Of Mice and Men

1
Of Mice and Men

• Characterisation

2
Lennie Small

• Surname is ironic as physically he is very large
  in social terms, however, Lennie is very small
  and easily defeated. In some ways, he is like
  the mice that he crushes a victim of something
  much stronger.
• Lennie is a follower rather than a leader he
  relies upon George to lead the way literally and
  metaphorically (see p4).
• Although Lennie is simple and forgetful, he does
  have an emotional intelligence. He knows, for
  instance how to take advantage of Georges
  feelings of guilt (see p14).

3
Lennie Small

• Later he picks up on the bad atmosphere at the
  ranch and almost senses his own fate when he
  says, This aint no good place. I wanna get
  outa here (see p 34).
• He is a child-like character and there are times
  when George looks after him as though he were his
  son. On occasions, however, George also
  demonstrates a fatherly pride in Lennie (see p
  36).

4
Lennie Small

• Lennies dream is to live off the fatta the
  lan and to tend the rabbits there. The rabbits
  are a symbol of a better life. The talk about
  the rabbits is an escape for both Lennie and
  George from the harsh realities of their
  itinerant life.
• Lennies first fear when he does something wrong
  is that George wont let him tend the rabbits.
  This is the ultimate punishment to him.

5
Lennie Small

• Lennies strength is his downfall. His love of
  soft things and tendency to grip them too tightly
  leads him into trouble. Several incidents
  foreshadow the death of Curleys wife the rape
  allegation in Weed the deaths of the mice that
  Lennie pets the crushing of Curleys hand and,
  of course, the death of the puppy.
• The incident with Crooks also demonstrates how
  Lennie can quickly turn to violence when he
  panics about something (see p71).

6
George Milton

• George is described as being small and quick . .
  . with small, strong hands, slender arms . . .
  (see p4). The repetition of small emphasises
  the contrast with Lennie.
• At first George seems to be quite an agitated,
  volatile character. He is annoyed that the bus
  driver has set them down in the wrong place and
  maybe takes some of his anger out on Lennie. On
  a number of occasions, he is described as
  morose.

7
George Milton

• Steinbeck makes it clear that George has helped
  Lennie out of many difficult situations. He even
  carries Lennies workcard for him because he
  cannot be trusted to keep it safely himself.
• George admits to Slim that he has, at times,
  taken advantage of Lennies naiveté. For
  instance, Lennie almost drowned because George
  told him to jump in the river, not realising that
  he couldnt swim (see p41).
• Although George is easily irritated by Lennie
  (see p12), he does value the companionship that
  he offers. The reader suspects that he would be
  lonely without Lennie (see p36) .

8
George Milton

• George also becomes more tolerant of Lennie when
  he has someone else in whom to confide. Steinbeck
  uses the character of Slim as a device by which
  he can reveal more about certain characters,
  including George.
• Slim, the prince of the ranch(p34), respects
  George and this influences the readers opinion
  of him. Candy also respects George enough to
  conceal from the others what has happened to
  Curleys wife.

9
George Milton

• Although George does go off into town with the
  other ranch workers, in many ways he is very
  different from them. He is committed to raising
  a stake so that he and Lennie can buy their
  farm. He is therefore more responsible and less
  frivolous than many of the other workers. His
  leadership skills are also demonstrated in the
  way in which Candy offers him money in order to
  be part of their dream for the future. It is
  clear that Candy has faith in Georges ability to
  turn the dream into a reality.

10
George Milton

• Much as he enjoys Lennies companionship, George
  likes to have time on his own. This is
  symbolised by the fact that Steinbeck frequently
  describes him playing solitaire.
• It would be wrong, however, to assume that George
  does not share Lennies hopes and dreams for the
  future. When the dream looks set to become a
  reality, Steinbeck describes how Georges eyes
  were full of wonder (p60). The word wonder
  reveals the child-like aspect of Georges
  personality.

11
George Milton

• Georges forward thinking is what allows Lennie
  to temporarily escape at the end of the novel.
  He was always aware that something could happen
  and had told Lennie where to go.
• George then makes the ultimate sacrifice killing
  his friend to prevent him from enduring future
  suffering. Lennie was an integral part of the
  dream now he is gone, the dream is over.
  Killing Lennie is a completely selfless act on
  Georges part.

12
Candy

• Candy is the bunkhouse cleaner or swamper as he
  is called in the novel. He acts as a narrative
  device, providing the reader with an insight
  into many of the characters before they actually
  appear.
• Candy demonstrates what happens to ranch workers
  as they get older. He mixes with the other ranch
  workers but is also isolated from them. When
  they go into town, he is left behind.

13
Candy

• He has lost his hand in a farm accident. Here,
  Steinbeck is possibly making a point about health
  and safety standards on ranches during the
  Depression of the 1930s. Labour was cheap and
  plentiful at that time and so workers had very
  little job security.
• Lennie and Georges enthusiasm and relative youth
  are an antidote to Candys old age. With them he
  thinks he can have a better future, which is one
  reason why he is prepared to trust them with his
  savings.

14
Candy

• Candys relationship with his dog is an important
  element of the novel. He loves the dog even
  though he aint no good to himself (Carlson,
  p45). He also boasts about him in much the same
  way that George boasts about Lennie, he was the
  best damn sheep dog I ever seen (Candy, p45).
  The parallels between the two relationships are
  clear.

15
Candy

• Candy later admits that he shouldnt have allowed
  Carlson to kill his dog and should have done it
  himself, I shouldnt ought to of let no stranger
  shoot my dog (p61). This foreshadows Georges
  realisation that he alone must kill Lennie and
  that he must not allow anyone else to do so. In
  a further parallel, Carlsons Luger is used on
  both occasions.

16
Curley

• Curley is a small man and, in spite of his
  arrogance, appears to have developed an
  inferiority complex. This is why he feels that
  he always has to prove himself.
• He is an aggressive character (his hands closed
  into fists) and is constantly looking for
  opportunities to assert his masculinity (see
  pp26-27 for Steinbecks opening description of
  him).

17
Curley

• Curley was once a boxer, but he seems to fight
  unfairly, picking on those who are in some way
  weaker than him. This is one reason why he picks
  on Lennie. He is resentful of the fact that
  Lennie is so big and strong, but knows that
  mentally he is inferior. He also knows that if
  he loses the fight he can attribute it to the
  fact that Lennie is so much bigger rather than
  any deficiencies in his own fighting skills. He
  underestimates Lennies strength, however, and
  Lennies ability to react rationally in such a
  situation.

18
Curley

• Curleys relationship with his wife is an
  important part of the novel. His approach to
  intimacy is rather crude he has a glove fulla
  vaseline (p29) to keep his hand soft for his
  wife.
• In spite of being married, he also continues to
  visit the local cathouses.
• The fact that he neglects his wife is also
  illustrated by the fact that she is constantly
  seeking the attention of the other ranch workers.
  He pays her very little attention himself, but
  is possessive of her and treats her as a trophy
  wife.

19
Curley

• The other ranch workers feel that Curley gets his
  just desserts when Lennie crushes his hand. They
  use his pride against him when they persuade him
  not to reveal what really happened (see p64).
• When he sees his wifes dead body, his first
  thoughts are not for her instead he says, I
  know who done it . . . Im gonna get him (p95).
  His desire for revenge is clearly stronger than
  his feelings for his wife. Slim even observes
  that hes still mad about his hand (p96).

20
Curley

• The fight between Lennie and Curley takes place
  immediately after George, Lennie and Candy have
  been discussing turning the dream into a reality.
  The fight puts a dampener on their ambitions and
  serves as a warning that their hopes for the
  future may never be realised.

21
Curleys wife

• The fact that we never learn the name of Curleys
  wife is significant. No-one on the ranch has
  taken the time to learn her name. She is defined
  by her status as the wife of the bosss son.
• Of course, the other way in which she is defined
  is by her sexuality. At various points she is
  described as jail bait, a tart and a
  rat-trap.

22
Curleys wife

• Candy influences the readers opinion of her
  before we actually see her (p29).
• This opinion does, however, seem to be confirmed
  when she first appears in the novel She had
  full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily
  made up (p32). Her stance is also quite
  provocative her body was thrown forward (p32).
  She is clearly out of place on a working ranch.

23
Curleys wife

• The first appearance of Curleys wife is also
  quite symbolic. Steinbeck describes how the
  rectangle of sunshine was cut off (p32). She,
  therefore, instantly becomes associated with
  darkness and the notion that no good can come
  from her presence. This idea is, of course,
  reinforced by George who recognises that she
  poses a threat to their dreams for the future and
  warns Lennie against befriending her.

24
Curleys wife

• The way in which she treats Crooks evokes further
  disapproval from the reader. She uses her status
  to threaten him I could get you strung up on a
  tree so easy it aint even funny (p80). The
  truth is that he is one of the few people over
  whom she has any real power. Most of the other
  ranch workers ignore her or insult her,
  reinforcing her sense of loneliness and isolation.

25
Curleys wife

• Her loneliness is emphasised during her
  conversation with Lennie in the barn. This is
  the point at which Steinbeck allows the reader to
  see a different aspect of her personality. She
  explains I get lonely . . . I cant talk to
  nobody but Curley (p85). If she talks to anyone
  else, Curley gets mad. At the same time, its
  hard to imagine Curley actually wanting to talk
  to his wife.

26
Curleys wife

• Like many of the other characters, she had hopes
  and dreams for the future. She wanted to be an
  actress. She thought shed got her big break
  when one man said she was a natural for the
  movies (p87). Nothing came of this though and
  the reader is left feeling that men have let her
  down made false promises to her and abused her
  trust in them. She blamed her mother and, in a
  sense, married Curley on the rebound from her
  disappointments.

27
Curleys wife

• The description of Curleys wifes body is
  interesting and poignant. Moments before her
  death, Steinbeck describes how the sun went
  down (p88), perhaps indicating that something
  bad is about to happen. When it does, Steinbeck
  draws attention to the fact that, the discontent
  and the ache for attention were all gone from her
  face. She was very pretty and simple, and her
  face was sweet and young (p91). This is a very
  sympathetic description of her, highlighting the
  peace that she finds in death that she didnt
  find in her life. It also reminds the reader of
  her youth and of the person behind the make-up.