As soon as its publication in 1937, the novella became popular and famous。 Later on, the novella adapted into a movie。

1。1 The definition of anxiety

Anxiety is different from fear。 Anxiety is an appropriate cognitive and emotional response to a perceived threat。 It is related to the specific behaviors of defense or escape。 It only occurs in uncontrollable and unavoidable situations, but not realistically so。 David Barlow defines anxiety as

         “a future-oriented mood state in which one is ready or prepared to attempt to cope with upcoming negative events and that it is a distinction between future and present dangers which pides anxiety and fear。 Another description of anxiety is agony, dread, terror, or even apprehension。 In positive psychology, anxiety is described as the mental state that results from a difficult challenge for which the subject has insufficient coping skills。”(Arne, 93) 

     Generally speaking, anxiety means a troubled or engrossed state of mind or the thing that causes this。 It is not the same as fear, which is a response to a real or perceived immediate threat, whereas anxiety is the expectation of future threat。 It stresses anguished uncertainty of misfortune or failure。

1。2 Anxiety types

The theologian Paul Tillich characterized existential anxiety as “the state in which a being is aware of its possible nonbeing” and he listed three categories for the non-being and resulting anxiety: antic (fate and death), moral (guilt and condemnation), and spiritual (emptiness and meaninglessness)。 According to Tillich, 

         the last of these three types of existential anxiety, i。e。 spiritual anxiety, is predominant in modern times while the others were predominant in earlier periods。 Tillich argues that this anxiety can be accepted as part of the human condition or it can be resisted but with negative consequences。 In its pathological form, spiritual anxiety may tend to “drive the person toward the creation of certitude in systems of meaning which are supported by tradition and authority” even though such “undoubted certitude is not built on the rock of reality”。(Iacovou, 25)

As mentioned above, Freud distinguished two types of anxiety, traumatic anxiety and neurotic anxiety。 And Paul Tillich listed three categories for the non-being and resulting anxiety: antic, moral and spiritual。 There are many other famous people classify anxiety according to different criterion。 

2。 Literature Review

Such a novella, Chinese and foreign literary critics from different angles on the theme of the work repeatedly analysis for many years, concentrated mainly in the following: The first is “love and friendship”。 Huang Li in her article “a tear jerking the dreamy music discussion on Of Mice and Men ”(Huang 3) hold of this point of view。 Suso freaked out an article title “John Steinbeck the person as” in “foreign literature ”(Suso 1) there are relevant aspects of the exposition。 Anne Loftis in her “Historical to Of Mice and Men ”(Loftis 6) also indirectly referred to this point of view。 The second point of view is “loneliness”, Ian Ousby in his “American Novels Fifty ”on the theme of a full explanation。 The third view is the “burst of the human dream ”。 H。 Timmerman John in his article, which name is “ John Steinbeck Fiction: The Aesthetics of the Road Taken ”(John 8) discussed this point of view。 The fourth view is “ survival of the fittest in the capitalist society , the law of the jungle free competition law ” (Wan 11) Zeng Lingfu in his paper “ of men and mice in another interpretation”(Zeng 47) mentioned。 

3。 Existential Anxiety Types in Of Mice and Men