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To understand the context* of John Steinbeck's book, you need to know a bit about Steinbeck himself, and a little about economic conditions in 1930's America.
John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck was born in California in 1902, near to Soledad. Although his family was wealthy, he was interested in the lives of the farm labourers and spent time working with them. He used his experiences as material for his writing.
He wrote a number of novels about poor people who worked on the land and dreamed of a better life, including The Grapes of Wrath, which is the heart-rending story of a family's struggle to escape the dust bowl of the West to reach California. Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, six years before his death in 1968.
The Depression
On October 4 1929, millions of dollars were wiped out in an event that became known as the Wall Street Crash. It led to the Depression in America which crippled the country from 1930 - 1936. People lost their life savings when firms and banks went bust, and 12 - 15 million men and women - one third of America's population - were unemployed.
A song about an unemployed man meeting an old friend he has fought alongside in the First World War and asking him for a dime (the price of a cup of coffee) summed up the national mood.
Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once in khaki suits,
Gee we looked swell,
Full of Yankee Doodle-de-dum.
Half a millin boots went sloggin' through Hell,
I was the kid with the drum.
Say, don't you remember, they called me Al,
It was Al all the time.
Why don't you remember I'm your pal,
Brother, can you spare a dime?
There was then no dole to fall back on, so food was short and the unemployed in cities couldn't pay their rent. Some ended up in settlements called 'Hoovervilles' (after the US president of the time, Herbert C Hoover), in shanties made from old packing cases and corrugated iron.
Migrant farmers
Added to the man-made financial problems were natural ones. A series of droughts in southern mid-western states like Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas led to failed harvests and dried-up land. Farmers were forced to move off their land: they couldn't repay the bank-loans which had helped buy the farms and had to sell what they owned to pay their debts.
Many economic migrants headed west to 'Golden' California, thinking there would be land going spare, but the Californians turned many back, fearing they would be over-run. The refuges had nowhere to go back to, so they set up home in huge camps in the California valleys - living in shacks of cardboard and old metal - and sought work as casual farmhands.
Ranch hands
Against this background, ranch hands like George and Lennie were lucky to have work. Ranch hands were grateful for at least a bunk-house to live in and to have food provided, even though the pay was low.
Think about how the men agree to hush-up the fight between Curley and Lennie and claim that Curley got his hand caught in a machine: they know that Lennie and George would be fired if the boss came to hear of it, and then Lennie and George could be left with nothing.
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|* Context: The factors surrounding a text which help us to understand it; the background events which help us to explain |
|something. |
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“Of Mice and Men”
The title of the novel comes from a poem by the 18th century Scottish poet Robbie Burns. It is about a mouse which carefully builds a winter nest in a wheat field, only for it to be destroyed by a ploughman. It is written in Scots dialect*.
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft a-gley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promised joy!
(The best laid schemes of mice and men
Often go wrong
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
Instead of promised joy!)
The mouse had dreamed of a safe, warm winter and is now faced with the harsh reality of cold, loneliness and possible death. There is a parallel here with George and Lennie's joyful fantasy of a farm of their own, and its all-too-predictable destruction at the end of the story. Perhaps the context* of the title is also meant to suggest to us how unpredictable our lives are, and how vulnerable we are to tragedy*.
"Someday we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and ..."
Loneliness and Dreams
The two main themes in 'Of Mice and Men' - foreshadowed by the reference to Burns' mouse - are loneliness and dreams. They interlock: people who are lonely have most need of dreams to help them through.
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|*context: The factors surrounding a text which help us to understand it; the background events which help us to explain |
|something. |
| |
|*dialect: The language of a particular subset of English speakers – often those living in a particular place – having its own |
|unique diction, vocabulary, spelling, even grammar. |
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|*tragedy: A type of drama in which characters undergo suffering or calamity, and which usually ends with a death. A sad or |
|catastrophic event causing suffering or death. |
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Study the table below, showing both the loneliness and the dreams of each of the main characters. You could use a table like this as the basis for information about themes* in Of Mice and Men.
| |Loneliness |Dream |
|George |George is not lonely during the novel, as he has |George and Lennie share a dream - to own a little patch of land |
| |Lennie. He will be lonely afterwards, without his best |and live on it in freedom. He is so set on the idea that he even |
| |friend. |knows of some land that he thinks they could buy. |
|Lennie |Lennie is the only character who is innocent enough not|George and Lennie share a dream - to own a little patch of land |
| |to fear loneliness, but he is angry when Crooks |and live on it in freedom. Lennie's main desire is to tend the |
| |suggests George won't come back to him. |soft-haired rabbits they will keep. |
|Curley's wife |She is married to a man she doesn't love and who |She dreams of being a movie star. Her hopes were raised by a man |
| |doesn't love her. There are no other women on the ranch|who claimed he would take her to Hollywood, but when she didn't |
| |and she has nothing to do. She tries to befriend the |receive a letter from him, she married Curley. |
| |men by hanging round the bunkhouse. | |
|Candy |When Candy's ancient, ill dog was shot, Candy has |Candy joins George and Lennie's plan of owning a piece of land. |
| |nothing left. He delayed killing the dog, even though |His savings make the dream actually possible to achieve. |
| |he knew deep down that it was the best thing, as he | |
| |dreaded losing his long-time companion. | |
|Crooks |Crooks lives in enforced solitude, away from the other |Crooks dreams of being seen as equal to everyone else. He knows |
| |men. He is bitter about being a back-busted nigger. He |his civil rights. He remembers fondly his childhood, when he |
| |is thrilled when Lennie and Candy come into his room |played with white children who came to his family's chicken ranch,|
| |and are his companions for a night. |and longs for a similar relationship with white people again. |
Crooks was a proud, aloof man... "Why you ain't wanted?" Lennie asked. "'Cause I'm black."
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|*themes: central, unifying ideas that run through a text or performance. |
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Plot
The story begins when George and Lennie prepare to arrive at a ranch to work - and ends in tragedy* just four days later.
During those four days, we learn not only about the friendship and dreams George and Lennie share, but about a small community of lonely people on the ranch - all of whom are affected by the events.
The story is told in the third person, so we are provided with a clear, unbiased view of all the characters.
What actually happens in the story?
Chapter 1
George and Lennie camp in the brush, by a pool, the night before starting new jobs as ranch hands.
George finds Lennie stroking a dead mouse in his pocket. He complains that caring for Lennie prevents him from living a freer life. We find out that Lennie's innocent petting of a girl's dress led to them losing their last jobs in Weed.
However, when they talk about their dream of getting a piece of land together, we know they really depend on each other.
Chapter 2
When they arrive at the ranch in the morning, George and Lennie are shown around by old Candy.
They meet their boss and, later, his son, Curley - George is suspicious of Curley's manner and warns Lennie to stay away from him.
They see Curley's pretty and, apparently, flirtatious wife and meet some of their fellow workers, Slim and Carlson.
Chapter 3
Later that evening, George tells Slim about why he and Lennie travel together and more about what happened in Weed.
The men talk about Candy's ancient dog, which is tired and ill. Carlson shoots it, as an act of kindness.
George tells Candy about their dream of getting a piece of land and Candy eagerly offers to join them - he has capital, so they could make it happen almost immediately.
Curley provokes Lennie into a fight, which ends up with Lennie severely injuring Curley's hand.
Chapter 4
The following night, most men on the ranch go into town. Crooks is alone in his room when Lennie joins him.
They talk about land - Crooks is sceptical, not believing that George and Lennie are going to do what so many other men he's known have failed to do, and get land of their own. Yet when Candy happens to come in as well, Crooks is convinced and asks to be in on it too.
Curley's wife arrives. She threatens Crooks and an argument develops. Crooks realises he can never really be part of George, Lennie and Candy's plan.
Chapter 5
Next afternoon, Lennie accidentally kills the puppy that Slim had given him by petting it too much. He's sad.
Curley's wife finds him and starts talking very openly about her feelings. She invites Lennie to stroke her soft hair, but he does it so strongly she panics and he ends up killing her too. He runs away to hide, as George had told him.
Candy finds the body and tells George. They tell the other men - Curley wants revenge.
Chapter 6
Lennie hides in the brush by the pool. He dreams of his Aunt Clara and the rabbits he will tend when he and George get their land.
George finds Lennie and talks reassuringly to him about the little place they will have together - then shoots him with Carlson's gun.
When the other men find George, they assume he shot Lennie in self-defence. Only Slim understands what George did and why.
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*tragedy: A type of drama in which characters undergo suffering or calamity, and which usually ends with a death. A sad or catastrophic event causing suffering or death.
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Although this is a thorough summary of the basic plot, you must go back to the original text for all the detail, and for real understanding of the plot and individual incidents.
A summary is no substitute for knowing the actual text!
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Plot
Study the plot timeline, and make sure you can remember the sequence of events in the story.
Timeline
| |BEFORE |SOME | |
|Lennie petted a girl’s red dresss, but she thought he was trying to attack her and accused him of rape.| |TIME | |
| | | | |
|George and Lennie hide in an irrigation ditch all day until the lynch mob hunting for them has gone. | | | |
| |Evening|THURSDA| |
|George and Lennie camp in the brush beside the pool, a few miles south of Soledad. | |Y | |
| |Morning| | |
|10a.m. | | | |
|George and Lennie arrive at the ranch. | | | |
|They meet the other men. | | | |
| |Afterno|FRIDAY |FOUR |
|George and Lennie join the workers bucking barley. |on | | |
|Lennie impresses everyone with his strength. | | | |
| |Evening| |DAYS |
|in the bunk house. | | | |
|Candy’s dog is shot. | | | |
|Hopes are raised when Candy offers his money to buy land. | | | |
|The fight takes place between Lennie and Curley. | | | |
| |Evening|SATURDA| |
| | |Y | |
|Lennie, Candy and Curley’s wife gather in Crooks’ room. | | | |
| |Afterno|SUNDAY | |
|Lennie kills his puppy. |on | | |
|Then he kills Curley’s wife. | | | |
| |Evening| | |
| | | | |
|George finds Lennie hiding in the brush and shoots him. | | | |
Plot
Timeline
Did you notice how all of the action is concentrated into only a few days? This makes it much more dramatic*: one event follows on from another in rapid succession. There is a sense of inevitability - we sense that there will be no way out for Lennie.
Also, did you notice the time of day that various incidents took place? Lennie and George arrive at the ranch in the morning, early in the day, when possibilities are open; Lennie dies as the sun is setting. Do you think this suggests that Lennie's death was 'right'? The sun sets when a day is complete, so does Lennie die when his life is 'complete'?
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You can try the following multi-choice test to test your understanding of plot.
1 - Why is it important that the first and last chapters take place in the same location?
a) Because it is a neat, symmetrical way to round off the novel.
b) Because it gives the reader the sense that what George did is right.
c) Because it is such a beautiful spot.
2 - What is the significance of the killing of Candy's dog?
a) There are a number of deaths in the novel, so this one gets us used to the idea.
b) It makes us feel sorry for Candy.
c) It hints that George will kill Lennie.
3 - Why is it interesting that the fight in the bunk-house between Curley and Lennie comes immediately after Candy's offer of money to help George and Lennie get their land?
a) It emphasises how strong Lennie is, so we know he'll work hard when they get the land.
b) It shows us how mean Curley can be, so we know that George and Lennie have enemies as well as friends at the ranch.
c) It intensifies the tragedy
4 - Why does the main action take only four days?
a) To make the drama tense and exciting.
b) Because nothing much really happens.
c) It doesn't - what about what happened in Weed?
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*dramatic: To do with a drama or play. A description or portrayal that is vivid and immediate – as if it’s being acted out in front of you. Something that is tense or exciting.
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(If you want to check your accuracy, ask your teacher!)
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Plot – Timeline – Multi-choice test answers
1 - Why is it important that the first and last chapters take place in the same location?
You should have said:
b - Because it gives the reader the sense that what George did is right.
Because: Lennie felt comfortable by the 'deep green pool'. Killing Lennie there, the wind in his hair, dreaming of rabbits, was a brave and kind act. Perhaps the descriptions of life going on around (the water snakes and the heron) suggest that this death was what Nature would have wanted.
If you said: a - Because it is a neat, symmetrical way to round off the novel.
It’s partly right but: the symmetry is not just to make things neat. It helps us understand that what happened to Lennie was inevitable.
And if you said: c - Because it is such a beautiful spot.
It’s partly right but: the lovely descriptions are not just to help us imagine the scene - lines like "the light climbed on out of the valley, and as it went, the tops of the mountains seemed to blaze with increasing brightness" hint that what is going to happen is not dark and gloomy (as death is often shown), but something bright and good.
2 - What is the significance of the killing of Candy's dog?
You should have said:
c - It hints that George will kill Lennie.
Because: Candy's dog was shot humanely to prevent him suffering any more. Lennie is shot humanely to prevent him suffering - and death - at the hands of Curley. Candy later regrets that he didn't have the strength of mind to kill the dog himself, but George is strong enough to kill Lennie kindly and save him from misery.
If you said: a - There are a number of deaths in the novel, so this one gets us used to the idea.
It’s partly right but: Lennie's puppy, Curley's wife and Lennie also die, so think about why the dog was shot. Can you see any parallels to another character?
And if you said: b - It makes us feel sorry for Candy.
It’s partly right but: Candy is devastated by the loss of his life-long friend. It helps us understand that sometimes, if you love something (or someone), the best thing you can do for it is to let go. Who else does this?
3 - Why is it interesting that the fight in the bunk-house between Curley and Lennie comes immediately after Candy's offer of money to help George and Lennie get their land?
You should have said:
c - It intensifies the tragedy
Because: Now George and Lennie are so close to making their dream a reality, something happens to put that dream in jeopardy again. The incident is like a warning for George and Lennie - and the reader - not to get their hopes up too high.
If you said: a - It emphasises how strong Lennie is, so we know he'll work hard when they get the land.
It’s partly right but: Lennie's strength has always been an advantage where work is concerned - but evidence is growing that it could also be his downfall.
And if you said: b - It shows us how mean Curley can be, so we know that George and Lennie have enemies as well as friends at the ranch.
It’s partly right but: Curley is dangerous and George had warned Lennie to beware of him even before this. We are getting the impression that the 'enemy' is going to have more impact on the story than 'friends'...
4 - Why does the main action take only four days?
You should have said:
a - To make the drama tense and exciting.
Because: Suspense is gradually heightened as events happen quickly, one after the other. We can't wait to see what happens! If the events were more spread out, they would lose their significance and the tension of the narrative would be lost.
If you said: b - Because nothing much really happens.
It’s partly right but: Although it is true that the events in the novel only affect a small number of people, for those people, the effects are devastating.
And if you said: c - It doesn't - what about what happened in Weed?
It’s partly right but: We do get 'flashbacks' to earlier significant events that help us understand the characters better, like what happened in Weed and Curley's wife's story. These are woven in to the main thrust of the story so that what happens in the four crucial days makes sense.
You should have scored 100%.
• If you scored 75% - look at the error and check the themes involved for that answer.
• If you scored 50% - you need to re-check some of the basic themes and purposes of plot more thoroughly.
• If you scored 25% - you need to re-check all of the basic themes and purposes of plot much more thoroughly.
• If you scored 0% - Aaagh! You need to read the book again and, this time, concentrate on it!
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Task 1 Copy out the following summary, choosing the correct alternative given in each case. You may need to use a dictionary. Think carefully to ensure the plot is accurate. If you are not sure, pencil in your choice and then check.
Two errant / itinerant / eminent farm hands, George and Lennie, camp beside a natural pool in a valley before travelling on to a nearby ranch to find work / buy a house / live of the land. It becomes clear that George – small and shapeless / quick-witted / pale-eyed – is responsible for the huge and nervous / restless / child-like Lennie, and that the two men have had to leave the town of Salinas / Soledad / Weed because Lennie unwittingly frightened a girl / mouse / rabbit there. George expresses his pride / resentment / shame at having to look after Lennie, but when Lennie offers to give him his mouse / shoot himself / leave him, he regrets his meanness. We learn that Lennie has a passion for ‘petting’ pretty, soft things, especially girls / dresses / small animals, unaware of his own dangerous strength. George describes their dream of giving up work / buying a house / finding permanent work on a ranch; he tells Lennie to return to Weed / the pool / the ranch if he should get into any trouble.
Task 2 Answer the following comprehension questions in full sentences.
Section A E.g. Question: What is the name of the mountain range that they can see from the pool?
Section A E.g. Answer: The name of the range they can see from the pool is the Gabilan Mountains.
(Some questions may suggest the PEE style of answering.)
Section B E.g. Question: Whose head is ‘ held up like a periscope’?
Section B E.g. Answer: A water-snake’s head is ‘held up like a periscope’.
A Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
1. Where is the pool beside which George and Lennie spend the night?
2. What evidence is there that other men have camped there?
3. Why does George scold Lennie for drinking from the pool?
4. After drinking, what does Lennie do?
5. What does Lennie have in his pocket, and what doesn’t he have in his pocket?
6. Who was the ‘lady’ that used to give Lennie mice?
7. Why did Lennie and George have to leave Weed?
8. According to them, why are Lennie and George different from the other ranch workers?
9. What do the two of them plan to do, and what do they need to succeed?
10. Why does George tell Lennie not to say a word on their arrival at the ranch?
B Who is this?
1. Who is ‘… small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features’?
2. Who is ‘… a huge man (who) walked heavily; dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws’?
3. What ‘… drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse’?
4. Who ‘jerked back and yelled’?
5. Who are ‘the loneliest guys in the world’?
6. Who is going to ‘live off the fatta the lan’, ‘ and what does it mean?
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Task 3 Think about the following points and then answer them in full.
The first words spoken are a warning from George.
1. What are they? Who is he warning? About what?
The advice he gives further emphasises George’s role as Lennie’s minder.
2. What else takes place between them to demonstrate that Lennie is dependent on George?
3. What takes place between them to demonstrate that Lennie trusts and admires him?
We are introduced to the two main characters, George and Lennie in this section.
4. To which animals is Lennie likened in the opening pages?
5. Describe George and Lennie so far as you know them at this point in the story.
6. What reasons do you think George has to be frustrated with Lennie?
We are also introduced to George’s and Lennie’s dream in this section.
7. Describe the duo’s dream for the future in your own words.
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Task 4 Copy out the following summary, choosing the correct alternative given in each case. You may need to use a dictionary. Think carefully to ensure the plot is accurate. If you are not sure, pencil in your choice and then check.
George and Lennie arrive at the ranch. They are given food / work / bunks by Candy, the boss / swamper / skinner, and signed up by the boss / the boss’ son / Curley. The boss is angry that they arrived too late for the day’s / weekend’s / morning’s work, and is impressed by / suspicious of / pleased with George’s protectiveness of Lennie. Candy / Carlson / Curley, the boss’ son, is kind to / indifferent to / antagonistic towards the new men, especially Lennie; they learn from Candy that Curley has recently married a ‘tart’ / nice girl / prostitute. The whole set-up pleases / scares / interests George, who warns Lennie to have nothing to do with Curley. The other ranch hands return from work. Slim / the stable buck / Whitey is very friendly; Carlson is more concerned with shooting Slim’s / Smitty’s / Candy’s old dog, and asks Slim to give Lennie / George / Candy one of his puppies / rabbits / mice to raise. In the midst of Lennie’s excitement at the possibility of owning a pup, Curley returns in search of his itinerant / eminent / errant wife.
Task 5 Answer the following comprehension questions in full sentences.
(Remember, some questions may suggest the PEE style of answering.)
A Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
1. Who was Whitey, and – according to Candy – what kind of man was he? Why do you think Candy tells George this?
2. How does George make up his bed, and how does Lennie do his?
3. How many miles does George tell the boss they have walked; how many do you think they really did walk?
4. What is Lennie’s surname, and why does Carlson find this funny?
5. What does the boss suspect George of doing, and why?
6. When can George and Lennie leave the ranch, according to George? When does Lennie want to leave?
7. What is a jerk-line skinner?
8. Why did Slim drown four of his puppies?
9. Why does Carlson say he wants to shoot Candy’s dog? What is his real reason?
B Who is this?
1. Who has got ‘a crooked back where a horse kicked him’ and ‘reads a lot. Got books in his room’?
2. Who wore ‘a soiled brown Stetson hat, and … high-heeled boots and spurs to prove he was not a labouring man’?
3. Who is ‘not much of a talker’ but ‘strong as a bull’?
4. Who is ‘grey of muzzle’ and ‘with pale, blind old eyes’?
5. Whose ‘glance was at once calculating and pugnacious’?
6. Who ‘ain’t givin’ nobody a chance’, according to Candy?
7. Who is ‘purty’, with ‘the eye’?
8. Who had ‘full, rouged lips with wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up’?
9. Whose ‘authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love’?
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Task 6 Think about the following points and then answer them in full.
The men read to each other from a magazine – ‘those western magazines ranch-men love to read and scoff at and secretly believe.’
2. What does this quotation imply about the dreams and fantasies of hard-working ranch-men?
The boss is described as dressing differently from the working-men. He is obviously of a different ‘status’ to the workers and likes to make sure they know it.
8. What does the boss wear and how do you think it would be different from what the workers wear? Why?
Curley’s wife is never named – a deliberate decision of Steinbeck’s. She is described as a ‘tart’, a ‘tramp’, ‘jail-bait’, – all derogatory terms from the men – and seems to live up to their poor expectations.
9. What is Curley’s wife wearing when she first appears in the bunkhouse? Why do you think Steinbeck chooses to describe her in this way?
Slim, the jerkline skinner is described with detailed praise: a fair man who is respected by everyone else on the ranch, workers and bosses alike. Think about Steinbeck’s description of him and what this says about him (pps.55/56).
10. In your own words, describe Slim and the effect he seems to have on the others.
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Task 7 Copy out the following summary, choosing the correct alternative given in each case. You may need to use a dictionary. Think carefully to ensure the plot is accurate. If you are not sure, pencil in your choice and then check.
George thanks Slim for giving Lennie one of his puppies, and tells Slim what happened at the pool / in Weed / in the barn. With the tacit permission / disapproval / scorn of Slim, Carlson shoots Candy’s old dog. While Curley is out in the barn accusing Lennie / George / Slim of ‘messing’ with his wife, George and Lennie tell Whit / Candy / Crooks that they are planning to buy a small farm that George has seen; Candy offers to swamp the farm / tend the rabbits / put up some money towards it if they will include him. Curley returns, mistakes Lennie’s smile of delight at the new developments / his puppy / Curley’s wife for derision, and picks a fight with him. Only at George’s command, Lennie crushes Curley’s hand. All the men go into town / to bed / to work except for Crooks, Lennie and Candy, who meet in Crooks’ room to talk. They are interrupted by Curley’s wife, who shows special interest in Crooks / Lennie / Candy when she guesses that it was he who hurt Curly’s hand. Later that night / In the morning / The following afternoon she finds Lennie in the barn, grieving for the puppy he has inadvertently killed. Without her permission / At her invitation / Without warning, Lennie touches her hair; she panics and Lennie, terrified by her silence / tears / screams, breaks her neck. Remembering George’s instructions, Lennie returns to the north / Weed / the pool. Curley / George / Candy discovers the body and realises their dream is over; he fetches George, who sends the men the wrong way / after Lennie / to Soledad while he goes to find Lennie. While Lennie has nighmares / begs George’s forgiveness / looks the other way, visualising their dream farm, George shoots him with Carlson’s gun.
Now you have finished the three sections of the summary of the text, re-read all of them to check that they are accurate. Correct any errors so that you will be able to use them as reference material.
Task 8 Answer the following comprehension questions in full sentences.
A reminder of how to answer properly:
Section A E.g. Question: What is the name of the mountain range that they can see from the pool?
Section A E.g. Answer: The name of the range they can see from the pool is the Gabilan Mountains.
(Some questions may suggest the PEE style of answering.)
Section B E.g. Question: Whose head is ‘ held up like a periscope’?
Section B E.g. Answer: A water-snake’s head is ‘held up like a periscope’.
A Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
11. What does Slim say he has hardly ever seen?
12. How did George and Lennie escape the lynch mob in Weed?
13. Why does Whit show Slim the magazine?
14. What is the ‘usual thing’ that Whit and the other men do each Saturday night; does George agree to join them?
15. Why does George’s voice grow ‘warmer’ when he is telling Lennie about the farm?
16. Who says that he wishes someone would shoot him when he is old/crippled? (Be careful: do more than one of the men say this?)
17. Who persuades Curley not to tell his father how his hand was really crushed, and how?
18. Why do you think Crooks suggests to Lennie that George might not come back?
19. What is Curley’s wife’s dream, and why is she so keen to ‘talk’ to Lennie?
20. Why does George go back to the bunk-house after finding the body? Does he tell Candy the whole truth here?
B Who is this?
7. Who has ‘ calm, God-like eyes?
8. Who ‘ walked heavily on his heels, as though he carried the invisible grain bag?
9. Who has got ‘ yella-jackets in his drawers’, and what does that mean?
10. Who ‘had thin, pain-tightened lips which were lighter than his face?
11. Whose eyes ‘centred and grew quiet and mad?
12. Who ‘never gets to heaven … never gets no land’?
13. Who sat ‘perfectly still, his eyes averted, everything that might be hurt drawn in’?
14. Whose words ‘tumbled out in a passion of communication, as though she hurrued before her listener could be taken away?
15. Who ‘wore thick bull’s-eye glasses ‘ and ‘a huge gingham apron with pockets’ and was ‘starched and clean’?
Now you have finished the three sections of comprehension, re-read your answers to check that they are accurate. Correct any errors so that you will be able to use them as reference material.
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Task 9 Think about the following points and then answer them in full.
The story ends where – for us – it began, at the pool: if you compare the two descriptions of the pool however, there are several differences.
3. Name three of the differences. Why do you think the author uses this technique?
The message at the end of the novel seems to be that aspirations (hopes and dreams0 are doomed, that the world is full of senseless violence, and that the fate of man is loneliness and death.
4. Does anything temper the harshness of this message?
Murder, mercy-killing or kindness – George certainly brings the dream, and the novel, to an end.
5. Do you agree with what George does? Consider the alternatives, and their implications in your explanation.
6. What technique does Steinbeck use to convey Lennie’s state of mind as he waits for George at the pool? What effect(s) does it achieve?
The last line of the novel is: ‘And Carlson said, ‘Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?’
7. What do you think is the significance of this line?
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Task 1
Two itinerant farm hands, George and Lennie, camp beside a natural pool in a valley before travelling on to a nearby ranch to find work. It becomes clear that George – small and quick-witted – is responsible for the huge and child-like Lennie, and that the two men have had to leave the town of Weed because Lennie unwittingly frightened a girl there. George expresses his resentment at having to look after Lennie, but when Lennie offers to leave him, he regrets his meanness. We learn that Lennie has a passion for ‘petting’ pretty, soft things, especially small animals, unaware of his own dangerous strength. George describes their dream of buying a house; he tells Lennie to return to the pool if he should get into any trouble.
Task 2
A Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
1. The pool beside which George and Lennie spend the night is in a valley at the foot of the Gabilan Mountains, a few miles south of Soledad.
2. The evidence that other men have camped there is a path, an ash pile and a sycamore tree branch worn smooth by men sitting on it.
3. George scolds Lennie for drinking from the pool because it is only safe to drink running water; Lennie has been sick before from drinking ‘still’ water.
4. After drinking, Lennie imitates George’s actions exactly.
5. Lennie has a mouse in his pocket, and doesn’t have his work card.
6. The ‘lady’ who used to give Lennie mice was his Aunt Clara.
7. Lennie and George had to leave Weed because Lennie frightened a girl there, and the two men were chased out of town.
8. Lennie and George are different from the other ranch workers because they have each other, so they are not lonely; they have a ‘future’ that consists of more than sitting in bars.
9. The two of them plan to buy a house and some land of their own; they need a ‘jack’ or a ‘stake’ (enough money to put down a deposit).
10. George tells Lennie not to say a word on their arrival at the ranch in case the boss sees that Lennie is ‘crazy’, and refuses to give them work.
B Who is this?
1. George is ‘small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features’.
2. Lennie is ‘… a huge man (who) walked heavily; dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws’.
3. Lennie ‘… drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse’.
4. The girl in the red dress Lennie frightened in Weed ‘jerked back and yelled’.
5. Ranch workers are ‘the loneliest guys in the world’.
6. George and Lennie are going to ‘live off the fatta the lan’,. It means they will eat and sell produce that they grow – it will be their livelihood.
Task 3
The first words spoken are a warning from George.
1. George warns Lennie: ‘Lennie! Lennie, for God’ sakes don’t drink so much.’ He is concerned that Lennie is drinking too much and he will be sick as he was the previous night.
The advice he gives further emphasises George’s role as Lennie’s minder.
11. George tells Lennie only to drink running water as still water may not be ‘safe’.
12. Lennie copies George. He expects George to know what to do. He ‘imitates George exactly.’
We are introduced to the two main characters, George and Lennie in this section.
13. Lennie is described as ‘dragging his feet … the way a bear drags his paws’, drinking ‘like a horse’ and behaving ‘like a terrier’ towards George.
14. The two characters are very different, George: ‘small and quick, …’, Lennie: ‘… a huge man (who) walked heavily; … ’. It is clear that George is the one who takes charge, caring for Lennie almost in a parental way. Lennie is child-like in his manner and ability.
15. George has is frustrated with Lennie because despite being told things that matter, he does not remember them. George emphasises Lennie’s thoughtless ness gets them ‘into trouble’.
We are also introduced to George’s and Lennie’s dream in this section.
7. Their dream is to own a smallholding: a small house with a couple of acres of land on which they
can grow enough food to sustain themselves. It is a very modest dream.
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Task 4
George and Lennie arrive at the ranch. They are given bunks by Candy, the swamper, and signed up by the boss. The boss is angry that they arrived too late for the morning’s work, and is suspicious of George’s protectiveness of Lennie. Curley, the boss’ son, is antagonistic towards the new men, especially Lennie; they learn from Candy that Curley has recently married a ‘tart’. The whole set-up scares George, who warns Lennie to have nothing to do with Curley. The other ranch hands return from work. Slim is very friendly; Carlson is more concerned with shooting Candy’s old dog, and asks Slim to give Candy one of his puppies to raise. In the midst of Lennie’s excitement at the possibility of owning a pup, Curley returns in search of his errant wife.
Task 5
A Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
10. Whitey was the blacksmith who had George’s bunk before him. And – according to Candy – he was a very nice and clean man. I think Candy tells George this to calm him down when he (George) thinks that his bunk is infested.
11. George make up his bed neatly and carefully, and Lennie does his slowly.
12. George tell the boss they have walked 10 miles; I think they really walked 4-5 miles. (In the first section, George says that the bus driver dropped them ‘at least’ 4 miles away from the pool and the pool is close to the ranch).
13. Lennie’s surname is Small, and Carlson find this funny because Lennie is so huge.
14. The boss suspects George of taking Lennie’s pay away from him, because George won’t let Lennie speak for himself.
15. George and Lennie can leave the ranch as soon as possible after they have made a few dollars. Lennie wants to leave at once.
16. A jerk-line skinner is the man in charge of a team of mules, capable of controlling up to 20 animals with only one line to the leaders of the team.
17. Slim drowned four of his puppies because the mother couldn’t feed them all.
18. Carlson say he wants to shoot Candy’s dog because the dog is in pain and ‘no good to himself’, but his real reason is the dog smells.
B Who is this?
10. The stable-buck, Crooks, has got ‘a crooked back where a horse kicked him’ and ‘reads a lot. Got books in his room’.
11. The boss wore ‘a soiled brown Stetson hat, and … high-heeled boots and spurs to prove he was not a labouring man’.
12. Lennie is ‘not much of a talker’ but ‘strong as a bull’.
13. Candy’s dog is ‘grey of muzzle’ and ‘with pale, blind old eyes’.
14. Curley’s ‘glance was at once calculating and pugnacious’.
15. Curley ‘ain’t givin’ nobody a chance’, according to Candy.
16. Curley’s wife is ‘purty’, with ‘the eye’.
17. Curley’s wife had ‘full, rouged lips with wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up’.
18. Slim’s ‘authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love’.
Task 6
The men read to each other from a magazine – ‘those western magazines ranch-men love to read and scoff at and secretly believe.’
8. This implies that the men secretly wish that they were like the romantic ideal of ‘the cowboy’ as presented in these magazines. They don’t want to remember that they are only poor, lonely, sad, hard-working ranch-workers.
The boss is described as dressing differently from the working-men. He is obviously of a different ‘status’ to the workers and likes to make sure they know it.
9. The boss wears ‘blue jean(s) … flannel shirt … black, unbuttoned vest … black coat … soiled brown Stetson hat … high-heeled boots and spurs to prove he was not a labouring man’. His workers would probably be wearing dungarees or work-shirt and jeans and hob-nailed work-boots. He shows his superior status by not being dressed for labouring work.
Curley’s wife is never named – a deliberate decision of Steinbeck’s. She is described as a ‘tart’, a ‘tramp’, ‘jail-bait’, – all derogatory terms from the men – and seems to live up to their poor expectations.
10. Curley’s wife is wearing ‘a cotton house dress and red mules … (with) little bouquets of red ostrich feathers’ when she first appears in the bunkhouse. I think Steinbeck chooses to describe her in this way to emphasise how unsuited she is for a dirty, dusty ranch full of men who have little to do with women except prostitutes who also dress in a deliberately provocative way.
Slim, the jerkline skinner is described with detailed praise: a fair man who is respected by everyone else on the ranch, workers and bosses alike. Think about Steinbeck’s description of him and what this says about him (pps.55/56).
11. Slim is ‘a tall man … (with) long, black … hair (combed) straight back … a hatchet face (that) was ageless … his hands (are large and lean (and) as delicate … as those of a temple dancer’, he
12. moves with ‘majesty’, and has ‘a gravity of manner and a quiet … profound’. The others seem to admire and respect him out of all proportion to his skill.
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Task 7
George thanks Slim for giving Lennie one of his puppies, and tells Slim what happened in Weed With the tacit permission of Slim, Carlson shoots Candy’s old dog. While Curley is out in the barn accusing Slim of ‘messing’ with his wife, George and Lennie tell Candy that they are planning to buy a small farm that George has seen; Candy offers put up some money towards it if they will include him. Curley returns, mistakes Lennie’s smile of delight at the new developments for derision, and picks a fight with him. Only at George’s command, Lennie crushes Curley’s hand. All the men go into town except for Crooks, Lennie and Candy, who meet in Crooks’ room to talk. They are interrupted by Curley’s wife, who shows special interest in Lennie when she guesses that it was he who hurt Curly’s The following afternoon she finds Lennie in the barn, grieving for the puppy he has inadvertently killed. At her invitation, Lennie touches her hair; she panics and Lennie, terrified by her screams, breaks her neck. Remembering George’s instructions, Lennie returns to the pool. Candy discovers the body and realises their dream is over; he fetches George, who sends the men the wrong way while he goes to find Lennie. While Lennie looks the other way, visualising their dream farm, George shoots him with Carlson’s gun.
Task 8
A Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
21. Slim says he has hardly ever seen two men travelling together.
22. George and Lennie escape the lynch mob in Weed by hiding in an irrigation ditch.
23. Whit shows Slim the magazine because there is a letter in it from a man who used to work with them at the ranch. The magazine suggests glamour, perhaps, and a life that is very different from the one they are living.
24. The ‘usual thing’ that Whit and the other men do each Saturday night is go to Susy’s place, a bar and brothel. George agrees to join them but not to spend his and Lennie’s stake on having a woman there (a ‘flop’).
25. George’s voice grows ‘warmer’ when he is telling Lennie about the farm because he starts believing in what he is saying, and to visualise the details.
26. Both Slim and Candy say that they wish someone would shoot them when they are old/crippled.
27. Slim persuades Curley not to tell his father how his hand was really crushed, by saying that Curley will become a laughing stock if the truth gets out.
28. I think Crooks suggests to Lennie that George might not come back because he envious as the two men have each other’s companionship and because he is bitter about how he is treated by other the men.
29. Curley’s wife’s dream is to be in the movies, wear nice clothes and be the centre of attention. she is so keen to ‘talk’ to Lennie because she too is lonely, as she has to stay in the house and talk only to Curley.
30. George goes back to the bunk-house after finding the body telling Candy that he doesn’t want to be seen with the body, because the other men might think he played a part in the girl’s death. We realise later that he has already decided to take Carlson’s gun from the bunk-house so he doesn’t tell Candy the whole truth here.
B Who is this?
16. Slim has ‘ calm, God-like eyes.
17. Whit ‘ walked heavily on his heels, as though he carried the invisible grain bag.’
18. Curley has got ‘ yella-jackets in his drawers’, and it means he has ‘ants in his pants’.
19. Crooks ‘had thin, pain-tightened lips which were lighter than his face.
20. Lennie’seyes ‘centred and grew quiet and mad.
21. ‘Nobody’ ‘never gets to heaven … never gets no land’.
22. Crooks, before the onslaught of Curley’s wife, sat ‘perfectly still, his eyes averted, everything that might be hurt drawn in’.
23. Curley’s wife’s words ‘tumbled out in a passion of communication, as though she hurried before her listener could be taken away.
24. Lennie’s Aunt Clara (or rather Lennie’s ‘vision’ of her) ‘wore thick bull’s-eye glasses ‘ and ‘a huge gingham apron with pockets’ and was ‘starched and clean’.
continued ….
… continued
Task 9
The story ends where – for us – it began, at the pool: if you compare the two descriptions of the pool however, there are several differences.
1. The differences are at the end, the water-snake is eaten by the heron; a gust of wind blows (in the first section all is still, until the very end of the ‘scene’); Lennie drinks carefully and warily, instead of ‘snorting like a horse’; the sounds of men calling are not incidental, but signify the approach of the hunting party. I think the author uses this technique to give the story a shape and a structure, so that things are ‘come full circle’ (all life returns to the universal pool).
The message at the end of the novel seems to be that aspirations (hopes and dreams) are doomed, that the world is full of senseless violence, and that the fate of man is loneliness and death.
2. Consider Slim: the very existence of Slim in a world of Curleys and Carlsons is perhaps hopeful. Consider also that George’s act was not one of cruelty but rather one of kindness and selflessness – how does George envisage his life without Lennie?
Murder, mercy-killing or kindness – George certainly brings the dream, and the novel, to an end.
3. Consider the death that Lennie would have suffered at Curley’s hands (‘Shoot for his guts’), or the life that he would have had locked up (as Slim says, strapped down in a cage0. Could Lennie have continued as he was doing, without finally getting into trouble that George could not cure?
4. The technique Steinbeck uses to convey Lennie’s state of mind as he waits for George at the pool is a dream-like sequence, in which – like thought bubbles – Aunt Clara and then a giant rabbit ‘come out of Lennie’s head’. This is reminiscent of film/movie techniques. Lennie seems even more vunerable and child-like as he wrestles out loud with his conscience and his worst fears, and some grasp of the implications of what has happened.
The last line of the novel is: ‘And Carlson said, ‘Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?’
5. Unlike Slim, Carlson and Curley are completely incapable of appreciating what George’s action has cost him; insensitive and without insight, they are unaware of their own loneliness and shortcomings.
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Two itinerant farm hands, George and Lennie, camp beside a natural pool in a valley before travelling on to a nearby ranch to find work. It becomes clear that George – small and quick-witted – is responsible for the huge and child-like Lennie, and that the two men have had to leave the town of Weed because Lennie unwittingly frightened a girl there. George expresses his resentment at having to look after Lennie, but when Lennie offers to leave him, he regrets his meanness. We learn that Lennie has a passion for ‘petting’ pretty, soft things, especially small animals, unaware of his own dangerous strength. George describes their dream of buying a house; he tells Lennie to return to the pool if he should get into any trouble.
[pic]
George and Lennie arrive at the ranch. They are given bunks by Candy, the swamper, and signed up by the boss. The boss is angry that they arrived too late for the morning’s work, and is suspicious of George’s protectiveness of Lennie. Curley, the boss’ son, is antagonistic towards the new men, especially Lennie; they learn from Candy that Curley has recently married a ‘tart’. The whole set-up scares George, who warns Lennie to have nothing to do with Curley. The other ranch hands return from work. Slim is very friendly; Carlson is more concerned with shooting Candy’s old dog, and asks Slim to give Candy one of his puppies to raise. In the midst of Lennie’s excitement at the possibility of owning a pup, Curley returns in search of his errant wife.
[pic]
George thanks Slim for giving Lennie one of his puppies, and tells Slim what happened in Weed With the tacit permission of Slim, Carlson shoots Candy’s old dog. While Curley is out in the barn accusing Slim of ‘messing’ with his wife, George and Lennie tell Candy that they are planning to buy a small farm that George has seen; Candy offers put up some money towards it if they will include him. Curley returns, mistakes Lennie’s smile of delight at the new developments for derision, and picks a fight with him. Only at George’s command, Lennie crushes Curley’s hand. All the men go into town except for Crooks, Lennie and Candy, who meet in Crooks’ room to talk. They are interrupted by Curley’s wife, who shows special interest in Lennie when she guesses that it was he who hurt Curly’s The following afternoon she finds Lennie in the barn, grieving for the puppy he has inadvertently killed. At her invitation, Lennie touches her hair; she panics and Lennie, terrified by her screams, breaks her neck. Remembering George’s instructions, Lennie returns to the pool. Candy discovers the body and realises their dream is over; he fetches George, who sends the men the wrong way while he goes to find Lennie. While Lennie looks the other way, visualising their dream farm, George shoots him with Carlson’s gun.
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Complete the charts for each character.
| |GEORGE MILTON |
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| |LENNIE SMALL |
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Complete the chart for each character.
| |SLIM |CURLEY |CANDY’S WIFE |
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Complete the chart for each character.
| |CANDY |CROOKS |
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As you know, it is important to use quotations in your writing to support your ideas about the characters. Match these quotations to the character who says them or whom they refer to.
1 - Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man...
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2 - His slow speech had overtones not of thought but of understanding beyond thought.
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3 - 'I don' like Curley. He ain't a nice fella'.
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4 - He stood crying, his fist lost in Lennie's paw.
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5 - He kept his distance and demanded that other people kept theirs.
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6 - 'I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you.'
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7 - 'I just done it... He had your gun.'
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8 - We gotta house and chickens an' fruit trees an' a place a hundred times prettier that this. An' we got fren's, that's what we got.
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9 - .. the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face.
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10 - 'George wouldn't do nothing like that. He'll come back tonight.'
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In all your study, in coursework, and in exams –
Be aware of the following:
• Characterisation – the characters and how we know about them (e.g. what they say and do, how the author describes them), their relationships, and how they develop.
• Plot and structure – what happens and how it’s organised into parts or episodes, sections or chapters.
• Setting and atmosphere – the changing scene and how it reflects the story (e.g. a rugged landscape and storm or sunshine reflecting a character’s emotional difficulties or feelings).
• Style and language – the author’s choice of words, and literary devices such as imagery, and how these reflect the mood.
• Viewpoint – how the story is told (e.g. through an imaginary narrator, or in the third person but through the eyes of one character – ‘She was furious – how dare he!’).
• Social and historical context – influences on the author.
Develop your ability to:
• Relate detail to broader content, meaning and style.
• Show understanding of the author’s intention’s, technique and meaning (brief and appropriate comparisons with other works by the same author could gain marks).
• Give personal response and interpretation, backed up by examples and short quotations. (PEE)
• Evaluate the author’s achievement (how far does the author succeed, how and why?)
Practise and perfect planning in three stages:
1. Mind Map your ideas without worrying about their order yet.
2. Order the relevant ideas (the ones that relate to your question) by numbering them in the order in which you will write the essay.
3. Gather your evidence and short quotations from the text.
(You could remember this as the MOG technique.)
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