. Though George is the source for the often-told story of life on their future farm, it is Lennie’s childlike faith that enables George to actually believe his account of their future.

39. Introduction George and Lennie go to a ranch near Salinas, California, to work. George is Lennie’s keeper, and Lennie imitates everything that George does. Lennie previously had been kicked out of a town for grabbing a girl’s dress. He simply liked to touch soft items. That is also the reason that he has a dead mouse in his pocket: Lennie petted him too hardly. George promises Lennie that some day they will have their own farm and raise rabbits as well as other animals.

40. The setting in OfMice and Men • The novel is set in the farmland of the Salinas valley, where John Steinbeck was born. • The ranch in the novel is near Soledad, which is south-east of Salinas on the Salinas river. • The countryside described at the beginning of the novel, and the ranch itself is based on Steinbeck’s own experiences.

41. Soledad, California

42. California in the 1930s

43. Why Migrant Workers? • Before technology created farm machinery, humans had to do a lot of the farm work by hand. • Between the 1880s and the 1930s, thousands of men would travel the countryside in search of work. • Such work included the harvesting of wheat and barley.

44. Migrant Workers • These workers would earn $2.50 or $3.00 a day, plus food and shelter. • During the 1930s, the unemployment rate was high in the U.S., and with so many men searching for work, agencies were set up to send farm workers to where they were needed. • In the novel, George and Lennie (the two main characters) were given work cards from Murray and Ready’s, which was one of the farm work agencies.

45. Chasing the American Dream • “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” ( Emma Lazarus) Written on the base of the Statue of Liberty

46. The American Dream • You can be successful if you work hard and live morally. • America is the land of opportunity. • Freedom to work hard and be happy is enshrined in the Constitution. • The Dream assumes equality of opportunity, no discrimination, freedom to follow goals and freedom from victimization.

47. The American Dream • From the 17th Century onwards, immigrants have dreamed of a better life in America. • Many people immigrated to America in search of a new life for themselves or their families. • Many others immigrated to escape persecution or poverty in their homeland.

48. Immigrants dreamed of making their fortunes in America. • For many this dream of riches became a nightmare. • there were horrors of slavery, • there were horrors of the American Civil War, • there was a growing number of slums that were just as bad as those in Europe, • there was also great corruption in the American political system which led to many shattered hopes.

49. The idea of an American Dream for many was broken when in 1929, the Wall Street crashed, marking the beginning of the Great Depression. • This era affected the whole world during the 1930s, but even in the midst of hardship, some people’s dreams survived. • Thousands of people made their way west towards California to escape from their farmlands in the Midwest that were failing due to drought. • The characters of George and Lennie dreamt of having a “little house and a couple of acres” which was their own dream.

50. Is the American dream possible in the historical context of the novel?