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Of Mice and Men: The Differences Between The Film and The Book

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Published: Jun 13, 2024

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The evolution of characters, visual storytelling vs. literary imagery, bibliography.

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Of mice and men: 10 differences between the book and the film.

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• Lennie's size is downplayed in the Of Mice and Men film, relying more on Malkovich's performance to convey his isolation and loneliness.
• The Of Mice and Men film focuses on Lennie's intellectual disability rather than his mental illness, forgoing hallucinations like Aunt Clara and the rabbit featured in the book.
• The character of Curley's wife is portrayed as more sympathetic in the film, making her death appear more tragic and less deserving.

One of the great American classics, Of Mice and Men , was turned into a 1992 feature film starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinese, but there are several Of Mice and Men differences between the film and book. John Steinbeck is one of the greatest American writers to have set pen to paper. His novels shine a light on the realities of the American experience and stands as some of the classics of literature, with books such as The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, and, of course, Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men , in particular, has proven to be a fruitful text for cinematic interpretation.

The Of Mice and Men story sees two field migrant workers, the intelligent but uneducated George Milton (Sinese) and the overly-strong but intellectually disabled Lennie Small (Malkovich), who dream of one day owning their own piece of land and settling down. When they begin working on Curley's (Casey Siemaszko) farm, tragedy after tragedy strikes, leading to a horribly sad ending that has a lot to say about the "American Dream." As with all film adaptations, the Of Mice and Men differences between the film and book are numerous, and director Gary Sinese made key changes to Steinbeck's beloved characters.

Related: Cyrano & 9 Other Great Modern Adaptations Of Classic Literature

Lennie’s Size

One of the biggest Of Mice and Men differences between the film and book is that Lennie's massive size in the novella is downplayed in the must-watch John Malkovich movie . In Steinbeck’s original novel, much is made of Lennie’s size. Again and again, readers' attention is drawn to the fact that Lennie is significantly larger than the rest of the men on the ranch, highlighting the fact that he is deeply lonely and estranged. In the film, by contrast, Lennie is portrayed as basically the same size as everyone else. The film thus has to rely more on Malkovich’s performance to convey Lennie’s sense of being cast adrift from the life of the ranch and from the people that surround him.

Lennie’s Character

Sinese made notable changes to Lennie's character in the Of Mice and Men movie vs book debate. In the book, it is repeatedly made clear that, in addition to having some form of intellectual disability, Lennie suffers from some form of mental illness that affects his perception of the world. He frequently has hallucinations, such as one involving a rabbit and Aunt Clara. The underrated classic novel movie adaptation cuts out these hallucinations, focusing instead on the way that Lennie has an intellectual disability. Again, a great amount of this relies on Malkovich’s performance, and he manages to bring out the fundamental humanity of Lennie, allowing viewers to sympathize with and, to an extent, understand him.

The Character Of Curley’s Wife

The character of Curley’s wife is another one of the biggest Of Mice and Men differences between the film and book. In the novel, Curley’s wife is depicted as being flirtatious and more than a little bit cruel, toying with Lennie's emotions and threatening to have Crooks (Joe Morton) lynched. The film makes an effort to change her into a more sympathetic character than she appears in the novel. She doesn’t dress nearly as flirtatiously, she frequently appears more bored than angry and, as a result, when she is killed, she becomes more of a victim than she appears in the novel, which attempts to make her seem more deserving of her death.

The Shooting Of Lennie

Lennie, who has been compared to the character Nick from Shameles s , is an entirely tragic figure and his heartbreaking death was one of the bigger Of Mice and Men differences between the film and book. The moment when George shoots Lennie is one of the most heartbreaking and shattering moments in both. In the novel, George tells Lennie a story, and it is clear that he suffers a great deal as he undertakes this traumatic action. In the film, on the other hand, he shoots Lennie with almost no hesitation, making him appear as much less of a sympathetic character than he does in the book.

The Aftermath Of The Shooting

Not only was Lennie's death slightly different in the case of Of Mice and Men movie vs. book, but so was the aftermath. After George shoots Lennie in the novel, he has a conversation with several other characters, which provides him with a means of coping with the consequences of the terrible action that he has just committed. In fact, one of the other characters comforts him by telling him that he had to do the shooting. In the film’s version of events, however, he set out alone on a train. This lends the whole sequence a bleaker appearance than in the novel, as audiences are left to endure George’s thoughts on his own.

An Important Conversation Is Cut From The Film

One of John Malkovich's best movies saw even more Of Mice and Men differences between the film and book as a thematically important conversation from the novella was cut for time. In a key sequence in the novel, several of the characters—including Curley’s wife—gather together in the barn to talk about all of the things that they want to accomplish in life, their various dreams, the things that they cling to help them deal with the bleak despair associated with the Great Depression. The film excises this scene altogether so that we do not get to see the ways in which these various characters have managed to come together even though they are all outcast from society.

The Romanticizing Of The Setting

By far one of the biggest differences cited in the Of Mice and Men movie vs book debate is the clear changes to the setting. As with so many Steinbeck novels, Of Mice and Men is a brutally realistic story, showing the rather gritty and unromantic everyday reality of life on a ranch during the period of the Great Depression, one of the bleakest periods in the history of the United States. In the film, on the other hand, viewers see instead a rather romanticized version of rural ranch life. It comes across as being a bit more nostalgic than anything else, a rather strange feeling since this is based on a novel by John Steinbeck.

The Prominence Of Carlson And Crooks

Gary Sinese ( CSI: New York ) added further Of Mice and Men differences between the film and book in his treatment of Carlson and Crooks. In the novel, Carlson has a relatively small part to play in the course of events, while the film expands his role, giving him more to do. On the other hand, in Steinbeck's book, Crooks is a part of several key events that happen, whereas in the film he is given substantially less to do. Of course, these changes make sense, as it often takes some shuffling of characters during the translation of a novel into the medium of film.

The Killing Of The Puppy

Another horrifying event that happens in the book is when Lennie accidentally kills a puppy that he has been given, and his treatment of the animal after its tragic death is another one of the Of Mice and Men differences between the film and book. The novel shows Lennie feeling a moment of remorse, weeping as the puppy lies on the ground before him, while in the film he simply paces around with the puppy in his arms, not showing any signs of tears. Either way, though, there is no doubt that this is one of the most traumatic and gut-wrenching scenes in Of Mice and Men, yet another reminder of the story’s essential bleakness.

The Frame Of The Film

One of the greatest Of Mice and Men differences between the film and book is the format and timing in which the story is told. In the novel, the story opens up during the middle of George and Lennie's journey, so that the reader is brought into the immediate time of the story and at the heart of the action. In turn, the movie takes a more retrospective approach. In the film, by contrast, in the beginning, viewers see George riding on a train, with the rest of the story told through flashbacks before the film returns at the end to show him riding on the train.

Of Mice And Men Movie vs Book

The film and book Of Mice and Men are both memorable works of fiction. While they share many similarities, there are also some key differences.

One of the biggest differences is in the character of Lennie. In the book, Lennie is rather simple-minded and childlike. He doesn’t understand much, but he is gentle and good-natured. In the film, however, Lennie is played as more feral and dangerous. He’s still not entirely in control of himself, but he’s far more menacing than in the book.

Another big difference is the ending. In the book, George kills Lennie to spare him from a painful death at the hands of others. It’s a mercy killing, and George does it out of love. In the film, however, Lennie is killed by Curley – and it’s far from merciful. Curley sadistically tortures and kills Lennie for fun, leaving George to watch in horror.

These are just some of the ways that the book and film Of Mice and Men differ from each other. Both are well worth a read or a view, but they offer different experiences.

When a book becomes so popular that it is turned into a film, it’s common for the script to be altered. The filmmakers are frequently allowed to take liberties. There are numerous significant modifications in Gary Sinise’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Despite the fact that both versions feature similar symbols, audiences miss out on the foreshadowing of the red and the thematic significance of solitaire.

Curley’s wife is given a name and back story, which allows the audience to develop empathy for her. Of Mice and Men is set in the time of the Great Depression and follows two men, Lennie Small who has mental disabilities, and George Milton, his caretaker. They travel around working at different ranches hoping to one day have their own land.

Along the way they meet Candy, an old man who works on the ranch and dreams of owning his own land as well; Crooks, a black stable buck who deals with racist remarks; Curley, the boss’ son who likes to pick fights; and finally Curley’s wife. Steinbeck uses symbols such as red to foreshadow events that are going to happen later in the book.

The use of red is first seen when Lennie is talking to George about his dream. He describes the farm they are going to have with “alfalfa for the rabbits… and a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. An’ down that way there’ll be a cow pasture, an’ some pigs an’ maybe we can have a milk cow. Can we, George? Can we, huh? Say we can, George. Please say we can” (Steinbeck 17).

The color red is not just used here but also appears when Curley’s wife is first introduced into Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck describes her as wearing “a red cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers” (Steinbeck 67). The color red is significant because it is often associated with danger or death. In Of Mice and Men, the color red foreshadows Curley’s wife’s death.

Sinise changes Of Mice and Men by not including the foreshadowing that Steinbeck put in his book. He does this by having Curley’s wife wear a blue dress when she is first introduced in the film.

While reading Of Mice and Men, Candy comes into George and Lennie’s room to talk to them about their farm. In the book, Steinbeck has Candy playing solitaire by himself, which is a symbol for loneliness. He does this to show how even though Candy is with other people, he is still lonely. This is significant because it foreshadows that Curley’s wife will die a lonely death.

Sinise changes the scene so that when Candy first comes into George and Lennie’s room he is talking to Crooks. By having Crooks in the scene, Sinise takes away the symbolic aspect of Candy being alone.

When Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men, he wanted to communicate the theme of loneliness to his readers. He does this by having many of his characters be lonely. Curley’s wife is one of the loneliest characters in Of Mice and Men. Even though she is married, she is always left alone on the ranch.

This is seen when Lennie first meets her and she says, “I get lonely… I got nobody to talk to… You gotta talk to somebody” (Steinbeck 68). Curley’s wife is so lonely that she talks to Lennie even though he has mental disabilities and can’t have a conversation with her.

Sinise changes the scene between Lennie and Curley’s wife by having her talk about how her husband never pays attention to her. In the book, Steinbeck has her talk about how she gets lonely and how nobody ever talks to her. By having her talk about her husband, Sinise changes the theme of loneliness to the theme of being trapped.

Of Mice and Men is a book that is full of symbols and themes. Sinise changes some of these symbols and themes when he creates his film version. Although the film is a good adaptation, it lacks some of the important aspects that Steinbeck includes in his book.

The lack of foreshadowing regarding the color red transforms the sign’s meaning. A woman running down a hillside in a crimson dress appears in the film’s opening scene, Weed. In the book, George recounts what happened as he says, “Well, he noticed this girl… So he stretched out to touch her red dress and she let out a squawk.”

”She’d been runnin’, an’ that red dress flapped like it was tryin’ to fly away.” (Steinbeck 43) The description of the dress by George in the book lets the reader know that there is more to just a pretty dress, but the book does not give much more information.

In Of Mice and Men film, however, during Curley’s wife funeral Lennie is seen placing his hand on her hair which is covering her face. this is a big contrast from what Steinbeck wrote in the book: ”Curley’s wife never looked at him. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and she held a folded handkerchief in one hand.”(Steinbeck 107).

From the way, Steinbeck described Curley’s wife it is safe to say that she was not attractive in any way. Lennie touching her hair could be seen as him being attracted to her, but it is more likely that he was just curious about the softness of her hair. This event is not in the book Of Mice and Men, but it is a key element in the film that changes the viewers opinion on Curley’s wife.

When George shoots Lennie at the end of Of Mice and Men, it is done out of mercy. In the book, Steinbeck writes: ”And then he did what he had wanted to do so badly–for himself and for Lennie–what he had thought about so often”. (Steinbeck 107) From this quote, it is clear that George shooting Lennie was something that he had thought about before and it was not a rash decision.

In the film, however, George’s decision to shoot Lennie is much more impulsive. George shoots Lennie after Curley has beaten him unconscious and it seems like George does not even hesitate before pulling the trigger. This change from the book to the film makes George seem like less of a sympathetic character because his decision to kill his friend seems very callous.

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Of Mice and Men - The differences between the book and the film.

By Ollie Wright

This essay will tell you the differences between the film and the novel, with reasons.

I have read the book and watched the film ‘Of Mice and Men’. The novel starts with Lennie and George walking towards a ranch a few miles south of Soledad in America.

Lennie is described as large man of simple intelligence:  “ He walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.”  George, however, is just the opposite, clever and alert: “The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features.” George promised to take care of Lennie when his Aunt Clara died.

The film starts with a young woman in her twenties in a red dress that is ripped; she is crying. This gives the viewer the impression that she has been attacked and possibly raped.  Lennie and George are hiding in a water-filled ditch.  Weed ranch men on horseback, with guns, appear to be hunting them. The director of the film has started with this scene because it feels sinister and makes you want to know what happens to Lennie and George.

In the book, there is a discussion between George and Lennie about the bus journey “ Jes a little stretch down the road. I bet it was more than four   miles,”  whereas in the film, we actually see George and Lennie catch a bus and are dropped off about four miles from the ranch. The bus driver told them that it was only a few yards. This scene is added in the film because it makes the film more interesting and appealing. It also shows what has happened to them before going to the ranch.

This is a preview of the whole essay

Once they arrived in Soledad, they met with ranch owner, their new boss, who had expected them the evening before. In the novel the boss goes down to see them in the bunk house, “Lennie was just finishing making   his bed. The wooden latch raised again and the door opened. A little   stocky man stood in the open doorway”. This differs to the film where George and Lennie are taken to see the boss in his office. The director has done this to show authority and who is in charge. This also makes it exciting, as it is another location that we do not read in the novel.  

In the novel, Slim compliments about Lennie on his strength: “ There ain’t   nobody can keep up with him. God awmighty I never seen such a strong guy,” whilst in the film we see ranch men working. This gives the audience more knowledge of what the men are paid to do. We see the machinery used at the time and it gives us a wider idea of work. It shows Lennie working; he is lifting a bag on his own, with no trouble, whilst two other men are lifting a bag between them with great difficulty. This scene is added to inject humour and to make the film much more interesting. It also made the viewer sympathetic towards Lennie because labouring was the only thing he was good at.

In the film and novel, Lennie took a pup, which was has been given to him by Slim, into the bunk house. Lennie was told off by George and sent to take it back to the barn. In the film we see Lennie pretending to bring in second pup. This makes Lennie much more intelligent compared to the novel where he doesn’t seem bright enough to play such a trick.

In both the film and the novel, Candy’s faithful old dog is shot by Carlson, but Candy’s emotions are portrayed completely differently. In the novel, Candy just looks at the ceiling and doesn’t react to anything around him, “Only Candy continued to stare at the ceiling,” but in the film we see and hear Candy crying openly. I believe Garry Sinise makes us empathetic towards Candy and this shows how George could feel if he lost Lennie as Candy's dog was his  only friend.

There were a number of additional scenes in the film, such as: the men at work, the incident at Weed and scenes that bring George closer to Curley’s wife. Garry Sinise has done this to make Curley’s wife less of a tart and makes us feel warmer towards her. The film has missed out the scene where Crooks, Lennie, Candy and Curley’s wife are altogether in the barn and Curley’s wife says that she could get Crooks hung by the click of her fingers. Garry Sinise has removed the scene to stop the film appearing racist and put Curley’s wife in a better light. Unlike in the novel where she is described as “ Jailbait ”.

In the novel and film, Lennie is in the barn mourning his dead puppy when Curley’s wife approaches him. The puppy, like the mice, which he had had before as pets, was dead; this was due to his heavy handedness. Curley‘s wife flirted with him and invited him to touch her hair, which was silky. He liked soft things ( a treasure of his was a piece of velvet that Aunt Clara gave him): “I like to pet things with my fingers sof’ things.” Curley’s wife tries to struggle away from Lennie, he panics and accidentally kills her.  In the film, after Lennie runs away because he killed Curley wife his hat is found next to the body. This is added so that the ranch men have more proof that Lennie was the person who killed Curley’s wife. There is no hat in the novel, just the body discovered by Candy, who was looking for Lennie in the barn. “Oh Lennie! You in here?”  Lennie is missing. When they examine the body they find her neck broken and assume Lennie must have killed her. Slim says: “Her necks bust. Lennie coulda did that.”

In the final chapter, Lennie is found standing in the river where the novel starts. The dream that Lennie has about the giant rabbit and Aunt Clara is completely missed out. I believe this works in the novel, because it shows the reader the way Lennie handles his emotional distress: “Well he’s sick of you said the rabbit He’s gonna beat hell outta you an’ then go away an’ leave you” This is Lennie’s greatest fear, being alone. It would ruin the film, as it uses music and visual effects to create tension and this, in my opinion, would be broken by a giant rabbit.

In the novel, the ranch hands find George standing over Lennie’s body after shooting him. George has done this out of love for Lennie and made his departure painless as possible. As George is going to shoot him he tells Lennie their dream about owning their private ranch.  He had to kill him first to stop the ranch men slaughtering him: “The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied.”  In the novel, when the ranch men find George they congratulate him on killing Lennie. This is missed out in the film, I believe that director did this so the ranch hands wouldn’t appear unsympathetic towards the George.  It could be that the director was trying to show that most people aren’t consciously cruel, only ignorant.

In the concluding scene, of the film, George is shown in a railway carriage remembering Lennie. This is effective because it makes you grieve with him, about Lennie’s death. This scene doesn’t appear in the book.

After studying “Of Mice and Men”, I found the ending was unexpected and it surprised me that George killed Lennie. Of the two versions, I preferred the film because of the visual impact and the music, which the novel could not portray. I feel this added tension and impact.

Oliver Wright 7236        Cranbourne School Basingstoke        24/02/2002

Document Details

• Word Count 1335
• Page Count 4
• Subject English

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