Of Mice and Men is a novel by John Steinbeck - Bulgaria

Of Mice and Men is a novel by John Steinbeck

retold by Denis Ahmedov

Chapter 1

At the novel's outset, Steinbeck takes great pains to familiarize us with the setting, using poetic imagery to describe the "golden foothill slopes" (1) of the Salinas River Valley and a particular pool on the banks of which "the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering if he runs among them" (1). Some rabbits sit in the sand. The novel begins here, in the cool of the sycamores among the golden shadows of a California evening, with a path in the forest leading to the sandy river's edge. One thing is missing: people. Here we are introduced to the landscape in which the novel is to take place, the Salinas Valley in the early 20th century, as well as the author's particular style, which, in Steinbeck's case, tends toward the Romantic.

The idyllic peace of the initial scene is disrupted as the novel's two main characters emerge from the woods. The rabbits scurry into the shrubs (we should pay special attention to rabbits in light of what is to come) and a heron flies from the edge of the still pool before George and Lennie enter the clearing. The pair are physical opposites, George being "small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features" (2) while Lennie is described as "a huge man, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders, and he walked heavily" (2). George orders his larger companion to not drink too much from the river and we immediately learn who is in charge as Lennie carefully imitates George's actions at the riverbank. See the Character Profile section for more details.

The pair has just walked about four miles after being dropped off by a bus. George is irritated at the length of the walk and at Lennie's forgetfulness as to where they are headed. As Lennie re-learns, we come to understand that the two are migrant ranch workers, on their way from one job to another. The next morning they are to work at a ranch in Soledad and George makes it clear that he is to do the talking with the boss when they arrive. In the course of re-explaining their destination, George angrily discovers that Lennie has been concealing a dead mouse in his pocket ("I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along" (6), Lennie innocently argues) and makes him throw it away into the weeds. This curious desire of Lennie's to pet soft things, even if they are soft, dead things, is one to be noted carefully in light of future (and past) events.

After failing at an attempt to retrieve the dead mouse that he threw away (George catches him) while he is supposed to be gathering firewood for dinner, Lennie mentions a lady who once gave him mice to pet and George, annoyed, reminds him that the lady in question was Lennie's own Aunt Clara, through whom we are to guess that the two are somehow tied. George removes three cans of beans for dinner and when Lennie childishly states that he   likes ketchup with his beans, George grows angry again and muses on the life he could live if he wasn't with Lennie: "I got you! You can't keep a job and you lose me ever' job I get. Jus' keep me shovin' all over the country all the time. . . You do bad things and I got to get you out" (12). Through George's anger, we learn that one of the "bad things" occurred at their last job, in Weed, when Lennie wanted to pet a woman's dress because he thought it was pretty and held on when she tried to jerk away. The two had to flee the town in the night when the woman raised assault charges and brought the whole town looking for Lennie and George.

Lennie responds to George's anger with self-pity and the use of the guilt trip, sorrowfully saying that if George doesn't want him around, he could just go off and live in the hills by himself. This tactic softens George into saying that he wants Lennie to stay with him, after which Lennie urges George to tell "about the rabbits" (14). And so it is that in the first chapter we are introduced to the dream of the protagonists, the dream of every working rancher in America: one's own piece of land and the money and means by which to live off of it. To Lennie's delight, George delivers a monologue about how him and Lennie are different from other ranchers who drift from town to town, who "don't belong to no place" (15) and "ain't got nothing to look ahead to" (15). Lennie and George are different, according to George, because they have a future and each other. One day they will save enough money to have their own little farm "an' live off the fatta the lan'" (15) and not have to take orders from anyone and reap their own harvest. The most pleasing aspect of this dream in Lennie's estimation is the prospect of having rabbits, the care of which will be put in his charge. Thus, the desired outcome of the novel is presented to us through George. The conflict, of course, lies in this question: how will George succeed with Lennie at his side?

George, whose own eyes have clouded over with dreamy delight at the thought of his future farm, interrupts his monologue impatiently ("Nuts! I ain't got time for no more" (16)) and returns to more practical matters: eating dinner, reminding Lennie not to talk to the boss tomorrow, and getting some rest. His final order to Lennie is one that we sould remember: George tells him to come back to the exact same spot where they are sitting and hide in the brush until George comes for him should anything go wrong at the ranch. Night falls on the end of the first chapter.

Chapter 2

Steinbeck begins the second chapter in much the same way as the first-without people. The setting is now at the ranch in Soledad, in the bunk house of the workers. The door opens and an old one-handed caretaker (whose name we later learn is Candy) leads George and Lennie inside. Candy tells the two men that they were expected by the boss last night and he was mad when they weren't at the ranch in time to go out with the morning crew. Candy proves to be talkative and gives George and Lennie a little background of the ranch and the boss, who "gets pretty mad sometimes, but he's pretty nice" (p.22).

Candy is interrupted by the entrance of the boss himself and Candy shuffles past him and out the door. George explains to the stern boss the situation with the bus and the long walk, claiming it as the reason for their tardiness. The boss presses Lennie to answer after noticing that George is doing the talking for the both of them, but George persists, interrupting: "Oh! I ain't saying he's bright. He ain't. But I say he's a God damn good worker" (24). The boss then turns suspiciously to George and voices a concern, what turns out to be one of the primary concerns of the novel, a question that the reader should be considering: Why is George taking so much trouble for Lennie's behalf? What's in it for George? George replies: "He's my. . . cousin. I told his old lady I'd take care of him. He got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid" (25). This satisfies the boss, who tells them to go out to work in the evening and leaves them in the bunkhouse, vanishing from the novel forever. We learn form Lennie, who is confused by George's answer to the boss that George was lying about being Lennie's cousin: "If I was a relative of yours, I'd shoot myself" (26), George admits.

George discovers Candy eavesdropping outside the door and he re-enters with his old sheepdog. George is initially angered by Candy's nosiness, but warms to the old man when Candy responds: "I ain't interested in nothing you were sayin'. A guy on a ranch don't never listen nor he don't ast no questions" (27). The next person to enter the bunk house while the three characters are chatting is the boss's son, Curley, "a thin young man with a brown face, with brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair" (p.27). Curley is looking for his dad, but upon seeing George and Lennie he tenses as if preparing for a fight and addresses them coldly, confronting George when Lennie won't answer him: "By Christ, he's gotta talk when he's spoke to. What the hell are you gettin' into it for?" (28). After firmly establishing himself as the antagonist, Curley departs. Candy then informs the two that Curley is a boxer who doesn't like big guys because he himself is small and that he is just recently married to a pretty young woman who, according to Candy, has "the eye" (31). George voices his dislike of Curley and warns Lennie to avoid him at all costs.

The next character that Steinbeck places in the doorway of the bunk house for George and Lennie to meet is Curley's wife, young and made up very prettily. She claims to be looking for Curley, and George tells her, without looking at her, that Curley isn't in the bunkhouse. Lennie, however, stares fascinated at the pretty lady in the doorway, which Curley's wife seems to enjoy, "she smiled archly and twitched her body" (35). Curley's wife then leaves and George is more disturbed, realizing that Curley and his wife pose a serious threat to Lennie. He warns him to not even look at Curley's wife and Lennie says that he wants to leave, that "this ain't no good place" (36). George refuses to take heed of Lennie's ominous words, claiming that they need to stay and make a little money before they can leave.

But not everything is stacked against our two heroes. The final two characters to enter through chapter two's bunk house door prove to be friendly. First comes Slim, the wise leader of the workers, whose "authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love" (37). Slim welcomes George and Lennie and doesn't question their traveling together. The next worker to enter is a powerful but amiable man by the name of Carlson, whom Slim introduces to George and Lennie. Slim and Carlson converse about a litter of puppies to which Slim's dog has just given birth. Carlson suggests that Candy replace his old, blind dog with one of Slim's puppies and the dinner bell rings and everyone scrambles toward its sound, leaving George and Lennie alone again. Lennie is excited at the prospect of perhaps getting one of Slim's puppies for himself and George promises him that he'll ask Slim for one. Before the two leave for dinner, Curley pokes his head in the bunkhouse again in search of his wife, a reminder of the trouble that waits for George and Lennie. Curley hurries off again when George coldly tells him that his wife was looking for him. They leave the bunk house and chapter two, and the final character to enter through the door is Candy's old dog who wearily lies down on the floor.

Chapter 3

We again find ourselves inside the bunk house on the same day. George and Slim enter, in the midst of a conversation. We learn that Slim has agreed to let Lennie have one of his pups. Slim comments on what a strong worker Lennie is and George grows proud. Slim again remarks on the rarity of two guys traveling together and how funny it is that a smart guy like George would be with a "cuckoo" (43) like Lennie. George defends Lennie, saying that he isn't cuckoo, that he is dumb but not crazy. George claims that he is the dumb one: "If I was bright, if I was even a little bit smart, I'd have my own little place, an' I'd be bringin' in my own crops, 'stead of doin' all the work and not getting what comes up outta the ground" (43). George tells Slim, who invites confidence, that he knew Lennie's Aunt Clara and when she died, "Lennie just come along with me out workin'. Got kinda used to each other after a little while" (44). George goes on to confess to Slim that he used to be mean and play tricks on Lennie because he was so dumb. After realizing that Lennie would do anything for George, including drown himself, George stopped his malicious ways. George doesn't want to go around on the ranches alone because people who travel alone "don't have no fun. After a long time they get mean" (45). Despite the nuisance that Lennie can be, George admits that "you get used to goin' around with a guy an' you can't get rid of him" (45). George continues to tell Slim of the trouble that Lennie got them into in Weed when he held on to the woman's dress.

After George's private conversation with Slim, Lennie enters the bunk house and George immediately notices that Lennie has smuggled his new puppy in from the barn and is secretly petting it on his bunk. George makes him take it back, warning him that it's not good for the little puppy's health to be away from its nest, and Lennie leaves.

Candy, his old dog and Carlson enter and Carlson presses Candy about shooting his worthless dog and Candy grows defensive: "No, I couldn't do that. I had I'm too long" (49). Carlson offers to shoot the dog for Candy so that he doesn't have to watch his own dog die. Slim agrees with Carlson and offers Candy one of his pups, at which Candy grows helpless and uncomfortable because he knows and respects Slim's unarguable authority. Another young worker, Whit, enters and diverts attention for a while by talking about a former worker whose letter to the editor appeared in a magazine. But Carlson is not to be distracted. He offers to "put the old devil out of his misery right now" (52) and pulls a pistol out from underneath his bunk. Candy looks helplessly at Slim for a change in judgment, but Slim gives him none. Finally Candy, beaten, tells Carlson to take his dog and lies back on his bunk, staring at the ceiling. After anuncomfortable silence in which everyone in the bunk house waits to hear Carlson's gun, the shot sounds. We remember that Lennie has not returned from putting his pup back in the barn. After the gunshot, everyone looks toward Candy, who slowly rolls over and faces the wall.

Crooks, the Negro stable buck, appears in the doorway to tell Slim that he  has warmed up some tar for the wounded foot one of Slim's mules. He also tells Slim that Lennie is "messin' around your pups out in the barn" (55). Slim assures him that Lennie is fine and the two of them leave.

This leaves Whit and George and the silent Candy alone together. Whit asks George if he's seen Curley's wife and goes on to tell her, as Candy did before, that she's got the eye: "Seems like she can't keep away from guys. An' Curley's pants is just crawlin' with ants, but they ain't nothing come of it yet" (56-57). Whit then invites George to go out to a brothel with the rest of the guys the next night, and George agrees with some hesitation, stating that him and Lennie are trying to save some money.

Carlson enters with his gun, keeping his eyes averted from Candy, who says nothing. Lennie enters with him. Curley appears immediately after them, looking for his wife. When he notices that Slim isn't in the bunkhouse, he suspects foul play between Slim and his wife, and quickly departs. Whit and Carlson follow shortly after, hoping to see a fight between Curley and Slim. George and Lennie stay, not wanting any trouble.

After some conversation, Lennie coaxes George into telling of the dream of the farm and the rabbits again. George does, and the two become enraptured by George's description of the farm, forgetting about Candy, who rolls over and listens, as fascinated as Lennie. Candy breaks in saying he knows of a place that they could buy and offers to put in some money if he is allowed to become part of George and Lennie's dream: "I ain't much good, but I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some" (65). George hesitates, but cannot refuse the three hundred and fifty dollars that Candy offers to put toward the place. All three grow confident in the approaching reality of what was once a distant dream. "We'll do her," George says, "We'll fix up that little old place an' we'll go live there" (66). The three men hear voices approaching from outside and George makes them all agree to keep their dream a secret.

Slim, Curley, Carlson, and Whit enter. Curley is apologizing to an angry Slim, who warns him: "If you can't look after your own God damn wife, what you expect me to do about it? You lay off me" (68). Carlson joins Slim in warning Curley to look after his wife and soon Candy joins in the teasing of Curley. Curley, unable to intimidate the others, frustrated and angry, turns to Lennie, who is still smiling, imagining the ranch and his rabbits. Curley thinks Lennie is laughing at his expense, and begins to attack Lennie, punching him in the face. Lennie backs away, too scared to defend himself, while Curley bloodies his face. Lennie, terrified, begs George to make Curley stop. George tells Lennie to "get" Curley and Lennie reaches for one of Curley's swinging fists and crushes it in his own hand. Curley writhes in agony and Lennie is too scared to let go, despite George urging him to do so. After much yelling and slapping in the face on George's part, Lennie releases Curley's mangled hand. Slim tells the whimpering Curley to tell everyone that he got his hand caught in a machine: "But you jus' tell an' try to get this guy canned and we'll tell ever'body, an' then will you get the laugh" (71). Carlson takes the humiliated Curley to a doctor and Slim and George reassure the frightened Lennie that he did nothing wrong. Lennie is relieved to know that he can still tend the rabbits.

Chapter 4

Chapter four begins in the novel's third setting-Crooks' room. It is the next night. After a long description of the room and Crooks himself (see the profile section for more details), Lennie enters. Crooks (who is called such because of a crooked spine as a result of being kicked by a mule) is in the process of rubbing liniment on his back and angrily tells him that he has no right coming into his room. Lennie has been left alone by the other men, including George, who have all gone into town. Lennie explains that he was on his way to see his puppy and saw the light in Crooks' room and just wants to come in and sit. Crooks eventually agrees to letting Lennie sit a while, and Lennie immediately tells him of his and George's and Candy's plan to get a place and have a farm, and the secret dream, once Lennie and George's only, continues to be spread. Crooks laughs at Lennie, saying that George just talks and Lennie is too stupid to remember, so it doesn't matter what George talks about.

Crooks begins sewing doubts as to whether or not George will come back to him. Lennie grows scared and confused, then angry, and threatens Crooks, asking who hurt George. Crooks backs down, sensing Lennie's anger, and assures him that George will be back. He then welcomes Lennie's company and admits to being lonely: "Books ain't no good. A guy needs somebody-to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got anybody" (80). Lennie mentions the secret of the piece of land again and Crooks responds that he's seen hundreds of men come through the ranches "an' every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it" (81). No longer does the dream of George and Lennie seem so unique.

Candy, who is too old to go into town, enters Crooks' room. Crooks irritably lets Candy come in and Candy begins to talk to Lennie about the farm, also forgetting about the promise to keep it a secret. Crooks again chides them: "You guys is just kiddin' yourself" (83). But Candy and Lennie stubbornly assert that they have the money and that they're actually going to get a place. Crooks finally becomes convinced and, allured by the reality of the dream, asks for a share in it: "If you . . . . guys would want a hand to work for nothing-just his keep, why I'd come an' lend a hand" (84).

Suddenly Curley's wife comes to the door, looking for Curley. Steinbeck has now assembled for us the outsiders of his cast of characters-the old cripple, the Negro, the idiot, and the woman-all of them gathered in Crooks' room while the men are out of town. Crooks and Candy act coldly toward her while Lennie stares, fascinated. Curley's wife knows that the others, including her husband, have gone to the brothel, and grows angry at the treatment she receives from the three remaining men. She indignantly confesses to being lonely up in the house all the time and to not liking Curley's company: "Spends all his time sayin' what he's gonna do to the guys he don't like, and he don't like nobody" (85). She asks what really happened to Curley's hand and when Candy stubbornly tells her that he got it caught in a machine, she grows angry again. Candy defends the three against her contempt and triumphantly announces that they are going to have a house of their own. Curley's wife scoffs at Candy's indignation and doubts what he says: "If you had two bits in the worl', why you'd be in gettin' two shots of corn with it and suckin' the bottom of the glass" (87).

Candy controls his temper and orders Curley's wife to leave, telling her that she's not wanted. Before she leaves she notices the bruises on Lennie's face and realizes what really happened to Curley's hand. Crooks tries to make her leave, but she is undaunted, threatening to hang him if he acts up against her, at which Crooks retreats to his servile self. At the sound of the other men coming back, Curley's wife leaves, not before telling Lennie that she is glad that he busted Curley's hand.

 
George enters and orders everyone out of Crooks' room. Crooks tells Candy to forget what he said about working on their farm: "I wouln' want to go no place like that" (91). They leave Crooks alone and he returns to rubbing liniment on his back.

Chapter 5

We find ourselves in the barn. It is Sunday afternoon (Lennie and George arrived on the ranch on Friday morning). All the men are participating in a horseshoe tournament. Lennie is alone in the barn with his puppy, which is dead. Lennie still strokes it sadly, saying, "Why do you got to get killed? You ain't so little as mice. I didn't bounce you hard" (93). He fears he has done a bad thing and that he won't get to tend the rabbits, the ultimate punishment.

Curley's wife finds Lennie alone and tries to start a conversation. Lennie stubbornly says that he is forbidden to talk to her, but she persists. She asks what Lennie has covered in the hay and Lennie reveals his dead puppy and she consoles him; she tells him not to worry about talking to her, that no one will notice because they're all playing horseshoes. Curley's wife continues talking to the woebegone Lennie, who does not listen, telling him of how lonely she is and how she dislikes Curley and how she twice missed an opportunity to become an actress and live in Hollywood and wear nice clothes-her equivalent to Lennie and George's dream of the farm and the rabbits.

Lennie, ignorant of her story, muses on the rabbits. When Curley's wife asks him what he likes so much about rabbits, Lennie says: "I like to pet nice things" (98). Curley's wife is initially frightened by this confession, but soon realizes that Lennie is not mean. She says that she is the same way and sometimes likes to sit and feel her own hair. She invites Lennie to feel how soft it is and the careful reader immediately recognizes the danger of this invitation, remembering the soft, dead mouse and the soft, dead puppy. Sure enough, Lennie enjoys the feel of Curley's wife's hair, but he likes it a bit too much. She tells him not to mess it up and jerks sideways, at which Lennie, in a panic, grabs on firmly. Curley's wife screams and Lennie, not wanting George to hear, covers her mouth and nose. As she continues to struggle, Lennie grows angry and orders her to be quiet, but she is too terrified to stop. Lennie shakes her in an effort to subdue her, but breaks her neck instead. Realizing that he has "done a real bad thing" (100), Lennie scoops some hay onto her dead body and creeps out of the barn with the dead puppy in his coat.

Candy enters the barn in search of Lennie, and finds Curley's dead wife. Horrified, he runs to get George, who is equally upset. Candy asks who did it, but George knows: "I should of knew," he says, "I guess maybe way back in my head I did" (103). Both men realize that Curley will want Lennie lynched and, even worse, that their dream of a place of their own has been shattered by Lennie's actions. George says sadly: "I think I knowed we'd never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would" (103).

George says that Candy has to tell the rest of the men about it and George will pretend like he doesn't know what's going on, so that Curley won't think George was involved. Candy agrees and George leaves, and Candy hopelessly sheds tears of anguish over Curley's dead wife, whom he blames for all that happened. He then departs to go tell the others.

The men, George and Curley included, come in and gather around Curley's dead wife. Curley realizes that Lennie did it because everyone else was playing horseshoes. He furiously declares that he will kill Lennie, and urges the others to come with him. Carlson runs off to get the pistol that he used to kill Candy's old dog. Slim consoles George, but tells him that Curley will want Lennie killed. Carlson comes running back, claiming that Lennie stole his gun. Curley follows him with a shotgun and tells Carlson to take Crooks' shotgun. George weakly begs Curley not to shoot Lennie, but Curley refuses his request for mercy. The men leave and Curley makes George go with them to prove he had nothing to do with the killing of Curley's wife. They depart and Candy, whose last dream has died inside him, remains with Curley's dead wife.

Chapter 6

Steinbeck returns to the setting that started the novel, alongside the pool of the Salinas River, where George and Lennie first appeared to us. We remember that George told Lennie to return here if any trouble should happen, and it is only fitting that the course of events lead the reader back to the beginning. Lennie appears and approaches the pool's edge, where he stoops and drinks. He then sits on the bank facing the trail, waiting for George and congratulating himself for not forgetting what George said. Despite having remembered, Lennie knows that George will be angry and he prepares to react to his anger, saying: "If George don't want me I'll go away. I'll go away" (110).

In his solitude, Lennie is confronted by two ghosts, who curiously speak to him in his own voice. The first is Aunt Clara, who reproaches him for giving George trouble all the time: "You do bad things. . . You never give a thought to George. He been doin' nice things for you all time" (111). Lennie miserably agrees with the voice of his own conscience and says he will go away into the hills, but Aunt Clara says that he will just "stick around an' stew the b'Jesus outa George all the time" (111). The next apparition to appear is a rabbit-not one of the little rabbits that sat near the river in chapter one, but a gigantic rabbit. The rabbit scolds Lennie, saying that he is too stupid to care for any rabbits. Speaking of George, the rabbit tells Lennie: "Well, he's sick of you. He's gonna beat hell outa you an' then go away an' leave you" (112). Lennie is terrified by the rabbit's prophecy and covers his ears and cries out George's name.

Quietly, George enters from the brush and, as Steinbeck writes, "the rabbit scuttled back into Lennie's brain" (113). George is stiff and silent, but tells Lennie, when he asks, that he will not leave him. Lennie confesses that he has "done a bad thing," and asks George to "give him hell" (113). As in chapter one, George tells Lennie that his life would be better without him, but the difference here is that George speaks without emotion, as if rehearsing a script that no longer means anything to him. Lennie doesn't notice the lifelessness in George's tone, and happily urges him to tell about the little place with the rabbits. George tells Lennie to look across the river "so you can almost see it" (115), and Lennie turns away from George and stares dreamily across the pool.

George begins the familiar story of the little farm and the rabbits, and while he speaks, he removes Carlson's pistol, which he has stolen, and aims it at the back of Lennie's head. The voices of the search party are audible from up the river. George tells Lennie, who still has his back to him, that he isn't mad: "I never been mad, an' I ain't now" (117). Lennie begs George to get the little place right now, and George agrees, and then pulls the trigger. Lennie dies instantly. George throws the gun away and the others enter the little clearing. George, tired and speaking softly, convinces the others that he forced Lennie to give him Carlson's pistol and then he shot him with it. Slim, who knows the truth, suggests that he and George go for a drink and walks off with him, saying, much to the curiosity of Curley and Carlson, "You hadda, George. I swear you hadda" (118).

Chapter Summary Steinbeck's chapters are unnumbered; shown here are page numbers to the penguin edition

1{1}Hot Thursday late afternoon. George and Lennie spend the night by the Salinas River, a few miles south of Soledad. They plan to start work the next day and dream of a future farm where Lennie can tend rabbits.

2{17}Friday morning at the bunkhouse. George and Lennie sign up to buck barley. Curley tries to pick a fight with Lennie. Candy tells George Curley's wife is a tart. George reminds Lennie where to hide if there's trouble. They meet Curley's wife, Slim and Carlson. Lennie wants one of Slim's dog Lulu's pups.

3{39}Friday evening. George tells Slim Lennie grabbed a red-dressed girl in Weed. Lennie gets a pup. Carlson shoots Candy's old dog with his Luger. Slim goes to the barn to treat a horse. While the rest go to see if Slim's with Curley or Curley's wife, Candy commits his $350 to George and Lennie's $600 dream. When everyone returns, Curley beats on Lennie until George tells Lennie to "get him." Lennie crushes Curley's hand. Slim orders Curley to say it was a machine accident.

4{66}Saturday night at Crook's room in the barn. All but Candy and Lennie go to town. Lennie drops in on Crooks who philosophizes about companionship. Candy drops by and talks of their dreams. Curley's wife shows up and insults them all. Candy brags of their ranch. She infers that Lennie is the machine which got Curley. She threatens Crooks with a lynching. George arrives and all leave Crooks' room.

5{84}Sunday afternoon. While the rest play horseshoes, Lenny kills his puppy in the barn. Curley's wife shows up. Lennie explains his fondness for soft things, and she encourages him to stroke her hair. When she wants him to stop he breaks her neck out of fear. Candy finds her and brings George. When the men find out Curley goes for his shotgun. Carlson goes for his Luger, but it's missing and he assumes Lennie took it. Whit is sent to Soledad for Al Wilt. Candy stays with the body while all go after Lennie.

6{98}Late afternoon. Lennie comes to the river. His dead Aunt Clara appears and scolds him. A huge imaginary rabbit tells him George will leave him. George shows up and reassures Lennie. While they talk of their dream, George puts the Luger to the base of Lennie's skull and fires. When they see Lennie everyone assumes George took the gun from him and shot him. Slim says "You hadda, George," and takes him for a drink.

Of Mice and Men

is a novel by John Steinbeck, first published in 1937, which tells the tragic story of George and Lennie, two displaced Anglo migrant farm workers in California during the Great Depression (1929-1939). The title of the novel is an allusion to "To a Mouse", a poem by Robert Burns.

Overview

The story is set on a ranch a few miles from Soledad in the Salinas Valley. Lennie is a big man with the mind of a child. George is a smaller man with normal intelligence. The men are wandering ranch workers who travel together.

Of Mice and Men is based on Steinbeck's own experience as a 'bindle stiff' in the 1920s, before the arrival of the 'Okies' whom he had vividly described in The Grapes of Wrat

Events

Lennie is a large and physically strong man with the mind of a child, and George is a smaller man with quick wit. The men are wandering ranch workers who travel together in search of any available opportunities to earn money. Lennie depends on George, as does George on Lennie for all different times in their travels. The ideal objective of most ranch workers is to amass a sizeable fortune and eventually purchase a small farm, and "live offa the fatta the lan'." Lennie is driven to reach this objective by the prospect of "tending the rabbits". However, this goal appears to be nothing more than a distant dream until Candy, another worker on the farm, offers to contribute his savings for a place on the future farm.

While subjected to the loneliness and mediocrity of the life they presently lead, George and Lennie's prospect of their own farm attracts yet another hopeful, Crooks, the African-American stable buck, and Candy, the ranch's swamper. Despite their best efforts, however, the dream begins to collapse, completely falling apart when Lennie accidentally kills the wife of Curley, who is the son of the ranch's owner, by breaking her neck after Lennie refuses to stop petting her hair, which he says feels like rabbits. He says to himself, "I done a bad thing. I done another bad thing." The killing was foreshadowed in the beginning of the book, as in the last ranch they worked at, Lennie began to touch a woman's dress, and they were going to be lynched until George hid with Lennie, and later on escaped.

Curley's wife, who is considered by the farm workers to be a promiscuous woman with a wandering eye, tries to seek company with Lennie, and may or may not be attempting to seduce him. She fails to realize he is dangerous - he has just killed a puppy he was given, though he genuinely regrets this. She gets angry when he starts stroking her hair, tells him to stop before he messes it up. Lennie panics, tries to stop her yelling and ends up breaking her neck. He doesn't seem to have intended it, saying I don't want to hurt you...but George'll be mad if you yell. Realizing she is dead, he adds I done a bad thing. I done another bad thing. Lennie then escapes to the river where the story had begun, the place where George advised him to hide should he ever get into trouble.

George finds Lennie ahead of the rest of the search party, having stolen Carlson's Luger pistol. He gets Lennie to look across the river and tells him once more about the dream. As Lennie looks across the river and the party comes nearer, George fights with himself to aim the gun and does what Candy couldn't do for his dog; kill his friend. Candy not being able to kill his dog and having Carlson shoot it for him foreshadows the forementioned incident. Also Carlson shoots Candy's dog with the same gun used to kill Lennie. Slim, another ranch worker, and the only other one who ever shows compassion, then takes George for a drink to settle his nerves. This may mean the dream is dead, but George is still not alone, so maybe there is hope in the book. The last line is delivered by Carlson, the ranch worker who kills Candy's old dog in a fashion similar to Lennie's killing (foreshadowing his death). He says to Curley, "Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?", reflecting the fact that neither Curley nor Carlson had ever learned the value of compassion. This book deals with the lonlieness of not only the farmlife and the workinglife but also elements of broken dreams as represented by Lennie and George's dream but also the dreams and deception of Curley's wife.

Characters

Ø  George Milton – A small and quick, dark of face and hair, cynical ranch hand. He looks after Lennie and dreams of a better life. George's last name, Milton, is a reference to "Paradise Lost" author John Milton.

Ø  Lennie Small – Travels with George. He is a giant of a man who is unaware of his own strength. His mental deficiency manifests in an obsession to stroke 'soft' materials. There is irony in his last name, as it is "Small" while he is a very big man physically. Lennie is killed by George with a gun in order to be spared Curley's bitter revenge, Lennie having recently killed Curley's wife by accident in a barn. His mental deficiency is not specified, but he displays slight symptoms of autism, and as he hears voices in his head, could also have some form of schizophrenia.

Ø  Curley – An unpleasant curly-haired character. The boss's son. He often picks fights and detests large people; mainly Lennie. During the book he picks a fight with Lennie because he mistakenly believes that Lennie is laughing at him. Lennie initially does not defend himself and takes the beating but finally grabs and crushes Curley's hand after George tells him to defend himself.

Ø  Candy – Is the swamper. He lost a hand while working on the ranch. He owns a very old dog who was shot at the hand of Carlson. His dog is his only companion as many of the ranch workers feel he is too old to socialise with.

Ø  Candy's dog – He's a very old sheepdog who's very hard to care for because of his age. Carlson complains about him because of the way he smells, and recommended Candy to kill him. Carlson prompted him to kill the dog until Candy and Slim agreed upon this, then Carlson shot him.

Ø  Smitty – He's a skinner who's good at fighting with his feet, just like Curley. The only time he lost a fight was while fighting Crooks during Christmas, due to the no-feet rule that applied due to Crook's "crooked" back.

Ø  Curley's wife – A young, pretty woman; sometimes called a "tart" (slut) by the men. She doesn't have a name and is the only woman mentioned on the male-oriented ranch. She often flirts with the ranch men as a cry for attention and secretly hates her husband as he sees her as his trophy. Like George and Lennie she had dreams that were eventually crushed. She is accidentally killed by Lennie.

Ø  Slim – The moral yardstick at the ranch. All the other characters respect him, as he has an omniscient and omnipotent presence. Curley suspects he is having an affair with his wife. He helps Lennie from getting fired after the fight with Curley. He is the prince of the ranch. Slim is a jerkline skinner, and can lead mules with little or no effort.

Ø  Crooks – The only black person on the ranch. He is discriminated against and has to sleep alone behind the stables. But later we see some of the discrimination wiped away as he plays horseshoes with the other ranch workers (even though he has a crooked back). Due to his isolation, he judges people before he gets to know them.

Ø  Carlson – A large and insensitive man. He shoots Candy's dog and seems to have almost no empathy.

Ø  Whit – A young man; enthusiastic about life on the ranch, and is a regular visitor to the ranch.

Ø  The Boss – Only appears once. He is Curley's father and runs the ranch. Supposedly a nice man, but he never takes part in the day to day action in the ranch

Ø  Aunt Clara – Lennie's previous guardian. Although she never directly appears, she plays a key role (especially after Lennie kills Curley's Wife as a way to deal with the guilt and consequences of his actions). She is the only positive female character in the story. She appears as a vision to Lennie, who begins to talk as though he was her, showing not just signs of autism but even insanity at the end of the book.

Real-life basis

As mentioned above, the story draws on Steinbeck's own experience as a 'bindle stiff' in the 1920s. In a 1937 interview, he says:

Lennie was a real person... He's in an insane asylum in California right now. I worked alongside him for many weeks. He didn't kill a girl. He killed a ranch foreman. Got sore because the boss had fired his pal and stuck a pitchfork right through his stomach. (Introduction to the Penguin Classics edition)