"...The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
             An' lea'e us naught but grief an' pain
             For promised joy!" -Robert Burns
             Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is perhaps the finest written example of the way aspirations and dreams of individuals often end in tragedy and heartbreak. In Robert Burns' poem, "To A Mouse", this statement is revealed throughout the poem and proven to be true. Although the entire poem tells a tale about a mouse in the dawning of a new winter without sanctuary, the most momentous phrase in this brilliant masterpiece are in the latter section. "...The best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley, and leave us naught but grief and pain for promised joy!" Robert Burns explains to the reader through this excerpt, that the best plans of all creatures will, at one point or another, turn against them and leave them with nothing but misery and sadness for the promised happiness they had dreamt of. Society in today's world of tragedies and misfortunes, can truly establish a firm insight to the true definition of this quote. The world is constantly faced with cataclysm dea!
             ling with famous individuals in the world of politics, athletics, and business. All these examples allow people to face the truth exhibited in Burns' quote. However, in the novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses fictional characters as support for the reality of Robert Burns' quote. John Steinbeck gives each of his characters a unique and distinctive persona to make evident of the actuality of Burn's quote and in the process compels the reader to ponder as to why he chose Of Mice and Men to be the title of one of his paramount pieces of written work.
             In John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men, the fictional character George Milton is depicted as a "small and quick and dark of face" type of human being. Throughout the entire novel, the...