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Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

Guide written by Stewart Martin

A Literature Guide for GCSE

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Plot summary
Plot summary

1
George and Lennie spend the
night by the Salinas River and
reflect on their escape from Weed
and their new job at the ranch. Section 2: rising action.
Steinbeck hints at the
problems that will cause
the tragedy.

2
George and Lennie arrive
at the ranch on Friday
Section 1: exposition. Steinbeck
morning. They meet most
introduces the characters, setting
of the characters and
and themes of the novel.
George is worried about
Curley and his wife.

Section 6: resolution.
The inevitable
catastrophe of the novel
occurs here.

6
Late Sunday afternoon. Lennie
arrives back at the pool at the
Salinas River and has two
KEY visions. George finds Lennie
The purple boxes and tells him
highlight the way about the
Steinbeck dream farm
structures the and shoots
tragedy. The novel him in the
is organised like a back of the
dramatic tragedy. head.

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Plot summary
3
Saturday afternoon.
George and Lennie learn
about Curley’s wife and
share their dream with
Candy. Candy offers
some of his savings and
the dream of the farm becomes possible.
Candy’s dog is shot. Curley picks a fight
with Lennie who is told by George to fight
back. Lennie breaks Curley’s hand.
Sections 3 and 4:
complication. Steinbeck
reveals the difficulties
that cause the downfall
of George and Lennie.

4
Saturday night in the barn.
George and the men
have gone into
town leaving
Lennie, Crooks
and Candy
behind. Lennie joins Crooks in
his room and tells him of the Section 5:
dream farm. Candy joins them. falling
Curley’s wife appears, insults Crooks and takes action.
an interest in Lennie. She threatens Crooks. Steinbeck
increases
the pace of
the novel
to its
tragic end.
5
Sunday afternoon in the
barn. Lennie has killed his
puppy. Curley’s wife appears
and tells him of her dream.
When she asks Lennie to
pet her hair, he panics and
kills her. Lennie runs away, back to the
Salinas River. Candy finds the body and
George begins the search for Lennie.

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Who’s who in Of Mice and Men

George
Who’s who

George is quick-witted and intelligent. His love for the

stillness and harmony of the countryside gives weight
to his dream of owning and working a small farm. He is
very keen to change the monotony of his present
situation. He is aware of the low expectations and
aimless lifestyle that are typical of the average
itinerant farm worker.

George has taken on responsibility for Lennie partly out of pity,

partly out of affection and partly for companionship. In many ways,
Steinbeck presents George and Lennie as two incomplete halves
of one whole – where one of them is strong the other one is weak.
Lennie is, in many ways, George’s ‘shadow’. George represents
the head or intelligence of the pair, while Lennie is the body –
his nature is intensely physical.

Steinbeck’s practical realism ensures that the reader does not

think George is in some way exploiting Lennie, as the boss
suspects. George understands that Lennie is both a hindrance
and an advantage to him, and his feelings for him never become
overly sentimental.

George is not entirely blameless for the disastrous end which

befalls Lennie. He knows how Lennie tends to behave, and when
they arrive at the ranch he senses undercurrents that could lead to
disaster. George ignores these danger signals as his need for a
‘stake’ outweighs his natural caution. For one night he even leaves
the vulnerable Lennie behind, in spite of the problems at the ranch,
and this leads to Lennie’s downfall.

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Lennie
Although in many ways Lennie is very childlike, he

Who’s who
also shows signs of maturity. Despite his terror of
violence, he is a man of great physical strength.
He is frequently described in terms of an
animal, suggesting not only his bear-like
physicality, but also a kind of animal
innocence. Lennie has no awareness of any
kind of morality – which means that the ordinary values of ‘good’
or ‘bad’ are difficult to attribute to him. Lennie’s obsession for
‘petting’ shows that he has deep-rooted emotional needs which he
himself may not understand, but which nevertheless have to be
satisfied. There is a dreadful progression in his victims, from dead
mouse to dead girl. Some critics have detected a semi-religious
echo running through the book. At the opening of the novel,
Lennie is characterised by naivety and innocence; by the end he
has fallen from grace (he has committed murder) and deprived
himself of the paradise of the ‘dream farm’.

Crooks
Crooks is a literate black cripple who tends horses
on the ranch. He has long been the victim of
oppressive violence and prejudice and has retired
behind a facade of aloofness and reserve, his natural
personality deadened and suppressed by years
of antagonism. He has known better times
and, unlike most black people living in the
Southern United States at that time, was
brought up on a smallholding run by his father. This is the type of
home longed for by Lennie, George and Candy and, despite his
initial cynicism, Crooks also becomes caught up in their dream of

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escape. Crooks’s automatic rejection of friendship or companionship

is caused by the anguish of his loneliness. Once encouraged to
do so, he reveals that he has an intelligent awareness of life.
His new-found confidence and self-respect encourage him to try
Who’s who

to counter the intrusion of Curley’s wife, but he is humiliated by

her vicious threats.

Curley
Curley is a small man and seems to have developed an
inferiority complex as a result. He is continually
aggressive and constantly looking for an opportunity to
assert his masculinity. Humiliated by his wife’s
apparent dissatisfaction and unhappiness, Curley
needs to boost his self-esteem and confidence.
His stance is that of a professional fighter – he
was once a boxer – but, significantly, he fights unfairly. He takes
advantage of those whom he thinks are weak, while carefully
avoiding those he considers to be a match for him. He takes
pleasure in inflicting the maximum amount of damage and pain
possible, in order to dispel his frustration and anger and maintain
his authority through violence.

Curley’s wife
Curley’s wife is never named in the novel. She is not
treated as an individual in her own right, but is seen
by various characters as a symbol of other things:
Curley’s wife, a temptress, a chattel, a sex object, or
a piece of ‘jail bait’. Although she is married, she
flaunts herself around the ranch in inappropriate
clothing, flirting with the ranch-hands. She is very
conscious of the effect this has on the men.

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Her dreams of a better, more fulfilling life are based on glossy film
magazines and cheap chat-up lines. Her ambition to work in films or
in the music hall stems from her desire to be admired. This wish is
partly rooted in vanity and partly in her insecurity and loneliness,

Who’s who
much of which is brought about by her husband’s inadequacies and
fault-finding behaviour. We do not know how far she would pursue
her assignations with the men if she were given the chance. Our only
opportunity to find out occurs in her meeting with Lennie in the
barn, and this is described with very skilful ambiguity by Steinbeck.
Certainly her general posture and conduct is full of sensual promise.

Slim
Slim is dignified, charismatic and a master craftsman.
He exerts a natural authority with a gentleness and
friendliness that contrasts with the pervasive violence
that shapes the lives of the other characters. He
represents a strong moral force in the novel, and
acts almost like a ‘conscience’ to the other
characters. Steinbeck’s descriptions of Slim
suggest an idealised characterisation, though Slim’s own words and
actions are convincingly realistic. Steinbeck attaches images of
royalty and divinity to him: ‘majesty’, ‘royalty’, ‘prince’ and ‘authority’.

Candy
Candy is near to the end of his useful life on the farm and knows he
has little to look forward to. The loss of his hand stresses the
casual violence of the ranch-workers’ lives. He also loses his dog –
the only companionship he has enjoyed. However, he is given
renewed comfort, strength and self-respect by the prospect of a
part-ownership of the dream farm with Lennie and George.

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About the author

Much of Of Mice And Men is based upon

John Steinbeck’s life and experiences and
his interest in contemporary social issues.
He was born in 1902 at Salinas in
About the author

California and graduated from Salinas High

School in 1919. He went on to study
John Steinbeck

English at Stanford, but left without

getting a degree. In the years that
followed, he had many casual jobs, varying
from newspaper work to being an itinerant ranch-hand. He had some
local success as a writer before Of Mice And Men (originally called
Something that Happened) became an immediate and worldwide
success and brought him international recognition. The publication of
the novel was followed in the same year (1937) by a stage play, which
won an award for the best New York play.

In the novel, Steinbeck highlights a social problem of immense

proportions and of which he had experience at first hand. Climatic
changes and drought in the West of America between 1880 and 1930
destroyed large tracts of fertile land which had supported the early
homesteaders. These were settlers who had established the sort of
small farms that represent the ‘promised joy’ of the workers in the
story. The great financial collapse of 1929, which heralded the
Depression, increased unemployment and poverty throughout the
United States. White-collar and industrial workers suffered heavily, but
for those who sought a living on farms the situation was doubly
disastrous. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal economics did much to
reduce the problem, but in 1937 it was a long way from disappearing
and would not fully do so until America’s entry into World War II in 1941.

Itinerant American workers replaced the traditional immigrant Mexican

labour in south-western states like California. They were exploited by

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farm owners, who employed them on low rates of pay and in appalling
conditions. These men were only in demand for short periods at a
time, and they had to save enough from seasonal work, such as
harvesting crops and fruits, to support themselves through the rest of

About the author

the year. Because they had to travel to find work, it was difficult to
maintain families or roots and they often led a solitary existence. Their
poor quality of life was of great concern to Steinbeck, who dealt with
this problem in his novel In Dubious Battle, and also in his most
successful book, The Grapes of Wrath, which won the Pulitzer Prize in
1940.

Steinbeck’s novels of this time had, therefore, a grittily realistic element

and also a political slant. His undoubted masterpiece, The Grapes of
Wrath, strongly supports Roosevelt’s state interference to reduce
unemployment, and even reveals Communist sympathies. However,
the other main influence on Steinbeck was quite different: all his life he
had an uncritical devotion to the Arthurian legend. This gives Of Mice
and Men a notable poetic element. Nobility and honour are venerated,
as they were by the Knights of the Round Table, and many of his
characters are on a quest, as the Knights were for the Holy Grail.

John Steinbeck is one of the finest and most successful American

novelists. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962,
specifically for his pre-war novels. When he died in 1969, he was
America’s most distinguished novelist, but it would be fair to say that
for all his later success, his finest work came some 30 years earlier in
his realistic/poetic response to the sufferings of the American working
man.

G Find out more about John Steinbeck. Visit

www.steinbeck.org/MainFrame.html

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Historical background
Historical timeline

1929 The great financial crash of 1929 develops into what became
known as the Depression. The resulting closure of banks and factories,
and the collapse of farms leads to widespread unemployment and
extreme poverty.
Historical background

1931 Banks and factories close, farming collapses, unemployment and

poverty are widespread.

1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes President.

1936 New Deal – provides support for unemployed in terms of training,

conservation and construction.

1937 Of Mice and Men is published.

Social impact of the Great Depression

The story of George and Lennie, while fictional, is rooted in historical

fact. The high unemployment caused by the Great Depression resulted in
people travelling to find work, and being hired and fired at will by
powerful farm owners (like the boss in the novel). George’s fear that the
boss will refuse them work is therefore realistic. This should also help
you to understand why the dream farm is so important to the characters.
The necessarily itinerant lifestyle led to a large section of the population
being fragmented, unable to put down roots, and to social instability.

Literary tradition, realism and naturalism

The Depression provided writers and artists in the 1930s with a new way
to look at what they had known as the booming America of the 1920s.
There was a pervasive concern to record the difficult experiences of the
ordinary human being, and Steinbeck was not alone in raising the
cultural awareness of the poor conditions throughout society. The
popular culture of Western magazines provided escapism from the grim
realities of life on the ranch.

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The social concern of writers and artists led to a movement to write and
depict ordinary life as it actually was rather than to romanticise it.
Steinbeck’s novel is realistic, and his employment of vernacular speech
helps the reader to experience the novel as the characters do.

Some writers, including Steinbeck, considered that experiences were a

Historical background
result of forces beyond the control of the individual. In Of Mice and Men
it is clear that Steinbeck viewed man and nature as connected, an idea
known as naturalism. At the end of the novel, Lennie’s return to Salinas
Pool promotes this idea.

Further research

G www.multimedialibrary.com/FramesML/IM13/IM13.html
Photographs of migrant farm workers and conditions in California. This
site will help you to appreciate the social and historical context of the
novel.

G Look up some of the language particular to America that Steinbeck

uses: www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Belmont_HS/mice/index.html

John Malkovich and Gary Sinese

in the 1992 film adaptation.

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Themes and images

Dreams
Many of the characters in the novel have
dreams, in the sense that they have hopes
or ambitions. These dreams are often kept
secret to begin with. George is displeased
when he discovers that Lennie and Candy
have told Crooks about their secret dream
farm. In contrast, Curley’s wife seems
Themes and images

almost desperate to tell Lennie about her

dreams. It is ironic that she confides in
someone who appears to have no interest in, or understanding of, what she is
saying. Generally speaking, there is a choice of two types of dream open to
the ranchers: the dream that includes companionship, honesty and love (like
the dream farm idea), or the dream/nightmare of a solitary state that excludes
all other human contact. George provides an example of the second kind of
unhappy vision when he sees his future as unending aimless drifting: ‘I’ll take
my fifty bucks an’ I’ll stay all night in some lousy cat house. Or I’ll set in some
pool-room till ever’body goes home.’

Loneliness
Many of the characters are lonely, and
this motivates them to look for an
alternative way of life. This is one of the
reasons why they are drifters: they are
continually searching, often without
really knowing what they are looking for.
Characters are also lonely because of
something within themselves, something
which almost seems to make their
loneliness inevitable. Different characters seek comfort and solace in
different things: for Candy it is his dog; for George and Lennie it is each
other; for Crooks it is his pride and his unerring skill at pitching horseshoes.

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Nature
The world of nature plays a large part in
the events of the novel. Lennie is
described as a ‘bear’, and is often
surrounded by animals and the natural
environment. Lennie is himself very
natural in that he has an animal-like
simplicity and innocence. The ranch-

Themes and images

hands’ lives are unnatural because they
lead a rootless existence outside of any
‘proper’ society. The behaviour of human
beings towards animals is echoed in the
way the characters behave towards each other. Candy’s dog is at the end of
its useful life, and its killing is justified by some of the men because of this. If
judged in the same way, the killing of Lennie may seem to be justified.

Steinbeck also uses animals to reinforce the theme of violence in the book
(the snake eaten by the heron, for example). Finally, nature is shown to be
full of powerful spiritual forces, as when, near the start of the book, the
large carp ‘sank mysteriously into the dark water again’.

Violence
The world of the men in the book is filled
with unnecessary and gratuitous
violence: Candy and Crooks have been
crippled, the boss permits fighting,
Curley’s irrational aggression, etc.
Carlson is another character who seems
to thrive on violence, either when he is
arguing with others or when he is
goading them on. The gun’s easy
availability – together with Carlson’s
unthinking but detailed explanation of his killing technique – provides
George with the means to dispatch Lennie later on.

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Text commentary
Section 1
The book opens with the suggestion that the peaceful world of
nature is disturbed by man. The effect becomes more pronounced
during this section as the ‘sound of footsteps’ grows louder and
the animals flee to safety. This movement from harmony to
discord appears in most of the natural settings in the book.
Note how nature is described and relates to the action. The
green pool is portrayed as an idyllic and beautiful place which
is innocent and peaceful, rather like the Garden of Eden.
Text commentary

“
“
Guys like us, that work on ranches,
are the loneliest guys in the world

George and Lennie are itinerant (wandering) workers.

They are drifters who move from ranch to ranch. They
dress in the traditional manner of cowboys, from whom
they descend. They are skilled in the various aspects of
farm work. George and Lennie find themselves a ‘few
miles south of Soledad’. This is a real place in California
and its name – which is Spanish – can mean loneliness
or a lonely place.

George – ‘every part of him defined’ – gives an immediate

impression of intelligence. He is reminiscent of a quick-
witted animal with his ‘restless’ ways. George leads the
duo and we can see that he is clearly the one who is in
charge. Both men have endured much physical hardship.
George washes in the pool in traditional cowboy style.
Unlike Lennie, he is a cautious person.

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Lennie is described as a ‘bear’. This animal context

establishes at once the essential nature of the man – the
combination of brute strength and animal-like innocence.
The bear is a particularly appropriate image for Lennie,
because it shares not only his harmless appearance
(as of a teddy-bear), but also his dangerous tendency
to hold onto things in his bear-hug.

Steinbeck suggests a great deal about Lennie by describing his

movements. The unthinking way in which Lennie drinks from the
‘green’ pool reinforces the impression of a markedly animal
temperament. Like an animal, Lennie always tries to satisfy his
immediate needs and seems unable to see the possible

Text commentary
consequences. In this case, George reminds him it was only the
previous night that he was sick. One of Lennie’s most dangerous
failings is his inability to learn from past experience. George’s
admonishment establishes his role as Lennie’s mentor (or keeper),
with the responsibility of protecting Lennie from himself.

Lennie and George ‘suit’ each other because of their

complementary natures. Both men are dressed the same way, but
in temperament they are different: Lennie is slow, clumsy, and
‘easy-going’, George is quick, precise, apprehensive and cautious.
Notice that it is Lennie who always seems to suffer because of his
impetuous and reckless behaviour.

Some aspects of Lennie’s behaviour contribute to the humour in

the novel. Here, for example, the way he dips ‘his whole head
under, hat and all’ is contrasted with George’s behaviour. This
reveals George’s awareness that the open countryside is not
without its dangers; he knows that ‘You never oughta drink water
when it ain’t running’. This episode reinforces our impression of
Lennie as being more like an animal than a man. Look at how he
uses his ‘paw’.

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“
“
Explore
Lennie, who had been watching,
imitated George exactly

Not only is George Lennie’s mentor and saviour, but clearly

Steinbeck uses Lennie looks up to him as a model of correct behaviour,
Lennie’s poor memory and tries to please George with his actions. Lennie is not
as a narrative
able to remember things easily. We are told something
technique. It provides
an excuse to present about what caused the two men to be on the run from
the reader with their last employment, and this is the first suggestion that
background material. Lennie’s animal-like behaviour includes an unconscious,
instinctive search for affection.

Lennie’s ‘petting’ of small animals tells us about his need for some
Text commentary

sort of physical contact. This is an important aspect of Lennie’s

character, one that is tragically resolved at the end of the book. As
the novel unfolds, notice how Lennie’s fatal petting of other
creatures progresses from a dead mouse to the hoped-for rabbits,
to a puppy, and finally to Curley’s wife.

Earlier, Steinbeck revealed some past trouble with ‘girls’, and now
we find that the two men have recently been hounded from their
previous jobs as Lennie has done ‘bad things’. The fact that Lennie
‘giggled’ at the thought of it makes the incident sound less serious
than it really was, but in fact he had a close shave with death.
This is an excellent narrative technique to hold the reader’s
interest; Steinbeck is gradually revealing to us the
enormity of the event and its consequences.

George thinks that without Lennie he could ‘live so easy

and maybe have a girl’. This is the first example in the
book of characters dreaming of better things in the
future. Such dreams become increasingly important.
“
“
The flame of the sunset lifted from the
mountaintops and dusk came into the valley

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Explore George appreciates the stillness and harmony of the

Notice how Steinbeck pastoral scene around them. This moment of calm
uses the natural
interrupts the interplay of the two characters and re-
surroundings to mirror
the mood of the establishes a sense of harmony. It also introduces a
action. gentler tone. “
“ What mouse, George? I ain’t got no mouse.

Lennie desperately needs something to pet. He is prepared

to hunt around for the carcass of the mouse and is evasive
and guilty when George orders him to hand it over.
Steinbeck again uses animal imagery and describes
Lennie as being ‘like a terrier’, a dog which, like

Text commentary
Lennie, has a determination to hold on to things.
(Notice Steinbeck’s repeated use of natural similes:
‘like’/‘as’.) This prepares us for events to come. Lennie is reluctant to
let go of the mouse, which he has accidentally ‘broken’ by petting
it. He has killed other small creatures, or ‘pinched their heads a
little’, as he puts it. He wants something that is warm and alive.
Lennie’s behaviour will have devastating consequences in the future.

The flow of the narrative is interrupted again by a piece of

pastoral description. There is a powerful sense of hidden things
starting to emerge, as in the way the ‘big carp’ rises then sinks
‘mysteriously’, leaving ‘widening rings’ similar to those created
by Lennie’s ‘paw’ earlier. This image of widening rings hints at
the increasing repercussions of Lennie’s actions.
“
“ God a’mighty, if I was alone I could
live so easy

George’s frustrations with Lennie’s behaviour come to a

head at this point. The better life which George says he
could enjoy if he did not have Lennie seems a fairly limited
one: drink, food, hired women and gambling. It is the
very lifestyle that the other workers find so

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unsatisfying. By staying with Lennie, George actually enjoys

companionship and a sense of responsibility – rewards that are
Explore greater than the empty experience of the common
The theme of itinerant worker about whom George keeps talking. This is
friendship occurs why, in spite of all his complaining, George does not strike
through the novel. off on his own. It is obvious why George finds Lennie
Consider Slim’s
occasionally irritating. However, Steinbeck uses various
concern for the other
characters, and methods to endear Lennie to the reader. The expression
Candy’s devotion to that Lennie uses here, ‘because I got you … and you
his dog. got me’, is a very accurate assessment of their need for
each other.
“
“
If you don’ want me I can go off in the hills
Text commentary

an’ find a cave. I can go away any time.

Lennie’s suggestion is what a wild animal might do and is

particularly appropriate for a bear, the most dominant
animal image so far. Lennie has a strange kind of animal
intellect – an intelligence based on intuition. Of course,
Lennie’s suggestion is not welcomed by George, not
only because Lennie would not survive (or would he?),
but because George, despite his fits of temper,
actually needs Lennie. George gets physical protection, a feeling
of doing something worthwhile in looking after Lennie, and a boost
to his own self-esteem because Lennie makes him feel superior.
Notice that George can also use Lennie as excuse for his own
failure to make a success of himself, and later admits this to Slim
when he confesses: ‘I ain’t so bright neither’.
“
“
First chance I get I’ll give you a pup.
Maybe you wouldn’t kill it.

Explore By way of compensation for his outburst, George offers

Note Steinbeck’s use Lennie a puppy – not knowing that it will contribute to his
of tragic irony here. later downfall. It is characteristic of the role of fate in the
novel that the best intentions of people produce adverse

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effects. With hindsight, there seems to be a tragic inevitability in

the way that these separate strands of incident and words spoken
are carefully and unerringly woven together. This pervades the
climax of the story.
“
“
Jesus Christ, somebody’d shoot you for a
coyote if you was by yourself

In the end it is George who shoots Lennie. Steinbeck weaves his

ideas very closely together and sometimes casual remarks later
turn out to carry the weight of the whole narrative.
“
“
We’re gonna have a little house … An’

Text commentary
live off the fatta the lan’

Lennie enjoys George’s story, just as a child enjoys a

familiar fairy story, but it represents far more to both
men. This is ‘paradise’ or ‘heaven’, as Crooks later
calls it. After killing Curley’s wife, Lennie is tormented
by the certainty that he has destroyed his chances of
ever reaching this ‘paradise’.

George briefs Lennie on what he is to say when they reach the farm
and tells him to return to this place and hide in the brush if he
gets into trouble. When this actually happens, it completes the
symmetry of the novel. This is particularly appropriate because of
the way the pool has been described as a natural haven, a secret
dream-like place which is a natural sanctuary for Lennie. Bear in
mind that in the Bible, Adam took refuge in a similar way from the
wrath of God.

The first episode of the novel ends on a note of peace and

harmony as the two men drift off to sleep and their dreams.

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Quick quiz 1
Uncover the plot
1 In the passage below, select one from each set of alternatives.
Two errant/itinerant/eminent farm hands, George and Lennie, camp
beside a natural pool before travelling on to a nearby ranch to find
work/buy a house/live off the land. Steinbeck depicts George as small
and shapeless/quick-witted/pale-eyed, responsible for the huge and
nervous/restless/childlike Lennie. The two men have had to leave the
town of Salinas/Soledad/Weed because Lennie unwittingly frightened
a girl/mouse/rabbit there. George expresses his pride/resentment/
shame at having to look after Lennie, but when Lennie offers to give
him his mouse/shoot himself/leave him, he regrets his meanness. We
learn that Lennie has a passion for ‘petting’ pretty things, especially
girls/dresses/small animals, unaware of his own dangerous strength.
George describes their dream of giving up work/buying a house/finding
permanent work on a ranch; he tells Lennie to return to Weed/the
pool/the ranch if he should get into any trouble.
Quick quiz

Revealing the characters

2 What does Steinbeck’s physical description of George tell you about
his character?
3 Where does Steinbeck use animal imagery to describe Lennie?
4 Who was the ‘lady’ that used to give Lennie mice?
5 Why are Lennie and George different from the other ranch workers?

Setting the scene

6 State the effect of Steinbeck’s language in each of the following
quotations about setting.
(a) ‘On the sand-banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little grey, sculptured
stones.’
(b) ‘Only the tops of the Gabilan mountains flamed with the light of the
sun that had gone from the valley.’
(c) ‘A big carp rose to the surface of the pool, gulped air, and then sunk
mysteriously into the dark water again.’

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Section 2
The setting of the bunk-house is probably derived from Steinbeck’s
own experience as a ranch-hand. As with the novel’s opening
description, the technique is theatrical, setting the scene first and
then introducing characters through dialogue. This home for the
workers is very sparse in comforts, and contrasts strongly with the
“
richness of nature described in the novel’s opening section.

“
The boss was expectin’ you last night

Candy’s opening remark establishes the character of the boss

Text commentary
before we meet him. We feel unease at such an immediately
unfriendly welcome, with its hint of conflict and intimidation.
“
“
Explore
What the hell kind of bed you giving
us, anyways

Suspecting that his bed contains vermin, George inspects

Steinbeck emphasises it cautiously. As he does so, Candy chatters on about the
the poverty of ranch boss. We learn that he vents his anger on the black stable-
life through the hand, provides the men with whisky and allows a fight
detailed description of
the bunk-house.
between the stable-buck and ‘Smitty’, one of the skinners.
Despite this, the boss could be worse. Candy insists he’s ‘a
pretty nice fella’ and, after all, he keeps the two cripples on the
pay-roll. We should not expect modern standards of civilised
behaviour in this setting, but the atmosphere of latent violence has
the potential to create trouble for (and from) Lennie.

The arrival of the boss justifies our expectations. His black clothes
remind the reader of the stereotyped ‘good’ and ‘bad’ men in
Westerns. He is a proud man who wears ‘high-heeled boots and
“
spurs’ to accentuate his position.

“ Strong as a bull

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Again Lennie is described in terms of an animal. This

emphasises his great strength and is a further example of
George unwittingly revealing the truth of things. Lennie’s
last name, Small, is ironic and amusing, an observation
quickly made by Carlson.

The boss suspects that George is taking advantage of

Lennie: ‘You takin’ his pay away from him?’ As the boss begins
to quiz Lennie, George breaks in loudly to help him. Is
George overprotective, do you think? His constant
interruptions serve only to arouse the boss’s suspicion.
George’s comment that Lennie ‘Damn near lost us the job’
might seem rather harsh. Does Lennie provide George
Text commentary

with something on which to vent his exasperation when

things are not going to plan?
“
“
drag footed sheep dog, gray of muzzle,
and with pale, blind old eyes

Explore The entrance of Candy’s dog makes us compare the

Foreshadowing is one harmony of nature with the aggression and confusion of
of Steinbeck’s the bunk-house. The dog, which is at the end of its useful
narrative devices.
life, has provided companionship for its gentle owner for
many years. The dog’s death foreshadows George’s killing of Lennie.

Our first impression of Curley is complicated – his ‘brown

face’, ‘brown eyes’ and ‘tightly curled hair’ disguise the
menace in his later conduct. His glance is cold and he
adopts the stance of a fighter, with his ‘hands closed into
fists’. Even the way he looks and moves is threatening. His
high-heeled cowboy boots give him a status above
“
that of the ranch-hands.

“ Let the big guy talk

A second confrontation is caused by Lennie’s attempts to obey

George’s instructions to say nothing. Curley’s presence does not

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bode well for George’s and Lennie’s safety. This is emphasised by

Candy’s comments, ‘he’s alla time picking scraps with big guys’.
Since Lennie is a bear-like giant of a man, sooner or later he seems
certain to provoke a violent assault from Curley.

Curley is proud of his new wife, particularly when she makes

others envious of him. Notice the implication that his hand is
kept soft by the vaseline in his glove in order that he may
‘pet’ his wife. Steinbeck has already established a
frightening connection between Lennie, ‘petting’ and
death, so this is ominous.

Is Curley’s self-esteem and confidence undermined because

Text commentary
his wife is not satisfied with their married relationship and
is ‘eyeing’ other men? This would explain his need to
establish his manliness with the workers. Curley seems to
think that he can gain authority only by physically
terrorising others. Why does a character like Slim not
seem to need to establish his manliness in this way?
We later learn that the ranch-hands despise Curley.
Try to decide why. Notice that there is an inverse relationship
between size and authority in some characters in the novel.
“
“
I’m scared. You gonna have trouble with
that Curley guy.

George is frightened for Lennie’s safety, not only because of Curley’s

aggression, but also because of the way Curley’s wife is likely to
flaunt her attractiveness. Lennie is frightened of violence, despite his
great strength and size, and is not aware of his own physical strength.
Explore
Steinbeck himself This episode is followed by a description of the arrival of
referred to the novel
the grain teams outside. The atmosphere of menace and
as having a ‘play-
novelette’ form and fear is emphasised by the harsh and abrasive noises
wrote that it was ‘a approaching. The success of various film adaptations of
tricky little thing the novel owes something to a narrative style that is
designed to teach me
reminiscent of theatre and film scripts.
to write for the theatre’.

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3122_001-080 10/5/07 11:54 Page 28

We now meet Curley’s wife for the first time.The extravagance

and provocativeness of the girl’s dress and make-up make
us unsympathetic towards her. Her general appearance
seems completely unsuitable for life on a ranch. The
dominating colour, red, is also symbolic of a woman
with loose morals (as in the expression ‘a scarlet
woman’). She seems very conscious of herself,
Explore but nothing in what we are told directly about her
Watch the film called intentions actually suggests that she is being sexually
Of Mice and Men,
produced by MGM in
provocative. “
“
1992. Note that the
director gives Curley’s Gosh, she was purty
wife a larger role than
Text commentary

Steinbeck does. The The uncomplicated, bovine Lennie is transfixed by the

director also
obvious prettiness of Curley’s wife. Whereas the others
encourages the
audience to have more can see the limitations of her attractions and speculate
sympathy for her than about her morals, Lennie is conscious only of an animal
is present in the novel. awareness of the opposite sex.

George senses imminent danger and tries to warn Lennie about

the kind of woman Curley’s wife is. He calls her ‘jail bait’, although
in fact the consequences of her contact with Lennie will be far
worse than any jail sentence. Lennie intuitively senses trouble and
suggests that they leave the ranch. George has to balance his
instinct to escape against the need to earn money, and this need
Explore outweighs his misgivings. This decision will cost him
Try to decide whether dearly in the end.
Curley’s wife is
frightened of her On learning from Slim that Curley has gone home looking
husband. If you think
for her, Curley’s wife suddenly becomes nervous. There is
she is, why does she
deliberately court clearly some sort of tension between them. The
disaster? Is she suggestion is that her behaviour could be the cause.
unwittingly “
“
provocative and
ignorant of the effects
He moved with a majesty only achieved by
of her behaviour? royalty and master craftsmen

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Slim is a man of ‘majesty’ and ‘authority’ and is capable ‘of

understanding beyond thought’. He is a character of strong
moral principles who acts as judge and adviser in the
events to come. Slim’s gentle and friendly tone is in marked
contrast to the harshness of the rest of the ranch and its
brutal inhabitants. Unlike many others in the novel, he is
not suspicious of the relationship between George and
Lennie and gives them tacit approval. He shows that it is possible
to command respect through natural authority rather than
through bullying and violence.

Carlson is, at his first appearance, a cheerful, good-humoured man

who seems to be friendly with Slim. Carlson is unsentimental about

Text commentary
Candy’s dog as he can see no further practical use for it. Although
his suggestion is perhaps reasonable (that Candy shoots his dog
and gets a pup instead), he seems oblivious to the strong bond
between Candy and his pet. A parallel is developing between
Candy’s relationship with his dog, and the relationship between
George and Lennie.

Slim does not respond directly to Carlson’s suggestion about

Candy’s dog, and his delay adds suspense and, therefore, tension
to the coming discussion with Candy.
Explore
“
“
Steinbeck’s use of Ya, know, Lennie, I’m scared I’m gonna
vernacular speech tangle with that bastard myself.
adds realism to the I hate his guts.
novel.

Steinbeck does not allow any sense of security to last for long, and
Curley’s reappearance interrupts Lennie’s delight at the prospect of
owning a puppy. Steinbeck ends Section 2 with a pitiful image of
the dog, who ‘gazed about with mild, half-blind eyes’. The human
characters, too, cannot see very far and do nothing to halt the
inevitable approach of tragedy.

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Quick quiz
Quick quiz 2
Uncover the plot
1 In the passage below, select one from each set of alternatives.
George and Lennie arrive at the ranch. They are given
food/work/bunks by Candy, the boss/swamper/skinner, and signed up
by the boss/the boss’s son/Curley. The boss is angry that they arrived
too late for the day’s/weekend’s/morning’s work, and impressed
by/suspicious of/pleased with George’s protectiveness of Lennie.
Candy/Carlson/Curley, the boss’s son, is kind to/indifferent to/
antagonistic towards the new men, especially Lennie. They learn from
Candy that Curley has recently married a tart/nice girl/prostitute. The
whole set-up pleases/scares/interests George, who warns Lennie to
have nothing to do with Curley. The other ranch-hands return from
work. Slim/the stable buck/Whitey is very friendly; Carlson is more
concerned with shooting Slim’s/Smitty’s/Candy’s old dog, and asks
Slim to give Lennie/George/Candy one of his puppies/rabbits/mice to
raise. In the midst of Lennie’s excitement at the possibility of owning a
pup, Curley returns in search of his itinerant/eminent/errant wife.
Quick quiz

Revealing the characters

2 What is Lennie’s surname, and why does Carlson find it funny?
3 Who wore ‘a soiled brown Stetson hat, and … high-heeled boots and
spurs to prove he was not a labouring man’?
4 Who is ‘grey of muzzle, and with pale, blind old eyes’?
5 Whose ‘glance was at once calculating and pugnacious’?
6 Who is ‘purty’, with ‘the eye’ and had ‘full, rouged lips and wide-
spaced eyes, heavily made up’?
7 Whose ‘authority was so great that his word was taken on any
subject, be it politics or love’?

Setting the scene

8 What is the effect of the three powerful images of sunshine?
9 Find three quotations that show how Steinbeck describes the bunk-
house to emphasise the theme of loneliness.

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Section 3
This section opens with a description of the surrounding
environment. The ‘evening brightness’, so beautifully described
in the first section of the book, is noticeably excluded from this
scene, and the atmosphere in the bunk-house is now that of
‘dusk’. This setting maintains the sense of foreboding.

Slim has agreed to let Lennie have one of the puppies. It is

characteristic of Slim that he makes little of the gift. We learn that
Explore Slim killed several of the puppies at birth, and it is
Notice how Section 2 crucial to understand that Slim kills the puppies for a
ends with the ‘ancient reason, whereas Lennie does not realise what he is doing.

Text commentary
dog’ and Section 3
George describes Lennie’s delight when he is given the
opens with the new
pups. Steinbeck puppy. The description provides a comic touch with the
contrasts death and suggestion that the huge and lumbering Lennie might
life, tragedy and hope. climb into the box with the pups.
“
“
He damn near killed his partner buckin’
barley

Steinbeck continually provides hints and premonitions of

disaster. Hardly a page goes by without some reference to
Lennie’s tendency to get into trouble. George observes
that Lennie is sure to get into trouble sooner or later, ‘like
you always done before’. The emphasis on Lennie’s
strength not only demonstrates Slim’s generosity in
praising him but also serves to prepare us for the
outcome of the violence which occurs later.
“
“ George fell silent. He wanted to talk.
Slim … sat back quiet and receptive.

Having created the sympathetic character of Slim, Steinbeck uses

the dramatic device of a conversation to reveal more about the
relationship between George and Lennie. We learn about their

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origins in Auburn, Lennie’s Aunt Clara and their mutual need for
companionship. The story of Lennie and the Sacramento River is
important for illustrating various aspects of their friendship. It
shows how fully Lennie trusts George and how forgiving he is.
What do you think it reveals about George’s attitude to Lennie?
Does it give any hint of why George remains loyal to Lennie?
“
“
He ain’t mean ... I can see
Lennie ain’t a bit mean

Slim’s readiness to praise Lennie shows not only his

thoughtfulness but also the generosity in his character.
He sees Lennie’s true worth. Slim’s assessment of
Text commentary

situations is treated like the word of God. No doubt George

is proud that Lennie’s true worth is appreciated by
Slim. Slim also says that there is plenty of violence in
the environment of the ranch and that ‘meanness’ is
bred by isolation.

We learn that George has no relations and has been saved

from loneliness and perhaps from disillusionment by Lennie.
Loneliness and isolation become a preoccupying theme
of the novel from this point onwards, highlighting the
plight of the itinerant worker who goes through life
without putting down roots. To what extent do you think
this explains the reason for George’s and Lennie’s partnership?

He jus’ wanted to touch that red dress,

“
“
like he wants to pet them pups
all the time

The seriousness of the incident in Weed is underlined by the

revelation that Lennie would have been ‘lynched’ (hanged)
had they caught him. This foreshadows the violence of the
hunt for Lennie at the end of the novel.

The colour of the girl’s dress in Weed – red – is also

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ominously the dominant colour in the description of Curley’s wife.

Slim carefully considers the evidence which George gives him
about Lennie. He believes George’s assertion that Lennie is not
dangerous and had not intended to harm the girl in Weed.
However, you should notice the escalation of violence in Lennie’s
behaviour as described by George and the fact that Lennie is
fascinated by the blatant sexuality of Curley’s wife. Steinbeck uses
the symbolic colour of red to warn of disaster and it is doubtful
whether Lennie’s state of innocence will survive, given this kind of
provocation. “
“ What pup, George, I ain’t got no pup

Text commentary
Explore The limits of Lennie’s understanding are displayed when
Notice how this mirrors he puts the life of the puppy at risk by removing it so soon
Lennie’s childlike from its mother. It shows just how powerful is his urge for
behaviour with the
‘petting’ and how much it seems to dominate his
mouse in Section 1.
personality. “
“ Why’n’t you shoot him, Candy?

Candy and his dog have been together for so long that
Candy is not aware of the dog’s offensive smell. Carlson
says ‘he ain’t no good to himself’ by way of justification for
killing the dog. Notice also that the way Carlson talks
about Candy’s dog echoes the way the stable buck,
Explore Crooks, says the ranch-hands behave towards him. In
Is Carlson’s describing precisely how he will shoot the dog painlessly,
detachment and cool even down to the exact location for the bullet, Carlson is
analysis of the unwittingly showing George how he will eventually
situation harsh or
dispose of Lennie. Lennie is eventually shot by the same
justified?
gun, and in the same place in the back of the head, as
Candy’s dog. These echoing devices in the book give it a
strong sense of unity. “
“ Well, you ain’t bein’ kind to him

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With these words Carlson is ironically sentencing Lennie, who will

later suffer the same fate as the dog. Carlson assumes that Candy
can soon get another pet – just as he later seems to assume that
George can easily get another friend. Carlson, like some of the
other characters, does not appreciate these bonds.

Candy and his dog are an obvious parallel to George and Lennie.
even the way the dog follows Candy around the same way Lennie
follows George. Just as Candy feels tied down by his relationship
with his dog, so George feels trapped by his sense of
responsibility for Lennie.

“
“
Carl’s right, Candy. That dog ain’t no
Text commentary

good to himself. I wisht somebody’d shoot

me if I got old an’ a cripple

Slim’s opinions are valued by all the ranchers and his

pronouncement about Candy’s dog seals its fate. By
appealing to others to do the same for him if he should ever
get old and a cripple, Slim paves the way for the killing of
Lennie, who is mentally crippled. Slim’s considered
verdict has the force of law on the ranch.

Steinbeck increases the tension and suspense generated by the

proposal to shoot the dog by the episode with Whit, a character
who remains undeveloped. The episode, which shows him excited
by an item in a magazine, slows down the pace of the action and
serves to illustrate the poverty of experience and education
known by most of the ranch-hands. “
“
He led the dog out into the darkness

Carlson is not a cowboy, but does possess a hand-gun. The

conversation about the gun lets George know where it is
kept. It is the sensitive Slim who points out that Carlson will
need a shovel in order to give the dog a decent burial.
Steinbeck emphasises the long wait by mentioning muted

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Explore sounds, like ‘shuffle’, ‘rippled’ and ‘gnawing’, which

Notice Steinbeck’s use contrast with the eventual ‘shot’.
of nature to accompany
the dog’s death and the
“
“
similar setting when That big new guy’s messin’ around
Lennie is shot at dusk your pups out in the barn
in Section 6.

Immediately after the dog’s death we are reminded of Lennie and

his obsessions by Crooks’s comment (above). George’s words a few
lines further on, ‘If that crazy bastard’s foolin’ around’, ring with
double meaning, for the words ‘foolin’ around’ are usually
applied in America to intimate behaviour between males and
females. Later on, it will be Curley’s wife – and her seeming desire
to ‘fool around’ with the ranch-hands – who preoccupies George.

Text commentary
Whit uses the name of Candy’s dog – Lulu – to describe Curley’s
wife. His description of her ‘concealing nothing’ and giving
everyone the ‘eye’, coming straight after the description of
Lennie’s behaviour with the dogs in the barn, emphasises Lennie’s
innate ability to get into trouble. It is unfortunate that George and
Lennie have arrived at a moment when trouble seems likely to
erupt. Steinbeck builds the tension and expectation towards a
climax which will fuse together all these different elements.

You should consider the fix that George finds himself in. He says of
Curley’s wife, ‘She’s gonna make a mess’, so why doesn’t he move
out at once to avoid trouble? Whit underlines the basic
predicament of itinerant workers: their existence is mean and
centres around violence, cheap sex, drinking and fighting. They
earn insufficient money to be able to save up and build a ‘stake’ for
a more deeply satisfying life. Why is it that they always spend their
money on ‘blackjack’ and ‘whores’, as Crooks observes in Section
4? Consider the extent to which their desire for carefree enjoyment
and pleasure is the ‘serpent’ in their Garden of Eden.

Carlson may be practical and have the cold nerve necessary to kill
the dog, but he is fairly callous too. He makes no effort to conceal
the cleaning of the recently fired gun from Candy, who must find

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the sound of the snapping of the ejector a painful reminder of his

dog’s death.

The killing of Candy’s dog is an interesting example of the

technique which Steinbeck is trying out in this book, which is a
cross between a novel and a play or drama. Each of the six
sections (actually split into chapters in some editions) deals with
one scene. Each opens with a description of the scene and is
followed by dialogue between characters who enter and exit in
the same way that they would in a play or film.

Explore If you look carefully you will notice that almost every piece
How effective is of description or storytelling is like a stage direction to a
Text commentary

Steinbeck’s play/novel theatre or film director. Each section (or chapter) could
technique, do you
easily be translated into an act or scene on stage, as
think? Why do you
think he experimented indeed happened when the book was first performed as a
with this way of play (in November 1937). In Steinbeck’s own adaptation,
writing? Think about the dialogue was changed very little. Another thing which
how effective this
should remind you of a playscript is that very few
method is in helping
the reader to imagine characters are used – far fewer than in most novels. The
the events and the length is also significant. The stage version runs for around
conversations which two hours. It is hardly necessary to make any cuts at all,
take place.
which is probably unique in novel adaptations for the stage.

Consider the impact that the development of cinema may have

had on literature of this time. (Of Mice and Men was written in
1937.) “
“ Curley burst into the room excitedly

Curley is clearly looking for a victim on whom he can vent

his frustration and anger. He demands to know where
Slim is. Presumably he suspects him to be a rival for the
affections of his wife. Slim is a mysterious and potentially
dangerous character. He has a genuinely caring nature and
his reason for going out to the barn is typical of him –
he makes a special point of dealing with the mule’s

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injury himself. He has a strong presence whenever he

appears, and is a powerful figure of authority.

As a typical ranch-hand, Whit is eager to witness or

participate in any brawling. He encourages George to
go out to witness the possible confrontation. George
wants to stay out of trouble and avoid getting the sack. The
choice between leaving the ranch or staying to earn a stake
becomes increasingly vital. George is torn between the
need to protect Lennie and the fulfilment of his dream of a
homestead. He wants more from life than the Whits and
Carlsons of the ranch world – he has clear and definite
ambitions.

Text commentary
George seems to have a very biased and basic view of women,
which was not unusual for the time of the novel. He sees them only
as instruments to relieve certain physical urges, as a device to ‘get
ever’thing outa his system all at once, an’ no messes’. He does
not express the need for any female companionship beyond this,
and his lack of trust is further illustrated by the fact that women
do not feature in his dream of a smallholding. This may indicate
that, in spite of his relationship with Lennie, George fears a deep
and loving relationship.
“
“ George, how long’s it gonna be till we get
that little place an’ live on the fatta the lan’?

Is the farm just a dream? George talks wistfully about his

mental picture of the farm. He sits ‘entranced with his
own picture’. George’s dream-like description slows
down the pace of the novel at this point and provides a
period of ‘pastoral’ calm before the storm. The life and
surroundings which George imagines are the very
opposite of his present existence. His life, and Lennie’s,
would be more closely related to nature on his dream farm – as he
says, ‘when we put in a crop, why we’d be there to take the crop
up’, so the cycle of the natural rhythms of nature would be

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complete. The situation sounds so much like a dream that it

comes as something of a surprise to the reader to learn that the
place does in fact exist, and is not just a bedtime story thought
up to amuse Lennie. This makes George’s need for a stake easier
to understand.
“
“
Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody
gets no land

Man’s longing for a piece of land was a favourite theme of

Steinbeck’s, and he returned to it in nearly every novel he wrote.
Although you can see several particular examples of personal
tragedy in Of Mice And Men, Steinbeck clearly also means the
Text commentary

story to be a parable of the human condition. In the poem from

which the novel’s title is taken, Burns wrote that ‘the best laid
schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley’. The phrase ‘gang aft
a-gley’ literally means ‘go often astray’, but Steinbeck does not
translate Burns’s ‘aft’ as ‘often’, but instead as ‘always’. As Crooks
says: ‘Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.’
All the characters’ plans go astray: not just George and Lennie’s,
but those of Curley, his wife, Crooks and Candy. What other
reasons can you think of for the choice of title?

George suddenly realises that what has been until this

point only a distant dream is now a real possibility with
Candy’s involvement and contribution. Candy’s savings
offer them all the prospect of self-respect and
companionship. The characters have a moment of
hope before being plunged straight into conflict. The
ranch-hands’ shared sense of euphoria and of the
beauty of the dream is in stark contrast to the surroundings in
which they actually find themselves.

“
“
I ought to of shot that dog myself,
George. I shouldn’t of let no stranger
shoot my dog.

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Candy seems to feel that he has shown a lack of courage in not

shooting his dog himself, and with this admission the dream of the
men is broken.

Slim and Curley enter. Curley’s suspicions have proved to

be groundless and he is trying to apologise. This seems
likely only to increase his humiliation and his feelings of
frustration and anger. Carlson remarks that Curley should
make his wife stay home, if he doesn’t like her wandering
round the ranch. This serves to aggravate Curley’s
rising temper, with devastating consequences. The
way Curley moves from man to man, getting insults and jokes
thrown at him, indicates that Carlson’s assessment of his character

Text commentary
is probably correct. He does seem to be a coward, despite his
notoriously violent streak.

Carlson seems to enjoy deliberately making the situation with

Curley worse because he is confident of his own ability to handle
any resulting violence. Candy also enjoys joining in the attack on
Curley. Although he is only one-handed – and therefore in no
position to defend himself physically – Candy is in the company of
George, Slim and Carlson, and so is safe from attack. Unfortunately,
this leaves Lennie exposed as a target.
“
“ No big son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me.
I’ll show ya who’s yella.

It is typical of Curley that he should pick on Lennie for his display

of violence. In picking on the large but apparently harmless man,
Curley demonstrates his own cowardice.

There is an irony in the fact that it is Lennie’s happy

thoughts about the farm that leave a smile on his face. The
smile is misinterpreted by Curley. Despite his size, Lennie
has two distinct disadvantages: he will not act unless
commanded to by George, and he is terrified by
aggression. Because of this he does not make any

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attempt to defend himself. Curley is a vicious fighter and is out to

inflict grave damage on Lennie, who needs George to trigger his
reaction. Notice the use of animal imagery here: Lennie stands like a
‘bear’ with ‘paws’ covering his face, but Curley is ‘the dirty little
rat’. Lennie’s immense strength and tenacious grip crush Curley’s
“
hand. This is not aggression but more of a reflex action.

“
Suddenly Lennie let go of his hold

This shows the extent of the responsibility that George carries for
Lennie’s actions. Lennie is almost uncontrollable and it takes a great
deal of effort on George’s part to penetrate Lennie’s fear and first get
him to defend himself and then to release his grip on Curley’s hand.
Text commentary

“
“
It ain’t your fault ... This punk sure had it
comin’ to him. But – Jesus! He ain’t hardly
got no han’ left.

Slim’s surprise and horror give greater emphasis to Lennie’s

strength and the damage which he is capable of causing.
Although Curley has got what he deserved, Slim still has
enough compassion to take care of the injured man and
assumes the responsibility of getting him to a doctor.
Slim is definitely master of the situation and has the
shrewdness to manipulate the situation to George’s
and Lennie’s advantage. He turns Curley’s pride against him, and
suggests that if the truth about the fight were to become known,
Curley would become a laughing stock.

“
“
Lennie was jus’ scairt ... He didn’t know
what to do. I told you nobody ought never
to fight him.

George’s worst fears are beginning to come true. In his single-

minded pursuit of a stake, and in his deliberate disregard for the
danger of their situation and its probable consequences for Lennie,
he is risking a dreadful calamity.

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Quick quiz 3
Uncover the plot
1 Delete two of the three alternatives given, to find the correct plot.
Section 3 opens at morning/noon/dusk, signalling the foreboding to
come. George thanks Slim for giving Lennie one of his puppies, and
tells Slim what happened at the pool/in Weed/in the barn. With the
tacit permission/disapproval/scorn of Slim, Carlson shoots Candy’s
old dog. While Curley is out in the barn accusing Lennie/George/Slim
of ‘messing’ with his wife, George and Lennie tell Whit/Candy/Crooks
that they are planning to buy a plot of land that George has seen;
Candy offers to swamp the farm/tend the rabbits/put up some money
towards it if they will include him. Curley returns, mistakes Lennie’s
smile of delight at the new developments/his puppy/Curley’s wife for
derision, and picks a fight with him. At George’s command, Lennie
crushes Curley’s hand.

Revealing the characters

Quick quiz
2 Why does George confide in Slim about the incident in Weed?
3 What three character attributes are revealed about Slim in this
section?
4 How does Steinbeck foreshadow George’s shooting of Lennie at the
end of the novel?
5 Why is Carlson so eager to shoot Candy’s dog?
6 Describe Curley’s feelings about Slim.
7 Why does Curley pick on Lennie?
8 Why does Lennie fight back?
9 How does Slim prevent Curley from getting Lennie and George fired?
10 How does Candy feel about the shooting of his dog?

Setting the scene

11 How does Steinbeck describe the natural setting during the shooting
of Candy’s dog?

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Section 4
Section 4 opens with a description of the harness room of the
stables. It would be easy to construct a stage set from the detailed
instructions given.

As Crooks’s name suggests, he is crooked in the spine as a

result of an accident. He is not an itinerant worker like the
others and this room represents home. Crooks is supposed to
be exceptional in that he is literate and conscious of his
rights. His ‘Large gold-rimmed spectacles’ and the
‘mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905’ are
Text commentary

symbols of his learning. He is in constant pain and treats himself,

as he does the horses, with liniment. This is the private act
of a private man – he is therefore understandably annoyed
at the interruption from Lennie. Much of Crooks’s pride and
truculence is a defence against the racial prejudice he
experiences from the other ranch-hands. He has been
excluded by the inhabitants of the bunk-house
because of his colour.
“
“
Ever’body went into town ...
Slim an’ George an’ ever’body.

You might think it very foolhardy of George not to stay behind to

keep an eye on Lennie. However, for Steinbeck, it may have been
essential for the development of the story to get rid of most of
the hands, in order to allow the physical cripples (Crooks and
Candy) and the mental cripple (Lennie) to get together without
fear of interruption. “
“Why ain’t you wanted?

Lennie’s attitude gives Crooks little reason to feel antagonised. His

usual defence against the white ranch-hands is to remain ‘aloof’,
but he seems to recognise in Lennie a genuine, uncomplicated and

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open nature that offers friendship without any hidden conditions or

threats.

Candy has remained behind at the ranch, excited by the prospects

that the new farm has suddenly opened up for him. He sees the
farm as an escape. George has suggested that Candy should take
care of Lennie on the farm, and he takes this offer very seriously.
This will also help Candy to cope with the loss of his dog, and
subtly reinforces the idea of Lennie as a large and gentle animal
which needs supervision and care.

Lennie seems quite articulate about the prospect of living

‘on the fatta the lan’, although we know that he is only

Text commentary
repeating what has often been said to him. Nonetheless,
you may be surprised by the way Lennie is able to
express himself. The idea of the farm begins to
attract Crooks and he invites Lennie to sit down.

Crooks is by nature proud and reserved, but he is also

lonely, and he decides that he can tell Lennie secrets which
will not then be revealed or turned against him. We learn that
he grew up enjoying a comparatively high status and standard
of living. Blacks were rare in California and in this area of
Soledad, so his family have been the victims of
prejudice. The isolation which this produced was made worse by
the disapproval of Crooks’s father for his white friends. Crooks
suggests that George and Lennie are partners because of the
unspoken companionship of simply staying with each other.
“
“
S’pose he gets killed or hurt so he can’t
come back

Crooks seems unable to resist a rare opportunity to inflict

pain on another person. He is usually the victim. Crooks’s
suggestion to Lennie is vindictive and heartless. Notice
how his ‘face lighted with pleasure in his torture’. With
George away, Lennie has no defence against this attack.

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Lennie is alarmed by what Crooks says: ‘Suddenly Lennie’s eyes

centred and grew quiet’. This incident shows us that, under certain
circumstances, Lennie can be roused. We get a better idea of the
sheer size of George’s responsibility and of Lennie’s helplessness.

Crooks’s quiet ‘Maybe you can see now…’ reveals the

pathos of his loneliness and isolation. Crooks craves
companionship because he knows that human contact
acts as a confirmation of what a person thinks and
believes. Without regular contact with other people,
Crooks feels that ‘he got nothing to measure by’.
“
“
Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a
Text commentary

little piece of lan’.

Crooks is rather scornful of the dream as Lennie

explains it to him: ‘You’re nuts’. In some ways Crooks has
put his enforced isolation to good use, and what he says
contains some useful thoughts about life in general.
Crooks compares human hopes with religious belief.
He has a fairly cynical view of both.
“
“
This’s the first time I ever been in
his room

Crooks is disappointed when his new friendship with Lennie is

threatened by Candy’s intrusion. At the same time he is pleased
and excited at the unusual prospect of company and a friendly
evening. Notice how Lennie innocently disregards the fact that this
is Crooks’s private room, while Candy is acutely aware of the social
distance between himself and Crooks. With Candy, the age-old
prejudices of race have prevented him from ever getting to know
Crooks. It takes the innocent actions of Lennie to bring the two
men together. Part of Lennie’s function in the book is to act as a
“
catalyst in the relationships between other characters.

44 “
Seems like ever’ guy got land in his head
3122_001-080 10/5/07 11:54 Page 45

The conversation soon turns to the topic of the farm. In

spite of his desperate need to accumulate money quickly,
George has gone ‘out on the town’ with the others. Crooks’s
reflections about the way the itinerant workers never end
up with anything seems to contain a considerable amount
of truth. Candy’s outburst here: ‘Sure they all want it’,
contains an idea that is central to the whole book. Owning their own
land, with the opportunity to see the seasons through the whole
year, would give status and self-esteem to the low-paid workers.

Crooks thinks the chances of their successfully achieving their

dream farm are remote. Yet they do seem so near, with only one
month’s further savings necessary. This closeness to achieving

Text commentary
their goal contributes to the novel’s final sense of tragedy.

Despite his cynicism, Crooks is drawn into the same dream

of a better life and of companionship. During this brief
episode he has moved from sullen resentment at the intrusion
of others to companionable excitement. The proud
isolation and prickliness we saw earlier are clearly a
“
protective façade to conceal his frustration and loneliness.

“ Any you boys seen Curley?

The description of Curley’s wife emphasises her

sensuousness. Isolated on the ranch, she is also lonely and
looking for company. Curley has abandoned his wife for a
visit to a brothel. Does this explain the viciousness of her
attacks on those others who have been left behind. Is
she, like them, some sort of ‘weak one’? Is she sure
“
herself why she behaves the way she does?

“ Lennie watched her, fascinated

Notice how Lennie responds to Curley’s wife’s obvious sexuality

whenever she appears. Throughout this episode, Lennie remains
transfixed by her.

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“
“
Jus’ the ol’ one-two

Curley’s wife flares up and tells them how Curly spends all
his time in the house talking about what he is going to do
to ‘guys he don’t like, and he don’t like nobody’. This
reinforces what we already know about Curley. He seems
obsessed by a need to establish his supremacy over
others (like an animal) and, presumably, his
ownership of his wife is another facet of this. She is
yet another character who craves companionship, but in her case,
her sex and her husband are obstacles to her search for friendship.
She seems to need to captivate men, as if she needs reassurance
of the effect she has on them.
Text commentary

Curley’s wife mirrors the ranch-hands in her loneliness and

in her dream of a better life. She is evidently of limited
intelligence. Apart from her unsatisfactory marriage to
the boss’s son, her claim to superiority comes from the
fact that ‘a guy tol’ me he could put me in pitchers’
(already, in the 1930s, a cliché and a chat-up line to
deceive the gullible).
“
“
And she looked longest at Lennie, until
he dropped his eyes in embarrassment

The way Curley’s wife talks to Lennie has sexual undertones. She is
attracted by someone who can beat Curley. Why do you think
this is?

Lennie does not understand the double meaning in Curley’s

wife’s words, but Crooks does and he tries to protect
Lennie. We have not seen him assert himself in this way
before, but by attempting to confront Curley’s wife – a white
woman – he is putting himself at great risk. Crooks has
gained confidence by the open nature of Lennie and the
friendliness of Candy. Steinbeck is pointing out how people become
stronger through the support and companionship of others.

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“
“
I could get you strung up on a tree so
easy it ain’t even funny

All Crooks’s strength is taken away by what Curley’s wife

says. She re-establishes the brutal power of white over
black. Her threat of framing Crooks, alleging sexual
interference, would certainly be sufficient to get him
hanged. This episode prepares you for the immediate
rough justice of the lynch-mob that pursues Lennie at the end of
the novel.

Throughout this section Lennie has shown a growing sense

of confidence as Crooks, Candy and he all share their

Text commentary
dreams. Now, the outburst from Curley’s wife reduces him
to the state of a helpless child. Notice how Steinbeck
uses the word ‘whined’ to underline the animal
imagery.

The reappearance of the old prejudices makes Crooks withdraw

into himself again. His response to oppression is to return to the
way he was: ‘reduced himself to nothing’.
“
“ What you doin’ in Crooks’s room. You
hadn’t ought to be in here.

On his return, George shows annoyance at Lennie for being in

Crooks’s room. He is also cross at Candy because he wanted to
keep the farm a secret. Crooks returns to rubbing his back with
liniment. This takes us back to the opening of the scene and is
another example of Steinbeck’s frequent use of repeated patterns
and cycles. For Crooks, nothing has changed.

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Quick quiz 4
Uncover the plot
1 Delete two of the three alternatives given, to find the correct plot.
Steinbeck opens the section with a detailed description of the bunk-
house/the Salinas River/the harness room. All the men go into
town/to bed/to work on Monday/Friday/Saturday night. Crooks,
Lennie and Candy remain at the ranch. Lennie/Candy/Curley’s wife is
the first character to enter Crooks’s room. Crooks enjoys/resents/
welcomes the interruption. Lennie tells Crooks about Curley/Weed/the
dream farm and Crooks is attracted by the prospect. Crooks taunts/
flatters/hates Lennie. Candy joins them and the three lonely/happy/
sad men discuss the dream farm. They are interrupted by Curley’s
wife, who shows special interest in Crooks/Lennie/Candy when she
guesses that it was he who hurt Curley’s hand. Curley’s wife
threatens/teases/flirts with Crooks. George returns and is overjoyed/
annoyed/resentful that George and Candy have shared the dream
farm with Crooks.
Quick quiz

Revealing the characters

2 Why is Crooks isolated?
3 What does Crooks have that no other worker on the ranch has?
4 Why does Lennie talk to Crooks?
5 Why does Crooks taunt Lennie about George getting hurt and not
coming back to the ranch?
6 How does Lennie respond to the idea of George not coming back and
why?
7 How does Candy feel about the dream farm?
8 Why does Curley’s wife interrupt the three men?

Setting the scene

9 What is different between Steinbeck’s description of the bunk-house
and the description of Crooks’s room?

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Section 5
This section again starts with evocative scene-setting. Notice
how Steinbeck appeals to the reader’s sense of hearing as well as
sight. The visual detail is supported by the onomatopoeia: the
sound of the word echoes the sense of ‘nibble’, ‘wisp’,
‘stamped’, ‘bit’, ‘rattled’, ‘buzz’ and ‘humming’. It all creates a
warm and lazy atmosphere. Noises made by the men outside –
‘clang’, ‘shouts’, ‘jeering’ – intrude on the quiet atmosphere. The
barn is a fitting environment for the gentle and uncomplicated
nature of Lennie.
“
“

Text commentary
Lennie sat in the hay and looked at a little
dead puppy that lay in front of him

Lennie has killed the puppy by clumsily petting it. His

tendency to inflict damage through trying to show love is
becoming more pronounced. There is a moment of great
pathos when he ‘unburies’ the puppy. He is struggling to
come to terms with what he has done and particularly with
his disobedience. The inner turmoil that this misfortune
has caused prepares us for the coming scene with Curley’s wife.
Steinbeck has created a tragic and doom-laden atmosphere in
which we are very aware of Lennie’s instability.

Curley’s wife is attracted to Lennie because he has got the

better of her husband. She has worked out a complicated
arrangement to ensure that she can safely be alone with
him in the barn without interruption. Appropriately, she
wears a ‘bright cotton dress’ and ‘red ostrich feathers’.
We know already how strongly Lennie is attracted to
the colour red.

Lennie is particularly vulnerable here because of his unhappiness.

He is mourning the death of the puppy and is terrified that it may
have robbed him of any chance of the dream farm. This makes him

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receptive to the offer of companionship and consolation, in

spite of George’s previous warnings to stay away from
Curley’s wife and not to talk to her.

The description of the death of the puppy foreshadows

what is about to happen to Curley’s wife. This incident
tells us more about her character – we see her
vulnerable side and her humanity in consoling Lennie – but it also
gives the scene tension and a high potential for danger.
“
“ Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk
to nobody. I get awful lonely.
Text commentary

Explore Curley keeps his wife on a tight rein. When she does get
Steinbeck has used the chance to talk to someone, the words pour out of her
this technique of in a ‘passion of communication’. In what almost amounts
‘almost-soliloquy’ to a soliloquy (because Lennie really isn’t paying any
before. Think back to
the conversation
attention to most of what she says), Curley’s wife reveals
Crooks had with Lennie her own dreams of a better life. Notice how her dream
in the harness room. parallels that of Candy, Crooks and George. Curley’s wife
seems to be star-struck and to have taken seriously the
flattering promises made by men trying to ingratiate
themselves with her. Despite her attempts at sophistication,
she seems pathetically naive, notably when she is
convinced that her ‘ol’ lady’ stole the letter from Hollywood.
Although she mocks the men’s dream, underneath she
is no different from them. Think again about George’s
judgement of her as ‘jail bait’. Was he fair, do you think?

Curley met his wife at a dance hall, one evening when she had
decided that she could not stay at home any longer. His offer of
Explore marriage was her last chance of escape. However, she
Compare Lennie’s ‘don’ like Curley’.
incapacity for
judgement with Slim,
As was the case with Crooks, Lennie’s innocent and open
who consciously
avoids judging people. manner inspires confidence here. Curley’s wife finds her
‘dream’ in the glittery world of show-business, the cinema

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and glossy magazines. This is in sharp contrast to that of the three

men. Her interest in the world of cinema and film stars suggest that
her behaviour and clothes are designed to provoke interest and
attention rather than to invite intimacy. Despite her sensuality and
provocative appearance, she seems only to want to talk to
Lennie. “
“ I like to pet nice things

Lennie has moved from mice to the puppy and thence to

dreams of owning rabbits. Lennie explains that what
attracted him to the rabbits he saw at a fair was their long
hair. This aids our understanding of the transition from

Text commentary
rabbits to Curley’s wife.

To begin with, Curley’s wife has been content to

snuggle up to Lennie, but now she begins to be alarmed by his
obsession with petting. Nevertheless, she still underestimates the
danger in Lennie’s behaviour and her own closeness to him. She
describes him as a big baby. “
“ Curley’s wife laughed at him

This is a difficult moment in the book to understand. How

deliberate, do you think, is Curley’s wife’s suggestion that
Lennie might fondle her hair? She could be innocently
referring to its texture, or knowingly leading Lennie
towards a sexual encounter. Her intentions at this
moment are crucial in allocating blame for what
happens next, but they remain unknown. We cannot be
certain whether she was in the barn just to talk companionably to
Lennie, or whether she was intent upon seduction. Notice how she
only struggles when her appearance is ‘mussed up’, which is
consistent with her vanity.
“
“
Lennie was in a panic. His face was
contorted.

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Lennie’s panic gives rise to the use of physical force and the
results, as with the puppy, are fatal. It is important to notice
that the reason for Lennie’s panic and anger is his fear that
George may discover that he has broken his promise.
George uses the threat of the loss of the dream farm
“
and the rabbits to keep Lennie under control.

“
I done another bad thing

Although Lennie says he has done another ‘bad thing’, we

are never sure that he fully grasps its significance. Lennie is
far more worried that what he has done will make
George cross. Steinbeck uses the word ‘pawed’ here to
Text commentary

remind you of the animal imagery which always

accompanies Lennie. More evidence of Lennie’s inability to tell
good from bad is that he leaves Curley’s wife to go and conceal
the puppy’s body, because he thinks that its death will make things
worse for him. Lennie has no in-built sense that people are any
more important than other animals. Notice how Lennie’s neglect
“
has the effect of making the death of Curley’s wife even sadder.

“
As happens sometimes, a moment settled

This lyrical, descriptive passage emphasises the contrast with the

violence of the drama that has just taken place. The scene is set
at dusk, and the sounds that Steinbeck mentions are more
distant and harmonious. The dog that comes in reminds the
reader of Lennie’s lost animal state of innocence. By her
death, Curley’s wife is also returned to a natural state of
innocence.

Steinbeck’s writing technique is very similar to script-writing for

the cinema. We have seen how carefully he constructs settings for
each main section of the book and only then introduces the
characters. Here he introduces what in a film might be a kind of
freeze-frame. This device creates a quiet moment before the
turbulence of the conclusion of the story.

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As the action resumes, it is ironic that it should be Candy who

enters since he has been working out more details of the farm
which may have been Lennie’s salvation. All their hopes are dashed
by his discovery of the body. Notice how Steinbeck uses sound to
accompany the restarting of the action: the noises get louder, from
‘stamped’ and ‘chinked’ to ‘stamped and snorted’, ‘chewed’ and
‘clashed’. “
“ I should of knew

George has been removed from the action for about 30

pages, and now he reappears. This has given Lennie the
freedom to behave without George’s guiding and restraining

Text commentary
hand. George confesses that what has happened is what he
feared all along. His thoughts are immediately for
Lennie. Candy, who is much more realistic now, says
that the ranch-hands, led by Curley, will exact their
own kind of brutal justice.
“
“ You an’ me can get that little place, can’t
we George?

Candy’s ‘greatest fear’ is that the farm is now gone.

George realises that his own prospects are now no better
than those of all the other itinerant workers, with their
“
limited aspirations of cheap sex and gambling.

“ such a nice fella

Circumstance and the quirks of Lennie’s character have brought

about this tragic conclusion. George says that Lennie was never
motivated by malice and that the victims are just casualties of his
innocence. Candy’s bitter attack on Curley’s wife hints at her
symbolic role – through her action of ‘messing things up’ he and
his friends have lost their dream and the chance of a new life.

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Slim examines the body and confirms that Curley’s wife is

dead. Everyone respects his authority as the leader of the
group. Even allowing for Curley’s emotional reaction, you
should still notice that the basis of Slim’s authority is a
quiet firmness, while Curley’s instinct is always
towards instant violence.

The prospect of a man-hunt and the opportunity to use his

Luger excites Carlson, who seems to want to solve all his
problems with his gun. His keenness to use his Luger on
Lennie reminds us of his former enthusiasm to use it on
Candy’s dog.
Text commentary

Curley’s response is aggressive, probably because he

already has a score to settle with Lennie. Rather than let
the law take its course, Curley announces his intention of
shooting Lennie in the stomach with a shot-gun. This
would lead to a very slow and painful death.

George does all he can to get the men to promise that they will
take Lennie alive and not harm him. However, from the way Curley
treats the search as a hunt for an animal, saying he will ‘shoot for
the guts’ by way of revenge, George can tell there would be no
hope of Lennie coming out of it alive. He directs the hunters the
wrong way.

Slim is as perceptive as usual, and realises that to catch Lennie

alive and lock him up would not really be the answer. He talks
Explore about Lennie’s capture as if Lennie were a wild animal.
Notice how this Slim seems to be suggesting that the most humane way
echoes Slim’s to treat Lennie would be to kill him: ‘Curley’s gonna
comments about want to shoot ‘im … An’ s’pose they lock him up an’ strap
Candy’s dog in
Section 3.
him down and put him in a cage. That ain’t no good,
George.’ As ever, Slim’s word is law.

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Quick quiz 5
Uncover the plot
1 Delete two of the three alternatives given, to find the correct plot.
The setting of this section is the barn/the ranch house/the Salinas
River. It is Saturday/Sunday/Monday afternoon when Curley’s wife
finds Lennie in the barn, grieving for the puppy he has inadvertently
killed. Without her permission/At her invitation/Despite her warning,
Lennie touches her hair; she panics and Lennie, terrified by her
silence/tears/screams, breaks her neck. Remembering George’s
instructions, Lennie returns to the north/Weed/the pool.
Curley/George/Candy discovers the body and realises their dream is
over. He fetches George, who sends the other men the wrong
way/after Lennie/to Soledad while he goes to find Lennie.

Revealing the characters

2 What are Lennie’s feelings about the puppy he has killed?
3 Why does Curley’s wife want to talk to Lennie?

Quick quiz
4 What is her dream?
5 How does Curley’s wife feel about Curley?
6 Why does she suggest to Lennie that he touches her hair?
7 Why does Lennie put his hand over her mouth?
8 Does Lennie realise the full extent of what he has done to Curley’s
wife?
9 Why does he hide the puppy’s body?
10 Why is Candy upset at the end of the section?
11 What does Slim think about Lennie when he sees the body?
12 What does George decide to do and why?

Setting the scene

13 Why does Steinbeck open the section with the setting of the barn?

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Section 6
This final section returns to the opening setting. In a way that
echoes the shooting of Candy’s dog, Lennie has been taken
outside by Steinbeck into the natural world where he belongs
and where he is to die. It is useful to compare both descriptions
of the Salinas River. The pastoral calm is still noticeable, but
the action of the heron here in swallowing the little water
snake hints at the violence in nature. The silence of the original
setting is disturbed by the ‘gust’ of the wind and the noise of the
leaves, which occurred only at the very end of the opening scene.
Text commentary

By ending the novel where it began, Steinbeck brings the action of

the book full circle. This gives a feeling of completeness to the
story, but does it give you the same feeling about the lives of the
characters? We are left with the feeling that they are forever doomed
to wander from farm to farm, from casual acquaintance to casual
acquaintance, endlessly repeating the hopeless cycle of their lives.
“
“he came as silently as a creeping
bear moves

The description of Lennie drinking at the pool parallels that

in the opening section. This time, instead of throwing
himself into the water, he drinks as a real hunted
animal might, cautiously, alert for every sound.
Notice how the other animals in the clearing all move
away. “
“And then from out of Lennie’s head

Steinbeck again uses a film technique to illustrate the complex

nature of Lennie’s mentality. His guilt and its consequences are
played out in a scene between Aunt Clara (his former guardian) and
himself. Aunt Clara is the character of George and says what
George would say – although, interestingly, not with his voice.

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Perhaps Lennie has heard this scene over and over again
from George. This first vision or dream is concerned with
events in the past. Lennie’s conscience (if that is what it
is) explains in detail how he has sinned. Does Lennie’s
vision add to what you already know or feel about him?
Does it make Lennie appear more childlike and
vulnerable? Would the story’s end have been more
Explore moving or more positive if this episode had been omitted?
Make sure you can
explain why you feel The appearance of the giant rabbit is to do with Lennie’s
the way you do about fear for the future. The rabbit is a symbol of a time of
Steinbeck’s use of this
peace in quiet and natural surroundings, both in the past
unusual device.
of childhood (toy rabbits) and in the future of the dream

Text commentary
farm. Lennie tells himself that this dream has been shattered by
events. He seems to be gaining some grasp of the implications of
what has happened, although he has to conjure up imaginary
beings to explain. This device gives you an insight not only into
what Lennie thinks, but also the way he thinks.

The next passage – which begins ‘Only the topmost ridges’ – is

almost identical to a section near the start of the book, except that
this time the distant sounds of men are no longer incidental and
unimportant, but indicate the whereabouts of the hunting party.

George arrives. To reassure Lennie, he moves through

familiar exchanges to a point where they begin to talk
once more about how they have each other for support and
companionship. Steinbeck conveys George’s anguish with
light touches here and there, using words and phrases
like ‘he said woodenly’, ‘quiet for a moment’, ‘shakily’.
George also speaks to Lennie calmly and quietly,
without his usual outbursts, calling him by his name instead of the
more usual ‘crazy bastard’ and ‘son-of-a-bitch’, which he uses
when he is angry. George has rarely been as gentle as this with
Lennie. On which other occasions does he treat him with equal
consideration?

57
3122_001-080 10/5/07 11:54 Page 58

“
“
From the distance came the sound of men
shouting at one another

As the hunting party draws nearer, the dream farm takes

on the characteristics of heaven and becomes a place
where Lennie will find peace. George has stolen
Carlson’s Luger and has come prepared for this final act
of friendship. He asks Lennie to remove his hat, thus
exposing the back of his head to the bullet in the same
place Carlson used with Candy’s dog. Dreaming of the future,
Lennie dies happily and unsuspectingly

Slim understands what George has done and why. He also seems
Text commentary

to sense what it has cost George. In contrast, Carlson’s question –

the final words in the book – summarise the harsh world in which
the characters live – a world of callousness and brutality. They are
unable to understand the world of George and Slim, because they
cannot see the basis upon which it is built. Curley and Carlson are
not even aware of their own loneliness.

Consider whether you feel that the ending of the story was
inevitable, or whether it might have been possible for George and
Lennie to have succeeded in owning their own farm. Does the book
offer any redeeming or hopeful view of the itinerants’ relationships
with each other? Think about whether Steinbeck offers any future
for them or any possibility of happiness.

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Quick quiz 6
Uncover the plot
1 Delete two of the three alternatives given, to find the correct plot.
Steinbeck closes the novel with the setting of Soledad/Weed/the
Salinas River to mirror the opening of the novel. The heron swallowing
the water snake prefigures/follows/undermines the final, climactic,
violent action. Lennie appears and swims in/stands by/drinks at the
pool as the animals come near/flee/surround him. Lennie has
nightmares/visions/blackouts that reflect his past and his future.
When George finds Lennie he is very angry/distressed/gentle and
describes their dream farm. George can hear shots/the hunting
party/herons as he tells Lennie to face him/run away/turn around.
Visualising their dream farm, Lennie is shot with Carlson’s gun.

Revealing the characters

2 How does Steinbeck describe Lennie’s movements?
3 What are the two visions that Lennie has?

Quick quiz
4 What does Lennie’s first vision represent?
5 What does Lennie’s second vision represent?
6 Do you think that George knows he will shoot Lennie?
7 Why do you think George is not angry with Lennie as he was in the
opening section?
8 Why does George describe the dream farm?
9 Does Lennie die hating George?
10 Why do you think Carlson does not understand George at the end of
the novel but Slim does?
11 Why do you think Steinbeck ends the novel with Carlson’s lack of
understanding?

Setting the scene

12 Why does Steinbeck begin and end the novel with the setting of the
Salinas River? What is different about the Salinas River at the end of
the novel compared with the beginning?

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3122_001-080 10/5/07 11:54 Page 60

WritingWriting
essaysessays
on Of Mice
on 1984
and Men

Exams
Coursework

Examiners will mark your coursework essay according to four

assessment objectives (AOs).
G AO1: respond critically, sensitively and in detail, selecting
appropriate ways to convey response, using textual evidence.
G Remember that the text has been constructed by an author for a
purpose. Do not write about the novel as if its characters and
events were real. You should also write in a formal style.
G AO2: explore how language, structure and forms contribute to
meanings of texts, considering different approaches to texts and
alternative interpretations.
G Discuss the meaning of the quotations you use (evaluation of
language). Show that you understand why Steinbeck organises the
Writing essays

novel in this way, and demonstrate that there can be different

opinions about the novel.
G AO3: there are marks available for how well you structure your
sentences, your spelling and your grammatical accuracy.
G AO4: relate texts to social, cultural and historical contexts and
literary traditions.
G Demonstrate your knowledge that Steinbeck was writing about
the 1930s and the experience of the itinerant workers. You should
also be able to bring into your essay the fact that Steinbeck’s
novel was a social commentary of the time and that this was his
interest.

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Exams
Coursework

These Assessment Objectives also apply for examinations on

Of Mice and Men.

There are two levels for English Literature: foundation and higher.
The difference is that foundation papers will often give you a
question followed by bullet points to show what you should include
in your answer. You should use this as a basis for your plan. Higher
papers will often give you a quotation and then a question. You
should use the quotation as a starting point and then make sure you
offer your own opinion.
G If you are following the AQA/OCR/WJC examination boards they
may give you an extract from the novel and ask a question.
Remember to show how it relates to the novel as a whole.

Writing essays
G At all times you must answer the question! Examiners cannot give
you marks for answers that do not relate to the question. If you
practise planning (for revision, make plans of past examination
questions), you will ensure that you do not waste your time in the
exam by writing about something that is not relevant.
G If you plan your work effectively, you will have time in the
examination to think carefully about the words you write and the
order you write them in.
G Check with your teacher whether you are allowed to take in
your copy of the novel and whether you are allowed to
have annotations in it.

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3122_001-080 10/5/07 11:54 Page 62

Key quotations

“
“ Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest
guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t
belong to no place.

Steinbeck’s comment on the social conditions of ranch workers in

the 1930s shows his sympathy and understanding of the world
they inhabit. “
“ I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.

Steinbeck draws three lonely men together to show the value of

friendship.
“
“
Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody.
I get awful lonely.

Steinbeck shows that even Curley’s wife suffers from loneliness.

“
Key quotations

“ That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides, you’ve

broken it pettin’ it.

Steinbeck foreshadows Lennie’s killing of both the puppy and of

Curley’s wife, and shows that Lennie likes to pet soft things but
does not know his own strength.
“
“
He was so scairt he couldn’t let go of that dress. And
he’s so God damn strong, you know.

George’s revelation to Slim about the incident in Weed

foreshadows Lennie’s action of breaking Curley’s wife’s neck. We
realise that he does it because he is scared and this prepares the
reader to understand Lennie’s final action.

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3122_001-080 10/5/07 11:54 Page 63

“
“
And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her
neck.

Steinbeck relates the incident with simplicity and peacefulness,

showing that Lennie had no intention of killing her.
“
“
He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up
the hills and rolled down again.

George’s necessary action is conveyed with simplicity.

“
“
Suddenly Lennie appeared out of the brush, and he
came as silently as a creeping bear moves.

Here, animal imagery shows Lennie as hunted.

“
“Someday – we’re gonna get the jack together and
“
we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres

Key quotations
an’ a cow and some pigs and ––” “An’ live off the
fatta the lan’.”

The natural images in the dream show Steinbeck’s belief in the

importance of man’s connection with the environment that
surrounds him.

“
“
I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to
hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we
would.

George realises that the dream is dead.

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Exam questions
Essay

1 What is your opinion of Curley’s wife? In your answer you should

consider:

• What she says and does.

• What others say about her.

3
2 ‘Well, I think Curley’s married … a tart.’ What is your own view of
Curley’s wife?

3 ‘Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the
world.’ says George. Explore Steinbeck’s use of loneliness in the
novel as a whole.

4 ‘That dog ain’t no good to himself. I wish’t somebody’d shoot me

if I got old an’ a cripple.’ says Slim. Discuss the importance of
Candy’s dog in relation to the novel as a whole.

5 ‘I ain’t takin’ it away jus’ for meanness. That mouse ain’t fresh,
Lennie; and besides, you’ve broke it pettin’ it.’ says George. How
does Steinbeck use the device of foreshadowing throughout Of
Mice and Men to alert the reader to the tragedy at the end of the
novel?
Exam questions

6 It has been said that Of Mice and Men is sad but not entirely
pessimistic. Do you think Steinbeck shows any hope or optimism
about life in the novel?

7 Explore how Steinbeck uses the dream of the farm throughout

the novel.

8 ‘An whatta I got?’ George went on furiously. ‘I got you! … You do

bad things and I got to get you out.’ Explore Steinbeck’s
presentation of George’s relationship with Lennie. Why does he
stay with Lennie?

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3122_001-080 10/5/07 11:54 Page 65

9 Discuss whether you think George can be described as a hero or

not.

10 Steinbeck describes Crooks as a ‘proud, aloof man. He kept his

distance and demanded that other people kept theirs’. Explore
the character of Crooks and his importance in the novel as a
whole.

11 What is the importance of the dreams the characters have in the

novel?
12 Discuss Steinbeck’s use of the natural settings in the novel.

13 Critics have said that Of Mice and Men has intense dramatic
qualities. How far would you agree?

14 How effective is Steinbeck’s use of animal imagery in the novel?

15 Of Mice and Men has been said to have a dramatic quality.

Discuss the techniques Steinbeck uses to achieve this effect.

16 How and why does Steinbeck make friendship an important

theme in the novel?

17 Which character in the novel do you have the most sympathy for

Exam questions
and why?

18 How effectively do you think Steinbeck is at conveying a realistic

experience of the migrant worker in 1930s America?

19 Steinbeck describes Slim as having an ‘authority so great that his

word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love’ and that he
had an ‘understanding beyond thought’. Discuss the significance
of Slim in the novel.

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Planning an essay

Planning saves time!

It is very important to Mapping
be organised responses
in yourmeans you are
approach. Timenot thinking
spent in
up ideas at
planning yourtheresponse
same time willasbetrying to write.
reflected Planning
in the will receive.
grade you also help
you to focus on answering the question.
G The first thing to do is to read the question very carefully to make

With
surecoursework plans, allow
you fully understand more
it and planning
then time,
highlight keybuild in more
words, for
exploration
example: of the text and more quotations. Conduct research so that
your
How essay includes
are the Parsonscomments
family used on social andthe
to show historical context
horror of and
the regime?
other people’s opinions.
G You will need to make some notes on the topic to help you. This can

With
be exam
done inplans, concentrate
various ways: a list;on subheadings;
mapping the structure of youror a
spider diagram;
response
mind map,andas onillustrated
the quality onofthe
yournextexpression.
three pages.
G The advantage
Planning techniques
of using a mind map is that it lets you expand your
ideas in a clearly linked, very visual way.
G Spidergrams. Place the essay title in the middle of the page and use

GaTodifferent
create aline
mindformap
eachyou
keywrite
point. Try to
down have about
a central idea,four or case
in this five key
an
points. For each
essay title. From key
thispoint, haveofa key
a number line ideas
to showwilltextual evidence.
come out in the form
From the textual
of branches. evidence,
In the have
essay title weahave
line to show evaluation
chosen, each member of of the
language. You can
Parsons family couldthen label
form each line
a branch, or to
youshow
could where
group it the
will children
come in
your essay.
together.
G Tables. These
By focusing onare useful
each key for
ideacomparison
in turn, youessays.
will be able to branch out
further, as your brain makes connections between the ideas. If your
G Bullet points. Some students learn best in a logical, ordered format
Planning an essay

main impression of the children is that they are violent, this could
and number their points.
form one of the new branches, and a ‘twig’ projecting from that
Essay
couldplan
givechecklist
a specific example; perhaps the single word ‘games’
would be enough to jog your memory back to the children’s
1. Break down the question.
appearance in Part I, Chapter II.
2. Brainstorm your ideas.
G Since a mind map is a way of charting your knowledge, it is also an
3. excellent
Choose your textual
revision aid.evidence.
Working through a number of essay titles in
this way should consolidate
4. Structure your argument: point, whatevidence,
you knowevaluation.
about the text, in a time-
efficient way.
5. Check your plan.

6. Use your plan.

66
 ‘the beak
3122_001-080

‘the sun had Steinbeck Steinbeck uses

swallowed the
left the valley The ending mirrors successfully uses omens throughout
little snake’
to go climbing the beginning: the natural world the novel – this
up the slopes effective structure. to mirror the symbolises
of the Galiban actions of the Lennie’s death.
Mountains’
10/5/07

characters.

1 2
11:54

The darkness adds

foreboding, the
dream has failed and ‘You never
Steinbeck uses
Lennie has to die. give a thought
visions to show
to George’
Page 67

the reader how

What is your view of Lennie feels
3 about his
the way Steinbeck actions.
ends the novel?
This shows us that
Lenny realises the
Steinbeck closes the burden he is to George
novel with pathos and how strong their
and recognition that friendship is.
even though Lennie’s 4
fate is tragic, the 5
friendship he shares
with George is rare The gigantic
and priceless. rabbit represents
Lennie’s fear for
the future.
Although Lennie cannot Lennie is distraught about
‘We got each survive the laws of society, the rabbits, but the thing
other, that’s he dies knowing the strength that hurts him most is the
what, that gives and worth of friendship. idea that he will lose
‘He gonna
a hoot in hell in leave ya all George. Steinbeck
hell about us.’ alone’ reinforces the importance
and value of friendship.

67
67
Spidergram essay plans
 Spidergram essay plans

68
Loneliness is a major Life for ranch
3122_001-080

‘Guys like us … ‘What the hell kind

theme in the novel. workers: 1930s
are the loneliest of bed you giving
All characters era of Depression. Steinbeck
guys in the world.’ us, anyways.’
experience it in Life was difficult describes the
varying degrees. and living poor conditions
conditions poor. of the bunk-house
10/5/07

with the idea that

George’s bed has
lice and ticks.
George repeats this 1 2
11:54

phrase throughout the

novel to emphasise
the truth about the
ranch workers’ lives. Steinbeck reveals
George’s torrent of
‘… if I was alone I could Trouble: incident anger about Lennie in
Page 68

in Weed/losing a monologue at the

live so easy. I could get a 3 jobs/Lennie’s opening of the novel.
job an’ work, an’ no trouble’ simplicity gets
says George. Why do you him into trouble.
Foreshadows
think he does not do this? future tragedy.
‘you keep me
George’s anger in hot water
in Section 1 is all the time’
paralleled with
his desire for
Lennie to die 5 4
with dignity and
with the dream
in his mind.

Friendship: Lennie’s simple

George: heroic. protect Lennie/ statement is the
Final act of shooting promised Aunt basis for friendship
his friend is the Clara/he used to and Steinbeck shows
most difficult thing ‘because I got you
‘Ain’t gonna be tease Lennie/ that even someone
he could ever do. to look after me,
no more trouble. Lennie never as simple as Lennie
and you got me to
Nobody gonna took offense is capable of great
look after you’
get hurt.’ friendship.
 Mice: symbolic in the
novel. Parallel between
3122_001-080

Robert Burns’ poem, Lennie Small and the

‘The best laid ‘To A Mouse’, shows ‘Sure they all want
mice he kills. Burns
schemes o’ mice how men’s dreams it. Everybody wants
shows that men are
and men, / Gang and future plans a little bit of land.’ George’s and
helpless when pitted
aft agley.’ often go wrong, Lennie’s dream is
against society and fate.
10/5/07

bringing tragedy. shared by Candy and

then by Crooks. The
mice Lennie kills
foreshadow how the
dream farm fails.
11:54

George’s and
Lennie’s dream of 1 2
the farm is shared
by many ranch
workers. ‘This thing they
Steinbeck lets the had never really
Page 69

hope build up to believed in was

engage the coming true.’
What is the reader. They think
significance of the 3 it can be real.
title of the novel?
Raising expectations
Steinbeck uses the title to makes the final outcome
show how men’s dreams of the novel even more
bring heartache and misery. tragic and the reader
However, it is also uplifting sympathises strongly.
because it shows the 5 4
strength of friendship.

Death of Curley’s wife

signifies the loss of
The Children
the dream, hinted out
throughout by ‘His eyes blinded Candy has lost
‘No, Lennie, I ain’t George loses
omens. This causes with tears and more than his dog,
mad, I ain’t never the one person
Candy’s sorrow. he turned and he has also lost his
ben mad, an’ I ain’t he cared about
went weakly out strength to carry
now. That’s a thing I through an
of the barn…’ on. He has nothing
want ya to know.’ horrific action.
to look forward to.

69
Spidergram essay plans
3122_001-080 10/5/07 11:54 Page 70

Sample response
C Grade

‘Explore
How does the significance
Orwell presentofa the character
depressing of Crooks.’
picture of the world in
which Winston is living in the opening of Nineteen Eighty-Four?
We get a description of Crooks in the second section where
The start ofdescribes
Steinbeck the bookhim is very depressing
as having because
a ‘crooked backthewhere
weather is
a horse
cold and
kicked him.because
The bossWinston
gives seems verywhen
him hell miserable.
he’s mad.’  says
It also ‘the
So, this
clocks were
already showsstriking thirteen’,
that the which is are
other ranchers unusual. It feels
not very nicelike
to him and
everything
treat is grey and dirty.
him disrespectfully.  The He
setting
is theis target
also depressing
for when the because
boss
everything
is is broken
angry. They or destroyed,
also called maybe‘yabecause
him a nigger, see the ofstable’s
age orbuck’s
a war:a
‘…these and
nigger,’ vistasSteinbeck
of rottingshows
nineteenth-century
that the men athouses,
the ranchtheirare
sides
racist
shored
and discriminate  against
up with baulks of timber,
him,their
but wewindows patched
know that this with
was a
cardboard
common view andintheir roofsthat
the time withSteinbeck
corrugatedwasiron, theirthe
writing crazy garden
novel.

walls sagging in all directions.’
Even though  not focus on Crooks very much
Steinbeck does
in the novel,
Winston does he
notadds
seemtovery
the theme of loneliness.
happy with  he is
his life because
getting
The menolder andranch
at the he has
do an
notulcer on hisletright
normally Crooksankle
join‘a invaricose
the
ulcer
celebrations. We know this because Candy says ‘They let thenothing
above his right ankle’. In the building where he lives nigger
come in that night.’  so obviously they do not like him andduring
works properly, like the lift and even the electricity is cut off
the day,prefer
Examiner’s
would whichcomments
means
not thathim
to have hardergetting
it isthere. Candyupalsostairs.
tells George
that1984
In ‘If he coulda
there is noused his feet,
freedom. Smitty
Orwell saysNineteen
wrote he wouldaEighty-Four
killed the as
anigger’
warning andandhethis showspeople
wanted us thatto Crooks
realise iswhat
physically
life wouldattacked
be likeand
if
noone was
there thinks
no very much of
democracy at all. 
or itfreedom.  There are posters
Sample responses

everywhere
Some of theofwords
Big Brother
used to and theseCrooks
describe postersare tell‘Negro’,
you ‘Big‘pain’
Brother
and
‘patient’.  I think that Crooks is a lot like the other men on the
is Watching You’. This shows that there is no privacy because there
is always
ranch someone
because he iswatching
lonely andyourhas
every movement,
nobody else toand to
talkyou can’t
andget
awayiswith
this anything.
shown when we are told that he reads a lot. It is clear that
Crooks
Winston’stries to disguise
room  his loneliness
has a telescreen in it whichinmeans
his books
that and
he isthis
never
alone and always watched by the ‘Thought Police’. These are a

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makes him happier than he would be without them, also he lives in

a stable so nobody else is around him.  Later in the novel,
Steinbeck tells us that he is the only man on the ranch to be able
to have possessions  and this makes him different to the other
men on the ranch. 
Crooks is linked to Lennie because he also is a target for violence.
 Curley picks on Lennie because he is not very bright and is
an easy target.  This is similar to Crooks but it is Crooks’s
colour, not his lack of intelligence that makes him a target. Other
people on the ranch suffer from violence too, like Candy who loses
his best friend, his dog, because Carlson shoots him.  So all
three characters, Crooks, Candy and Lennie have suffered violence
in their life because of other people’s opinions. 
I think Steinbeck shows the reader how unjust people can be
towards each other  and the effect that this injustice has on
others.  When Lennie enters Crooks’s room, his motive is that
he is lonely  because everyone else, except Candy, has gone into
town. Lennie does not understand about racism and wants to talk.
Crooks is very off with Lennie at first and then he begins to enjoy
Sample responses
the company.  Crooks is not used to company and Steinbeck
describes him as a ‘proud and aloof’.  This means that he has
dignity and he keeps his distance from everyone else.  When
Lennie tells Crooks about the farm. At first Crooks thinks he is
joking, but then he gets excited and wants to join in. 
Steinbeck shows the reader that friendship is a powerful thing 

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3122_001-080 10/5/07 11:54 Page 72

How does Orwell present a depressing picture of the world in

and that
which it can bring
Winston hope
is living for opening
in the people who have neverEighty-Four?
of Nineteen had it. 
When Curley’s wife comes into Crooks’s room, she makes Crooks
remember that he is the lowest of the low.  He tells Candy to
The start of the book is very depressing because the weather is
cold and because Winston seems very miserable. It also says ‘the
forget about including him in the dream farm and goes into
himself again and is lonely. 
clocks were striking thirteen’, which is unusual. It feels like
everything is grey and dirty. The setting is also depressing because
Iteverything
is as if Steinbeck
is brokengives Crooks hope
or destroyed, forbecause
maybe a little while
of ageandor then
a war:
shows how hatred can take hope away.  After
‘…these vistas of rotting nineteenth-century houses, their sides this, each
character
shored up realises that of
with baulks thetimber,
dream their
can never
windowsexist, Lenniewith
patched first, then
Candy, thenand
cardboard George.
their roofs with corrugated iron, their crazy garden
walls sagging in all directions.’ 
Examiner’s comments
Winston does not seem very happy with his life because he is
This is, on the whole, a good response. The candidate
getting older and he has an ulcer on his right ankle ‘a varicose
shows an understanding of Steinbeck’s use of language
ulcer above his right ankle’. In the building where he lives nothing
and uses appropriate quotations to support the points
works properly,
made. The answerlike therelates
lift and theeventhemes
the electricity
shown is cut off during
through
the day, which
Examiner’s
Crooks’s means that
comments
character to theit is other
harderthemes
getting upin stairs.
the novel and
demonstrates awareness
In 1984 there is no of cultural
freedom. Orwell and social
wrote Nineteen contexts,
Eighty-Four as
such as racism
a warning and he and
wanteditinerant
people toworkers. The
realise what lifecandidate
would be like if
there was no democracy or freedom.  There are posters
uses appropriate language, paragraphs and sentence
Sample responses

structures, and writes about the novel as constructed by

everywhere of Big Brother and these posters tell you ‘Big Brother
an author.
is Watching You’. This shows that there is no privacy because there
is always someone watching your every movement, and you can’t get
away with anything. 
Winston’s room has a telescreen in it which means that he is never
alone and always watched by the ‘Thought Police’. These are a

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Sample response A Grade

‘Explore the significance of the character of Crooks.’

Central to Steinbeck’s novel is man’s need for companionship to

protect against the isolation that George recognises will lead to
‘meanness’.  Friendship is rare for itinerant workers in 1930s
America and Steinbeck believed that the inability to put down
roots led men into loneliness and isolation.  At the core of
the novel is the friendship between George and Lennie, and
Crooks’s role in the novel is to highlight how someone who has
been isolated for most of his adult life can be restored through
friendship.  Steinbeck’s creation of Crooks is the most
extreme example of loneliness and epitomises the isolation of man
as a result of prejudice. 
Crooks gets his name from an accident with a horse which has
made his back crooked.  The fact that he is known by this name
rather than his real name highlights his lack of identity and how he
is defined through an act of violence.  Candy also tells us
Examiner’s comments
that Crooks is a ‘nigger’ and this term was commonly used at the
This is a solid response which shows good
time Steinbeck was writing. The reader learns that he is a victim
understanding of the novel and cultural context. The
of racial prejudice
candidate  and thisinsight
demonstrates means into
that he is isolated
how meaning  and
from Sample responses
the other
ideas areranch workers.through
conveyed He is justlanguage,
one of the characters
and referswhoto
experiences
textual evidence to 
loneliness. support views. Quotations are not
always developed and the response could be more
The section of the novel where Lennie enters Crooks’s room shows
exploratory in places. It is rather simplistic. The essay
how loneliness
has can draw
a good, clear structure and the
people together. Steinbeck attempts
candidate describes it
so remain
to precisely focused
that it is like
on athe
set-piece from aisstage
title. There play.  It
a neat
was unusual for
conclusion. a black this
Overall, person to be
is an able to read
accurate, at that time
pleasing, if and
slightly
this showsunder-developed, response
us that Steinbeck believed for everyone. 
to the question.
in education

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Because Crooks lives in the stables, he has possessions that the

other ranch workers cannot have. He tells Lennie ‘This here’s my
room. Nobody got any right in here but me.’ This shows us that
Crooks is very protective about his space and the few rights that a
black man would have at that time are precious to him. 
Lennie’s simplistic view of life means that he does not recognise the
social boundaries and tries to make friends with Crooks.  At
first Crooks is hostile towards Lennie, but realises that Lennie is so
simple that he does not understand why someone would be isolated
because of their colour.  Crooks understands the importance of
friendship and I think that he could be jealous of the friendship
between George and Lennie.  I think this is why he taunts
Lennie and because he has never had the power to taunt anyone
else before. 
Steinbeck continues with the theme of loneliness  and Crooks
says that ‘A guy needs somebody – to be near him … a guy gets
too lonely an’ he gets sick.’  This is why Crooks begins to enjoy
Lennie’s company.  When Candy joins the pair, Steinbeck, for a
brief moment, allows the three ‘weak ones’ companionship. 
Sample responses

Crooks is very realistic and states that ‘ever’ guy got land in his
head’  and he does not believe that the farm is possible. 
When he realises that Candy has the money he offers to work for
nothing on the farm. This shows how desperate men were to be
able to put down roots and support themselves.  In this section,
the dream of the farm becomes a reality for all three characters,
and this is what makes the novel so tragic because they all believe

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in it for a little while. 

It is the entrance of Curley’s wife which makes Crooks realise the
impossibility of achieving the dream.  She reminds him who he
is and of his low position.  Steinbeck shows us how friendship
can make someone believe in themselves, and Crooks tells her to
leave.  She responds by saying ‘I could get you strung up on a
tree so easy it ain’t even funny.’  It is prejudice that destroys
Crooks’s dreams and hopes of friendship.  Steinbeck
describes how Crooks ‘reduced himself to nothing’. Crooks is
the first character who states that the dream farm is simply a
dream  in the world he lives in and that he cannot escape. 
He lies and tells Candy that he ‘wouldn’ want to go no place like
that’.  This is what is so tragic about the story, that in the
time Steinbeck was writing, he could not see any hope for the
characters. 
Examiner’s comments
This is a solid response which shows good
The candidate shows
understanding a sensitive
of the novel and engaged
and cultural context.response
The
to the text and writes with knowledge and
candidate demonstrates insight into how meaning and Sample responses
understanding of thethrough
ideas are conveyed 1930s context.
language, Key
andpoints
refersare
to
supported with focused textual evidence and
textual evidence to support views. Quotations are not the
candidate exploresand
always developed the the
meaning of Steinbeck’s
response could be morelanguage
and form. The
exploratory in candidate
places. It isoffers
rathertheir own ideas
simplistic. The about
essay
has meaning
the a good, clear
of thestructure
character and thedraws
and candidate attempts
comparisons
to remainthe
between focused on the
character of title.
Crooks There
andisthea neat
other
conclusion. Overall, this is an accurate, pleasing,
characters in the novel. The response is in a suitable if
slightly
style andunder-developed, response
conveys ideas logically andto clearly.
the question.

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