John Steinbeck

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• John Steinbeck
• Background

• Born in 1902
• Attended Stanford
• Won Nobel Prize in 1962
• Died in 1968

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• Steinbecks Most Famous Works

• Grapes of Wrath
• Of Mice and Men
• The Pearl

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• Background Information for Of Mice and Men

• During the late 1930s, California was struggling
  with the economic problems of the Great
  Depression
• Steinbeck wrote movingly about the struggles of
  migrant farm workers in his most famous works
• Of Mice and Men (1937),
• The Grapes of Wrath (1939).

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• Overview for Of Mice and Men

• George is Lennies keeper, and Lennie imitates
  everything that George does.
• George promises Lennie that some day they will
  have their own farm and raise rabbits as well as
  other animals.
• Lennie causes George problems he has a bad habit
  of hurting the very things he feels affection
  towards (like pet mice, which he pets too hard
  and kills)

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• Set in California's Salinas Valley, the story
  takes place on a large ranch during the Great
  Depression.
• Salinas Valley, was dominated by large collective
  farms, or "farm factories
• These farm factories employed hundreds of
  workers, many of whom were migrants.
• Small farms of a few hundred acres, such as the
  one Lennie and George dream about, were
  relatively scarce.

• Setting of for Of Mice and Men

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• Main Characters
• George

• The migrant ranch hand who takes care of Lennie.
• He is one of two main protagonists in the story.
• He is slender, small and quick, with a dark face,
  restless eyes, and sharp features.
• Taking care of Lennie shows Georges need for
  companionship, but also his high moral character
  and compassion because Lennie is such a burden
  and George is completely loyal to him.
• George dreams of owning a small farm of his own,
  but his dream is lost.

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• Lennie

• Georges mildly retarded traveling companion and
  the other main protagonist in the story.
• He is a huge man, with large, pale eyes, a
  shapeless face, and sloping shoulders.
• Lennie is frequently portrayed in animal terms
  and loves to pet soft things.
• He is large and possesses incredible physical
  strength, yet he has the mind of a child.
• Lennie also dreams of owning a farm with his
  friend George, but Lennie causes the ruin of
  their dream.

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• Supporting Characters
• Candy
• Curley

• An old, crippled man who has lost his hand
• Swamper at the ranch
• Son of ranch owner
• Formidable pugilist (Boxer)

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• Supporting Characters, Continued
• Curleys Wife
• Crooks

• Considered a tramp by most of the ranch men
• Doesnt have a name
• Stable buck of the ranch
• Only Black man

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• Large man who complains about Candys old dog
• Offers to put the dog down
• Ranch foreman
• Wise man
• Suspects George and Lennie when they arrive late
• Fair man

• Supporting Characters, Continued
• Carlson
• Slim
• Boss