Of Mice and Men (1937) (edit title/settings)

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Characters edit see section history

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• George Milton: A small, wiry, quick-witted man who travels with, and cares for, Lennie. Although he frequently speaks of how much better his life would be without his caretaking responsibilities, George is obviously devoted to Lennie. George’s behavior is motivated by the desire to protect Lennie and, eventually, deliver them both to the farm of their dreams. Though George is the source of the often-told story of life on their future farm, it is Lennie’s childlike faith that enables George to actually believe his account of their future.
• Lennie Small: A large, lumbering, childlike migrant worker. Due to his mild mental disability, Lennie completely depends upon George, his friend and traveling companion, for guidance and protection. The two men share a vision of a farm that they will own together, a vision that Lennie believes in wholeheartedly. Gentle and kind, Lennie nevertheless does not understand his own strength. His love of petting soft things, such as small animals, dresses, and people’s hair, leads to disaster.
• Candy: An old, one armed worker on the ranch who owns an old dog whose smell disturbs everybody.
• Carlson: A ranch-hand, Carlson complains bitterly about Candy’s old, smelly dog.
• Curley: The boss’s son, Curley wears high-heeled boots to distinguish himself from the field hands. Rumored to be a champion prizefighter, he is a confrontational, mean-spirited, and aggressive young man who seeks to compensate for his small stature by picking fights with larger men. Recently married, Curley is plagued with jealous suspicions and is extremely possessive of his flirtatious young wife.
• Curley's wife: The only female character in the story, Curley’s wife is never given a name and is only mentioned in reference to her husband. The men on the farm refer to her as a “tramp,” a “tart,” and a “looloo.” Dressed in fancy, feathered red shoes, she represents the temptation of female sexuality in a male-dominated world. Steinbeck depicts Curley’s wife not as a villain, but rather as a victim. Like the ranch-hands, she is desperately lonely and has broken dreams of a better life.
• Crooks: A stable-buck, who got his name from his crooked back. He is isolated from the other men because he is the only black worker on the farm.
• Whit: A ranch-hand.
• The Boss: The stocky, well-dressed man in charge of the ranch, and Curley’s father. He is never named and appears only once, but seems to be a fair-minded man. Candy happily reports that the boss once delivered a gallon of whiskey to the ranch-hands on Christmas Day.
• Aunt Clara: Lennie’s aunt: a kind and patient woman who took good care of Lennie and cared for him until her death.
• Slim: A highly skilled mule driver and the acknowledged “prince” of the ranch, Slim is the only character who seems to be at peace with himself.

Show all 11 characters

Quotes edit see section history

• “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. . . . With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.”

  George

• “The hell with rabbits.That's all you ever can remember is them rabbits. O.K.! Now you listen and this time you got to remember so we don't get in no trouble. You remember settin' in that gutter on Howard street and watchin' that blackboard?”

  George

• “Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is”

  The Boss

• “'Course he ain't mean. But he gets in trouble alla time because he's so God damn dumb.”

  George

• “Never you mind. A guy got to sometimes”

  Slim

• “All kin's a vegetables in the garden, and if we want a little whisky we can sell a few eggs or something, or some milk. We'd jus' live there. We'd belong there. There wouldn't be no more runnin' round the country and gettin' fed by a Jap cook. No, sir, we'd have our own place where we belonged and not sleep in no bunk house.”

  George Milton

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

  Candy

• “If I catch any one man, and he's alone, I get along fine with him. But just let two of the guys get together an' you won't talk. Jus' nothing but mad. You're all scared of each other, that's what. Ever' one of you's scared the rest is goin' to get something on you.”

• “A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin’ books or thinkin’ or stuff like that. Sometimes he gets thinkin’, an’ he got nothing to tell him what’s so an’ what ain’t so. Maybe if he sees somethin’, he don’t know whether it’s right or not. He can’t turn to some other guy and ast him if he sees it too. He can’t tell. He got nothing to measure by. I seen things out here. I wasn’t drunk. I don’t know if I was asleep. If some guy was with me, he could tell me I was asleep, an’ then it would be all right. But I jus’ don’t know.”

  Crooks speaks these words to Lennie in Section 4, on the night that Lennie visits Crooks in his room.

• “"S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy 'cause you was black. How'd you like that? S'pose you had to sit out here an' read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain't no good. A guy needs somebody - to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick."”

  Crooks

• “A colored man got to have some rights even if he don't like 'em.”

  Crooks

• “"What about the rabbits, Georege?"”

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• The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely.

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• “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re pound-in’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.”

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• “God, you’re a lot of trouble,” said George. “I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl.”

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• As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment.

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• His anger left him suddenly. He looked across the fire at Lennie’s anguished face, and then he looked ashamedly at the flames.

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• “With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.” Lennie broke in. “But not us! An’ why? Because . . . because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.”

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• A little stocky man stood in the open doorway. He wore blue jean trousers, a flannel shirt, a black, unbuttoned vest and a black coat. His thumbs were stuck in his belt, on each side of a square steel buckle. On his head was a soiled brown Stetson hat, and he wore high-heeled boots and spurs to prove he was not a laboring man.

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• THE BUNKHOUSE WAS A LONG, rectangular building. Inside,

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

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• Salinas River: A calm area George and Lennie rest at before they continue the trip to the ranch. There's a large pool, and a brush.

First Sentence edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Bindle: bag in which they carry their personal possessions, of which they of few
• Bindle stiff: migrant workers who carry their personal possessions on their backs

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

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• Loneliness: Describe this theme.
• The Failed American Dream
• Dreams and Hopes: Most dreams are failing
• Innocence
• Isolation
• Friendship
• Disillusionment
• Prejudice: Prejudice was one of the themes shown in this novel. The first time it's shown, is with Carlson and Candy over agism. What happens is that Carlson nags Candy into letting him shoot his dog, being so old. The next encounter is with black Crooks. Being black in the 1910's America, he went through a lot, including having to sleep in the barn, being demeaned by Curley's wife, and was allowed in the bunkhouse only to be made fun of. Finally, Lennie was shown prejudice as Curley hated him from the start, (proceeding into a fight later). Also, Curley's wife called him a 'dumb-dumb' later on. This theme can be found in many characters as everyone has flaws. Consider, Curley is short, leading to Napoleon syndrome, (or control issues), and his wife is, well, a woman. This totally leads to discrimination on an all male ranch, earning her the names 'tart', 'tramp', etc. As you should be able to see now, prejudice is a theme flown all through the story, fitting the time period very well, compliments characters, and arouses mixed emotions.
• Loneliness and the Need for Companionship: The workers play solitary a lot --> LonelinessThe workers don't have many friends --> Need for Companionship

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by The Secret Garden, and followed by The Stand.

Preceded by The Grapes of Wrath, and followed by Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Preceded by Theatre, and followed by The Rains Came.

Preceded by Digital Fortress, and followed by Tuesdays With Morrie.

Followed by Jane Eyre.

Preceded by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and followed by Beloved.

Preceded by Love in the Time of Cholera, and followed by Lolita.

Preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring, and followed by The Two Towers.

Preceded by Murphy, and followed by Their Eyes Were Watching God .

Preceded by A Passage to India, and followed by All the King's Men.

Preceded by And Tango Makes Three, and followed by I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Preceded by One Hundred Years of Solitude, and followed by The Chronicles of Narnia.

Preceded by The Diary of a Young Girl, and followed by The Lightning Thief.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. John Steinbeck (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Waterstones Books of the Century (1997, #35)
• BBC's Big Read (April 2003: Best-Loved Novel, #52)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3537.T3234 1937
• Dewey: 813.52

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Has some graphic violence but it's no worse than what teens watch on T.V. today. High school level book that is common require to read

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Authors, A-Z › ( S ) › Steinbeck, John
• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › United States › 20th Century

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Sparknotes: A very indepth look at all parts of Mice and Men, including places, characters, and chapters indivigually.Great for if you are doing a exam or report about it, or if you just want to test your knowledge in the Quiz or want to find books which are good for further reading.
• Of Mice and Men Literature Guide by Secondary Solutions

Movie Connections edit see section history

• Of Mice and Men (IMDb): 1939
• Of Mice and Men (IMDb): 1992

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