Characters

Question 1

George

Answer 1

• Short-tempered but loving friend to Lennie==> first words to Lennie==> not to drink too much water otherwise he’ll be sick
• Character evolution==> George use to abuse Lennie for fun==> learned that it is wrong to advantage of the weak
• Beginning of the story==> George is an idealist because he believes in the farm dream
• End of the story==> by shooting Lennie, puts to rest the idea of a fraternal world

Question 2

Lennie

Answer 2

• Least dynamic character
• Loves to pet soft things, incredible physical strength
• Totally defenseless==> innocence==> pure goodness
• Lennie is doomed from the beginning==> inevitable destruction

Question 3

Candy

Answer 3

• Old handyman with one hand due to an accident
• Death of Candy’s dog==> reminder of anyone who outlives his usefulness
• As idealistic as George and Lennie==> dreams of the farm

Question 4

Curley’s wife

Answer 4

• Troublemaker, temptress who brings ruin on men
• Red=colour of the devil
• Admits her dream of becoming a movie star==> makes her human

Question 5

Crooks

Answer 5

• Black man with a crooked back
• Not allowed in the white men’s bunker==> loneliness
• Need of belonging

Question 6

Slim

Answer 6

• “Jerkline skinner”, national figure of authority
• Professional skill, strength of character
• Contrast with Curley
• Ignores racist prohibition
• Natural order==> Slim ought to rank highest

Question 7

Curley

Answer 7

• Boss’ son==> representative of the land owning class
• Insecure==> wears “high-heeled boots” to lessen his small stature, picks fights with men twice his size
• Suggests that the land-owning class is not as a strong as it seems

Question 8

Carlson

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

The Boss

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

Aunt Clara

Answer 10

Lennie’s aunt, who cared for him until her death, does not actually appear in the work except at the end, as a vision chastising Lennie for causing trouble for George. By all accounts, she was a kind, patient woman who took good care of Lennie and gave him plenty of mice to pet.

Question 11

Whit

Answer 11

A ranch-hand