Of Mice and Men - Characters Flashcards
Which two characters do not face loneliness?
George and Lennie. They have each other.
What animal associations is Lennie given?
That he is like a bear and a domestic dog.
Which characters face disability discrimination?
Crooks and Candy
Describe Curley.
Curley is the ranch owner’s son.
He is aggressive and once was a semi-professional boxer.
He has a jealous nature, and immidiately takes a dislike to Lennie.
He thinks he owns his wife, and can decide what she can and can’t do.
Describe Curley’s wife.
She is young and pretty but is only referred to as a ‘tart’ by the other men and is mistrusted by her husband.
She is only looking for friendship, she like the other men feels a terrible amount of loneliness.
None of the other men will talk to her for fear of Curley and their livelihoods; remember, a lot of the men would be unable to find another job - due to disability/age discrimination and also the lack of jobs caused by The American Dream.
She has no female friends on the ranch.
Like George and Lennie, she also has a dream, to be a movie star.
Describe Slim.
Slim is described as the “jerk line skimmer” and “prince of the ranch”. He’s wise and humane and is the only one who truly understands George and Lennie’s bond.
Slim is the judge, and holds the balance of right and wrong. He is the main decision maker.
He is a man of few words, though the words he says often convey this message, such as how he comforts George after his tough decision.
How much are each of the characters described, and what effect does this have?
George and Lennie are the only two characters who have lots of description.
Curley’s wife also gets quite a bit of description, which is Steinbeck’s way of showing that women are being unfairly objectified.
Everyone else doesn’t get much description, this makes the reader categorize them all as one group, workers.
What does Lennie’s name say about him?
His full name is Lennie Small, which is quite ironic considering he’s actually anything but small.
What is small isn’t his physical self, it’s his brain, and his inability to reason.
What does Curley’s wife’s name say about her?
That she is powerless, and a possession of Curley.
Only Lennie gets to hear the real story about Curley’s wife, and that’s the only time we actually hear who she really is.
Which characters face which discrimination factors?
Crooks represents race discrimination/disability discrimination.
Curley’s wife represents gender discrimination.
Candy represents old age/disability discrimination.
Carlson represents a selfish oaf, only interested in himself and oblivious to other’s feelings.
Slim is understanding, gentle and wise.
Curley loves to flaunt his power and status.
Every minor character has an impact on Lennie and George’s dream in some way.
