Where Does the Title Of Mice and Men Come From?
A Scottish farmer, a ruined nest and a line that sums up the whole book
The title comes from a 1785 poem by the Scottish poet Robert Burns, To a Mouse. Burns writes that the best-laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley, Scots for often go wrong.
It fits the story perfectly: George and Lennie plan carefully for a farm of their own, and the plan falls apart.
What is To a Mouse about?
Burns wrote the poem as a farmer who has just turned up a field mouse's winter nest with his plough. He apologizes to the frightened little animal, says that he and the mouse are fellow creatures, and reflects that all its careful preparation has come to nothing. Then he turns to himself: the mouse, at least, lives only in the present, while he looks back with regret and forward with fear. The famous lines say that the plans of mice and men alike often go wrong and leave us nothing but grief and pain instead of the joy we expected.
↑ Back to the topWhy did Steinbeck choose this title?
Steinbeck's working title was Something That Happened, which shows what he wanted: a story that blames no one, in which things simply happen to people. He changed it to a phrase from Burns that says the same thing more beautifully. George and Lennie are the mice of the poem, small creatures with a carefully built dream, and life's plough turns it over. The new title also makes the reader think of the mice Lennie carries in his pocket.
↑ Back to the topHow do mice appear in the story?
In the first chapter George finds Lennie holding a dead mouse he has been petting in his pocket. Lennie loves soft things and strokes them too hard. The pattern of mouse, then puppy, then something far worse runs through the book and warns the reader long before the end. The small creatures are also a picture of George and Lennie themselves: weak, hopeful and at the mercy of forces much bigger than they are.
↑ Back to the topWho was Robert Burns?
Robert Burns (1759 to 1796) is Scotland's national poet, a ploughman's son who wrote in the Scots language and became famous across the world. His work is still read aloud every year on Burns Night, 25 January, and his song Auld Lang Syne is sung at New Year. Steinbeck, a lover of poetry, would have known his work well.
↑ Back to the topThe title in brief
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Source of the title | To a Mouse, a poem by Robert Burns |
| When was the poem written? | 1785 |
| What does gang aft agley mean? | Often go wrong |
| Steinbeck's first title | Something That Happened |
| Where mice appear in the book | Lennie keeps and strokes mice, and often kills them by accident |
More about Of Mice and Men
Books Like Of Mice and Men
The Grapes of WrathJohn Steinbeck
Travels with CharleyJohn Steinbeck
East of EdenJohn Steinbeck
The Kite RunnerKhaled Hosseini
Last OrdersGraham Swift
The BFGRoald Dahl
About a BoyNick Hornby
Q & AVikas SwarupThis guide discusses the whole plot, including the ending.