English Lit Of Mice and Men Eassy Plan

Lennie crushes Curley's hand.

“I didn’t wanta hurt him.”

Shows Lennie’s immense strength and lack of control.

Reflects 1930s views on mental disability—Lennie’s actions are misunderstood.

Talks about tending the rabbits.

“An’ live off the fatta the lan’.”

Symbolizes hope and childlike innocence.

Dreams helped people survive the Great Depression.

George kills Lennie.

“Tell me about the rabbits, George.”

Tragic mercy killing, mirroring Candy’s regret.

Euthanasia, loyalty, and moral complexity.

Crooks tells Lennie about his isolation.

“A guy needs somebody—to be near him.”

Highlights racial isolation and emotional needs.

Jim Crow laws left Black men isolated.

Curley’s Wife threatens Crooks.

“I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.”

Even the most marginalized white character holds power over Crooks.

Racial hierarchy of 1930s America.

Crooks briefly buys into the dream.

“If you… guys would want a hand to work for nothing—just his keep.”

Shows even Crooks dares to hope.

The American Dream gave hope to the oppressed.

Carlson kills Candy’s dog.

“I ought to of shot that dog myself.”

Candy feels guilt and foreshadows Lennie’s death.

Weak discarded during the Depression.

Candy offers money to join dream.

“S’pose I went in with you guys. Tha’s three hunderd I got.”

Reflects desperation and hope.

Elderly workers feared uselessness.

After Curley’s Wife’s death.

“You God damn tramp.”

Anger is rooted in loss of dream.

Shows how fragile hope was.

Curley’s Wife talking to Lennie.

“I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.”

Reveals she’s isolated and voiceless.

Women seen as property, especially in marriage.

Curley’s Wife threatens Crooks.

“I could get you strung up on a tree.”

Wields racial power despite her gender-based oppression.

Gender and racial hierarchies intersect.

Lennie kills Curley’s Wife.

“She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young.”

Peaceful death contrasts her life.

Reader reassesses judgment of her.

Lennie kills Curley’s Wife.

“I done a bad thing. I done another bad thing.”

Violence from misunderstanding.

Not malice, but a lack of control.

Curley attacks Lennie.

“Come on, ya big bastard. Get up on your feet.”

Reflects toxic masculinity.

Asserts dominance through violence.

Carlson shoots Candy’s dog.

“He won’t even feel it.”

Casual cruelty toward the weak.

Society discards the useless.

George and Lennie’s bond.

“Guys like us… are the loneliest guys in the world.”

Rare friendship in a lonely world.

Isolated itinerant workers.

Crooks’ loneliness.

“A guy gets too lonely, and he gets sick.”

Isolation harms mental health.

Racial segregation magnifies loneliness.

Candy fears being alone.

“I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs.”

Fear of abandonment.

No safety net for elderly workers.

Crooks excluded from card games.

“They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black.”

Racial prejudice and exclusion.

Segregation and racism shaped lives.

Curley’s Wife ignored.

“What’s the matter with me? Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody?”

Misogyny silences her.

Gender prejudice on the ranch.

Lennie treated like a child.

“He’s jus’ like a kid.”

Ableism and misunderstanding.

Lack of understanding for disabilities.

Lennie’s dream.

“An’ I get to tend the rabbits.”

Childlike fantasy of hope.

Dream symbolizes freedom and safety.

George talks about their dream.

“We’d belong there.”

Desire for stability and belonging.

The dream gave meaning to life.

Candy invests in the dream.

“You an’ me can get that little place.”

Wants purpose and dignity.

Elderly clung to dreams to avoid despair.

Lennie’s strength vs. mind.

“He’s strong as a bull.”

Physically powerful but mentally vulnerable.

Misunderstood because of disability.

Candy’s weakness.

“I ain’t much good with only one hand.”

Fears being useless.

No place for the weak in a harsh world.

Curley’s Wife’s crushed dream.

“I coulda made somethin’ of myself.”

Powerless and full of regret.

Women’s dreams often unfulfilled.

Curley asserts power.

“He’s alla time picking scraps with big guys.”

Uses aggression to show dominance.

Insecure men use violence to control.

Slim’s natural authority.

“His word was taken on any subject.”

Respected leader.

Power can come from respect, not fear.

George’s control over Lennie.

“Lennie! If you jus’ happened to get in trouble…”

Paternal and protective dynamic.

Built on trust, but also power