Fate's weaklings

Set in agricultural California during the Depression, the harsh reality Describes this book of the life of migrant workers and the brutality of human nature in general. Two wandering ranch hands keep the gleam of hope alive, As They dream of someday owning a privately small ranch, Where They Can Be Their Own Boss and live off the fat of the land. Freedom and roots - Is that too much to ask of life? But Steinbeck readers will not be surprised at his pessimistic view of the human condition.
George and Lennie travel everywhere together, working and sharing the visicitudes of 1930's migrant life - lucky to have a meager supper of canned beans without ketchup. But thesis two men, who are not even related, are bound as deeply as brothers. George, the short guy with the brains, feels responsible for his big, simple-minded companion, who depends on him for work, food and dreams of a better future. Lennie is a gentle retarded one, who panics Easily - Not Realizing his own tremendous physical strength.
This story is more than a mere '30s novella, for it pits the individual vulnerability of human nature against pitiless fate. The story, 75% Dialogue with only 25% narrative, reads Easily, flowing along like the indifferent Salinas River, Which inexorably carries its characters to a tragic denoument. One Aspires but Flawed Society Destroys. A dark Classic.