Info: Of Mice and Men Flashcards
About 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.
the Great Depression:
On October 29 1929, millions of dollars were wiped out in an event that became known as the Wall Street Crash. It led to the Depression in America which crippled the country from 1930 - 1936. People lost their life savings when firms and banks went bust, and 12 - 15 million men and women - one third of America’s population - were unemployed.
Results of the Great depression?
- There was then no dole to fall back on, so food was short and the unemployed in cities couldn’t pay their rent. Some ended up in settlements called ‘Hoovervilles’ (after the US president of the time, Herbert C Hoover), in shanties made from old packing cases and corrugated iron.
- A song about an unemployed man meeting an old friend he has fought alongside in the First World War and asking him for a dime (the price of a cup of coffee) summed up the national mood.
Migrant Framers?
- Added to the man-made financial problems were natural ones. A series of droughts in southern mid-western states like Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas led to failed harvests and dried-up land. Farmers were forced to move off their land: they couldn’t repay the bank-loans which had helped buy the farms and had to sell what they owned to pay their debts.
- Many economic migrants headed west to ‘Golden’ California, thinking there would be land going spare, but the Californians turned many back, fearing they would be over-run. The refuges had nowhere to go back to, so they set up home in huge camps in the California valleys - living in shacks of cardboard and old metal - and sought work as casual farmhands.
Ranch hands?
Against this background, ranch hands like George and Lennie were lucky to have work. Ranch hands were grateful for at least a bunk-house to live in and to have food provided, even though the pay was low.
Plot of 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.
Plot of chapter 2?
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.
plot of chapter 3?
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.
Plot of chapter 4?
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 sceptical, 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.
Plot of chapter 5?
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.
Plot of 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.
George Milton?
He is a small man, but has brains and a quick wit.
He has been a good friend to Lennie, ever since he promised Lennie’s Aunt Clara that he would care for him. He looks after all Lennie’s affairs, such as carrying his work card, and tries to steer him out of potential trouble.
He needs Lennie as a friend, not only because Lennie’s strength helps to get them both jobs, but so as not to be lonely. His threats to leave Lennie are not really serious. He is genuinely proud of Lennie.
He shares a dream with Lennie to own a piece of land and is prepared to work hard to build up the money needed to buy it.
“…with us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack ‘jus because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.”
He is honest with people he trusts. For example, he tells Slim that he used to play tricks on Lennie when they were young, but now feels guilty about it as Lennie nearly drowned.
Lennie Small?
He is a big man, in contrast to his name.
He has limited intelligence, so he relies on George to look after him. He copies George in everything George does and trusts George completely.
“Behind him (George) walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely.”
He shares a dream with George to own a piece of land. Lennie’s special job would be to tend the rabbits.
He likes to pet soft things, like puppies and dead mice. We know this got him into trouble in Weed when he tried to feel a girl’s soft red dress: she thought he was going to attack her.
He can be forgetful - George continually has to remind him about important things.
He is very gentle and kind, and would never harm anyone or anything deliberately.
He is extremely strong: he can work as well as two men at bucking barley.
He is often described as a child or an animal - he drinks from the pool like a horse and his huge hands are described as paws.
Slim?
Slim is the jerkline skinner (lead mule-team driver) at the ranch. He is excellent at his job.
He is the natural leader at the ranch. Everyone respects his views and looks up to him.
He has a quiet dignity: he doesn’t need to assert himself to have authority.
“there was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talked stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love.”
He understands the relationship between George and Lennie. He helps George at the end and reassures George that he did the right thing.
We know little else about him, which gives him a slightly mysterious quality. Do you think he is too good to be true?
Curley?
Curley is the boss’s son, so he doesn’t need to work like the ordinary ranch hands, and he has time to kill.
He’s little - so he hates big guys.
He is a prize-fighter and looks for opportunities for a fight.
“He glanced coldly at George and then at Lennie. His arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists. He stiffened and went into a slight crouch. His glance was at once calculating and pugnacious.”
He is newly-married and is very possessive of his wife - but he still visits brothels.
There is a rumour that he wears a glove filled with Vaseline to keep his hand soft for his wife.
