Section One Flashcards
“B h b t w c w d f t h i t e t j-u n w.”
“Beaten hard by tramps who come wearily down from the highway in the evening to jungle-up near water.”
This description of the path in the opening describes exactly what Lennie and George do. Implies that it is nothing out of the ordinary but also that they are “tramps.”
“S a q, d o f, w r e a s, s f.”
“Small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features.”
The first description of George paints him to be intelligent and fit - but with an underlying sorrow
“H o”
“His opposite”
Steinbeck’s first description of Lennie.
“H w h, d h f a l, t w a b d h p.”
“He walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.”
Steinbeck often uses animal imagery to describe Lennie. Here he uses it to make Lennie seem dum and lumbering.
“S i t w l a h.”
“Snorting into the water like a horse.”
More animal imagery. Lennie is often compared to powerful animals at their least glamorous.
“H b p.”
“His big paw”
Lennie has huge hands.
“R w a t p t o s a c b a.”
“Rings widened across the pool to the other side and came back again.”
Cyclical imagery. Everything in OMAM appears to come around again.
“I G e […] l o t G t s w h h i j r.”
“Imitated George exactly […] looked over to George to see whether he had it just right.”
Lennie is always trying to impress George and looks up to him as his role model.
“I h s y w b h h y t, w s.”
“If he sees ya work before he heard ya talk, we’re set.”
George knows that nobody is willing to take on the mentally disabled so they must go to great lengths to get Lennie a job. Too often people are taken at face value.
“L m a e p o i.”
“Lennie made an elaborate pantomime of innocence.”
Lennie tries to hide the fact he has a mouse. Although trying to act natural, Lennie cannot lie to George.
“B l a b! J C! A b g l y.”
“Blubberin’ like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you.”
Evidence of the difference between how Lennie looks and how he behaves. George appears to show no sympathy.
“W w a g, t w y w.”
“Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you want.”
George gets angry at Lennie. Lennie is clearly very demanding and doesn’t quite grasp their situation.
“Y d b t a I g t g y o.”
“You do bad things and I got to get you out.”
How George sees their relationship. He is well aware of the cycle events that unfold time and time again with them.
“M y w k i.”
“Maybe you wouldn’t kill it.”
Foreshadowing!!! Implications that Lennie has killed things in the past.
“I w y t s w m.”
“I want you to stay with me.”
Here George is trying to comfort Lennie. However, when he says it in section six it is so he can kill him. The change in intent and the cyclical way this plays out is deeply symbolic of the two faces of American society.
