Miceand menworkbook

Of Mice and Men
by
John Steinbeck

A GCSE English Workbook
by
Steven Croft
~ Wessex Publications ~

About the Author of this Workbook

Steve Croft is a lecturer and Programme Leader for English in a Tertiary College in Yorkshire and is
committed to flexible forms of learning. He is a Senior AEB Examiner for A level English and also an
Examiner for the International Baccalaureate.

Other workbooks in this series include:

A level GCSE
The Miller's Tale I'm the King of the Castle
The Franklin's Tale The Lord of the Flies
The Wife of Bath's Tale and Prologue War Poetry
Great Expectations Macbeth
Much Ado About Nothing An Inspector Calls
The Poems of John Donne To Kill a Mockingbird
Jane Eyre Of Mice and Men
Hamlet Romeo and Juliet
Mansfield Park
The Handmaid's Tale
Measure for Measure
Gulliver's Travels
Edward II
The Merchant's Tale All materials available from:
Dubliners
A Dolls House
Poetry of Edward Thomas Wessex Publications
Poetry of Seamus Heaney Elwell House
King Lear Stocklinch
Return of the Native Ilminster
A Passage to India
Mean Time Somerset TA19 9JF
The Rivals Tel/Fax: 01460 55660
Hard Times
English Language Topics or by using
English Critical Appreciation
Communications - Semiotics and the Media
sales@wessexpublications.co.uk
Tess of the d’Urbevilles www.wessexpublications.co.uk
Murmuring Judges
Othello
The Whitsun Weddings
The Glass Menagerie
The Pardoner’s Prologue andTale
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
The Country Wife
Dead Sea Poems
A Streetcar Named Desire
Dr Faustus
Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience
The Duchess of Malfi
The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales
Volpone
Christina Rossetti’s Verse
Three Victorian Poets
Selected Poems by John Keats
Enduring Love
Snow Falling on Cedars

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

The contents of this publication remain the copyright property of the publishers. They may be copied only within
the purchasing institution. Any copying beyond these limits is illegal.

©Wessex Publications 2002

Teacher Guide

Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck

About the Workbook

The material in this package is fully photocopiable for use within the purchasing
institution. In addition, you will, of course, need a copy of Of Mice and Men.

Using the Materials

We recommend that students read the novel at least once through first on their own
or as a group in order to get a sound grasp of the text and the characters. The
Workbook examines the novel and presents the student with ideas, questions, and
activities to help her/him develop her/his own understanding and interpretation of it.
Sections are also included on Steinbeck himself; Themes; Characters; Language,
Structure and Style; Imagery. Revision questions to help students prepare for the
examinations are also included.

It will be necessary to photocopy the Workbook for each student. You could give
each student a guide to keep, but we suggest that you spiral bind or staple them and
retain them for future use. The answer boxes may, of course, be used but you will
probably prefer students to answer in their notebooks for reasons of cost. However,
the size of each box will enable students to gauge how much to write and will make
it easier to discuss answers with individuals and groups.

The Workbook is written and presented in a similar way to Open University/Open
College materials and is intended to be interactive and student-centred. The package
is far more than a revision aid or potted guide. Its purpose is both to support the
student and enable her/him to work at her/his own pace. The Study Workbook is
written for the student. It can be used in a variety of ways including:

• alongside classwork and group work led by the lecturer/teacher/tutor

• individual supported-self study (flexible learning) work in class

• individual work carried out at home

• paired or small group work

• revision work.

Using the CD version of the Workbook

The CD provides you with three versions of the workbook:

• the complete workbook with questions, answer boxes and author's responses
• the workbook with tasks and answer boxes only
• the author's responses only.

Each of the above may be loaded onto your school/college Intranet or printed off
separately. This will give you complete flexibility to use the materials as you see fit.

The Lecturer’s/Teacher’s Role

The pack is not intended as a substitute for the teacher/lecturer. In our view it is
essential that she/he supports the student throughout by providing:

• an introduction to Steinbeck's work

• explanation when needed

• guidance and support individually and within small groups

• regular checks of the student’s work.

Note

All quotations from the novel itself are shown with speech marks. Tasks are written
using New Times Roman font, and the author's suggested comments / answers /
responses to them are given in a different font (Arial) to enable students to pick them
out more easily.

CONTENTS

1. Using the workbook page 1

2. John Steinbeck - background page 2

3. Section by section analysis – Section 1 page 4






9. Themes page 67

10. Characters page 75

11. Language, Structure and Style page 79

12. Imagery page 81

13. Structure of the Story page 82

14. Specimen Questions page 83

Of Mice and Men Using the workbook

1. USING THE WORKBOOK
The workbook examines various aspects of the novel Of Mice and Men
and you will be asked to complete tasks on each of these areas as you
progress through the different sections. All the tasks are designed to
help you look carefully at the play and to come to an appreciation of its
meaning and significance as a piece of literature. In addition to work in
the workbook itself it is advisable to keep your own, fuller notes, in a
notebook or ring binder. These will be an important revision aid if you
are going to answer on this text in an examination.

Some of the tasks require quite short answers and where this is the case
a box is provided in the workbook where you can write down your
responses if you wish.

Some questions may require a fuller response and it would be best if
you wrote your comments or answers in your own notebook or file.

At the end of the workbook you will find a number of specimen essay
questions of the kind that you might find set for GCSE English. These
titles and questions would also be suitable for coursework assignments
on this text. If you are going to answer on this text in an examination it
would be very useful to you to practise writing answers to several of
these and have some idea of how you would tackle any of them.

Good luck and happy studying.

******

www.wessexpublications.co.uk -1-

Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck - Background

2. JOHN STEINBECK 1902 - 1969
A good deal of what happens in ‘Of Mice and
Born Salinas 1902
Men’ is based upon experiences that Steinbeck
actually had in his life. He was born in 1902 in
Salinas in California and graduated from Salinas
High School in 1919. He went on to Stamford to
study English but he left there without getting a
degree. In the years that followed he moved
Contemporary around a good deal and had many casual jobs
issues form basis varying from working on a newspaper to work as
for much of
Steinbeck's work a travelling ranch-hand, moving along as the work presented itself. He
also wrote at this time and did have some local success as a writer
before writing ‘Of Mice and Men’ which quickly became a world-wide
success and brought him international recognition. The publication of
this novel was followed in the same year, 1937, by a stage play which
won an award for the best New York play. The subject matter which
Steinbeck dealt with in ‘Of Mice and Men’ would have come as no
surprise to those who were already familiar with his writing because he
had already become known as a writer interested in contemporary issues
and not least those affecting the agricultural labourers of California.

In the novel, Steinbeck draws attention to a social problem which had
developed to immense proportions and of which he had experience at
first hand. Climate change in the rest of America between 1888-1930
had resulted in the destruction through droughts of large tracts of fertile
land which had been farmed and had supported the early settlers and
homesteaders. These were the settlers who had established the
The creation of
the American innumerable small farms one of which George and Lenny and some of
'Dust Bowl' the other characters dream of owning. However, the drought, coupled
with over-farming had turned this once productive farmland into
immense barren tracts of land which became known as the ‘dust bowl’.

The great financial collapse of 1929 which
The Great marked the start of the depression increased
Depression 1929
unemployment and poverty drastically
throughout the United States. Industrial
workers and white-collar workers suffered
heavily but for those people who tried to
scratch a living from their small farms, the
situation was disastrous. Politicians
eventually acted and Franklin D Roosevelt’s
New Deal Economics did much to help ease
the situation but in 1937 the problem was a
long way from being solved and it would not
fully be resolved until America entered the Second World War in 1941.


Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck - Background

As a result of this great depression itinerant workers replaced the
traditional immigrant Mexican labour in the south western states of the
US such as California. These workers were exploited greatly by farm
owners who made use of them as low-paid labour and many had to work
in terrible conditions. The workforce was only needed for short periods
at a time and so the itinerant labourers had to save enough from seasonal
work such as harvesting crops to support them through the rest of the
year when work would be extremely difficult to come by. Because of
their travelling and solitary lifestyle and their lack of a base or
somewhere to put down their roots, little could be done to help organise
things that could improve their welfare through bodies such as trade
union membership. Steinbeck had seen this problem at first hand and
'The Grapes of was very concerned with it and dealt with this same issue in his novel
Wrath' published ‘In Dubious Battle’ and his most successful book, ‘The Grapes of
1940
Wrath’ which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940.

One of the key features of Steinbeck’s novels of this period are their
gritty realistic element but also the political stand that is contained
within them. For example, ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ which is generally
Given Nobel Prize acknowledged to be Steinbeck’s masterpiece strongly supports
for Literature, Roosevelt’s state interference to reduce unemployment. Steinbeck
1962 received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 specifically for his pre-
war novels.

He died in 1969 as America’s most distinguished novelist.
Dies, 1969

******


Of Mice and Men Section by section analysis - Section 1

3. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS - SECTION 1
Before we start the detailed analysis you should be aware that the
opening descriptions which are given at the beginning of each section
are a particular feature of this novel and so it is important that you see
them as more than simply background. These descriptions help to create
a tone and sense of optimism throughout the novel.

Look carefully at the opening of the novel. What kind of world is
TASK 1
described here?

The story opens with a description of the countryside close to the
Salinas river near Soledad in California. All the events of the
novel take place at or nearby this spot. In this opening
description, Steinbeck creates a sense of hope and of freshness
through the suggestion of a peaceful world of nature. It is
springtime with trees bearing new leaves and the wildlife running
free. This is an optimistic picture which suggests cycles of nature
go on and on and constantly return no matter what. There is also,
here, a sense of the harmony of nature unspoilt by human
interference.

TASK 2 Unspoiled that is until what?



Until the dogs belonging to the nearby ranchers are mentioned
and we hear the sound of footsteps growing louder and the
animals speed to safety.

TASK 3 What effect does this have on the atmosphere created at the beginning?

There is a sense in which the harmony of the earlier description is
disturbed now by a sense of discord. It is quickly established that
humans inhabit the area. The river is mentioned once more and
we are told that a path has been beaten nearby and that it is a
well-used path. It is used by boys coming down from the ranches
to bath in the deep pool and by tramps coming down from the
highway to camp for the night by the river.

TASK 4 How does Steinbeck make sure that we know that many people come
this way and visit the deep pool under the Sycamore tree?



The details of the ashes left over from many camp fires and the
tree bough worn smooth by so many people sitting on it over the
years emphasise the number of people who come to this spot.

TASK 5
Evening is beginning to fall as the men walk along the path. How are
they dressed and what does this tell you?

They are dressed in denim and this tells us that they are ranch-
hands; denim being the customary clothing of ranch-hands. They
also carry sleeping blankets, which tells us they are next in a long
line of itinerant workers or passers-by. The similarity between
them ends with the description of their clothes and bedding.
Steinbeck gives us now a description of each of them, which
shows much contrast, these two characters are George and
Lennie.

TASK 6 Write brief notes describing each of them.



GEORGE

LENNIE



The contrast between them in size, appearance and manner is
sharply drawn:

George

• The immediate impression of intelligence
• Reminiscent of a quick-witted animal
• Restless
• George is the leader of the pair and is clearly in charge
• Has endured a good deal of physical hardship
• George washes in the pool in traditional cowboy style

Lennie

• Is described as a bear
• This establishes his essential nature – combination of brute
strength and animal-like innocence
• Appropriate from harmless appearance ie. ‘teddy bear’ but
also his strength as in ‘bear hug’
• Lennie’s way of drinking from the pool shows an animal
temperament in thinking and is emphasised when he is
compared to a horse
• Like an animal, always tries to satisfy his immediate needs

It is clear that Lennie seems unable to see the possible
consequences of his actions and George reminds him that it was
only the previous night that he was sick. This highlights one of
Lennie’s most important and dangerous failings – his inability to
learn from past experience. George’s ‘ticking-off’ establishes his
role as Lennie’s mentor, certainly the one who looks after him and
protects him from himself.

TASK 7
What else takes place, here, between them to demonstrate that Lennie is
dependent on George and that he trusts him and admires him?



Lennie does not see possible danger and George tells him not to
gulp water from the stream because it will make him ill. Lennie's
behaviour and responses show that he trusts George and looks
up to him.

TASK 8 In what ways do you think that Lennie and George suit each other?

Well, they could be said to suit each other because of their
complementary characters. Although they are both dressed in
the same way they are very different in temperament. Lennie is
slow and clumsy and is lax and easy-going whereas George is
quick, precise, apprehensive and cautious. Notice that it is
Lennie who always seems to suffer because of his reckless
behaviour. We learn some other things about the relationship
between George and Lennie too. George has been irritated and
he complains that the bus driver was too lazy to take them all the
way to the ranch they were heading for. The fact that the bus
driver feels that he can treat them in this way shows the lowly
status that he and Lennie occupy.

TASK 9 Why does his irritation increase?

Continues on next page



He becomes even more irritated when he finds out that Lennie
has forgotten where they are going. The only thing that Lennie
does seem to remember are the rabbits that are mentioned here
for the first time although no further information is given about
them for the moment. George does understand, though, the limits
of Lennie’s capability even though he does get irritated with him
from time to time and this shows, when he reassures Lennie, that
he has taken responsibility for the work card that Lennie thinks he
has lost. George then notices that Lennie is hiding something
and he tells Lennie to let him see it. In the end he has to prise
open Lennie’s hand and a dead mouse is revealed. Lennie wants
George to let him keep the dead mouse saying: ‘I could pet it with
my thumb while we walked along.’

TASK 10 What further does this reveal about Lennie’s character?

www.wessexpublications.co.uk - 10 -


It reveals his child-like innocence – he thinks that it is okay to be
petting a dead mouse with his thumb but it also says something
about his need for some sort of physical contact – an important
aspect of Lennie’s character that has major repercussions at the
end of the book. As the story progresses, it is worth noticing how
Lennie’s petting of other creatures progresses from a dead
mouse to the hope for rabbits, to a puppy and finally to Curly’s
wife. George has to shout before Lennie will hand over the
mouse and this demonstrates the fact that George sometimes
needs to be forceful in order to control Lennie and he reprimands
him for his child-like behaviour.

TASK 11 What ominous note creeps into the narrative at this point?

It is revealed that there has been some past trouble with ‘girls’
and we find that the two of them have recently been driven from
their previous jobs as Lennie had done bad things. When
thinking about the incident, the fact that Lennie giggled at the
thought of it makes it sound less serious than it really was but in
actual fact it had been very serious indeed.

TASK 12 What does George dream about?



He dreams that without the burden of Lennie his life would be so
much better. He could maybe meet a girl. George’s future would
become much more rosy. Why do you think that George stays
with Lennie if he thinks life could be better without him. Perhaps,
when it comes down to it, George is afraid of being alone,
perhaps he likes Lennie’s company in preference to real company
at all, perhaps he feels when he is not irritated with Lennie some
kind of obligation to look after him because he is clearly not able
to look after himself.

TASK 13 What tensions are revealed in the relationship?

As George settles down to relax we see clearly that Lennie gets
on his nerves. We have seen how George blames Lennie for
making his life difficult and at the root of George’s irritation seems
to be the kind of burden of responsibility that he has for Lennie.
As they prepare for dinner, George is annoyed once more to find
that Lennie has retrieved the dead mouse instead of collecting
firewood. This time George explains as if to a young child that
dead mice do not make good pets. He also reveals that this is
not the first mouse that Lennie has adopted. Unfortunately and
again a kind a note of foreboding for events that happen later, we
also learn that he always manages to kill his pet mice accidentally
because he is unaware of just how strong he actually is. Lennie,
not realising that George is in no mood to talk about the rabbits,
mentions them again and George feels more and more irritation
building up within him until he finally bursts with frustration when
Lennie tells him for a second time that he likes Ketchup with his
beans – obviously a luxury that they do not have.



TASK 14 What further does George reveal about Lennie, here?

We are given further information about how Lennie had earlier
innocently clutched the dress of a young girl, trying to pet her, like
a mouse. Of course the girl, not surprisingly, became distressed
and that it was this incident that caused them to be hounded from
their job.

TASK 15 What does Lennie suggest?

He realises that George is subdued and fed up with him and so
he discusses the possibilities of parting company and talks about
his own needs and desires telling George that, if he was on his
own, he would be able to keep mice.

TASK 16 How does George respond to this suggestion?

Continues on next page



This seems to trigger a kind of remorse in George who obviously
thinks he has been mean to Lennie. He promises him a puppy to
make amends. For a brief moment Lennie becomes a more
equal partner in the relationship. He also uses George’s
remorseful mood in order to persuade him to tell a story that he
has heard lots of times before – the story of the lives that they
wish they had. It is the story about rabbits, one that Lennie has
heard many times before but he pleads with George to tell it him
once again. George agrees saying that afterwards they will eat
their supper. He tells Lennie that: ‘guys like us that work on
ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They have got no
family. They don’t belong no place.’ George goes on though to
say that he and Lennie are not completely like that because they
have a future, and they have got each other. Lennie takes this in
and says they’re not like that because ‘I got you to look after me,
and you got me to look after you.’

TASK 17 What does George go on to tell Lennie?



He goes on to tell him that one day they are going to have a
house and they are going to keep cattle and some pigs and they
are going to live off the fat of the land and they are going to keep
rabbits which and it will be Lennie’s job to look after them.

The whole existence that George describes is an idyllic one and
just hearing of it gives Lennie much pleasure and comfort. The
two now sit by the fire and eat beans from the can. As he is
eating, Lennie shows signs of remembering something and tells
George that he won’t say a word. George praises him for
remembering this and as a reward says that if he can remember
as good as that he will let him tend the rabbits when he gets
them.

TASK 18 What does George tell him then?

George tells him to look around at the place that they are in and
remember it, it is only about a quarter of a mile away from the
ranch and all he needs to do is follow the river. He makes him
promise that if he gets into trouble like he always has done
before, George wants him to come and hide in the brush of that
place and George will come and find him.

TASK 19
What effect does this have on the narrative?



It gives the reader a feeling that Lennie is inevitably going to get
into trouble and creates a kind of anticipation that this will happen.
They make up their beds and prepare to sleep there for the night
but before sleeping Lennie talks some more about the rabbits and
how he would like to have different coloured ones.

******




TASK 20 George and Lennie arrive at the ranch and the bunkhouse is described.
What kind of building was it?

It is described as a long, rectangular building and inside the walls
are whitewashed and the floor is unpainted. In three of the walls
there were small, square windows and in the fourth a solid
wooden door. There were eight bunks in the bunkhouse and five
of them were made up with blankets. Over each bunk there was
nailed an apple-box which served as two shelves for the personal
belongings of the occupants of the bunk. Near one wall there
was a black, cast-iron stove, its stove-pipe going straight up
through the ceiling and in the middle of the room there was a
large, square table littered with playing cards and around it boxes
to those playing cards to sit on. When Lennie and George arrive
it is about 10 o’clock the following morning; a sunny morning.
The door opens and a tall, old man comes in followed by George
and then Lennie.

TASK 21 What does the old man say to them and what effect does this have?



His opening remark: ‘the boss was expecting you last night’
establishes the character of the boss before we actually meet
him. It also introduces a slight note of unease because the
welcome does not seem particularly friendly. It is as if George
and Lennie have got off on the wrong foot right from the start.
The fact that the boss’s annoyance at Lennie and George’s late
appearance is mentioned again reinforces the feeling of
apprehension. The old man responsible for cleaning the
bunkhouse isn’t named at this stage but we later find that he is
called old Candy. Lennie and George set about making their
beds. Just as Lennie was finishing making his bed, the door
opened again. A little, stocky man stood in the doorway. He was
wearing blue-jean trousers, a flannel shirt, a black, unbuttoned
vest and a black coat. He was wearing an old, brown Stetson hat
and high-heeled boots and spurs.

TASK 22 What is the significance of these?



From his boots and spurs it is clear that he is not one of the
labourers and we quickly learn that he is in fact the boss.

TASK 23 The boss then starts to ask questions of George and Lennie. What is the
effect of the boss’s questioning?

At first, George is speaking for Lennie and Lennie remembers
that he must keep quiet. However, all too quickly, Lennie forgets
when he is put under pressure by the boss to speak for himself.
One reason the boss does this is that he suspects that George is
exploiting Lennie, perhaps taking his pay. Further probing
questions and the lingering stare of suspicion that the boss gives
to the pair provides a further cloud to their arrival at the ranch.

TASK 24
How does George account for the fact that he tries to speak for Lennie?

He tells the boss that Lennie is his cousin and that he promised
his mother that he would take care of him. He explains that, as a
child, he had been kicked in the head and so he is not as bright
as ordinary people but, nevertheless, he is a good worker and will
do anything that is asked of him.



TASK 25 Does the boss believe this?

It seems that he needs good workers but he doesn’t appear
convinced by George’s story and tells him that he has got his eye
on him. He also questions them as to why they quit their job in
Weed. Although the boss seems to accept them, it is clear that
he has still got his suspicions and he warns them not to try
anything. George knows that after the boss has left that he has
not been convinced by their story and he knows that they have
got to be careful and not put a foot out of place because the boss
will be watching them. Candy comes back into the bunkhouse,
this time with his old sheepdog. The dog is blind and struggles
lamely to the side of the room to lie down, grunting softly. Candy
tells them that he wasn’t listening but George insists that he has
been listening to their private conversation with the boss. The old
man is uneasy and stresses that he is not interested in anything
they were saying and that, on a ranch, you never listen and you
never ask questions. They begin to discuss the boss but at that
moment a young man enters the bunkhouse. He is thin with a
brown face, brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair. He has
a work-glove on his left hand and, like the boss, he wears high-
heeled boots. He is the boss’s son and he asks if anyone has
seen his father.



TASK 26 What is your impression of Curley’s behaviour?

He adopts the stance of a boxer and his behaviour seems
aggressive and bullying. Like his father, he tries to force Lennie
to speak for himself.

TASK 27
After he has left, what does old Candy have to say about him?

Candy explains how Curley fancies himself as a boxer and he
says that he is pretty handy. He also tells him that Curley is like a
lot of little guys, he doesn’t like big guys and he is always picking
fights with people that are bigger than him. It is as if he is mad at
them because he isn’t big too. He also tells them that Curley’s
behaviour has been worse since being married recently. His wife
is already trying to flirt with some of the workers, Slim and
Carlson.

Candy leaves the bunkhouse and George plays cards on his own. What
TASK 28
does he say to Lennie?



He expresses his dislike of Curley to Lennie and he also tells him
that he is afraid for what might happen between Lennie and
Curley. He knows that Curley is the type to pick a fight with
Lennie because Lennie is so big and he is afraid that it is only a
matter of time before this happens. He impresses on Lennie the
importance of keeping clear of Curley and he reminds him that, if
trouble does occur, he is to return to the place where they had
camped the previous evening. From what we already know,
though, of Lennie we are aware that if anybody picks a fight with
him he will probable have little power to alter the situation and he
is likely to cause real damage to Curley.

At that point there is a screech of brakes outside and a woman’s voice
TASK 29
calling for ‘Stable Buck’. A girl is standing in the doorway. What do
you notice about the description of her?

We are told that she had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes
which were heavily made up. He fingernails were painted red and



her hair rung in little, roll clusters. She wore a cotton dress and
red mules with little bouquets of ostrich feathers attached to them.

TASK 30 What is effect of this description?

Her appearance seems to bear out Candy’s description of her as
a tart and Steinbeck clearly presents her as one here. Notice that
he makes no mention of her features and even her ringlets of hair
are referred to unflatteringly as resembling sausages. She,
unconvincingly, says that she is looking for her husband as she
thrusts herself forward, invitingly.

TASK 31
How does Lennie react to her presence?



Lennie is clearly fascinated by her and his eyes move down over
her body. He watches her, fascinated. George tells her that if he
sees her husband he will tell him that she was looking for him. As
she turns she sees Slim and as he approaches she greets him in
what is obviously a flirtatious manner saying: ‘Hi! Good looking’.
She tells Slim that she is looking for Curley but he tells her that
she is not looking very hard because he has just seen him going
into their house.

Suddenly she becomes apprehensive and says goodbye, hurrying away.
TASK 32
What is George’s reaction after she has left?

He responds by saying: ‘Jesus, what a tramp. So that’s what
Curley picks for a wife.’ It is obvious, though, from Lennie’s
response that he thinks that she’s ‘purty’. It is clear that George
has instantly recognised the trouble that there might be if Lennie
so much as even speaks to Curley’s wife and he gets angry with
Lennie, warning him to keep away from her.

TASK 33 Suddenly Lennie says: ‘I don’t like this place George. I wanna get out
of here.’ What is the effect of Lennie suddenly saying this?



It seems that Lennie has picked up on the atmosphere and that
his words create foreboding for the future. The irony is here
though that George keeps them there and explains that they have
got to stay there until they have earned some money.

TASK 34
George goes back to his game of cards and two other ranch-hands come
back to the bunkhouse. The first one is Slim. How does Steinbeck
describe this character?

He describes his: ‘hatchet face’ as being ageless. He could have
been anything between thirty-five and fifty. His speech is slow
and his hands large and lean. He is what is called a ‘jerkline
skinner’, and had the very responsible of driving a large team of
mules. The atmosphere in the bunkhouse becomes more relaxed
as George and Slim become acquainted. Carlson then enters.
He is a powerful, big-stomached man and he too seems
accepting rather than antagonistic towards George and Lennie.

TASK 35 What do the men talk about?



They discuss Slim’s dog which has had new puppies. Candy is
mentioned, (this is the first time his name is used), and Carlson
suggests that the old man’s dog should be put down and Slim
could give him one of the puppies instead. Lennie is quick to pick
up on this through his liking for animals and George doesn’t need
telling that Lennie wants a puppy too. George knows this and
promises to ask for him. The triangle rings signalling that the
meal is ready for the men and Slim and Carlson go out. George
and Lennie are just about to leave when Curley comes rushing in
wanting to know if they have seen his wife. George tells him that
they saw her half an hour ago.

TASK 36 What sort of attitude does Curley have?

He is really quite aggressive and unpleasant in manner and it is
significant that he eyes Lennie up as if seeing him for the first
time. He seems to be mentally noting his size. As he goes,
George says that he fears that he going to actually tangle with
him himself as he has immediately taken a dislike to the man.
Either way, there is an ominous note that there will be trouble for
Lennie and George from that quarter in the future.

******




TASK 37 The section opens inside the bunkhouse. How does Steinbeck describe
the surroundings?

We are told that although the evening is bright outside, inside
the bunkhouse it is dark and that from outside we can hear the
thuds and clangs of a horseshoe game and voices sometimes
raised. Slim and George enter the bunkhouse together and Slim
reaches over the card table and turns on an electric light.

TASK 38 The two men talk together. What do the men talk about?

Slim acknowledges that Lennie is very strong and a good worker
and George thanks Slim for giving Lennie a puppy from which
he has become inseparable. George begins to open up to Slim



about his relationship with Lennie and his fondness for his fried
shows through in the way that he speaks of the two of them as
companions rather than one being dependent on the other.

TASK 39 What does this tell you about who is dependent on whom?

It suggests that while Lennie is very obviously dependent on
George for many things, in a sense the dependency works both
ways and that George too gets something from the relationship
and that in one way he is dependent on Lennie as a companion.
George is obviously pleased to be able to talk to someone,
through, about his difficulties with Lennie and he tells Slim the
story of how Lennie very nearly drowned. So great was
Lennie’s loyalty to George that he did what he was told and
jumped in the river but he couldn’t swim. George then goes
back to his solo card game. A symbol, perhaps, of that part of
him which wants to be alone. Perhaps foreshadowing the time
in the future when he really will be alone.

TASK 40 What else does George confide in Slim?

He tells him of the incident in Weed?.



TASK 41 What had happened here?

It seems that, in Weed? Lennie had seen a girl in a red dress.
George says that he wants to touch everything he likes and so
he reached out to feel the red dress and the girl screamed and
Lennie got all confused. He held onto the dress because that
was the only thing he could think to do and the girl screamed
and screamed more. George heard the screaming, came
running, and by the time he got there, Lennie was so scared that
he was just holding onto the girl so hard George had to hit him
over the head with a fence post to make him let go. He was so
scared he wouldn’t let go of the dress and he was so strong that
George couldn’t get him off. It seems that the girl told the law
that she had been raped and so a group of men in Weed formed
a party to go out and lynch Lennie. George and Lennie had to
hide in a ditch under water for the rest of the day and then at
night they got away.

TASK 42 What does Slim want to know?



He asks George whether he had hurt the girl but George tells
him, no, he had just scared her, he just wanted to touch the
dress just like he wanted to pet the pups all the time. Slim
confirms that Lennie isn’t a ‘mean guy’, Slim says that he can
tell a mean guy a mile off. At that point, Lennie comes in
through the door. Immediately Lennie goes straight to his bunk
and lays down facing the wall with his knees drawn up.
However, George knows what he is up to. Lennie has taken
one of the pups and has brought it in and concealed it. George
tells him that he must take it back straight away, the pup will die
being only a day old and taken away from its mother.

When Lennie hears this, he rushes back with the pup. How does Slim
TASK 43
respond to all this?



He says that Lennie is just like a kid and George confirms this
and he says that there is no more harm in him than a kid either
except that he is so strong. The men return to the bunkhouse in
the darkness after playing horseshoes. A Negro called Crookes
has been allowed to participate in this game. We haven’t yet
met Crookes but he will have a significant role to play later. We
have already heard Candy describe him. Carlson complains
about Candy’s old dog smelling and he offers to shoot him. Old
Candy resists this but Carlson is determined and even Slim
agrees that it’s time the dog is put down. A young labourer,
Whit, tries to distract the group with a western magazine that
includes a letter from a former worker but Carlson continues.

Eventually, he leads the dog out into the darkness to shoot it. What
TASK 44 does Slim mean when he tells Carlson you know what to do take a
shovel?

Slim is sensitive to Candy’s feelings and he knows that it would
upset the old man to see the body of the dog having been shot
so he is telling Carlson to make sure that he buries the dog out
of sight after he has shot it.

What kind of atmosphere does Steinbeck create in the bunkhouse after
TASK 45
Carlson has led the dog out?



The atmosphere in the bunkhouse is very tense. The men try to
continue as normal but Slim constantly watches old Candy who
lies unmoving and unspeaking on his bunk. The tense
atmosphere continues as they wait to hear the shot. The silence
falls and this reveals a real concern and humanity for Old Candy
and eventually the shot is heard. We now meet Crookes the
Negro who comes in to tell Slim that the new big guy is messing
about with his pups taking them out of the nest. Crookes has to
prepare some tar to treat a mule’s foot and his description of
Lennie and the pups draws a comparison between Lennie and
Candy who both display a sentimentality towards animals. This
also serves as a reminder to us that Lennie cannot leave the
pups alone even though they are too young to be played with.
The talk now turns to the topic of women as Whit reminds us
about Curley’s wife flirting. George again predicts that she is
going to cause trouble and that she could easily land a man in
jail.

What does the invitation for George to join the other men on their visit
TASK 46
to town indicate?

This is a sign that George is becoming accepted by the group.
Whit invites him to go with them to town to visit a brothel where
they can have drinks and meet women.

TASK 47 What effect is created by his description of the ranchers night out?



His enthusiastic description of the two places in town that they
can go shows how empty their life is and how this is the best
that they can look forward to in entertainment. Another feature
of the lonely life of the itinerant worker, completely detached
from normal family life. Carlson returns and cleans up his gun
after shooting the dog. Candy remains silent.

Curley enters and looks threateningly around the room. What is the
TASK 48
matter with him?

He has come looking for his wife and it is clear when told that
Slim has gone out to the barn to put some tar on a split hoof that
Curley suspects that Slim is with his wife and he rushes off.
Whit says that Curley is just spoiling for a fight and the fact that
he is prepared to go for Slim confirms this. George is now left
alone with Lennie who has returned from the barn and he
questions him as to what he has been doing and whether he has
seen Curley’s wife or not but Lennie assures him that he is
subdued because he is worrying that George will think that he
has done wrong by playing with the puppies too much. Lennie
asks George when they can get that ‘little place an’ live on the
fatta lan – an rabbits’. For the first time since his dog has been
shot Candy stirs. He turns slowly over, his eyes wide open, and
he watches George carefully. Lennie asks George to tell about
that place again. George does as Lennie asks and describes
their dream ranch with its windmill, little shack, chicken run, and
rabbits, adds Lennie. George goes on describing how they could
keep pigs and smoke bacon and catch salmon and so forth.
TASK 49 What is the purpose of George keep repeating this description?



It’s reinforcing the dream life that Lennie and George would love
to have. It is the dream that keeps them going and gives them
strength to work and carry on even when life is hard.

What do you notice about George when he talks about their dream
TASK 50
ranch?

His voice goes warmer and he forgets the card game that he is
playing as he describes in more detail the little place that they
could get cheap. As he describes it in more detail it is clear that
he feels a strong need to settle and to take pride in his work.
His whole description shows how much pride he takes in being
able to plant and grow and the comfort that he takes in being his
own boss with no danger of being sacked or canned.
TASK 51 What do you notice about the way Lennie responds at this point?



As usual, Lennie cannot hear enough about the rabbits that
George mentions. But it is also significant that here he shows
the only sign of intentional violence that there is to be found in
the whole story.

TASK 52 What does he direct this violence against?

It is provoked by George mentioning that they will have a setter
dog and a couple of striped cats but he tells Lennie that you
have got watch out for the cats otherwise they will get the
rabbits.

In response to this, Lennie breathes hard and says: ‘You just let em try
TASK 53
to get the rabbits. I’ll break their god dam necks. I’ll…I’ll smash ‘em
with a stick.’ What is the significance of this outburst?



It shows that Lennie is capable of violence even though in this
case it is directed against future and in fact non-existent cats
which might dare to disturb his future rabbits but, nevertheless, it
shows a capacity under his calm and amenable exterior for a
degree of violence. Candy joins in at this point with some
questions of a practical and financial kind.

TASK 54 What does he offer to do?

He offers to go in with George and Lennie and contribute some
money towards their farm and George tells him that he will have
to think about that. Further, though, Candy offers to make a will
and to leave his share to Lennie and George in the event that he
should die.

He tells them that he doesn’t have any relatives and that he is prepared
TASK 55
to make his will right there and then. What is the effect of Candy’s
offer?



Candy’s offer makes seem possible something which up until
now has only been a dream to George and Lennie and George
decides then to put the plan into action in a month’s time. He
plans that they will buy an old place and fix it up and they will go
and live there. He knows the place and he says that he will
write to the people who are selling and send one hundred
dollars from Candy as a deposit on the old place.

TASK 56 Candy then speaks about his dog. What does he feel about it?

Basically he feels that he should have shot the dog himself. He
shouldn’t have let a stranger shoot him. At that point the door
opens and Slim comes in followed by Curley, Carlson and Whit.
Slim is scowling.

TASK 57 What is the trouble between him and Curley?



It seems that Curley has accused Slim of flirting with his wife but
Slim has resisted these accusations and Curley has apologised
but, nevertheless, Slim is very annoyed about it. He tells him
that he has been asking him about it too often and he is sick of
it. He tells him that if he can’t look after his own wife, what can
he do about it and to leave him alone. Carlson joins in telling
Curley that he ought to tell his wife to stay at home where she
belongs if he lets her hang around the bunkhouse then he
deserves all he gets. Curley turns on Carlson and asks him if he
wants to step outside.

TASK 58
How does Carlson respond?

Carlson just laughs and calls him a god dam punk. He tells him
that he is trying to scare Slim and couldn’t do it. In fact Slim has
thrown a scare into him and calls him yellow and warns him that



if he comes for him, he’ll kick his ‘god dam head off.’ Even
Candy joins in the attack. Curley is clearly humiliated and glares
at him. His eyes notice Lennie who is still smiling at the thought
of the ranch.

TASK 59
Curley turns on Lennie. Why does he pick on Lennie?

It is typical of Curley’s cowardly nature that he should display his
violence on Lennie. Lennie is big but Curley knows him to be
apparently harmless. It is ironic that Lennie’s happy thoughts
leave him with a smile on his face and this is misinterpreted by
Curley. Even though he is so big, Lennie has two distinct
disadvantages. He is terrified by aggression and he won’t
defend himself at least not until commanded to do so by
George. Curley then begins a vicious assault on Lennie.
Lennie does not make any attempt to defend himself and Curley
punches him in the face until his face is battered and bleeding.
Slim makes an attempt to intervene but George stops him and
he yells to Lennie: “Get him Lennie, don’t let him do it.” Lennie
takes his hands away from his face and looks at George. Just
as Curley is swinging his fist once more, Lennie reaches for it
and grasps Curley’s fist in his huge hand. Curley is helpless
and was: ‘flopping like a fish on a line’. George then shouts to



Lennie to let him go but Lennie, who is terrified, doesn’t release
him. Even when George slaps him again and again, Lennie still
held onto the closed fist. By this time Curley is white and
shrunken and his struggling has become weaker. He is crying,
still with his fist clenched within Lennie’s hand.

Slim and Carlson organise medical treatment for Curley. George is
TASK 60
concerned that they might get the sack for what Lennie has done to the
boss’s son. How does Slim respond to this?

Slim says to Curly that he thinks his hand caught in a machine.
He tells him that he doesn’t want to tell anybody what happened
and they’re certainly not going to and he says to him that if he
tells people and gets Lennie into trouble then Slim and the
others will tell everybody the true story of what happened and so
Curley will become a laughing stock. Curley agrees that he
won’t tell. The buggy has arrived by now and Slim helps Curley
up. They are going to take him to Carlson to see a doctor. He
helps Curley out of the door and there is the sound of the
wheels drawing away. A moment later Slim comes back into the
bunkhouse and he looks at Lennie who is still crouched fearfully
against the wall. He asks to see his hands. Lennie sticks them
out. Slim says ‘Christ awmighty, I hate to have you mad at me’.
George interrupts and tells Slim that Lennie was just scared, he
didn’t know what to do and he reminds them that he had warned
them that nobody should ever fight him and then he remembers
that it was Candy that he had told. Candy agrees. Lennie
smiles with his bruised mouth and tells them that he doesn’t



want any trouble and he asks George if he can still tend the
rabbits. George tells him that of course he can and that he
hasn’t done anything wrong.

******




The next scene shifts to Crookes’s room which is next to the barn. It
TASK 61 is full of harnesses and other horse tackle which is there to be repaired.
What do we learn about the way Crookes is able to live here?

We find that he is able to leave his personal possessions lying
around because he is free from the company of the communal
bunkhouse. It seems that he has more possessions that the
other workers because, as a stable buck, his job is more
permanent. Steinbeck gives us a detailed description of
Crookes’s room. Steinbeck himself had probably seen this kind
of room lots of times and it is likely that he is describing it here
from his own experience.

TASK 62 What kind of impression do you get of the room?

It’s neat and it gives a workmanlike impression and this seems
to indicate that Crookes has a committed and professional
attitude towards the horses and the upkeep of their equipment.

TASK 63 What kind of impression is given of Crookes?



As his name suggests he is crooked in that his spine has been
damaged as the result of an accident. He is not an itinerant
worker like the others and this room is his home. Steinbeck
seems to indicate that he is exceptional in that he is literate and
is conscious of his rights. His ‘large gold-rimmed spectacles’
are prominent and he has a ‘tattered’ copy of the California Civil
Code for 1905’. These are symbols of his intellectual capability.
He is a proud and aloof man. He is in constant pain, though,
from his injury and he treats himself as he does the horses, with
liniment. He is in the process of doing this when Lennie
interrupts him and understandably he is annoyed at this
interruption. In many ways, Crookes is a solitary man. A victim
of prejudice because he is black and a man who enjoys solitude
and his own independence. It is evident from the way that
Steinbeck has described him that he wants the reader to have
sympathy with this character. Much of his pride and his
truculence can be seen as a defence mechanism against the
racial prejudice that he experiences from the other work-hands.
He has been excluded from the bunkhouse because of his
colour and there is no reason why he should welcome the
appearance of Lennie.



TASK 64 What irony do you detect here?

The irony is that Crookes, like Lennie, is desperately lonely and
so eventually he invites Lennie to sit down. Lennie of course
has already forgotten that he is not to talk about his and
George’s plans for the future because he is thinking so much
about the rabbits. He doesn’t really listen to Crookes who talks
about his childhood and his isolation. Perhaps this is another
way in which Steinbeck intensifies their sense of loneliness and
isolation in that the characters don’t listen to each other.

TASK 65
How does Crookes respond to Lennie?

In a way he taunts Lennie perhaps being unable to resist a rare
opportunity to inflict pain on someone else. He suggests that
George and Lennie are together because of the companionship



that each needs with the other. Perhaps out of envy because he
has a companion Crookes taunts Lennie with the idea that
George may desert him. Although Lennie is sure that George
will come back Crookes upsets him with the suggestion that
George may be hurt.

TASK 66 How does Lennie respond to this suggestion?

The thought of this almost pushes Lennie to violence. Notice
how Steinbeck creates a sense of tension here: ‘Suddenly
Lennie’s eyes centred and grew quiet and mad. He stood up
and walked dangerously towards Crookes. “Who hurt George?”
he demanded’. Fortunately Crookes is aware of the danger
here and he edges back on the bunk to get out of the way and
passes it off by assuring Lennie that he was just supposing and
that George isn’t really hurt and it is okay, he’ll be back.
Crookes goes on to talk about the ranch where he spent his
childhood and the mention of alfalfa makes Lennie forget about
George.

At this point Candy arrives. How does Crookes feel about this?
TASK 67

continues on next page



He is disappointed because he sees his new friendship as it was
developing with Lennie threatened by the intrusion of someone
else. At the same time, though, he is both pleased and excited
at the unusual prospect of company and the friendly evening.
Notice here how Lennie innocently disregards the fact that this is
Crookes’s private room while Candy on the other hand is very
aware of the social distance between himself and Crookes.
Candy, though, who has gone through the experience of losing
his dog also has a kind of enforced loneliness thrust upon him
and it is significant that these three are left alone together as
outsiders whilst the rest of the men have gone to town. The talk
goes on about the rabbits and the proposed piece of land,
Candy also having forgot his vow of silence like Lennie.

How does Crookes respond to their plans?
TASK 68



He is very critical of their plan and he puts it down as being just
a dream until he hears that they have both the money and an
actual place in mind. When he hears this he almost believes it
might really happen and he asks to be included in the plan. At
that point, Curley’s wife appears looking for Curley.
Underneath, though, we can detect that she is not really
interested in finding Curley but she is looking for male company.
He has abandoned her to go with the other men to the town and
to the brothel which does not, of course, say very much for their
marriage. Although she makes a derogatory comment about all
the weak ones being left behind together in a sense she too is a
lonely woman, a victim of the isolation imposed on her by her
circumstances.

TASK 69 Like the others left behind she too has her dreams. What are these
dreams?

She tells them how she could have gone off with the shows and
become a star, how one man had told her how he could get her
a job in the cinema so she had ideas that she has wasted and
dreams that she could have been a star. She goes on to probe
about the truth concerning the injury to Curley’s fist and she
complains that the men won’t talk to her and that she has
nothing to do on a Saturday night.

TASK 70
How does Candy respond?



He is tired and angry at her insults and he becomes angry with
her when she scoffs at their plan. She begins to suspect that
Lennie was the cause of the injury to her husband and she
begins to turn her attention on him.

TASK 71
What do you notice about the way that she speaks to Lennie?

The way she talks to him has sexual undertones. Part of her is
probably attracted by someone who can beat Curley and she
says that if rabbits is all Lennie wants she might get a couple of
herself. Lennie, of course, doesn’t understand the double
meaning in Curley’s wife’s words but Crookes does and he
intervenes now trying to protect Lennie. He attempts to assert
himself which, for a black man confronting a white woman, is
putting himself at great risk.

TASK 72 How does Curley’s wife respond to Crookes?



She responds by threatening to exercise the little power she has
by getting Crookes hanged. Notice the way here that she
speaks to him scornfully using a term like ‘nigger’ which is
designed to put him in his place and for her to exert her authority
over him. She has little power but she does have power over
Crookes. Notice how she is described as standing ‘over him as
they are waiting for him to move so that she could whip at him
again’. Crookes, though, knows better and he knows when he is
beaten and he sits still not looking at her and at last she leaves
him alone. Candy tells her that he thinks he hears the others
coming back and she had better go. Not wanting to take any
chances she agrees to. She doesn’t want the others to tell her
husband that she has been out of the house.

TASK 73 Before she goes what does she have to say to Lennie?

She tells Lennie that she is glad that he ‘bust up Curley a little
bit’ she felt that he had got it coming to him that sometimes
she’d like to ‘bust him myself’ and then she leaves. Crookes
tells the others that they had better go too now, he’s not sure
that he wants them there anymore.

Why does Crookes feel like this?
TASK 74



He feels that even a coloured man has got to have some rights
and that by the others being in his place that had drawn Curley’s
wife to his living quarters and he had been hurt by what she had
said to him and how small and insignificant she had made him
feel. Having the others there had made him forget his true
position but she had reminded him of it. At this point George
returns.

How does he respond to the fact that the others know about their plans
TASK 75
for the future?

He is angry that their plans have been revealed and it is clear
now that the good-natured mood of the evening has been well
and truly broken. Crookes tells Candy to forget his request to
join them in their plans for the future and he is left alone in his
room.

******



It is now Sunday afternoon and the workers have some leisure time.
TASK 76 Most of the men are playing horseshoes outside but what is Lennie
doing?

He is alone in the barn talking to his puppy. It is dead and lays
in front of him. Lennie looks at it for a long time and then he
puts out his huge hand and strokes it from one end to the other.

What has happened to the puppy?
TASK 77



It is clear from what Lennie says that he has killed it. He has
played with the puppy but, not knowing his own strength, he has
accidentally killed the animal. He scoops a little hollow and lays
the puppy in it and covers it with hay. He decides to tell George
that he found the puppy dead like that. He then unburies the
puppy and looks at it again stroking it from ear to tail and he
knows that George will know if he tells him that. Suddenly, in a
fit of anger, he picks the puppy up unable to understand how it
has come to be dead and he hurls it away from him and he sits
bent over his knees whispering ‘now I won’t get to tend the
rabbits.’ Lennie retrieves the pup and begins to stroke it once
again. Just at that point, Curley’s wife comes round the end of
the last stall very quietly so that at first Lennie doesn’t see her.

TASK 78 What do you notice about the way that Curley’s wife is dressed?

The white cotton dress, the mules and the red ostrich feathers
are clearly designed to be provocative. Her face is made up and
she has clearly spent a lot of time getting her hair all in place.
She comes quite near to Lennie before he sees her and he
suddenly panics shovelling hay over the puppy with his fingers
before looking up sullenly at her. She tells him that she knows
that it was he that broke her husband’s hand but Lennie refuses
to be drawn.

TASK 79 What does Curley’s wife want?



She says she wants to talk to Lennie because she is lonely and
that she can’t talk to anybody. She wants to know what Lennie
has got there and he reveals that it is his little pup.

TASK 80 We now learn a little bit more about how the pup met its end. What
had happened?

Lennie tells her that he was just playing with him and the pup
made like he was going to bite Lennie and Lennie made like he
was going to smack him and he did and clearly the smack had
killed him.

TASK 81 What attitude does Curley’s wife take here?



She comforts him and consoles him and tells him not to worry
he can easy get another one, the whole country’s full of pups or
‘mutts’ as she calls them. She moves closer to him speaking
soothingly and telling him not to worry about talking to her.
Lennie is worried, though, about what George will say if he sees
him talking to her. At this she gets angry wanting to know
what’s the matter with her, hasn’t she got a right to talk to
anybody and so on.

TASK 82 She then begins to tell him about herself. What does she have to say?

She tells him that when she was young she met an actor in one
of the shows but her mother wouldn’t let her go off with the actor
because she was only fifteen and that was the beginning of her
dream of being in the movies. Then she tells of how she
married Curley out of desperation when her hopes were dashed.
The fact that we are told that ‘her words tumbled out in a
passion of communication, as though she hurried before her
listener could be taken away’ gives us an insight into just how
lonely and desperate for real communication Curley’s wife is.
Like Lennie and Crookes and Candy she is a misfit, a misfit lost
in her own lonely world. While she is talking, Lennie talks of the
rabbits but just as they had done in Crookes’s room, neither pay
much attention to what the other is saying.

TASK 83 What effect does she hope the story will have on Lennie?



She hopes to impress Lennie with her story and further she
confesses to him that she does not like her husband.

TASK 84 How real do you think her opportunity to become an actress was?

Not very real. She seems to be star-struck and to have taken
seriously the flattering promises made by men who were trying,
probably for sexual reasons, to ingratiate themselves with her.
Despite her attempts at sophistication, underneath she seems
pathetically naïve.

TASK 85 Can you find a particular example to support the idea of her naivety?

The notable one is when she is convinced that her ol’ lady stole
the letter from Hollywood that would have been her passport to
become a movie star.
TASK 86 Why did Curley’s wife marry Curley?



The pair met at a dance hall one evening when she had decided
that she just could not stay at home any longer. She obviously
did not have the intelligence or perhaps the desire to grasp the
hollowness of the promises which men made her. She saw,
then, Curley’s offer of marriage as her last chance of escape.
She tells us, though: ‘I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella’. As
had happened with Crookes, Lennie’s innocent and open
manner inspires confidence in her. Lennie goes on to tell her
about the little farm with the garden and the rabbits that he and
George have got planned for themselves. He moves cautiously
closer to her until he’s right up against her. She asks him what
makes him so nuts about rabbits. He tells her that he likes to
pet nice things. Curley’s wife moves away from him a little bit
telling him that she thinks he is nuts. As he talks about the
imaginary rabbits the two sit closer together and talk about
petting nice things. Curley’s invites Lennie to touch her hair but
she appeals to him to be careful not to mess it up. As he
strokes her hair she becomes worried and wants him to release
her but the more she yells the more tightly Lennie hangs on.



TASK 87 Does this remind you about another episode that we heard about earlier
in the novel? What was it?

Exactly the same thing had happened with the girl’s dress in
Weed and later with Curley’s fist. Lennie, as ever unaware of
his own great strength, shakes her in his fright and terror and
breaks her neck. He soon begins to understand the seriousness
of what he has done and he says: ‘I shouldn’t have did that.
George will be mad.’

TASK 88 What does he then remember?

He then remembers George’s instruction about returning to the
campsite they had used on the way to the ranch and to hide
there if anything ever went wrong or he got into trouble. Still
concerned that the dead puppy should not be discovered he
take it with him just as he had done the mouse in the opening



scene. After a little while, Candy comes into the barn and
discovers the body of Curley’s wife.

TASK 89 Candy fetches George and the two wonder what to do. What does
George conclude in the end?

George concludes that the others will have to be told and that
Lennie will have to be jailed for his own good. Candy reminds
George, though, that Curley will be intent on getting his revenge
on Lennie and he will probably organise a lynch mob to hang
Lennie.

TASK 90 Why does Candy agree to let George appear to know only about the
death of Curley’s wife as the others find out?

He does this to try to protect George from any suggestion that
any of the others might make that he had conspired in the death
of Curley’s wife with Lennie. The men come into the barn: Slim,
Carlson, young white, and Curley, Crookes keeping back and



last of all George. They find the body and stay still, looking.
Slim went forward to examine the body and he felt her twisted
neck with his fingers.

TASK 91
Then the other men crowded near. How does Curley respond?

Curley reacts with rage. He knows who has done it and vows to
shoot Lennie. Carlson backs him up saying: ‘I’ll get my Luger’
and they both run out of the barn. Slim tells George that it looks
as if Lennie is responsible for her death. George didn’t answer
but he nodded slowly.

Slim makes the connection with the incident in Weed that George had
TASK 92
told him about. How does Slim respond?


Miceand menworkbook

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (17)

Similar to Miceand menworkbook

Similar to Miceand menworkbook (20)

More from sparkly

More from sparkly (20)

Miceand menworkbook