Intended as an accessible resource for students researching America's greatest literary figures, this collection of essays about John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" contains a biography of the author and essays taken from a wide variety of sources. The essays are edited to accommodate the reading and comprehension level of young adults; each essay is introduced by a concise summation of the contributor's themes and insights. Additional features include an annotated table of contents, a chronology of the author's life and career as well as concurrent historical events, and primary and secondary bibliographies to facilitate research. The 19 essays and their authors are, as follows: "The Need for Commitment" (Louis Owens); "The Dream of Independence" (Joseph Fontenrose); "Control and Freedom" (Samuel I. Bellman); "A Study of Social Conflict" (B. Ramachandra Rao); "A Parable of the Curse of Cain" (William Goldhurst); "The War between Good and Evil" (Leo Gurko); "Misogyny in 'Of Mice and Men'" (Jean Emery); "Christian Symbolism in 'Of Mice and Men'" (Lee Dacus); "Patterns That Make Meaning" (Peter Lisca); "A Game of Cards as Central Symbol" (Michael W. Shurgot); "Ed Ricketts's Influence on Steinbeck's Fiction" (Richard Astro); "Lyricism in 'Of Mice and Men'" (R. Ganapathy); "A Mechanical Story with Subhuman Characters" (Mark Van Doren); "Gender in 'Of Mice and Men'" (Mark Spilka); "The Dream of a Male Utopia" (Leland S. Person, Jr.); "'Of Mice and Men' Lacks Genuine Tragedy" (Harry Thornton Moore); "The Play Accentuates the Consummate Art of Steinbeck" (Burton Rascoe);"The Use of Candy on the Stage" (Robert Cardullo); and "Steinbeck's Use of a Play Format Restricts the Development of the Story" (Howard Levant). (NKA)