GCSE English Literature : Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

• John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California in 1902.
• 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.
• 

Plot

• 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.
• Of Mice and Men
• CHARACTERS IN OF MICE AND MEN
• George- Of mice and men

Chapter 2 & 3

• (II)
• 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.
• (III)
• 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 & 5

• (IV)
• 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 skeptical, 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.
• (V)
• 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.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCM-sEpyh1Q (Incorporar)

Test your Knowledge

• Of Mice and men-Prejudice
• 8. Why is Lennie's death George's tragedy and not Lennie's?
• Of Mice and Men - Characters
• Of Mice and Men - Curleys Wife
• 'Of Mice and Men' sample essay!
• Of Mice and Men - How characters are portrayed