Toward what specific audience is John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men directed?Does Steinbeck have a specific group of people he targeted when writing...

Of Mice and Men was written by
Steinbeck for a wide readership.  Steinbeck's style (use of language) is plain and
straightforward so that it can be ready by young adults (teens) and adults alike.  Since
it is a novella (a long story or a short novel), Steinbeck also wanted it to be read
quickly but thoughtfully.

Obviously, though, it was written
first and foremost for Americans in the caught in the throes of the Great Depression,
namely the working class whom he championed.  Steinbeck wanted to improve working
conditions for the underpriveledged.  The novella has since continued to be read by
students in 9th and 10th grade as part of an American literature curriculum
investigating the American dream.

Of Mice and
Men would seem to be a novella directed primarily at males, since it only has
one female character (who is not even named), Curley's wife.  Really, though, the
novella is directed against the male-dominated agrarian culture, using it as a metaphor
for how capitalism can be used as a top-down power structure in which the male
bourgeoisie class (Curley) abuse their power over the
proletariat workers (Lenny), blacks (Crooks), and women (Curley's
wife)--a kind of Social Darwinism ("survival of the
fittest").

Still others can read the novel for its
commentary on relationships between men and women and workers and bosses, the validity
of the American dream, and even the justification for mercy
killing.