Similarities Between Burns' Poem, To A Mouse, and
Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
by Barry Wright
Essay: Similarities Between Burns' Poem, To A Mouse, and Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
Pages: 10
Rating: 3 stars
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The word “original” is often used to describe paintings that have been manufactured by hand, but it is not clear
whether hand-made copies of work are still considered so. When an artist copies another’s art, is his own art
original now that it has been tainted by the thoughts’ of others? The poem “To A Mouse” by Robert Burns served
as inspiration for John Steinbeck when writing the famed tragedy “Of Mice and Men.” Steinbeck, a Nobel prizewinning author, set many of his books during the Great Depression or the California Dustbowl, times when the
future seemed bleak. In Of Mice and Men, man-child Lennie and his “father figure” George form an unsuspecting
friendship, and set off into the world with their dreams of one day buying land and settling down. The
characteristics of these protagonists are directly taken from the Burns’ poem, which describes similar characters. Is
such a close emulation detrimental to the value of originality in the work? Steinbeck believed that “only through
imitation do we develop toward originality,” a motif seen in Of Mice and Men. Inspiration is necessary for all art,
but by exploiting Burns’ poem, Steinbeck bastardizes the innocence of originality.
The affection the narrator displays for the mouse in Burns’ poem mirrors the affection George displays for his
friend Lennie in Of Mice and Men. The narrator starts by convincing the mouse that he is not an enemy, and that
he will do the mouse no harm. “Wee, sleekit, cow'rin', tim'rous beastie, O what a panic's in thy breastie! Thou need
na start awa sae hasty…I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee” (lines 1-5). In this portion of the poem, the narrator
attempts to establish a rapport between himself and the mouse. By the same token, in Of Mice and Men, G...