Life's unpredictable nature is another subject that defines the human condition. The title of the novel is taken from the poem of Robert Burns, "To a Mouse On Turning Her Up in Her Nest with a Plow," November, 1785. Burns wrote that "The best laid schemes o' mice and men / Gang aft a-gley [often go astray], / And lea'v us nought but grief and pain, / For promised joy."
Just when it appears that George and Lennie will get their farm, fate steps in. Lennie just happens to be in the barn burying his dead pup when Curley's wife comes in. In this case, fate is given a hand by Lennie's inability to control his strength and understand what to do. Nevertheless, often life seems unpredictable and full of overwhelming difficulties.
