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Of Mice and Men

Terms in this set (51)

What things were in Crook's space?
(on peg)broken harness in the process of being mended, strips of new leather, (a bench for) leather-working tools, curved knives, needles, balls of linen thread, a small hand riveter, pieces of harness, a split collar with the horsehair stuffing sticking out, a broken hame, a trace chain with its leather covering split, range of medicine bottles for him and horse (in apple box), cans of saddle soap, a drippy can of tar with paint brush, several pairs of shoes, a pair of rubber boots, a big alarm clock, a single-barreled shotgun, books: a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905, battered magazines, a few dirty books (on a special shelf over his bunk) AND a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles
What things does Lennie kill in the story by accident?
mouse, puppy, Curley's wife
Who are George and Lennie?
George: 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: 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.
What's the physical descriptions of George and Lennie?
George is small, smart, hot-tempered, wiry, and sharp-featured; Lennie is huge, mentally challenged, naïve, and awkward. It is a brains and brawn relationship.
Where are George and Lennie coming from?
Weed
What is the first animal Lennie kills?
A mouse: Lennie is found holding a dead mouse. George takes it away from him. Lennie insists that he is not responsible for killing the mouse, that he just wanted to pet it, but George loses his temper and throws it across the stream.
What town do they settle in, and why do they have to settle there?
Salinas Valley, where they settled because of the incident that occurred in the last town (Weed). Lennie, a lover of soft things, wanted to touch the fabric of a girl's red dress. When she pulled away, Lennie became frightened and held on to her until George hit him over the head to make him let go. The girl accused Lennie of rape, and George and Lennie had to hide in an irrigation ditch to escape a lynch mob, later to escape to another town.
Why does Lennie go back to the mouse and it means something to him? What usually happens to animals he wants to "pet"?
Lennie crosses the stream and recovers the mouse, only to have George find him out immediately and take the mouse away again. Apparently, Lennie's Aunt Clara used to give him mice to pet, but he tends to "break" small creatures unintentionally when he shows his affection for them, killing them because he doesn't know his own strength.
What's Lennie's favorite story?
the plan for their future happiness: though life as a ranch-hand is one of the loneliest in the world, he and Lennie have each other, and someday, as soon as they manage to save enough money, they will buy a farm together and, as Lennie puts it, "live off the fatta the lan'.
What is Lennie excited about on this new farm?
keeping rabbits, which he will tend.
Who's Candy?
An aging ranch handyman, Candy lost his right hand in an accident and worries about his future on the ranch. Fearing that his age is making him useless, he seizes on George's description of the farm he and Lennie will have, offering his life's savings if he can join George and Lennie in owning the land.
Who is the Boss?
Curley's father
Why did Lennie & George have to talk to their boss after arriving at the ranch bunkhouse? What did George say to it? Why does George speak for Lennie?
Because the boss appeared and he questioned the pair about their late arrival. George blames it on the bus driver, who, he claims, lied to them about their proximity to the ranch. When the boss asks about their skills and previous employment, George speaks for Lennie to prevent him from revealing his lack of intelligence.
What does George say when the boss asks why he speaks on his behalf? What does the boss suspect?
George replies that Lennie is his cousin and was kicked in the head by a horse when he was young, so George has to look out for him. The boss suspects George is taking advantage of a man who lacks the faculties to take care of himself.
Who does George and Lennie work under on the grain team? Who is he?
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. The other characters often look to Slim for advice. For instance, only after Slim agrees that Candy should put his decrepit dog out of its misery does the old man agree to let Carlson shoot it. A quiet, insightful man, Slim alone understands the nature of the bond between George and Lennie, and comforts George at the book's ending.His talents make him one of the most important and respected men on the ranch.
He is also considered to be the most stable person in the story
Aunt Clara is?
Lennie's aunt, who cared for him until her death, and appears as a vision chastising Lennie for causing trouble for George in the end. By all accounts, she was a kind, patient woman who took good care of Lennie and gave him plenty of mice to pet.
Who's Candy's dog? What happens to the dog?
an ancient, half-blind sheepdog, an animal that the old man has raised since it was a puppy.
Who's Curley?
The boss's son, who wears a Vaseline-filled work glove on his left hand and high-heeled boots to distinguish himself from the field hands/labor.
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, such as Lennie. Recently married, he is plagued with jealous suspicions and is extremely possessive of his young wife who's flirty with the ranch hands.
Where is George and Lennie's meeting place?
the pond where they camped before getting to the ranch
Who's Curley's wife?
The only female character in the story, she 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." She's a pretty, heavily made-up woman with a nasal voice- Dressed in fancy, feathered red shoes, she represents the temptation of female sexuality in a male-dominated world. She's shown as not a villain, but rather as a victim. Like the ranch-hands, she is desperately lonely and has broken dreams of a better life as an aspiring actress
Who's Carlson?
A ranch-hand, who complains bitterly about Candy's old, smelly dog. He convinces Candy to put the dog out of its misery. When Candy finally agrees, he promises to execute the task without causing the animal any suffering. Later, George uses his gun to shoot Lennie.
What happened with Slim's dog? What happened to some of them?
It had 9 puppies, but he drowned 4 because the mother would've been unable to feed them
Since the birth of the puppies, what does Carlson suggest candy he should do?
He suggests they convince Candy to shoot his old, worthless mutt and raise one of the pups instead
Lennie gets excited at the prospect of? Slim agrees to give Lennie a puppy, to which George tells him?
having a puppy
George tells him he thanks him for his kindness, and insists Lennie is "dumb as hell" but not crazy or mean
George confides in Slim the story of how he and George met, saying?
They were born in the same town, and George took charge of Lennie after the death of Lennie's Aunt Clara. At first, George admits, he pushed Lennie around, getting him to do ridiculous things, such as jumping into a river even though he didn't know how to swim. After watching his friend nearly drown, George felt ashamed of his behavior. Since that day, he has taken good care of his companion, protecting him even when he gets in trouble.
Carlson and Slim urge and persist in forcing Candy to?
put his dog down: Carlson begins to complain again about Candy's dog, saying that it stinks and that it "ain't no good to himself." He urges Candy to shoot the animal. Candy replies that he has had the dog for too many years to kill it, but Carlson continues to pressure him. Eventually Slim joins in, suggesting that Candy would be putting a suffering animal out if its misery. Slim offers him a puppy and urges him to let Carlson shoot the dog.
Who's Whit?
A farm-hand who enters and shows Slim a letter written by a man they used to work with published in a pulp magazine. The short letter praises the magazine
While marveling over the magazine, Carlson offers to?
What happens?
Why does Candy later regret this?
Kill the dog quickly by shooting it in the back of the head. Reluctantly, Candy gives in. Carlson takes the dog outside, promising Slim that he will bury the corpse. After a few awkward moments of silence, the men hear a shot ring out, and Candy turns his face to the wall.
Candy regrets it because he says he should have shot his old dog himself, and not let a stranger do it.
Who's Crooks?
Crooks, the black stable-hand, gets his name from his crooked back. Proud, bitter, and caustically funny, he is isolated from the other men because of the color of his skin. Despite himself, Crooks becomes fond of Lennie, and though he derisively claims to have seen countless men following empty dreams of buying their own land, he asks Lennie if he can go with them and hoe in the garden.
All the men agree Curley's wife will?
make trouble for someone
What were the merits over old Susy's place over Clara's?
being cheaper and having nice chairs
Who offers to take part in George and Lennie's farm? Why is he so willing to contribute his life savings to it?
Candy
Willing to give savings because he is worried, being old and crippled, that the ranch will let him go soon
How long do the men believe they will need to have enough money to be saved in order to make a down payment on the house?
a month of work on the ranch
What does Curley do to Lennie? Why? What does George do in response?
Though Lennie begs to be left alone, Curley attacks him. He throws several punches, bloodying Lennie's face, and hits him in the gut before George urges Lennie to fight back. On George's command, Lennie grabs Curley's right hand and breaks it effortlessly. George comforts Lennie, telling him that the fight was not his fault and that he has nothing to fear.

Knowing that Slim is too strong to be beaten in a fight, Curley looks to vent his rage elsewhere. He finds an easy target in Lennie, who is still dreaming of the farm and smiling with childlike delight.
What is Lennie's only fear after being bullied by Curley?
Lennie's only fear is that he will not be allowed to tend the rabbits on their farm. George assures him that he will.
Why does Lennie make Crooks act sweet?
he, as a black man, is not allowed in the white quarters, then white men are not allowed in his. Lennie does not understand, but innocently reports that everyone else has gone into town and that he saw Crooks's light on and thought he could come in and keep him company. Finally, despite himself, Crooks yields to Lennie's "disarming smile" and invites him in.
Who else did Lennie blurt about the farm to?
What does Crooks say is every ranch-hand's dream?
Crooks, when talking in bunk in the harness room: where he told his childhood story
Every ranch-hand's dream was to own a farm. He adds that he has seen countless men go on about the same piece of land, but nothing ever comes of it. A little piece of land, Crooks claims, is as hard to find as heaven.
He later says: "I wouldn' want to go no place like that."
When hearing that they are well on their way to making the money for the farm from Candy, Crooks shyly suggests?
maybe they could take him along with them
How does Curley's wife make fun of Crooks, Candy, and Lennie in the harness room?
Curley's wife laughs at him, then bitterly complains about her life with Curley. She sums up her situation, admitting that she feels pathetic to want company so desperately that she is willing to talk to the likes of Crooks, Candy, and Lennie
~She starts talking about her loneliness and her unhappy marriage. Candy insists that she leave and says proudly that even if she got them fired, they could go off and buy their own place to live.
What happens to Lennie's puppy?
It died: He talks to himself, asking the animal why it died: "You ain't so little as mice. I didn't bounce you hard." Worrying that George will be angry and will not let him raise the rabbits on their farm, he starts to bury it in the hay. Frustrated, he curses the dog for dying and hurls it across the room. Soon, though, Lennie retrieves the puppy, strokes it again, and reasons that perhaps George won't care, since the puppy meant nothing to George
What's Curley's wife's dream? Whom did she talk about this to?
She tells Lennie about her dreams of living a different life. She reveals that her mother denied her the opportunity to join a traveling show when she was fifteen and then, years later, a talent scout spotted her and promised to take her to Hollywood to become a movie star. When nothing came of it, she decided to marry Curley, whom she dislikes.
What happens when Curley's wife starts talking to Lennie?
He hastily hides the puppy and tells her that George ordered him not to speak to her. She reassures him that it is safe for him to talk to her, pointing out that the other men are occupied with a horseshoe tournament outside and will not interrupt them. She then complains about her loneliness and the cold treatment she gets from the ranch-hands.
Lennie, meanwhile, talks about rabbits
What does Lennie say when Curley's wife asks why he likes animals?
What does she say and let him do, but what happens?
Lennie replies that he likes to touch soft things with his fingers. She admits that she likes the same thing, and offers to let him stroke her hair. She warns him not to "muss it," but he quickly becomes excited and holds on too tight, frightening her. When she cries out, Lennie panics and clamps his strong hands over her mouth to silence her. The more she struggles, the tighter his grip becomes, and he shakes her until her body goes limp. Lennie has broken her neck.
What does Lennie do next with Curley's wife?
Who finds Lennie and tells the news to George?
What would be Lennie's punishment?
The barn goes still as Lennie realizes what he has done. He tries to bury Curley's wife in the hay, worrying chiefly that George will be angry with him. Taking the puppy's body with him, he flees toward the meeting place that George designates at the book's opening—the clearing in the woods. Candy comes looking for Lennie and finds the body. He calls George, who realizes immediately what has happened. George expresses the hope that maybe Lennie will just be locked up and still be treated well, but Candy tells him that Curley is sure to have Lennie lynched.
Candy still asks George if they can buy the farm, to which George does/says what?
Who does Candy curse?
Candy sees from George's face that the idea is now impossible. George says quietly that he thinks he knew all along that it would never happen, but because Lennie liked the idea so much, he had started to believe it himself.
Candy curses Curley's wife for destroying their dream of a farm.
What is George's plan with Curley's wife's death?
he instructs Candy how to inform them. George will pretend that he has not seen the body and act surprised when Candy delivers the news.
What does Curley do after Candy delivers the news?
What does Carlson say?
Curley demands that they find Lennie and kill him. Carlson reports that his gun is missing, and assumes that Lennie must have taken it. Curley orders them to fetch Crooks's shotgun, and the mob sets off after Lennie.
Who "visits" Lennie? What happens?
soon has two unpleasant visions. His Aunt Clara appears "from out of Lennie's head" and berates him, speaking in Lennie's own voice, for not listening to George, for getting himself into trouble, and for causing so many problems for his only friend. Then a gigantic rabbit appears to him, also speaking in Lennie's own voice, and tells him that George will probably beat him and abandon him.
When George comes to the riverbed to see Lennie, what does he say/do?
George appears. He is uncommonly quiet and listless. He does not berate Lennie. Even when Lennie himself insists on it, George's tirade is unconvincing and scripted. He repeats his usual words of reproach without emotion. Lennie makes his usual offer to go away and live in a cave, and George tells him to stay, making Lennie feel comforted and hopeful.
What does George begin saying? What does he tell Lennie to do?
Lennie asks him to tell the story of their farm, and George begins, talking about how most men drift along, without any companions, but he and Lennie have one another. The noises of men in the woods come closer, and George tells Lennie to take off his hat and look across the river while he describes their farm. He tells Lennie about the rabbits, and promises that nobody will ever be mean to him again. "Le's do it now," Lennie says. "Le's get that place now." George agrees. He raises Carlson's gun, which he has removed from his jacket, and shoots Lennie in the back of the head. As Lennie falls to the ground and becomes still, George tosses the gun away and sits down on the riverbank.
Sound of shot brought lynch party to riverbed, where?
Carlson questions George, who lets them believe that he wrestled the gun from Lennie and shot him with it. Only Slim understands what really happened: "You hadda, George. I swear you hadda," he tells him. Slim leads George, who is numb with grief, away from the scene, while Carlson and Curley watch incredulously, wondering what is "eatin' them two guys."
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