Steinbeck adopted the title Of Mice and Men after reading Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse," in which the author laments accidently destroying a mouse's nest. The poem touches on numerous important themes in Of Mice and Men, including the impermanence of home and the harshness of existence for the most defenseless. The last line reads: "A man's a man for a' that." This line expresses both Mice's respect for John Steinbeck's character and his own belief that they are equal in spiteiness. Of Mice and Men is set in post-World War II California. It follows the adventures of Lennie, a young farmhand who is given responsibility for a group of mice by Mr. Steinbeck. Told in first person narrative, the story focuses on Lennie's interactions with George, one of the men working on the ranch. Lennie is naive but honest, while George is more experienced but also more deceitful. Their different perspectives on life cause them to clash often, but their relationship offers readers insight into why people treat each other the way they do. Mr. Steinbeck based many of Lennie's actions on things that have happened to him while working on various farms. For example, he observed that mice would always run from him but not at him and this inspired his description of Lennie. He also used experiences from his time working as a laborer on fishing boats to create the character of Gyp.