Of Mice And Men

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About the Author

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John Steinbeck was born in 1902 in Salinas, California, a region that became the setting for much of his fiction, including Of Mice and Men. As a teenager, he spent his summers working as a hired hand on neighboring ranches, where his experiences of rural California and its people impressed him deeply.

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The Title

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The title suggests that the best laid plans of mice and en often go wrong, suffering to Robert Burn's poem "To a mouse". This suggests that George and Lennie dream won't come true and the end of the book.

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Random

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Of Mice and Men could be argued to suffer from one- dimensional characters and a deterministic plot, which the renders the lesson of the novel more important than the people in it.

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Setting- Context

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Steinbeck has set 'Of Mice and Men' against the backdrop of the great depression in America. The economic conditions of that time victimized workers like George and Lennie. Lennie and George's quest for land was thwarted by cruel and powerful forces beyond their control (fate)

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Ranch workers

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Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck illustrates how grueling, challenging, and often unrewarding the life of migrant farmers could be. Just as George and Lennie dream of a better life on their own farm.

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LENNIE

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Lennie - A large, lumbering, childlike migrant worker. Due to his mild mental disability, Lennie completely depends upon George, his friend and traveling companion, for guidance and protection. The two men share a vision of a farm that they will own together, a vision that Lennie believes in wholeheartedly. Gentle and kind, Lennie nevertheless does not understand his own strength. His love of petting soft things, such as small animals, dresses, and people’s hair, leads to disaster.

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GEORGE

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George - A small, wiry, quick-witted man who travels with, and cares for, Lennie. Although he frequently speaks of how much better his life would be without his caretaking responsibilities, George is obviously devoted to Lennie. George’s behavior is motivated by the desire to protect Lennie and, eventually, deliver them both to the farm of their dreams. Though George is the source of the often-told story of life on their future farm, it is Lennie’s childlike faith that enables George to actually believe his account of their future.

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CANDY

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Candy - An aging ranch handyman, Candy lost his hand in an accident and worries about his future on the ranch. Fearing that his age is making him useless, he seizes on George’s description of the farm he and Lennie will have, offering his life’s savings if he can join George and Lennie in owning the land. The fate of Candy’s ancient dog, which Carlson shoots in the back of the head in an alleged act of mercy, foreshadows the manner of Lennie’s death.

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CURLEY'S WIFE

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Curley’s wife - The only female character in the novel, Curley’s wife is never given a name and is only mentioned in reference to her husband. The men on the farm refer to her as a “tramp,” a “tart,” and a “looloo.” Dressed in fancy, feathered red shoes, she represents the temptation of female sexuality in a male-dominated world. Steinbeck depicts Curley’s wife not as a villain, but rather as a victim. Like the ranch-hands, she is desperately lonely and has broken dreams of a better life.

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CURLEY

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Curley - The boss’s son, Curley wears high-heeled boots to distinguish himself from the field hands. Rumored to be a champion prizefighter, he is a confrontational, mean-spirited, and aggressive young man who seeks to compensate for his small stature by picking fights with larger men. Recently married, Curley is plagued with jealous suspicions and is extremely possessive of his flirtatious young wife.

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SLIM

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Slim - A highly skilled mule driver and the acknowledged “prince” of the ranch, Slim is the only character who seems to be at peace with himself. The other characters often look to Slim for advice. For instance, only after Slim agrees that Candy should put his decrepit dog out of its misery does the old man agree to let Carlson shoot it. A quiet, insightful man, Slim alone understands the nature of the bond between George and Lennie, and comforts George at the novel’s tragic ending.

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CARLSON

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Carlson - A ranch-hand, Carlson complains bitterly about Candy’s old, smelly dog. He convinces Candy to put the dog out of its misery. When Candy finally agrees, Carlson promises to execute the task without causing the animal any suffering. Later, George uses Carlson’s gun to shoot Lennie

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THE BOSS

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The Boss - The stocky, well-dressed man in charge of the ranch, and Curley’s father. He is never named and appears only once, but seems to be a fair-minded man. Candy happily reports that the boss once delivered a gallon of whiskey to the ranch-hands on Christmas Day.

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WHIT

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A ranch-hand. Teaches the audience in how narrow-minded some of the workers at the ranches could be at that time.

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LENNIE

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He undergoes no significant changes, development, or growth throughout the novel and remains exactly as the reader encounters him in the opening pages. Simply put, he loves to pet soft things, is blindly devoted to George and their vision of the farm, and possesses incredible physical strength. Nearly every scene in which Lennie appears confirms these and only these characteristics

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LENNIE

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. Since the tragedy depends upon the outcome seeming to be inevitable, the reader must know from the start that Lennie is doomed, and must be sympathetic to him. Steinbeck achieves these two feats by creating a protagonist who earns the reader’s sympathy because of his utter helplessness in the face of the events that unfold.

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LENNIE

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Lennie is totally defenseless. He cannot avoid the dangers presented by Curley, Curley’s wife, or the world at large. His innocence raises him to a standard of pure goodness that is more poetic and literary than realistic. His enthusiasm for the vision of their future farm proves contagious as he convinces George, Candy, Crooks, and the reader that such a paradise might be possible. But he is a character whom Steinbeck sets up for disaster, a character whose innocence only seems to ensure his inevitable destruction.

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GEORGE

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Like Lennie, George can be defined by a few distinct characteristics. He is short-tempered but a loving and devoted friend, whose frequent protests against life with Lennie never weaken his commitment to protecting his friend. George’s first words, a stern warning to Lennie not to drink so much lest he get sick, set the tone of their relationship. George may be terse and impatient at times, but he never strays from his primary purpose of protecting Lennie.

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GEORGE

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Unlike Lennie, however, George does change as the story progresses. The reader learns that he is capable of change and growth during his conversation with Slim, during which he admits that he once abused Lennie for his own amusement. From this incident George learned the moral lesson that it is wrong to take advantage of the weak. Of Mice and Men follows him toward a difficult realization that the world is designed to prey on the weak

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GEORGE

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He longs for the day when he can enjoy the freedom to leave work. More important however, is the thought of living in safety and comfort with Lennie, free from people like Curley and Curley’s wife, who seem to exist only to cause trouble for them. Lennie is largely responsible for George’s belief in this safe haven, but eventually the predatory nature of the world asserts itself and George can no longer maintain that belief. By shooting Lennie, George spares his friend the merciless death that would be delivered by Curley’s lynch mob, but he also puts to rest his own dream of a perfect, fraternal world.

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CANDY

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One of the book’s major themes and several of its dominant symbols revolve around Candy. The old handyman, aging and left with only one hand as the result of an accident, worries that the boss will soon declare him useless and demand that he leave the ranch. Of course, life on the ranch—especially Candy’s dog, once an impressive sheep herder but now toothless, foul-smelling, and brittle with age—supports Candy’s fears. Past accomplishments and current emotional ties matter little, as Carson makes clear when he insists that Candy let him put the dog out of its misery. In such a world, Candy’s dog serves as a harsh reminder of the fate that awaits anyone who outlives his usefulness.

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CANDY

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For a brief time, however, the dream of living out his days with George and Lennie on their dream farm distracts Candy from this harsh reality. He deems the few acres of land they describe worthy of his hard-earned life’s savings, which testifies to his desperate need to believe in a world kinder than the one in which he lives. Like George, Candy clings to the idea of having the freedom to take up or set aside work as he chooses. So strong is his devotion to this idea that, even after he discovers that Lennie has killed Curley’s wife, he pleads for himself and George to go ahead and buy the farm as planned

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CURLEY'S WIFE

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Of Mice and Men is not kind in its portrayal of women. In fact, women are treated with contempt throughout the course of the novel. Steinbeck generally depicts women as troublemakers who bring ruin on men and drive them mad. Curley’s wife, who walks the ranch as a temptress, seems to be a prime example of this destructive tendency—Curley’s already bad temper has only worsened since their wedding. Aside from wearisome wives, Of Mice and Men offers limited, rather misogynistic, descriptions of women who are either dead maternal figures or prostitutes.

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CURLEY'S WIFE

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Despite Steinbeck’s rendering, Curley’s wife emerges as a relatively complex and interesting character. Although her purpose is rather simple in the novel’s opening pages—she is the “tramp,” “tart,” and “bitch” that threatens to destroy male happiness and longevity—her appearances later in the novel become more complex. When she confronts Lennie, Candy, and Crooks in the stable, she admits to feeling a kind of shameless dissatisfaction with her life. Her vulnerability at this moment and later—when she admits to Lennie her dream of becoming a movie star—makes her utterly human and much more interesting than the stereotypical vixen in fancy red shoes. However, it also reinforces the novel’s grim worldview. In her moment of greatest vulnerability, Curley’s wife seeks out even greater weaknesses in others, preying upon Lennie’s mental handicap, Candy’s debilitating age, and the color of Crooks’s skin in order to steel herself against harm.

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CROOKS

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Crooks is a lively, sharp-witted, black stable-hand, who takes his name from his crooked back. Like most of the characters in the novel, he admits that he is extremely lonely. When Lennie visits him in his room, his reaction reveals this fact. At first, he turns Lennie away, hoping to prove a point that if he, as a black man, is not allowed in white men’s houses, then whites are not allowed in his, but his desire for company ultimately wins out and he invites Lennie to sit with him. Like Curley’s wife, Crooks is a disempowered character who turns his vulnerability into a weapon to attack those who are even weaker. He plays a cruel game with Lennie, suggesting to him that George is gone for good.

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CROOKS

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Only when Lennie threatens him with physical violence does he relent. Crooks exhibits the corrosive effects that loneliness can have on a person; his character evokes sympathy as the origins of his cruel behavior are made evident. Perhaps what Crooks wants more than anything else is a sense of belonging—to enjoy simple pleasures such as the right to enter the bunkhouse or to play cards with the other men. This desire would explain why, even though he has reason to doubt George and Lennie’s talk about the farm that they want to own, Crooks cannot help but ask if there might be room for him to come along and hoe in the garden.

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QUOTE- A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin’ books or thinkin’ or stuff like that. Sometimes he gets thinkin’, an’ he got nothing to tell him what’s so an’ what ain’t so. Maybe if he sees somethin’, he don’t know whether it’s right or not. He can’t turn to some other guy and ast him if he sees it too. He can’t tell. He got nothing to measure by. I seen things out here. I wasn’t drunk. I don’t know if I was asleep. If some guy was with me, he could tell me I was asleep, an’ then it would be all right. But I jus’ don’t know.

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Crooks speaks these words to Lennie in Section 4, on the night that Lennie visits Crooks in his room. The old stable-hand admits to the very loneliness that George describes in the opening pages of the novel. As a black man with a physical handicap, Crooks is forced to live on the periphery of ranch life. He is not even allowed to enter the white men’s bunkhouse, or join them in a game of cards. His resentment typically comes out through his bitter, caustic wit, but in this passage he displays a sad, touching vulnerability. Crooks’s desire for a friend by whom to “measure” things echoes George’s earlier description of the life of a migrant worker. Because these men feel such loneliness, it is not surprising that the promise of a farm of their own and a life filled with strong, brotherly bonds holds such allure.

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QUOTE-A water snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting its periscope head from side to side; and it swam the length of the pool and came to the legs of a motionless heron that stood in the shallows. A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically.

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The images of the valley and mountains, the climbing sun, and the shaded pool suggest a natural paradise, like the Garden of Eden. The reader’s sense of return to a paradise of security and comfort is furthered by the knowledge that George and Lennie have claimed this space as a safe haven, a place to which they can return in times of trouble.

This paradise, however, is lost. The snake sliding through the water recalls the conclusion of the story of Eden, in which the forces of evil appeared as a snake and caused humanity’s fall from grace. Steinbeck is a master at symbolism, and here he skillfully employs both the snake and heron to emphasize the predatory nature of the world and to foreshadow Lennie’s imminent death.

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METAPHORS/SYMBOLS- CANDY'S DOG

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Candy's Dog: "A dragfooted sheepdog, gray of muzzle, and with pale, blind old eyes" (26), Candy's dog is a far cry from his sheepherding days. Carlson says to Candy, in regard to the dog: "Got no teeth, he's all stiff with rheumatism. He ain't no good to you, Candy. An' he ain't no good to himself. Why'n't you shoot him, Candy?" (49). And Candy is left with no other option, but to shoot his longtime companion. This sub-plot is an obvious metaphor for what George must do to Lennie, who proves to be no good to George and no good to himself. Steinbeck re-emphasizes the significance of Candy's dog when Candy says to George that he wishes someone would shoot him when he's no longer any good. And when Carlson's gun goes off, Lennie is the only other man not inside the bunk house, Steinbeck having placed him outside with the dog, away from the other men, his gun shot saved for the novel's end.

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METAPHORS/SYMBOLS- THE CRIPPLES

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The Cripples: Four of Steinbeck's characters are handicapped: Candy is missing a hand, Crooks has a crooked spine, Lennie is mentally slow, and Curley acquires a mangled hand in the course of the novel. They are physical manisfestations of one of the novel's major themes: the schemes of men go awry. Here, to re-iterate the point, Steinbeck has the actual bodies of his characters go awry. It is as if nature herself is often doomed to errors in her scheme. And whether they be caused at birth, or by a horse, or by another man, the physical deformities occur regardless of the handicapped person's will or desire to be otherwise, just as George and Lennie's dream goes wrong despite how much they want it to be fulfilled.

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METAPHORS/SYMBOLS - SOLITAIRE

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Solitaire: George is often in the habit of playing solitaire, a card game that requires only one person, while he is in the bunk house. He never asks Lennie to play cards with him because he knows that Lennie would be incapable of such a mental task. Solitaire, which means alone, is a metaphor for the loneliness of the characters in the novel, who have no one but themselves. It is also a metaphor for George's desire to be "solitaire," to be no longer burdened with Lennie's company, and his constant playing of the game foreshadows his eventual decision to become a solitary man.

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METAPHORS/SYMBOLS- DEAD MOUSE AND DEAD PUPPY

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The Dead Mouse and the Dead Puppy: These two soft, furry creatures that Lennie accidentally kills are both metaphors and foreshadowing devices. As metaphors, they serve as a physical representation of what will happen to George and Lennie's dream: they (Lennie in particular) will destroy it. Lennie never intends to kill the thing he loves, the soft things he wants more than anything, but they die on him nonetheless. The dead mouse is also an allusion to the novel's title, a reminder that dreams will go wrong, even the desire to pet a mouse. And because bad things come in threes, Lennie's two accidental killings of animals foreshadow the final killing of Curley's wife, an accident that seals his fate and ruins the dream for him, George, and Candy.

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LIGHT IN OF MICE AND MEN

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Steinbeck often refers to light and dark, or sunshine and shadow as symbols and to create atmosphere.

* The poor light inside the bunkhouse and Crooks' room reflect the miserable lives of the ranch workers.

"At about ten o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows, and in and out of the beam flies shot like rushing stars."

* Later the light in the barn resembles the bars in a prison cell. Suggests they're never going to leave the ranch, trapped like in a prison.

"The afternoon sun sliced in through the cracks of the barn walls and lay in bright lines on the hay."

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THEMES- LONELINESS

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Loneliness

'Soledad' The area that Lennie and George are travelling in, which means loneliness in spanish.

'Candy lay still staring at the ceiling' When Candy's ancient, ill dog was shot, Candy has nothing left. He delayed killing the dog, even though he knew deep down that it was the best thing, as he dreaded losing his long-time companion. Candy also knew that the fate of his dog was what was destined for him as he was old and would soon be worthless on the ranch. This relates back to the American Dream showing that just one of the groups that didn't benefit from it was the elderly and the weak.

'You got no right to come in my room' Crooks lives in enforced solitude, away from the other men. He is bitter about being a back-busted nigger. He is thrilled when Lennie and Candy come into his room and are his companions for a night, but first he is protective over the tiny area that he calls his own, although he knows that he will never own something to himself.

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CC

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SCSC

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What do Steinbeck's first descriptions of George and Lennie tell us about thier Characters?

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Steinbeck starts his descriptions of Lennie and George with their practical similarities; “Both were dressed in denim trousers” and “Both wore black shapeless hats” in order to make the contrasts of their personalities and physical appearances even more distinct. To further emphasize their differences Steinbeck juxtaposes his illustration of George “small and quick...sharp strong features” with Lennie’s “shapeless face …with sloping shoulders.” The descriptions sugegsts while George is shrewd and quick Lennie is clumsy. Steinbeck creates vivid imagery of Lennie by comparing him to a bear “dragging his feet a little the way a bear drags his paws” Steinbeck uses another animal comparison when he uses a simile to compare Lennie to a horse, Lennie “drank with long gulps, snorting the water like a horse” Lennie seems to be very child like and constantly needs telling what to do by George.

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Hints about the nature of Lennie and George's relationship

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This first description of the two friends also gives us hints about their relationship “even in the open one stayed behind the other”. George talks to Lennie like he is a child by using a negative imperative “don’t drink so much you gonna be sick like you was last night” The reader gets the sense that Lennie looks up to George when “Lennie, who had been watching imitated George exactly” The way George says to Lennie “You’d think I’d let you carry your own work card” added to Lennie’s behaviour in the clearing gives the reader the impression that Lennie is dependant upon George to look after him. When Lennie remembers what he must do at the new ranch George calls him a “good boy” Further on in section one Lennie is compared to a dog while George is his master with the simile “like a terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball to his master”

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How is the dead mouse of significance?

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The dead mouse in section one is foreshadowing what it to come in the Novel. The fact that the mouse is dead tells us that Lennie is very strong but he is unaware of his own strength. Lennie is a simple minded but meant no harm he only wanted to “Pet it” with his thumb while they walked along. We see that Lennie is not a malicious being. “Jus’ wanted to feel that girl’s dress – jus’ wanted to pet it like a mouse”

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Is George being honest when he says he would be better off without Lennie?

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In section 1 George lays back and says “I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my trail.” I don’t think George really means this. George knows that Lennie is dependant on him for care and although it does sometimes seem like a burden to George in reality George needs Lennie’s company just as much. The novel is set in Soledad meaning lonely in Spanish. George doesn’t want to be a lonely ranch guy stuck in the depression of the 1930s. We see George’s compassion in perhaps one of the most touching lines in this novel “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you.” Their companionship is something rare and beautiful. Lennie and George have a shared dream, which sets them apart from all the other ranch workers and keep them going

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Why does George ask Lennie to farmiliarize himself with the surroundings?

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George asks Lennie to familiarize himself with the setting, again foreshadowing what is to happen in the future “jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right back here an’ hide in the bush” The definition of the word always is: constantly: without variation or change, in every case. George knows that it is certain that Lennie will get in trouble again. He always does, it is inevitable. The phrase “jus happen” is to spare Lennie’s feeling and a sign of George’s deep hope that this will not happen again.

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A* TECHNIQUES

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* You must refer to Steinbeck e.g. don't write 'Lennie is childlike', write 'Steinbeck presents Lennie as childlike.'
* QUOTE always always always and refer to the section, not the page number.(see next card)
* ANALYSE the text e.g. Steinbeck uses repetition/emotive/colloquial language.
* Describe the EFFECT o the reader e.g. This allows the reader to empathise/shocks reader/scares the reader
* Give DETAILS. Don't just say 'Candy is lonely'. Say 'Candy is lonely because although all the other workers would have soon moved onto other jobs, Candy cannot as his age and disability limits him.'
* Give HISTORICAL EVIDENCE e.g. 'This is typical behaviour for the 1930s, as women were often seen as inferior to men'
* Write about Steinbeck's PURPOSE e.g. Steinbeck is calling out for change/He is against discriminatin towards black people and wants other people to share his view.
* EVALUATE your points. e.g 'I think this is a more effective way because the language is so shocking
* Take 5 mins at the start to do a quick plan
* Remember your intro and conclusion

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USEFUL QUOTES

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* 'live of the fatta the lan' '
* 'You got me to look after you and I got you to looks after me'
* 'Had him since he was a pup'
* 'Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. '
* ' if I was alone I could live so easy.'
* I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain't no good.
* 'S'pose George doesn't come back'
* 'Lennie who had been watching, imitated George exactly'
* 'You keep your place then, Nigger
* (about Curley's W) 'rouged lips' 'red mules' 'heavily made up eyes'
* 'way a bear drags his paws'

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SLIM

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Slim is described always in terms of dignity and majesty. When he first comes into the bunkhouse, he moves "with a majesty achieved only by royalty and master craftsmen. He was a jerk-line skinner, the prince of the ranch, capable of driving ten, sixteen, even twenty mules with a single line to the leaders." Slim is tall, ageless, and an expert in his job. His voice is the voice of rationalism. When Carlson suggests killing Candy's dog, Candy appeals to Slim as the final authority.

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SLIM

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Slim is the only one on the ranch who appreciates the difficulty of George's position. He understands the constant oversight George must exercise in watching Lennie and keeping him out of trouble. It is Slim, in the end, who suggests that George did the right thing in killing Lennie mercifully. He explains the alternative: "An s'pose they lock him up an' strap him down and put him in a cage. That ain't no good, George."

Slim is present at every crucial juncture in the story: the death of Candy's dog, the smashing of Curley's hand, finding the body of Curley's wife, at the pool after George has shot Lennie. In each case, there is violence or the threat of it. Each time Slim helps make the assessment to do what is merciful or what is right.

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THEME- DREAMS

GEORGE AND LENNIE

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In fact, the telling of the story, which George has done so often, becomes a ritual between the two men: George provides the narrative, and Lennie, who has difficulty remembering even simple instructions, picks up the refrain by finishing George's sentences.

To George, this dream of having their own place means independence, security, being their own boss, and, most importantly, being "somebody." To Lennie, the dream is like the soft animals he pets: It means security, the responsibility of tending to the rabbits, and a sanctuary where he won't have to be afraid. To Candy, who sees the farm as a place where he can assert a responsibility he didn't take when he let Carlson kill his dog, it offers security for old age and a home where he will fit in. For Crooks, the little farm will be a place where he can have self-respect, acceptance, and security. For each man — George, Lennie, Candy, and Crooks — human dignity is an integral part of the dream.

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THEME- LONLINESS

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Of Mice and Men

By John Steinbeck
Critical Essays
Themes of Of Mice and Men
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Introduction

Much like Steinbeck's short novel The Pearl, Of Mice and Men is a parable that tries to explain what it means to be human. His friend Ed Ricketts shaped Steinbeck's thinking about man's place in the universe. Essentially, man is a very small part of a very large universe; in the greater scheme of things, individuals come and go and leave very little, lasting mark. Yet deep inside all people is a longing for a place in nature — the desire for the land, roots, and a place to call "home." The struggle for such a place is universal, and its success is uncertain.
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In sharing his vision of what it means to be human, Steinbeck touches on several themes: the nature of dreams, the nature of loneliness, man's propensity for cruelty, powerlessness and economic injustices, and the uncertainty of the future.

Nature of Dreams

In essence, Of Mice and Men is as much a story about the nature of human dreams and aspirations and the forces that work against them as it is the story of two men. Humans give meaning to their lives — and to their futures — by creating dreams. Without dreams and goals, life is an endless stream of days that have little connection or meaning. George and Lennie's dream — to own a little farm of their own — is so central to Of Mice and Men that it appears in some form in five of the six chapters. In fact, the telling of the story, which George has done so often, becomes a ritual between the two men: George provides the narrative, and Lennie, who has difficulty remembering even simple instructions, picks up the refrain by finishing George's sentences.

To George, this dream of having their own place means independence, security, being their own boss, and, most importantly, being "somebody." To Lennie, the dream is like the soft animals he pets: It means security, the responsibility of tending to the rabbits, and a sanctuary where he won't have to be afraid. To Candy, who sees the farm as a place where he can assert a responsibility he didn't take when he let Carlson kill his dog, it offers security for old age and a home where he will fit in. For Crooks, the little farm will be a place where he can have self-respect, acceptance, and security. For each man — George, Lennie, Candy, and Crooks — human dignity is an integral part of the dream.

Having and sharing the dream, however, are not enough to bring it to fruition. Each man must make a sacrifice or battle some other force that seeks, intentionally or not, to steal the dream away. Initially, the obstacles are difficult but not insurmountable: staying out of trouble, not spending money on liquor or in bordellos, and working at the ranch long enough to save the money for a down payment. But greater obstacles soon become apparent. Some of these obstacles are external (the threat from Curley's wife and Curley's violence, for example, as well as the societal prejudices that plague each man); others are internal (such as Lennie's strength and his need to touch soft things). For George, the greatest threat to the dream is Lennie himself; ironically, it is Lennie who also makes the dream worthwhile.

Loneliness

In addition to dreams, humans crave contact with others to give life meaning. Loneliness is present throughout this novel. On the most obvious level, we see this isolation when the ranch hands go into town on Saturday night to ease their loneliness with alcohol and women. Similarly, Lennie goes into Crook's room to find someone with whom to talk, and later Curley's wife comes for the same reason. Crooks says, "A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you." Even Slim mentions, "I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain't no good. They don't have no fun. After a long time they get mean."

George's taking care of Lennie and the dream of the farm are attempts to break the pattern of loneliness that is part of the human condition. Similarly, Lennie's desire to pet soft things comes from his need to feel safe and secure, to touch something that gives him that feeling of not being alone in the world. For Lennie, the dream of the farm parallels that security.

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THEME- LONLINESS

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Steinbeck reinforces the theme of loneliness in subtle and not so subtle ways. In the vicinity of the ranch, for example, is the town of Soledad. The town's name, not accidentally, means "solitude" or "alone." Also, the others' reactions to George and Lennie traveling together reinforces that, in Steinbeck's world, traveling with someone else is unusual. When George and Lennie arrive at the ranch, four other characters — the boss, Candy, Crooks, and Slim — all comment on the suspicious nature of two guys traveling together. This companionship seems strange and, according to at least the boss and Curley, the relationship is sexual or exploitative financially.

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NATURE

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Steinbeck also uses nature images to reinforce his themes and to set the mood. In Chapter 1, for example, before Lennie and George get to the ranch, George decides they will stay at the pond overnight. This pool is a place of primeval innocence, a sanctuary away from the world of humans. If Lennie gets in trouble, it is the place to which he should return. In this scene, nature is a place of safety, a haven from the troubles of the world.

When Lennie returns to the pond in the last scene, nature is not so tranquil. The sun has left the valley, and a heron captures and swallows a water snake "while its tail waved frantically." The wind now rushes and drives through the trees in gusts, and the dry leaves fall from the sycamore. Instead of a place of happiness, dream retelling, and fellowship — as it was at the beginning — the pond is now a place of loneliness, fear, and death. Here, nature reflects the mood of the human world. Steinbeck's thoughts on man's relationship to the land is a motif throughout his writing.

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CHARACTERS

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George and Lennie are the only two characters in the novel who are explained in any detail. The other characters are all "types," or people whom the reader might recognize as one of a certain group. Even the names of the characters, short and descriptive, say something about them. Lennie Small, for instance, is anything but small physically, and other characters seem to notice and comment on that. His brain is small and his ability to reason is small, but his body is huge and very powerful. Curley's wife has no name, indicating her powerless position on the ranch.

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CHARACTERS

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Each of the characters represents a kind of person in American society and often one that is a victim of discrimination. For example, Crooks represents a segment of American society that is discriminated against because of race; Curley's wife, because of gender; Candy, because of old age and physical handicap. Carlson is a perfect example of a selfish oaf, interested only in his creature comforts and oblivious to any one else's feelings. Slim is the consummate example of understanding and gentleness beneath a wise and experienced exterior. The pugnacious Curley is the little guy who loves to flaunt his power and status. Each of these minor characters impact, negatively or positively, Lennie and George's dream of having their own farm.