Of Mice and Men

You should spend 40 minutes on this question.

You must consider the context of the novel in your answer.

AO1 - Demonstrate a close knowledge and understanding of texts, maintaining a critical style and presenting an informed personal engagement. (20 marks)

AO4 - Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written. (20 marks)

• Assured knowledge and understanding of the text.

• The response shows assured personal engagement and a perceptive critical style.

• Understanding of the relationship between text and context is integrated convincingly into the response.

• Discriminating use of relevant examples in support.

George

First Impression:

George's character and personality is immediately revealed in his introduction.
George's physical description could also suggest how he is inside: 'small' suggesting that he just needs small, simple things to be happy and 'quick' suggesting that he is clever and alert.
George's 'dark' face suggests that he works outside in the sun, but it could also hint that he has 'dark' moods. His 'restless eyes' could suggest that he is alert and his mood can change quickly.
The fact that he was 'defined' means that you can see his features clearly and accurately perhaps suggesting that, unlike Lennie, he also sees the world clearly and accurately.
Steinbeck's descriptions of hands often reveal aspects of character. Here, 'small' could suggest George is insignificant in the world but he is also 'strong' and can work.
The description suggests that George is physically and mentally strong and agile. Although he is just an ordinary guy, the description suggests that he is clever and determined to survive.

Lennie

First Impression:

Lennie’s character and personality is immediately revealed in his introduction.
Lennie is described as ‘huge’, in contrast to George. His size is also emphasized by the fact that he is described after George.
‘Shapeless’ refers to Lennie’s face but it could also imply that he is an unknown quantity and therefore unpredictable.
Again, this description emphasizes Lennie’s size but ‘sloping’ and ‘dragging’ also suggests that he is slow, mentally and physically.
Lennie is likened to ‘the way a bear drags his paws’. He is big and strong and potentially dangerous.
The description of Lennie contrasts to that of George. We get the impression that although he is big and strong, he is not very clever and could be dangerous.
People with mental health issues at the time were potentially vulnerable and were viewed as a burden on society. BREAK
Lennie is a dreamer, that believes in the American Dream.
George’s voice became ‘deeper’ and ‘he repeated his words rhythmically’ when talking to Lennie about the dream.
This reveals how important the dream is to Lennie, as he has been told about it many times by George.
Lennie wants ‘different colour rabbits’, and the ‘rabbits’ symbolize a simpler, peaceful life, and the varied colours illustrates the freedom which Lennie desires.
However, the dream is difficult to come true because of Lennie's mental illness causing him to get into trouble, which seems likely to happen again.
Also, they're financial insolvency and social struggles mean they will never get a high pay, especially during the Great Depression.
The American Dream is a natural ethos of US in which freedom includes a promise of possibility and success.
During America's Great Depression, many people lost their jobs and life savings.
Therefore, the concept of dreaming of a better existence became an important part of surviving and persevering. BREAK
Lennie is dependent on George. He is aware of this and deeply cares for George.
Lennie relies very heavily on the guidance of George, always following his lead.
This can be seen through the way the two characters walk, with George ahead and Lennie following from behind as they walk in 'single file'.
Lennie also relies on George to get him out of trouble, which is evident when Lennie waits for George to say 'Get 'im Lennie' before retaliating.
Although Lennie isn't always able to control himself and therefore often finds himself in trouble, upsetting George is one of his biggest worries.
Whenever Lennie does something that he realises is 'bad', his first worry is that George will be 'mad' at him.
During the Great Depression, it was very unlikely for two people to be going around together, so Lennie is very lucky to have George for companionship. BREAK
Although Lennie has immense physical strength, he can't control it. We can see that he doesn't have the same emotional capacity as others and can lash out.
At the beginning, Lennie accidentally kills the mouse he has been petting in his pocket, and he seems to have a history of killing mice: 'you always killed 'em'
Lennie also kills the puppy that Slim gives him by playing with it too roughly, telling the pup 'I didn't bounce you hard'
Lennie breaks Curley's wife's neck while trying to make her stop screaming, and her body had 'flopped like a fish', showing Lennie's excessive strength.
Although Steinbeck presents Lennie as a good-natured character, there are a few times when we see flashes of aggression in his behaviour.
For example, Lennie shows aggressiveness towards Crooks as he 'grew mad' and 'walked dangerously', when Crooks suggests George has abandoned him.
Though Lennie is physically strong, he is weak mentally which could foreshadow his death in the time when the fittest had the best chance of survival.

Curley

First Impression:

Curley’s character and personality is immediately revealed in his introduction.
Curley fills this ‘work glove’ with Vaseline to keep his hand soft for his wife. This could represent a secret side of Curley, perhaps showing his insecurities. He wants to protect his hand like he wants to preserve his image.
Curley’s ‘high heeled boots’ show his status as the Boss’ son, but also represent his insecurities, as he is not very tall.
Curley comes across as being ‘cold’ and uncaring. ‘Glanced’ could suggest that he feels uneasy, he doesn’t look them in the eye at first.
This description shows Curley is aggressive and looking for a fight. ‘Gradually’ suggests his anger builds up slowly and he is unable to control it.
Curley is the villain in this novel. He comes across as being unfriendly and aggressive, but he might be like this because he feels he has to prove himself.

Candy

First Impression:

Candy’s character and personality is immediately revealed in his introduction.
‘Tall’ suggests that Candy used to be big and strong like Lennie, but ‘stoop-shouldered’ suggests that he is no longer as fit and able as he used to be.
Candy’s clothes are plain and functional as he is ‘dressed in blue jeans’, there is nothing special about the way he looks. This suggests he is just an ordinary man.
The ‘broom’ is mentioned twice in this description to emphasise that he is the ‘swamper’ and has to clean up after everyone else.
Candy’s lost one of his hands – ‘a round stick-like wrist, but no hand’. This reinforces the idea that Candy is no longer the man he used to be. He can’t do the type of ranch work he used to and has been demoted to cleaning the ranch.
Candy represents what will happen to the men on the ranch. He represents the opposite of the American Dream – that instead of working to make their lives better, they’ll work till they can’t work anymore. Ironically, it was his job that left him without his hand.

Curley’s Wife

First Impression:

Her character and personality is immediately revealed in her introduction.
‘Sunshine’ and light can be seen to represent hope. Curley’s Wife blocks the light, and later in the novel, destroys George and Lennie’s hope of having a farm.
‘Wide-spaced eyes’ suggests that Curley’s wife is still young and innocent, while ‘heavily made up’ could suggest that she is trying to hide that innocence and look more mature and sexually attractive.
‘Red’ is repeated and can be seen to represent sexuality and danger. On the ranch, she is seen as being dangerous because she is sexually attractive.
In ancient Egyptian mythology, ‘ostrich feathers’ represent truth and justice, so Curley’s wife could be truthful and harmless.
Curley’s wife is portrayed as being flirtatious and sexually dangerous. She is the reason that the dream is destroyed. However, she comes across as being quite innocent and naïve later on in the novel, which could also make her dangerous.

Slim

First Impression:

Slim’s character and personality is immediately revealed in his introduction.
‘Majesty’ and ‘royalty’ could show he is the leader and compared to a ‘prince’.
His ‘ageless’ face means Slim is seen like a God-like figure. He is ‘ageless’ and seems to understand things instinctively.
His ‘large and lean’ hands show that he is strong and hardworking. This could also suggest an emotional or spiritual strength.
His hands are also ‘delicate’, suggesting he is sensitive and careful.
Slim is the leader of the men. He is strong and hardworking but also sensitive and caring. Everyone else seems to look up to him as a God-like figure or ‘prince’.

Crooks

First Impression:

Crooks’ character and personality is immediately revealed in his introduction.
Crooks is crippled with his body ‘bent over to the left’. Steinbeck portrays him this way to make the reader feel sorry for him. However, his ‘crooked spine’ could also represent his crooked character as he’s mean to Lennie at first.
When it is mentioned ‘his eyes lay deep in his head’, it could show he usually keeps thoughts to himself so his true feelings rarely get the chance to come out.
The ‘glitter’ in Crooks’ spine and their ‘intensity’ could suggest that he is very clever, but also that his feelings are extreme because he can’t speak openly.
Crooks’ lips are ‘pain tightened’ because he is in physical pain, but this could also show the pain of loneliness and not being able to speak to anyone openly.
Crooks represents racial inequality in America but he is not a sympathetic character. He has become bitter and twisted because of his loneliness.

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