MICE OF MEN

IntroShows what life was like during the great depression.In 1929 American Stock Market crashed, thousands who invested in shares lost their money.Many banks shut down, no one could afford to buy things. Lack of demand meant that millions of people ended up unemployed.Great depression hit farmers badly, many were forced to leave their homes and move to other areas to find work.

GEORGE:Small, fairly intelligent itinerant worker.

LENNIE:Big, strong slow-witted man. Likes stroking soft things: mice, puppies

CANDYOld, one handed rancher. Sweeps bunk house. Has a old smelly dog.

CROOKSCrippled man who's picked on because he's black (prejudice).

SLIMMost respected man on ranch. Everyone looks up to him.

CURLEYSmall, aggressive. Hates big guys (Lennie). Boss's son, no one likes him.

Curley's Wife (No name)Young, pretty and a bit of a flirt. Hates her life on the ranch and is very lonely.

CARLSONInsensitive and aggressive rancher. He's always complaining and stirring up trouble.

CHAPTER ONEThe calm before the stormGeorge and Lennie at pool before starting work at new ranch. George is annoyed with Lennie as they left in a hurry from their last job. Turns out Lennie has a bit of a habit of getting into trouble. Lennie persuades George to tell him about their DREAM FARM. Sounds like a really nice place.CHAPTER TWOIntroductionsGeorge and Lennie arrive at ranch late, making the boss angry. Candy explains to George and Lennie how life is at the ranch. George and Lennie met all the main people: Curley, his wife and Slim.CHAPTER THREEDreams and a Dead dogGeorge chats to Slim, find more about George and Lennie's background and what happened in Weed (Lennie getting into trouble). Carlson wants to shoot Candy's dog as its no longer useful and smells. Candy is eventually forced into agreeing and Carlson takes the dog away and shoots it. George and Lennie start talking about their dream farm , Candy overhears and asks to join them offering them his money. Curley starts a fight with Lennie. Lennie crushes Curley's hand but Slim convinces Curley to say it got caught in a machine. CHAPTER FOURThe dream is spoiledLennie wanders into Crook's room. At first Crooks tries getting rid of him but ends up letting him stay. Candy joins them, feeling very uncomfortable being in Crook's room. End up talking about George and Lennie's dream farm. Curley's wife comes in and spoils party. When Candy stands up to her she starts to undermine their hopes and dreams. Other men return from town and Curley's wife leaves. George tells Lennie off for going to Crook's room and telling others about their dream farm. Crook not interested in the farm anyway.

CHAPTER FIVEA dead girl and a dead dreamLennie is in the barn accidentally kills his puppy. Curley's wife finds him and they talk about their dreams. Curley's wife wants to be a movie star. Both find something in common: soft things. Curley's wife lets Lennie stroke her hair, but she gets angry when he strokes it too hard. Lennie panics and breaks her neck. She dies. Lennie runs away and Candy finds Curley's wife in the barn. The other men decide to hunt Lennie down.CHAPTER SIXGeorge kills his best friendLennie goes back to the pool as told by George. Lennie sees his Aunt Clara and giant rabbit who start lecturing him about his faults. George finds Lennie by the pool. He calms Lennie down by telling him about the dream. George knows Curley wants to kill Lennie in a really painful way so he shoots Lennie himself before the other men arrive.

In the 1920s Americas economy was booming until in 1929 it went bust. This led to a high level of unemployment, poverty and homelessness. Life if a travelling farm worker was hard. Most travelled to California where climate and soil was better for farming. They could only carry what they could on their backs. Travelling farm workers moved from farm to farm looking for work. In return they got a bed, food and a small wage. George and Lennie are a examples. Hollywood was on the rise int he 1920s and 1930s. Many people dreamed of becoming film stars (Curley's wife). American society at the times was racist. Crooks is treated badly in the novel. His experience was the typical life of black men in America. Racist language was very common. Prejudice is a major theme: Crooks, Candy, Curley's wife and Lennie are all discriminated against by others. 

American DreamGeorge and Lennie dream of owning a piece of land. This is their version of the American Dream. The novel is full of pessimism which reflects the mood of American society at the time. Dreams are important to several characters: George and Lennie dream of living "off the fatta the lan'" . Curley's wife dreams that she could have "been in the movies. an' had nice clothes" 

George is Loyal to Lennie.LOYAL:  ' I want you to stay with me Lennie'PESSIMISTIC: ' I think i knowed from the very first. i think i knowed we'd never do her'CARING: ' I ain't gonna let 'em hurt Lennie' George is Lennie's minder and instructor. Always tells Lennie what to do and how to behave, helps Lennie stay out of trouble, and helps sort things out if they have problems such as in Weed. Lennie relies on George for almost everything even the basics such as getting a job and finding food. George isn't always good to Lennie he told him to jump into a river and had to save him from drowning after. He tells Slim that he'll never do anything like that again; realises  his mistake and learns from it. George often shouts at  him and calls him mean things such as 'Crazy bastard'Even when he kills Lennie George is loyal as he knows it'll be kinder to kill Lennie while he's imagining their dream farm than to let Curley shoot him painfully in 'his guts'. George has no problems when he's on his own without Lennie. Smart, clever as far as finding work is concerned. Often says he'd be better off alone and sometimes seems this is better than pursuing his dream farm with Lennie. "If i was alone i could live so easily. i could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble." George  feels responsible for Lennie. Lennie gives him companionship and lets him believe that the dream of owning a farm could come true.George is a realistic character.When he lies under the stars in chapter one he seems happy: 'Tonight I'm gonna lay right here and look up. I like it.' Enjoys most things other normal people would such as being free from work.Steinbeck also persuades the reader to feel sympathy for George. He calls Lennie a 'Poor bastard' even when he's just about to tell him off. This makes it clear to the reader that George tells Lennie off for his own good.George is aggressive. When Candy tries to get involved in their dream. George is very defensive: 'You got nothing to do with us.' His hatred for Curley means he order Lennie to fight back against him, even though this could get Lennie into a lot of trouble. Starts off defensive when he's talking to Slim. When Slim comments that it's unusual that George and Lennie travel together, George gets angry with him. (Doesn't like people getting involved into his personal life.) Often angry with Lennie when he's frustrated. Good at reading people. Realises that Curley is a person to avoid. George hates Curley almost the second he sees him because he's aggressive towards them especially to Lennie. Doesn't like Curley's wife: 'I seen 'em poison before.' Warns Lennie to stay away from her as he seems that she will be the one who causes trouble. Quickly trusts Slim and tells him about what happened in Weed: 'You wouldn' tell?... No, ' course you wouldn'.'Also good at reading situations. Agrees with Lennie that the ranch isn't a good place to be: 'I don't like it'. Realises after meeting Curley and his wife that things could go wrong for them but they've 'gotta stay' to save some money.Dreams keep him going. George isn't in control of his own life. Has to find work wherever he can and work for people he doesn't respect or want to work with such as Curley. Also can't control Lennie's unpredictable behavior. George often recites the dream just to keep Lennie happy. When he's talking about it with Lennie and Candy in chapter three he repeats: 'I bet we could swing her'. and he gets 'entranced' with his picture of the farm.George is free of Lennie at the end just like he wanted to be as he could 'Live so easy'. He'll be lonely without Lennie though.  Themes: Loneliness: George tells Slim that lonely men 'get mean' and want to 'fight all the time'. George's aggression hints to the reader that he's quite close to being like this. His friendship with Lennie seems to be the only thing stopping him.Destiny: For George the dream is about being in charge of his own destiny hes tired of drifting through life being under other people's commands.Writer's Technique: George is the HERO in the novel but he's just a ordinary man in an ordinary situation, making it easier for the reader to identify with him and to understand why he does things like telling Lennie off. 

CHILDLIKE: 'He's jes' like a kid'STRONG: 'Strong as a bull'LIKE A ANIMAL: 'Lennie covered his face with his huge paws and bleated with terror'Lennie is a likeable character. He's both villain and victim, caring and destructive. He is a very complex character. Huge, grown man but very childlike. Powerful man with huge hands which makes him a brilliant farm labourer. Grown up physically, but mentally he's still like a child. Lennie's innocent and asks lots of innocent things. Slim immediately sees that Lennie 'ain't mean'. Lennie's condition is never explained in the novel, he's called a 'dum-dum' by Curley's wife and Slim thinks he's 'Cuckoo' but George denies that he's insane. He likes to stroke and 'pet' soft things like mice, puppies and Curley's wife's hair. He's like a child with a stuffed toy. He identifies with animals. He looks like a bear, and walks like one: he drags his feet 'the way a bear drags his paws'. He also eats and drinks like a hungry animal. Very possessive over his animals. Never wants to let them out of his sight like a child with a favourite toy. Lennie's a bit like George's pet. Follows George around and relies on him to find food. Also obeys George at the pool he brings George the mouse like a terrier who doesn't want to bring a ball to its master'. George treats Lennie like a pet aswell he orders him around and uses his strength to get them jobs. In the end he treats Lennie the same way that Candy treats his dog. He shoots him in the head for his own good. Dependent on George in both body and mind. George has looked after Lennie since Lennie's Aunt Clara died. Lennie couldn't survive on his own, although he is animal-like but unlike an animal he won't be able to survive on his own. Lennie has one practical skill he is a good worker. Slim says ' There ain't nobody can keep up with him;. This is very useful for George because it helps him get a job. George and Lennie are a perfect match as George has the brains and Lennie has the strength. Lennie is clever at times. Lennie knows that George would feel guilty about leaving him and he uses this to get his own way: When George is unkind to him in Chapter one he threatens to go and 'find a cave'. When George persuades him not to, Lennie uses this 'advantage' to get George to tell him about their dream farm. Lennie is a killer. Even though he's the gentlest character in the novel he likes to stroke soft things but he's also the most destructive. Lennie is dangerous and violent he attacks Curley and Curley's wife kills mice and throws his dead puppy across the barn. IT's fear that makes Lennie hold onto Curley's wife When she first starts struggling against him Lennie's 'in a panic' and he cries 'with fright'. Lennie's fear tends to turn into anger. Steinbeck tells us twice that Lennie is 'angry' with Curley's wife. He's angry that he shakes her to death. Reader feels sorry for him. Lennie isn't mean he doesn't want to cause pain. The reader can't help feeling that it's not Lennie's fault when he hurts animals and people. It's George who tells him to 'get' Curley and he kills the animals and Curley's wife because he can't control his own strength. George explains to Slim that when Curley attacked Lennie he was 'jus' scairt' and he didn't know what to do. In Weed, Lennie held onto the girl's dress because 'that's the only thing he can think to do'. Slims says he can see that Lennie 'ain't a bit mean.' Slim's the wisest and most trusted character in the novel, so the reader is likely to end up agreeing that Lennie doesn't hurt anything or anyone on purposeTheme:DESTINY: Lennie's violence gets worse through the novel. This gives the reader the impression that he's destined to seriously hurt someone one day. 

Intro Character

Plot summary

America in 1930s

CP George

CP Lennie