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Extract 1 CHAPTER 1-1

George and Lennie, two migrant workers, arrive at a clearing by a river near Soledad, California. Lennie, a large, strong but mentally disabled man, immediately drinks heavily from the river. George warns him to slow down so he doesn't get sick. Lennie enjoys the water and splashing in it. The two men have walked together and seem familiar with each other, though George must watch over Lennie.

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69 views2 pages

Extract 1 CHAPTER 1-1

George and Lennie, two migrant workers, arrive at a clearing by a river near Soledad, California. Lennie, a large, strong but mentally disabled man, immediately drinks heavily from the river. George warns him to slow down so he doesn't get sick. Lennie enjoys the water and splashing in it. The two men have walked together and seem familiar with each other, though George must watch over Lennie.

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subway9113
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Extract 1, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck, 1937

CHAPTER 1

5 A FEW MILES south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs
deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the
sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve
up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees -
willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the
10 winter’s fooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over
the pool. On the sandy bank under the trees the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a
great skittering if he runs among them. Rabbits come out of the brush to sit on the sand in the
evening, and the damp fats are covered with the night tracks of ’coons, and with the spread pads of
dogs from the ranches, and with the split-wedge tracks of deer that come to drink in the dark.
15 There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys
coming down from the ranches to swim in the deep pool, and beaten hard by tramps who come
wearily down from the highway in the evening to jungle-up near water. In front of the low
horizontal limb of a giant sycamore there is an ash pile made by many fres; the limb is worn
smooth by men who have sat on it.
20 Evening of a hot day started the little wind to moving among the leaves. The shade climbed
up the hills toward the top. On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured
stones. And then from the direction of the state highway came the sound of footsteps on crisp
sycamore leaves. The rabbits hurried noiselessly for cover. A stilted heron labored up into the air
and pounded down river. For a moment the place was lifeless, and then two men emerged from the
25 path and came into the opening by the green pool. They had walked in single fle down the path,
and even in the open one stayed behind the other. Both were dressed in denim trousers and in
denim coats with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls
slung over their shoulders.
The frst man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features.
30 Every part of him was defned: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. Behind
him 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. The frst man stopped short in the clearing, and the
follower nearly ran over him. He took off his hat and wiped the sweat-band with his forefnger and
35 snapped the moisture off. His huge companion dropped his blankets and fung himself down and
drank from the surface of the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a
horse. The small man stepped nervously beside him. "Lennie!" he said sharply. "Lennie, for God’
sakes don’t drink so much." Lennie continued to snort into the pool. The small man leaned over
and shook him by the shoulder. "Lennie. You gonna be sick like you was last night."
40 Lennie dipped his whole head under, hat and all, and then he sat up on the bank and his
hat dripped down on his blue coat and ran down his back. "Tha’s good," he said. "You drink some,
George. You take a good big drink." He smiled happily.
George unslung his bindle and dropped it gently on the bank. "I ain’t sure it’s good water,"
he said. "Looks kinda scummy."
45 Lennie dabb1ed his big paw in the water and wiggled his fngers so the water arose in little
splashes; rings widened across the pool to the other side and came back again. Lennie watched
them go. "Look, George. Look what I done."

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