Summary Of Chapter One Of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

The most meaningful word mentioned in chapter one of the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was work. In the text, two migrant farmers, George and Lennie, and traveling across the country in order to find job opportunities; opportunities that have the capability to drive the men to keep proceeding on their long adventure. Even in times of loneliness and despair, the men remain optimistic as they confide in each other and share their dreams of the future. For instance, Lennie had repeatedly stated that he would have liked ketchup on his beans; an impossibility in their situation. After a while, George could no longer handle the extreme exasperation Lennie was enforcing onto him. This caused him to lash out on Lennie, leaving him feeling …show more content…
The story is centered around two migrant farmers; Lennie, who has a mental illness, and George, who has to put up with Lennie’s nonsense. For instance, Lennie enjoys capturing mice and petting them until they eventually die from the pressure. And although this is seemingly morbid, this process helps Lennie deal with his intense feelings of sadness and loneliness. George, however, does not understand Lennie’s motives, refuses to let Lennie keep any of his dead mice, and demands that the mice are to be thrown into the bushes by saying “give me that mouse” (Steinbeck). These disagreements often lead to arguments and hurt feelings as the conflict between the two men slowly increase. Throughout this chapter, the men are fighting and Lennie even claimed that he’d be willing to leave George and move into a cave where he can collect all the mice he possibly can. As migrant farmers discarded from society, the men must stick together in order to escape their lonesomeness. If the men continue to fight in this way, they may never be able to fulfill their dreams. This is why the most significant phrase in chapter one of the novel Of Mice and Men is “give me that mouse” (Steinbeck