Animals

Question 1

Candy’s dog

Answer 1

• slim ‘studying’ dog deciding its worth
• ‘that dog ain’t no good’ — he’s lost all sense of value about the dog because it’s no longer useful to the ranch
• ‘I wisht somebody’d shoot me if I got old an’ a cripple’

Question 2

Lennie’s descriptions

Answer 2

‘Dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws’
—> shows his strength that he doesn’t realises he possess
—> his reliance on George and incompetence is that similar to an animal kept in captivity. He can’t sustain himself and be on his own - ‘If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are, we won’t get no job,‘
—> further emphasising the absurdity of prejudice against neurodivergent people in 1930s. Treating them as if they aren’t even human, as emphasised through Steinbecks imagery around Lennie.

Question 3

Lennie killing animals and then Curley’s wife

Answer 3

• ‘her body flopped like a fish’
• Lennie has been killing animals throughout the entire novella who had no prospects for any significant life, e.g. mice or puppies
• this similar logic can be reflected in Curley’s wife through the simile comparing her to a fish (again an insignificant animal)
• Metaphorically it shows the restrictions and futility of life for women during 1930s society.
• It was almost as impossible for a woman to make any significant future for herself as it would be for a fish.
• The prejudice and oppression in society has reduced women so far that their insignificance is equating to a fish.