Essay on To a Mouse

The novel Of Mice and Men takes place in a western ranch full of hard working, burly, and vicious men, which is of similarity to the rural farm setting of the poem “To A Mouse”. Similarity between the two works is also shown in the motif of the mouse in Of Mice and Men in which both the mouse and Lennie are being controlled by a greater force. More similarities between the two works include conflicts, characters, and theme.

Both the novella and the poem include two characteristics who portray vulnerability. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Lennie Small is mainly vulnerable to emotional pain. On the other hand, in the poem “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns, the mouse is portrayed to be vulnerable by physical pain. In the novel Of Mice and Men and “To a Mouse”, both authors use characters to display the characteristic of being vulnerable.

John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men follows the journey of two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, who struggle through the navigation of working on a ranch in California and fulfilling their dreams together during a time of financial depression. The novel begins with George and Lennie traveling through the California wilderness to get to a new ranch just south of Soledad where they are going to begin new work. They had to leave their previous jobs in a town called Weed because Lennie had caused trouble with a girl by holding on to her red dress because he wanted to feel it, and this incident spiraled into rape allegations against Lennie. As George and Lennie make their way to the new ranch, Lennie; who is a large, but simple minded man; found a dead mouse and wanted to keep it to pet because he likes soft things. George, who is more serious and protects Lennie, takes the mouse away from him because even though it’s dead, he should not be messing with it. Lennie often does not realize his strength because of his mental incapabilities and as a result, he causes a lot of trouble and harm. George finds taking care of Lennie to be taxing, but he knows that their friendship is an important bond that he does not want to be without. In order to comfort Lennie in the wilderness, George tells the story of their shared dream to own their own ranch where they can follow their own rules and live as they please. When they finally arrive at the ranch the next day, George and Lennie

“Of Mice and Men,” a novel written by John Steinbeck, and “To a Mouse,” a poem written by Robert Burns, are similar not just by coincidence. Though 152 years apart in age, evidence of the poem’s influence is easily seen in Steinbeck’s work. The most notable influence is the title, of course, which is directly taken from a quote in the poem. Though this instance is quite apparent, the influence doesn’t stop there. “Of Mice and Men” and “To a Mouse” have several similar thematic structures, including characters, plot similarities, and setting.

Of Mice and Men is an allusion, To a Mouse a poem by Robert Burns. An allusion is a figure of speech, which is meant to refer someone to another piece of literature and borrow from their ideas. To a Mouse is a poem about the speaker accidently turning over the mouse’s nest which the mouse had prepared in order to survive the winter. Much like humans “the best laid schemes of mice and men,” will go “askew” and we will be left to wonder on our own (Burns 4). Therefore the title itself indicates that the character’s plans will not go as planned and will end

In the poem “To a Mouse” by Burns, the speaker writes an apology to the mouse for the way it gets treated by humans. The speaker describes the mouse as a “sleek, tiny, timorous, cowering beast” that is running away from humans. He tells the mouse that he does not need to run away from him. He says to the mouse, “why dash away, so quick, so rash, in a frenzied flash when I would be loath to run after you”. The speaker means no harm but the mouse’s first instinct is to run when he sees humans because he expects to get chased by humans. The speaker understands the reasons for the mouse sometimes stealing food. The narrator says “I have no doubt you sometimes shiver; What of it, friend? You too must live!” He knows that the mouse must find a way to get food, so it can survive. The little mouse had a home-built to keep warm but the farmer with the plow unintentionally destroyed its home. When apologizing to the mouse the speaker says “Your tiny house lies in a ruin, its fragile walls and-rent and strewn! Now nothing’s left to build you a new one of mosses green.” The mouse plans to have a home for winter gets destroyed. The farmer destroying the mouse's home shows that dreams and plans can be destroyed by something or someone.

This is hinted at when he states that the mouse "feedeth still in doubt of deep deceit". Although the mouse has been hurt before and fears for a next time it will be captured while feeding, it still needs to feed to survive, although it still feeds in "doubt of deep deceit". Another place the speaker hints at this attitude is towards the end of the poem where he describes the "game", or relationship, he has with the woman as "grievous" since it "follows fancy dazzled by desire". Through only these two places in the poem, the speaker is able to create that tone of longing that goes hand in hand with the dominant tone of distrust and

Fear wafts throughout the air, weighing down on Amy's already heavy shoulders. She dashes to the bathroom intent on saving the pesky house guest from the endless pit it may now have to call home. Reaching into the germ infested loo, she pulls out a minuscule being shivering uncontrollably. The pest is soon bound into a tight bundle, engulfing it as though smothered by its mother. Once it is nursed back to health, Amy creates a dream home for it outside on our steps. Watching from a distance, she beams as it returns to its natural habitat. Just one pesky mouse, clearly not cared about by our cat, my parents nor I, somehow, Amy finds it within herself to put this unsightly mouse above her own

Lazarillo de Tormes is a famous work of Spanish literature published anonymously. The novel is written in the first person. Lazarillo de Tormes is known as a picaresque novel in that the novel is written about a character of the lower-class instead of a hero or upper-class character. The novel has several themes but the theme that is constant throughout the novel is appearance versus reality. The author utilizes several rhetorical devices in the novel which add emphasis to the story.

The poem “To a Mouse” is about a farmer plowing a field, but accidently runs over a mouse’s nest. The farmer immediately feels bad because the mouse, now, has no place to live and winter is coming. The farmer then realizes that good plans don’t always go the way they are supposed to, no matter if it is for a mouse or a man. The farmer thinks that mice are blessed compared to humans because they live in the present as humans are always regretting their past and planning their future.

He found a way to represent the people as animals. He found the stereotypes that are made on different types of races like the Jews, the Polish and the Nazi. The Jews themselves were the mice, the Germans are represented by cats, the Americans are represented by dogs, the poles are represented by pigs, the Rema (gypsies) are represented by gypsy moths, the French are represented by frogs, the Swedes are represented by deer, and the British are represented by fish. The mice themselves are shown because it gives the reader a sensation that the mice are weak and helpless as the dirty filthy ones. The Germans as the cats show that they have power over jews, it’s the usual concept that cats are the stronger ones and when they are going to catch them they like to play with them. It was not only the mice that he represented with

“The Mouse” is a short story written by H.H Munro. The main characters are Theodoric, the mouse, and the blind lady. The author Munro writes the story in third person and uses an omniscient view. The setting of the story takes part in the vicarage, the stable, and the ends in train compartment. The tone used by the author to engage his readers is an exciting, thrilling fast paced tone that bring the characters to life. To strengthen the thrilling exciting tone, the author uses phrases such as: “he was not even alone in his own clothes. “A warm, creeping movement over his flesh betrayed the unwelcome and highly resented presence, unseen but poignant, of a strayed mouse.” After reading the quote above, I as the reader was drawn into the

The story Of Mice and Men took place during the 1930’s. That time period was very different from today. Race and gender were very important characteristics that determined whether a person had the opportunity to make money. The 1930’s were also a time where people started questioning life and the American culture. Many people like John Steinbeck thought that life was very unfair and questioned whether if life was even worth living. In Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck demonstrates that mans dream is destined to be destroyed by a cruel reality.

The book “Who Moved My Cheese?” is a simple story about mice and “little people” that helps readers handle and deal with changes in their lives. The story is about two mice and two human-like individuals named “little people” (who are the size of the mice). The two mice’s names are Scurry and Sniff. The two little people’s names are Hem and Haw. The story takes place in a “maze” and the characters look for “cheese” to nourish them in the maze. When the characters find cheese, only to have it disappear, they experience change. The different characters show different ways of responding to this change and teach lessons that can be applied to our daily lives.

A famous person once said “Judging a person doesn’t define who they are. It defines who YOU are.” Don’t judge someone by how they look comes out in both of the stories “The Lion and the Mouse” by Rob John and “Wonder” by R.J Palacio. Both of the stories have characters that are different from others. Both of the characters get judged, but are very helpful in the end.