S Habberton

DSHS English Dept

Of Mice and Men

By John Steinbeck

GCSE English Literature

Revision guide

S Habberton

DSHS English Dept

CONTENTS
p. 3

INTRODUCTION

p. 4

SUMMARY OF THE PLOT

p. 7

CONTEXT

p. 9

CHARACTERS

p. 13

THEMES

p. 16

TECHNIQUES

p. 18

IMPORTANT EXTRACTS

Introduction
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In Section A of the GCSE English Literature examination, you

will be expected to write an essay about John Steinbecks
novel Of Mice and Men. This question may focus on one of
the following areas:

Character
Setting
Themes / Ideas
Techniques / Language
Close writing about a given extract from the book

To revise most effectively for the examination, you should

complete the following tasks:
(1.) Re-read Of Mice and Men. While reading, highlight
any important quotations which tell you something
important about characters, themes or Steinbecks
ideas behind writing the book.
(2.) Compile revision sheets on the key characters and key
themes. Each sheet should list at least 5 important
quotations and descriptions of the most important
parts of the book.
(3.) Use the Internet to find extra information to help you
gain more detailed ideas about the novel. You can
access some useful websites from the GCSE Revision
class page on the VLE, but as a starting point,
www.bbc.co.uk/gcsebitesize has some excellent
activities to test your knowledge.
(4.) Use this revision guide. There are sections on the key
characters, themes, context, and Steinbecks use of
language and other techniques.
(5.) Ask your teacher for past exam papers so that you
can practise writing in timed examination conditions.
It is very difficult to write about a whole novel in an exam,
even with the book there to help you. The only way to achieve
success in this part of the exam is to know the book VERY
well. You should be able to flick straight to the correct pages
so that you can find useful quotations and ideas. Remember
dont just re-tell the story. You dont get many marks for this.

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You will only get a C grade if you explain HOW the story is
written, using P.E.E to structure and develop your ideas.

Of Mice and Men:

Plot summary
The novel opens with two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, walking to
a nearby ranch where harvesting jobs are available. George, the smaller
man, leads the way and makes the decisions for Lennie, a mentally
handicapped giant. They stop at a stream for the evening, deciding to go to
the ranch in the morning. Lennie, who loves to pet anything soft, has a
dead mouse in his pocket. George takes the mouse away from Lennie and
reminds him of the trouble Lennie got into in the last town they were inhe
touched a girls soft dress. George then reminds Lennie not to speak to
anyone in the morning when they get to the ranch and cautions Lennie to
return to this place by the river if anything bad happens at the ranch.
When he has to take the dead mouse away from Lennie a second
time, George moans at the hardship of taking care of Lennie. After calming
his anger, George relents and promises Lennie they will try to find him a
puppy; then he tells Lennie about their dream of having a little farm where
they can be their own boss and nobody can tell them what to do, where
Lennie will tend their rabbits, and where they will live off the fatta the
lan. Lennie has heard this story so often he can repeat it by heart. And
George emphasizes that this dream and their relationship make them
different from other guys who dont have anyone or a place of their own.
They settle down and sleep for the night.

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The next morning at the ranch, the boss becomes suspicious when
George answers all the questions and Lennie does not talk. George explains
that Lennie is not bright but is a tremendous worker. They also meet Candy,
an old swamper with a sheep dog; Crooks, the black stable hand; the boss
son Curley, who is an amateur boxer and has a bad temper; Curleys wife,
who has a reputation as a tart; Carlson, another ranch hand; and Slim,
the chief mule skinner. Upon seeing Curleys wife, Lennie is fascinated with
her and George warns him to stay away from her and Curley.
That evening, Carlson complains bitterly about Candys dog, which is
old, arthritic, and smells. He offers to kill the dog for Candy, and Candy
reluctantly agrees to let him do so. Later, after the others have gone to the
barn, hoping to witness a fight between Slim and Curley over Curleys wife,
Lennie and George are alone in the bunkhouse. Lennie wants to hear the
story of their farm again, and George retells the dream. Candy overhears
and convinces George and Lennie to let him in on the plan because he has
money for a down payment. George excitedly believes that, with Candys
money, they can swing the payment for a ranch he knows of; he figures one
more month of work will secure the rest of the money they need. He
cautions Lennie and Candy not to tell anyone.
The ranch hands return, making fun of Curley for backing down to
Slim. Curley is incensed and picks a fight with Lennie, brutally beating
Lennie until George tells Lennie to fight back. Lennie smashes all the bones
in Curleys hand. Taking Curley to a doctor, Slim gets Curleys promise to
say his hand got caught in a machine so Lennie and George wont get fired.
Lennie is afraid he has done a bad thing and that George wont let him
tend the rabbits. But George explains that Lennie did not mean to hurt
Curley and that he isnt in trouble.

Later that week, Lennie tells Crooks about the plans to buy a farm,
and Crooks says he would like to join them and work for nothing. In the

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middle of their conversation, Curleys wife enters and, after Crooks tells
her she isnt welcome in his room and that if she doesnt leave, he will
ask the boss not to let her come to the barn anymore, she threatens him
with lynching. Eventually, George returns and tells her to get lost.
Dejectedly remembering his place, Crooks retracts his offer.
The next day, Lennie is in the barn with a dead puppy. While Lennie
thinks about how he can explain the dead puppy to George, Curleys wife
enters. They talk about how they enjoy touching soft things. She tells him
he can touch her hair, but when Lennie strokes it too hard and messes it
up, she gets angry. She tries to jerk her head away, and, in fear, Lennie
hangs on to her hair. Curleys wife begins to scream. To keep her from
screaming, Lennie holds her so tightly he breaks her neck. Knowing he has
done something bad, he goes to the hiding place by the stream.
Candy finds the body of Curleys wife and goes for George; both men
immediately know what has happened. Candy knows that Curley will
organize a lynching party, and George says he is not going to let them hurt
Lennie. George asks Candy to wait a few minutes before he calls the others;
then he slips into the bunkhouse and steals Carlsons Luger. When Curley
comes and sees his murdered wife, he vows to kill Lennie slowly and
painfully. George joins the men searching for Lennie.
As they spread out, George alone goes straight for the riverside
where he finds Lennie. Lennie knows he has done a bad thing and
expects George to scold and lecture him. George, however, is so overcome
with remorse that he cannot scold Lennie but must save him from Curleys
cruelty. He tells Lennie to look across the river and imagine their little farm.
George describes it, as he has done many times before, and while Lennie is
smiling with pleasure and envisioning the rabbits he will tend, George
shoots Lennie at the back of his neck. The others arrive, and George leads
them to believe Lennie had Carlsons gun which George wrestled away from
him and shot in self-defence. Only Slim comprehends the t ruth, and he
takes George off up the footpath for a drink.

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CONTEXT:
Background and History
The context of a novel is the background and history of when
it was written. This includes the writers life, what was
happening when he wrote the novel, and the ideas and
philosophies of the time that might have affected the novels
meanings. This is a brief summary of the novels context, to
help you decide why John Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men
in the first place, and what he wanted the reader to feel.
JOHN STEINBECK WAS BORN IN 1902 in Salinas,
California, a region that became the setting for
much of his fiction, including Of Mice and Men. As
a teenager, he spent his summers working as a
hired hand on neighbouring ranches, where his
experiences of rural California and its people
impressed him deeply. In 1919, he enrolled at
Stanford University, where he studied for the next
six years before finally leaving without having
earned a degree. For the next five years, he
worked as a reporter and then as caretaker for a
Lake Tahoe estate while he completed his first
novel, an adventure story called Cup of Gold,
published in 1929. Critical and commercial
success did not come for another six years, when
Flat was published in 1935, at which point Steinbeck was finally able to
support himself entirely with his writing.
Steinbecks best-known works deal with the plight of desperately poor
California wanderers, who, despite the cruelty of their circumstances, often
triumph spiritually. Always politically involved, Steinbeck followed Tortilla Flat
with three novels about the plight of the California working class, beginning
with In Dubious Battle in 1936. Of Mice and Men followed in 1937, and The
Grapes of Wrath won the 1940 Pulitzer Prize and became Steinbecks most
famous novel. Steinbeck sets Of Mice and Men against the backdrop of

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Depression-era America. The economic conditions of the time victimized

workers like George and Lennie, whose quest for land was prevented by cruel
and powerful forces beyond their control, but whose tragedy was marked,
ultimately, by friendship, compassion and love.

Though Of Mice and Men is regarded by some as his greatest achievement,

many critics argue that it suffers from one-dimensional characters and an
inevitable ending, which means the lesson of the novel is more important than
the people in it.
Steinbeck continued writing throughout the 1940s and 1950s. He went to
Europe during World War II, then worked in Hollywood both as a filmmaker and
a scriptwriter for such movies as Viva Zapata! (1950). His important later
works include East of Eden (1952), a sprawling family saga set in California,
and Travels with Charley (1962), a journalistic account of his tour of America.
He died in New York City in 1968.

The History of Migrant Farmers in California

After World War I, economic and ecological forces brought many rural poor and
migrant agricultural workers from the Great Plains states, such as Oklahoma,
Texas, and Kansas, to California. Following World War I, a recession led to a
drop in the market price of farm crops, which meant that farmers were forced
to produce more goods in order to earn the same amount of money. To meet
this demand for increased productivity, many farmers bought more land and
invested in expensive agricultural equipment, which plunged them into debt.
The stock market crash of 1929 only made matters worse. Banks were forced
to foreclose on mortgages and collect debts. Unable to pay their creditors,
many farmers lost their property and were forced to find other work. But doing
so proved very difficult, since the nations unemployment rate had
skyrocketed, peaking at nearly twenty-five percent in 1933.
The increase in farming activity across the Great Plains states caused the
precious soil to erode. This erosion, coupled with a seven-year drought that
began in 1931, turned once fertile grasslands into a desertlike region known as
the Dust Bowl. Hundreds of thousands of farmers packed up their families and
few belongings, and headed for California, which, for numerous reasons,
seemed like a promised land. Migrant workers came to be known as Okies, for
although they came from many states across the Great Plains, twenty percent
of the farmers were originally from Oklahoma. Okies were often met with scorn
by California farmers and natives, which only made their dislocation and
poverty even more unpleasant.

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John Steinbeck immortalized the plight of one such family, the Joads, in his
most famous novel, The Grapes of Wrath. In several of his novels, including Of
Mice and Men, Steinbeck illustrates how challenging and often unrewarding the
life of migrant farmers could be. Just as George and Lennie dream of a better
life on their own farm, the Great Plains farmers dreamed of finding a better life
in California. The states mild climate promised a longer growing season and,
with soil favourable to a wider range of crops, it offered more opportunities to
harvest. Despite these promises, though, very few found it to be the land of
opportunity and plenty of which they dreamed.

Ranch workers
in 1930s

CHARACTERS
We can study what characters (note the spelling!) are like in themselves, but
we see them best in their relations with other people and the wider society of
which they are (or fail to be) a part.
Any statement about what characters are like should be backed up by
evidence: quote what they say, or explain what they do (or both). Do not,
however, merely retell narrative (the story) without comment. Statements of
opinion should be followed by reference to events or use of quotation;
quotation should be followed by explanation (if needed) and comment. This is
rather mechanical, but if you do it, you will not go far wrong.
In Of Mice and Men the characters are clearly drawn and memorable. Some
could be the subject of a whole essay, while others would not. Of course a
question on a theme (see below) might require you to write about characters,
anyway: for example, to discuss loneliness, you write about lonely people.
There is, clearly, only one real relationship depicted in the novel. All the
characters, save George and Lennie, are more or less in search of a
relationship. We see how far their failure to find friendship or company, even,
is due to general attitudes, to their circumstances, and to themselves.

Lennie Small
A migrant worker who is mentally handicapped,
large, and very strong. He depends on his friend

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George to give him advice and protect him in

situations he does not understand. His enormous
strength and his pleasure in petting soft animals
are a dangerous combination. He shares the dream
of owning a farm with George, but he does not
understand the implications of that dream.

George Milton
A migrant worker who protects and
cares for Lennie. George dreams of
some day owning his own land, but
he realizes the difficulty of making
this dream come true. Lennies
friend, George gives the big man
advice and tries to watch out for
him, ultimately taking responsibility
for not only his life but also his
death.

George and Lennie: detailed information

The principal characters are George Milton and Lennie Small (whose name is the subject of a
feeble joke: He aint small. Who says this?). Lennie is enormously strong. He is simple (has a
learning difficulty) though he is physically well co-ordinated and capable of doing repetitive manual
jobs (bucking barley or driving a cultivator) with skill.
Lennie has a mans body, but a childs outlook: he gains pleasure from pettin soft things, even
dead mice, and loves puppies and rabbits. He is dependent, emotionally, on George, who
organizes his life and reassures him about their future. Lennie can be easily controlled by firm but
calm instructions, as Slim finds out. But panic in others makes Lennie panic: this happened when
he tried to pet a girls dress, in Weed, and happens again twice in the narrative: first, when he is
attacked by Curley, and second, when Lennie strokes the hair of Curleys wife.
Lennies deficiencies enable him to be accepted by other defective characters: Candy, Crooks and
Curleys wife. He poses no threat, and seems to listen patiently (because he has learned the need
to pay close attention, as he remembers so little of what he hears). As a child is comforted by a
bedtime story, so George has come to comfort Lennie with a tale of a golden future. To the reader,
especially today, this imagined future is very modest, yet to these men it is a dream almost
impossible of fulfilment. As George has repeated the story, so he has used set words and phrases,
and Lennie has learned these, too, so he is able to join in the telling at key moments (again, as
young children do).
George is a conscientious minder for Lennie but is of course not with him at all times; and at one
such time, Lennie makes the mistake which leads to his death. He strokes the hair of Curleys wife

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(at her invitation) but does it too roughly; she panics and tries to cry out, and Lennie shakes her
violently, breaking her neck.
There is no proper asylum (safe place) for Lennie: Curley is vengeful, but even if he could be
restrained, Lennie would face life in a degrading and cruel institution a mental hospital, prison or
home for the criminally insane. Georges killing of Lennie, supported by Slim (who says You hadda
) is the most merciful course of action.
In the novels final chapter we have an interesting insight into Lennies thought. Until now we have
had to read his mind from his words and actions. Here, Steinbeck describes how first his Aunt
Clara and second an imaginary talking rabbit, lecture Lennie on his stupidity and failure to respect
George. From this we see how, in his confused fashion, Lennie does understand, and try to cope
with, his mental weakness.
George is called a smart little guy by Slim, but corrects this view (as he also corrects the idea that
Lennie is a cuckoo: that is, a lunatic Lennie is quite sane; his weakness is a lack of intelligence).
Georges modesty is not false he is bright enough to know that he isnt especially intelligent. If he
were smart, he says, I wouldnt be buckin barley for my fifty and found (=$US 50 per month, with
free board and lodging). George is not stupid, but there is no real opportunity for self-advancement,
as might be achieved in the west today by education. He is, in a simple way, imaginative: his
picture of the small-holding (small farm) he and Lennie will one day own, is clearly-drawn and vivid,
while some of the phrases have a near-poetic quality in their simplicity, as when he begins: Guys
like us...are the loneliest guys in the world.
Lennie is a burden to George, who frequently shows irritation and, sometimes, outright anger to
him. But it is clear that George is not going to leave him. What began vaguely as a duty, after the
death of Lennies Aunt Clara, has become a way of life: there is companionship and trust in this
relationship, which makes it almost unique among the ranch-hands. George confesses to Slim how
he once abused this trust by making Lennie perform degrading tricks; but after Lennie nearly
drowned, having (although not able to swim) jumped, on Georges orders, into the Sacramento
River, George has stopped taking advantage of Lennies simplicity. At the end of the novella
George confronts a great moral dilemma, and acts decisively, killing Lennie as a last act of
friendship.

Slim
The leader of the mule team whom
everyone respects. Slim becomes an ally
to George and helps protect Lennie when
he gets in trouble with Curley. Slim has
compassion and insight, and he
understands George and Lennies
situation. He alone realizes, at the end of
the novel, the reason for Georges
decision.

Carlson
The insensitive ranch hand who shoots Candys dog. He owns a Luger,
which George later uses to mercifully kill Lennie.

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Carlson typifies the men George describes as the loneliest guys in the world.
He is outwardly friendly, but essentially selfish. He finds the smell of an old dog
offensive so the dog must be shot. He has little regard for the feelings of the
dogs owner. At the end of the novella, as Slim goes to buy George a drink, and
comfort him, it is Carlson who says to Curley, What the hell...is eatin them
two guys?

Candy
Sometimes called the swamper, he is a old
handyman who lost his hand in a ranch
accident and is kept on the payroll. Afraid that
he will eventually be fired when he can no
longer do his chores, he convinces George to
let him join their dream of a farm because he
can bring the necessary money to the
scheme. He owns an old sheep dog that will
become a symbol of Lennie before the novel
ends.
Candy is excluded from the social life of the
ranch-hands, by his age, his disability and
demeaning job, and by his own choice (I aint
got the poop any more, he says when the
others go into town on Saturday night). His lack
of status appears when he is powerless to save
his old dog from being shot. He bitterly (and
unfairly) blames Curleys wife for the loss of his
dream.

Crooks
The black stable worker who cares for the horses.
A symbol of racial injustice, Crooks is isolated from
the other hands because of his skin colour. He also
convinces Lennie to let him join their dream of
land, but he must give up that dream.

Curley
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The son of the ranch owner, Curley is a mean

little guy who picks fights with bigger guys like
Lennie. He is recently married and extremely
jealous of any man who looks at or talks with
his wife. Lennie crushes his hand, earning
Curleys future enmity.

Curleys wife
The only character in the novel who is given no
name, she is Curleys possession. She taunts and
provokes the ranch hands into talking with her, an
action that causes Curley to beat them up. George
sees her as a tart, but Lennie is fascinated by
her soft hair and looks. She is unsympathetically
portrayed as a female tease until the final scene,
in which the reader hears about her earlier dreams.
Lonely and restless, she married too quickly to a
husband who neglects her.
Curleys wife is the most pathetic of the outsiders: unlike the others, even
Lennie, she seems not to understand her limitations or she refuses to admit
them. She still dreams of what might have been, seeing herself as a potential
film-star. But she has no acting talent, men (one from a travelling show, one
who claimed to be in the movies) make bogus offers as a chat-up line, and now
that films require actresses to talk, her coarse speech would be a handicap.
Her naivet shows in her belief that her mother has stolen a letter (from her
contact in Hollywood) which was obviously never written; her immaturity
appears in her instant reaction of marrying the loathsome Curley.
Desperate for companionship she does not find at home, she flirts
ranch-hands. They are uneasy about this, as they think her to be
promiscuous, and are fearful of Curleys reaction. Her inappropriate
the ranch and her coquettish manner brand her as a tart. She is,
the most pathetic of all the characters.

with the
seriously
dress on
perhaps,

THEMES
Themes are ideas which run throughout a novel. They usually
link to the writers main PURPOSES in writing a book in the
first place. John Steinbeck wanted to show that sometimes it
is hopeless to DREAM, but we must have dreams in order to

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keep going. He also wanted to show how important

FRIENDSHIP is, as to be ISOLATED and LONELY (like most of
the characters in Of Mice and Men) is one of the worst things
a human can experience.
If you are asked to write about a THEME in the examination,
you must find examples of where that theme appears in the
book. PEE must be used as usual. On the next pages are
descriptions of the main themes in Of Mice and Men.

The fragility of dreams

The novels title comes from a poem, To a Mouse (on turning her up in
her nest with the plough) by the Scots poet Robert Burns (1759-1796):
The best-laid plans of mice and men
Gang aft agley (=often go wrong).
And leave us naught but grief and pain
For promised joy.
Burns shows how the plans of men are no more secure than those of the
mouse, and this is the point of Steinbecks title. The source of the
characters dreams is their discontent with their present. Steinbeck
shows how poor their lifestyle is: they have few possessions, fewer
comforts, no chance of marriage or family life and no place of their own.
Georges and Lennies dream is at first a whim, but becomes clearer.
The unexpected opportunity offered by Candys money means it is no
longer a fantasy, but the threat to the fulfilment of this dream, everpresent in Lennies behaviour finally destroys it, just as it has become
possible. Candy and Crooks both try to share in this dream. Candy is
desperate and, so, ready to trust his fortune to a near stranger.
Crooks is most cynical about the dream of owning land: Nobody never
gets to heaven and nobody never gets no land, even though every
ranch-hand, he says, has land in his head. Yet even he, recalling
happy times in his childhood, hopes, briefly, for a share in Georges and
Lennies dream.
Curleys wife indulges a different fantasy, far less likely of fulfilment.
As many young women do, she aspires to stardom in films. She knows
she is pretty, and, believing too readily the man who says she is a
natural, thinks her talent is merely waiting for an opportunity and that
her mother has stolen the letter which represents her chance for fame.
Steinbeck describes precisely the small grand gesture (an oxymoron

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or contradiction in terms) with which she demonstrates to Lennie her

supposed talent.
The end of the novella seems to confirm Crookss pessimistic view.
None of the characters does achieve his or her dream. But this seems
more due to a lack of opportunity and the way society is organized, than
to anything else.

Loneliness and ISOLATION

In addition to dreams, humans crave contact with others to give life
meaning. Loneliness is present throughout this novel. On the most obvious
level, we see this isolation when the ranch hands go into town on Saturday
night to ease their loneliness with alcohol and women. Similarly, Lennie
goes into Crooks room to find someone with whom to talk, and later
Curleys wife comes for the same reason. Crooks says, A guy goes nuts
if he aint got nobody. Dont make no difference who the guy is, longs hes
with you. Even Slim mentions, I seen the guys that go around on the
ranches alone. That aint no good. They dont have no fun. After a long time
they get mean.
Georges taking care of Lennie and the dream of the farm are attempts to
break the pattern of loneliness that is part of the human condition.
Similarly, Lennies desire to pet soft things comes from his need to feel
safe and secure, to touch something that gives him that feeling of not
being alone in the world. For Lennie, the dream of the farm parallels that
security.
George and Lennie, however, are not the only characters who struggle
against loneliness. Although present in all the characters to some degree,
the theme of loneliness is most notably present in Candy, Crooks, and
Curleys wife. They all fight against their isolation in whatever way they
can. Until its death, Candys dog stopped Candy from being alone in the
world. After its death, Candy struggles against loneliness by sharing in
George and Lennies dream. Curleys wife is also lonely; she is the only
female on the ranch, and her husband has forbidden anyone to talk with
her. She combats her loneliness by flirting with the ranch hands. Crooks is
isolated because of his skin color. As the only black man on the ranch, he is
not allowed into the bunkhouse with the others, and he does not associate
with them. He combats his loneliness with books and his work, but even he
realizes that these things are no substitute for human companionship.
Steinbeck reinforces the theme of loneliness in subtle and not so subtle
ways. In the vicinity of the ranch, for example, is the town of Soledad. The
towns name, not accidentally, means solitude or alone. Also, the
others reactions to George and Lennie travelling together reinforces that,
in Steinbecks world, travelling with someone else is unusual. When
George and Lennie arrive at the ranch, four other charactersthe boss,
Candy, Crooks, and Slimall comment on the suspicious nature of two
guys travelling together.

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Powerlessness
Steinbecks characters are often the underdogs, and he shows compassion
toward them throughout the body of his writings. Powerlessness takes
many formsintellectual, financial, societaland Steinbeck touches on
them all.
Although Lennie is physically strong and would therefore seem to
represent someone of power, the only power Lennie possesses is physical.
Because of his mental handicap and his child-like way of perceiving the
world, he is powerless against his urges and the forces that assail him. For
example, he knows what it is to be good, and he doesnt want to be bad,
but he lacks the mental acuity that would help him understand and,
therefore, avoid the dangers that unfold before him. Hence, he must rely on
George to protect him. George, in this regard, is also powerless. Although
he can instruct Lennie on what to do and not do, and although he
perceives the danger posed by Curleys wife, he cannot be with Lennie
every hour of every day and, therefore, cannot truly protect Lennie from
himself. In the end, the only thing that George can do is protect Lennie
from the others.
Another type of powerlessness is economic. Because the ranch hands are
victims of a society where they cannot get ahead economically, they must
struggle again and again. George and Lennie face overwhelming odds in
trying to get together a mere $600 to buy their own land. But they are not
the only ones who have shared the dream of owning land, nor the only ones
who have difficulty securing the mean by which to do it. As Crooks
explains, I seen guys nearly crazy with loneliness for land, but ever time a
whorehouse or a blackjack game took what it takes. In other words, it is
part of the human condition to always want instant gratification rather than
save for tomorrow. As long as the men spend their money on the weekends,
they will continue to be powerless. On the other hand, living lives of
unremitting loneliness and harshness makes companionshipeven for a
weekendalluring enough to overshadow a dream. Furthermore, the men
are paid so little that it is difficult to save enough to make a dream come
true.
Crooks represents another type of powerlessness. As the only black man
on the ranch, he is isolated from the others, and, in ways that the others
are not, subject to their whim. This is never more apparent than when
Curleys wife threatens to have him lynched. Despite his inherent dignity,
Crooks shrinks into himself, essentially becoming invisible under her
assault. The fact that she, another powerless person, wields such power
over him demonstrates how defenceless he is in this society.

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Steinbecks Techniques
To get the highest marks in the exam, you should be able to
write about the WAY Steinbeck presents his ideas in Of
Mice and Men. He puts forward his meanings through
STRUCTURE, SETTING, VIEWPOINT, LANGUAGE and other
TECHNIQUES. These are explained below. If you can explain
how he uses some of these in the exam, then you are well
on your way to a C grade!

Structure
Steinbeck's narrative method is unremarkable but effective in a simple
way; for this reason it is not an obvious subject for study. The structure
of the novel is clear and quite simple: each chapter is an extended
episode, in the same place. Some things happen while others, which
have happened, are re-told (George tells Slim about Weed; Whit tells the
hands about Bill Tenner's letter; Curley's wife tells Lennie about her
past).

Time and place

Steinbeck controls time and place very skilfully. Though he recalls
events from earlier, what he narrates directly takes place over a single
weekend. The narrative is framed by the opening and closing chapters,
which are set in a beautiful clearing by a stream, close to the ranch. All
the other chapters are set on the ranch, inside: in the bunkhouse, in
Crooks's room or in the barn. The text is very short, and yet a great
proportion is taken up with dialogue, in the form of direct speech. It is
clear from all of this (a series of scenes; no single viewpoint, nor

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access to thought; unity of time and place; past events recalled in

conversation; indoor locations, and heavy reliance on dialogue) that the
novella has been written with an eye to dramatization. It is not
surprising to discover that Steinbeck himself did write a dramatization
for the stage, and that this has subsequently been made into (two) very
successful feature films.

Viewpoint
The novella is written in the third person, but there is no single
viewpoint. We read of scenes in which George or Lennie or both are
present, but we may briefly follow other characters (Candy or Crooks,
say). We are never told what anyone is thinking, but must work this out
from what people say, with one curious exception. In the final chapter,
Steinbeck describes the imaginary talking rabbit (as one would expect
from Lennie, it does not see anything odd in telling him he is not fit to
lick the boots of no rabbit!) and the remembered Aunt Clara, who
appear to Lennie, their voices supplied by his talking aloud.

Language and symbolism

The language of the narrative is fairly simple; most vocabulary is of an
everyday kind, except for names of items of farm equipment to which
Steinbeck refers. In the dialogue, Steinbeck uses slang and nonstandard terms (would of, brang and so on) to convey an authentic
sense of the speaking voice.
Symbols are things which are used to REPRESENT something else. The
way Steinbeck presents objects or characters seems simple, but often
he uses them to put across his meanings in an interesting way. These
are some examples:
George and Lennies Farm
The farm that George constantly describes to Lennie, those few acres of land on
which they will grow their own food and tend their own livestock, is one of the
most powerful symbols in the book. It seduces not only the other characters but
also the reader, who, like the men, wants to believe in the possibility of the free,
idyllic life it promises. Candy is immediately drawn in by the dream, and even the
cynical Crooks hopes that Lennie and George will let him live there too. A paradise
for men who want to be masters of their own lives, the farm represents the
possibility of freedom, self-reliance, and protection from the cruelties of the world.

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Lennies Puppy
Lennies puppy is one of several symbols that represent the victory of the strong
over the weak. Lennie kills the puppy accidentally, as he has killed many mice
before, by virtue of his failure to recognize his own strength. Although no other
character can match Lennies physical strength, the huge Lennie will soon meet a
fate similar to that of his small puppy. Like an innocent animal, Lennie is unaware
of the vicious, predatory powers that surround him.
Candys Dog
In the world Of Mice and Men describes, Candys dog represents the fate awaiting
anyone who has outlived his or her purpose. Once a fine sheepdog, useful on the
ranch, Candys mutt is now debilitated by age. Candys sentimental attachment to
the animalhis plea that Carlson let the dog live for no other reason than that
Candy raised it from a puppymeans nothing at all on the ranch. Although Carlson
promises to kill the dog painlessly, his insistence that the old animal must die
supports a cruel natural law that the strong will dispose of the weak. Candy
internalizes this lesson, for he fears that he himself is nearing an age when he will
no longer be useful at the ranch, and therefore no longer welcome.

Important extracts
When you are revising, make sure that you look closely at
these sections of the novel, as they are probably the most
important, and most likely to appear in an exam.
p.3-6:
Opening to the novel. Shows setting of Salinas valley,
introduces George and Lennie and demonstrates their
parent-child relationship.
p. 48-50
Candys dog is shot. Shows the loneliness felt by Candy
without his only companion. Also foreshadows the future
death of Lennie it is kinder to kill someone who is of no
use and a danger to themselves and others.

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p. 88-90
Lennie kills Curleys wife. Dramatic moment which leads to
the tragic ending.
p.102-105
George shoots Lennie, after telling the story of their dream
ranch for one last time. Shows the relationship between
George and Lennie, and the depth of their friendship.
George kills Lennie to protect him from others and himself.

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