Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck

Plot Overview

Two
migrant workers, George and Lennie, have been let off a bus miles away
from the California farm where they are due to start work. George is a
small, dark man with “sharp, strong features.” Lennie, his companion, is
his opposite, a giant of a man with a “shapeless” face. Overcome with
thirst, the two stop in a clearing by a pool and decide to camp for the
night. As the two converse, it becomes clear that Lennie has a mild
mental disability, and is deeply devoted to George and dependent upon
him for protection and guidance. George finds that Lennie, who loves
petting soft things but often accidentally kills them, has been carrying
and stroking a dead mouse. He angrily throws it away, fearing that
Lennie might catch a disease from the dead animal. George complains
loudly that his life would be easier without having to care for Lennie,
but the reader senses that their friendship and devotion is mutual. He
and Lennie share a dream of buying their own piece of land, farming it,
and, much to Lennie's delight, keeping rabbits. George ends the night by
treating Lennie to the story he often tells him about what life will be
like in such an idyllic place.

The next day, the men report to
the nearby ranch. George, fearing how the boss will react to Lennie,
insists that he'll do all the talking. He lies, explaining that they
travel together because they are cousins and that a horse kicked Lennie
in the head when he was a child. They are hired. They meet Candy, an old
“swamper,” or handyman, with a missing hand and an ancient dog, and
Curley, the boss's mean-spirited son. Curley is newly married,
possessive of his flirtatious wife, and full of jealous suspicion. Once
George and Lennie are alone in the bunkhouse, Curley's wife appears and
flirts with them. Lennie thinks she is “purty,” but George, sensing the
trouble that could come from tangling with this woman and her husband,
warns Lennie to stay away from her. Soon, the ranch-hands return from
the fields for lunch, and George and Lennie meet Slim, the skilled mule
driver who wields great authority on the ranch. Slim comments on the
rarity of friendship like that between George and Lennie. Carlson,
another ranch-hand, suggests that since Slim's dog has just given birth,
they should offer a puppy to Candy and shoot Candy's old,
good-for-nothing dog.

The next day, George confides in Slim that
he and Lennie are not cousins, but have been friends since childhood.
He tells how Lennie has often gotten them into trouble. For instance,
they were forced to flee their last job because Lennie tried to touch a
woman's dress and was accused of rape. Slim agrees to give Lennie one of
his puppies, and Carlson continues to badger Candy to kill his old dog.
When Slim agrees with Carlson, saying that death would be a welcome
relief to the suffering animal, Candy gives in. Carlson, before leading
the dog outside, promises to do the job painlessly.

Slim goes to
the barn to do some work, and Curley, who is maniacally searching for
his wife, heads to the barn to accost Slim. Candy overhears George and
Lennie discussing their plans to buy land, and offers his life's savings
if they will let him live there too. The three make a pact to let no
one else know of their plan. Slim returns to the bunkhouse, berating
Curley for his suspicions. Curley, searching for an easy target for his
anger, finds Lennie and picks a fight with him. Lennie crushes Curley's
hand in the altercation. Slim warns Curley that if he tries to get
George and Lennie fired, he will be the laughingstock of the farm.

The
next night, most of the men go to the local brothel. Lennie is left
with Crooks, the lonely, black stable-hand, and Candy. Curley's wife
flirts with them, refusing to leave until the other men come home. She
notices the cuts on Lennie's face and suspects that he, and not a piece
of machinery as Curley claimed, is responsible for hurting her husband.
This thought amuses her. The next day, Lennie accidentally kills his
puppy in the barn. Curley's wife enters and consoles him. She admits
that life with Curley is a disappointment, and wishes that she had
followed her dream of becoming a movie star. Lennie tells her that he
loves petting soft things, and she offers to let him feel her hair. When
he grabs too tightly, she cries out. In his attempt to silence her, he
accidentally breaks her neck.

Lennie flees back to a pool of the
Salinas River that George had designated as a meeting place should
either of them get into trouble. As the men back at the ranch discover
what has happened and gather together a lynch party, George joins
Lennie. Much to Lennie's surprise, George is not mad at him for doing “a
bad thing.” George begins to tell Lennie the story of the farm they
will have together. As he describes the rabbits that Lennie will tend,
the sound of the approaching lynch party grows louder. George shoots his
friend in the back of the head.

When the other men arrive,
George lets them believe that Lennie had the gun, and George wrestled it
away from him and shot him. Only Slim understands what has really
happened, that George has killed his friend out of mercy. Slim
consolingly leads him away, and the other men, completely puzzled, watch
them leave.
John Steinbeck

Plot Overview

Two
migrant workers, George and Lennie, have been let off a bus miles away
from the California farm where they are due to start work. George is a
small, dark man with “sharp, strong features.” Lennie, his companion, is
his opposite, a giant of a man with a “shapeless” face. Overcome with
thirst, the two stop in a clearing by a pool and decide to camp for the
night. As the two converse, it becomes clear that Lennie has a mild
mental disability, and is deeply devoted to George and dependent upon
him for protection and guidance. George finds that Lennie, who loves
petting soft things but often accidentally kills them, has been carrying
and stroking a dead mouse. He angrily throws it away, fearing that
Lennie might catch a disease from the dead animal. George complains
loudly that his life would be easier without having to care for Lennie,
but the reader senses that their friendship and devotion is mutual. He
and Lennie share a dream of buying their own piece of land, farming it,
and, much to Lennie's delight, keeping rabbits. George ends the night by
treating Lennie to the story he often tells him about what life will be
like in such an idyllic place.

The next day, the men report to
the nearby ranch. George, fearing how the boss will react to Lennie,
insists that he'll do all the talking. He lies, explaining that they
travel together because they are cousins and that a horse kicked Lennie
in the head when he was a child. They are hired. They meet Candy, an old
“swamper,” or handyman, with a missing hand and an ancient dog, and
Curley, the boss's mean-spirited son. Curley is newly married,
possessive of his flirtatious wife, and full of jealous suspicion. Once
George and Lennie are alone in the bunkhouse, Curley's wife appears and
flirts with them. Lennie thinks she is “purty,” but George, sensing the
trouble that could come from tangling with this woman and her husband,
warns Lennie to stay away from her. Soon, the ranch-hands return from
the fields for lunch, and George and Lennie meet Slim, the skilled mule
driver who wields great authority on the ranch. Slim comments on the
rarity of friendship like that between George and Lennie. Carlson,
another ranch-hand, suggests that since Slim's dog has just given birth,
they should offer a puppy to Candy and shoot Candy's old,
good-for-nothing dog.

The next day, George confides in Slim that
he and Lennie are not cousins, but have been friends since childhood.
He tells how Lennie has often gotten them into trouble. For instance,
they were forced to flee their last job because Lennie tried to touch a
woman's dress and was accused of rape. Slim agrees to give Lennie one of
his puppies, and Carlson continues to badger Candy to kill his old dog.
When Slim agrees with Carlson, saying that death would be a welcome
relief to the suffering animal, Candy gives in. Carlson, before leading
the dog outside, promises to do the job painlessly.

Slim goes to
the barn to do some work, and Curley, who is maniacally searching for
his wife, heads to the barn to accost Slim. Candy overhears George and
Lennie discussing their plans to buy land, and offers his life's savings
if they will let him live there too. The three make a pact to let no
one else know of their plan. Slim returns to the bunkhouse, berating
Curley for his suspicions. Curley, searching for an easy target for his
anger, finds Lennie and picks a fight with him. Lennie crushes Curley's
hand in the altercation. Slim warns Curley that if he tries to get
George and Lennie fired, he will be the laughingstock of the farm.

The
next night, most of the men go to the local brothel. Lennie is left
with Crooks, the lonely, black stable-hand, and Candy. Curley's wife
flirts with them, refusing to leave until the other men come home. She
notices the cuts on Lennie's face and suspects that he, and not a piece
of machinery as Curley claimed, is responsible for hurting her husband.
This thought amuses her. The next day, Lennie accidentally kills his
puppy in the barn. Curley's wife enters and consoles him. She admits
that life with Curley is a disappointment, and wishes that she had
followed her dream of becoming a movie star. Lennie tells her that he
loves petting soft things, and she offers to let him feel her hair. When
he grabs too tightly, she cries out. In his attempt to silence her, he
accidentally breaks her neck.

Lennie flees back to a pool of the
Salinas River that George had designated as a meeting place should
either of them get into trouble. As the men back at the ranch discover
what has happened and gather together a lynch party, George joins
Lennie. Much to Lennie's surprise, George is not mad at him for doing “a
bad thing.” George begins to tell Lennie the story of the farm they
will have together. As he describes the rabbits that Lennie will tend,
the sound of the approaching lynch party grows louder. George shoots his
friend in the back of the head.

When the other men arrive,
George lets them believe that Lennie had the gun, and George wrestled it
away from him and shot him. Only Slim understands what has really
happened, that George has killed his friend out of mercy. Slim
consolingly leads him away, and the other men, completely puzzled, watch
them leave.

Of Mice And Men" is more than just the tragedy of Lennie.
Written by: James Wang
Of
Mice and Men is more then just the tragedy of Lennie. It has shown the
sadness and suffering of individuals in a disinterested world.،¯ Discuss.
The death of Lennie at the end of ،Of Mice and Men،¯
seems, at first, to be the most tragic event in the novel, especially
for the people directly concerned, such as George and Lennie himself.
However, in actual fact, the novel is full of sad people suffering in a
world where no one really cares about them.
The men who worked on the ranches, the itinerant workers were sad and lonely people. As George says ،Guys like us, who work on ranches, were the most lonely people in this world.،
They had no families and no homes. They moved from place to place to
find work. Some had dreams of owning land, but only a few dreams came
true. They tried to save up money, but spent every thing on Saturdays.
They were back to nothing on Monday again. Most of the ranch hands were
totally alone, they had no one to talk car of them. George and Lennie
were different. They got each other, and they took cared to each other.
Even though Lennie died, at least while he was alive, he had someone who
cared about him.
For a while, Candy wasnt so lonely because he had his dog. He had his dog since it was a pup, they companied each other until Candy،¯s dog was killed. Candy was old and disabled, he know if he couldn't
work anymore, he would be sacked. He would be put on the county on his
own. For a while, he had hope again. He could go with George and Lennie
and live on their own farm, where there would be love and care. But when
Curley's wife died, his dream was gone. He knew he was going to face the fact, where as soon as he couldn't
out no bunkhouse, he would be put on the county on his own. Candy was a
sad and old man whose life was made more tragic by the death of his old
dog and Curley's wife.
Crooks
too, was another lonely person. Unlike Candy, he was lonely because he
was the only black person on the ranch. He was separated from everyone
else on the ranch. He was sad and lonely as you can tell from his words
with Lennie. ،°Maybe you can see now. You got George. You knew he was going to come back. Suppose you didn't have anybody. Suppose you were black. How would you like that?
During the 1930s, racism was great in America. A lot of black guys like
Crooks were treated this way. They were isolated and sad. Crooks was
the butt of everyone،¯s anger and jokes. He dare not retaliate because he was black. He was a sad and lonely person in a world that doesn't care.
Crooks was isolated because of his colour. Curley's
wife was lonely because she was the only woman on the ranch. She was
not only lonely, but she was also sad. Her reasons of her sadness were
she hates Curly, whom she married to a fortnight ago. She hates Curley
because of his jealousy and because she wasn't
allowed to talk to other ranch hands. She had no one to talk to because
she made a lot of troubles. Every one hated her. No one mourned when
she died. People thought she was no good living. And ،°You god damn tramp, says Candy. People didn't like her, and she was sad and lonely. Curley's wife constantly searches for people to talk to, but no one liked her.
George and Lennie were lucky compared to others. They had each other. Despite Lennie،¯s death, the real tragic figures were Crooks, Curley's wife, Candy and other itinerant workers.

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