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putain de merde
a water snake slipped along the pool
snake a biblical symbol ? it appears when lennie and george have arrived, symbolising that misfortune has continued to follow the two men.
…were small, square windows… solid door with a wooden latch… lice, roaches and other scourges.
setting description of the bunkhouse. juxtaposes how the lake was described. the bunkhouse feels suffocating and strict. the addition of referring to insects make it feel dirty and underkept.
LENNIE CHARACTERISATION
is characterised as childlike and throughout the book is described using zoomorphism. he is the representation of mentally handicapped peoples.
lennie looks to george for “instruction”.
like a child looks to their parent when faced with the unknown, they look to someone else to tell them the right way forward.
lennie “imitated” george exactly.
a child will mirror the actions of the adults around them, as they feel that is right to do.
lennie’s focus on “tending” the rabbits and touching “soft” things. his dream to live off the “fatta’ “ the “lan’ “.
he has a childlike focus on his dreams, weaving it into everything. many times, characters are talking to him, and he isn’t focused at all on the topic at all, interjecting with his talk about living off the land and having a couple of acres.
aunt clara and a massive rabbit appearing to lennie, as if they were really there in front of him. “you do bad things.”
this can display how firstly, the novella is a tragedy and is structured more similarly to a play, rather than being a realistic fiction. it also portrays lennie’s childlike imagination. how lennie is told off by these delusions similar to how a child imagines their parents scolding them is also indicative of his childlike nature. they do not scold him for literally killing someone, but rather for not listening to george (representing the parent in this dynamic). his understanding, shown by how aunt clara just adresses lennie as doing a “bad” thing, is lacking. he knows what he has done is bad, but he doesn’t know why, similar to a child knowing what they did is wrong but only because they got told off.
lennie “put” his hands “over” his ears, as the rabbit is telling him that george will leave him.
childlike behaviour once again. portraying george as the parent emphasises lennie’s mind as that of a child. a child, what is most important to them is their parents by their side. to children, losing their parents is the equivalent of death,
lennie “dipped” his whole head “under”.
does not consider at all that the water may be unsafe to drink. dipping his whole head under like a “horse”.
GEORGE CHARACTERISATION
george is characterised as being a short-tempered and agitated man, but also lennie’s protector, and can be a representation of the working class. figuratively though, george can be a symbol of human compassion. he can be a representation of the hope that americans possessed during the great depression. george destroys the claim that all men had to be alone and reject any companionship.
george is described as the ”first man”, lennie is the “follower”.
power dynamic established and is repeated through the novella.
george tells lennie to “stop” drinking so much, or he’ll be “sick”.
showing george has best interests for lennie. scolding him like a father.
george regularly calls lennie a “crazy bastard”. says he goes “nuts” thinking about the “crazy” time he’d have ”without” him.
portrays how short-tempered he is, but makes the reader ponder his parental role. it can also symbolise the amount of pressure george is under by protecting lennie and staying by his side. they is constantly put in hot hater due to lennie’s actions.
george controlling lennie through fear, examples through how lennie knows he is in trouble because he disobeyed george, he isn’t “gonna” let him “tend” the rabbits, and referring to how george will be “mad”.
this portrays the societal context that of mice and men falls in. not knowing how to deal with mental disabilities, society would use damaging techniques to try to ‘control’ the individual. this is seen with george, who controls lennie through fear. his temperament to lennie can also be a representation of how mentally handicapped peoples were treated in the 20th century, being seen as a ‘burden’ to society.
george continuously playing “solitaire” throughout the novella.
although george has lennie, he still feels loneliness. since he acts over lennie as a sort of parental figure, this may be the case. but this can also be seen as foreshadowing when george has to accept that he must kill lennie.
george has lennie to “look after [him]” and lennie has george to “look after [him]” as well.
interdependency, they both need each other to repel loneliness and have some kind of companionship. although george has lennie, he is still voiced as being very lonely.
george and lennie only having “ten bucks” between them, while earning 100 a month.
calls into question george’s actual desire to get their own ranch. another reading of george is that he is still like the other workers and spends all his money as cat houses. the dream may be impossible not because of the economic system but due to human nature.
“now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them.”
quote from carlson, last line of the novella. it separates slim and george from the other ranch workers. carlson especially is seen to have no moral capability, while slim supports george in a time of loss and moral ambiguity.
CURLEY’S WIFE CHARACTERISATION
characterised as a modernised woman in the 1930s, being more promiscuous than the traditional woman. she is hated among the cast and is blamed for her death. it portrays the overall treatment of women in the time period. can also be a symbol of eve.
curley’s wife’s body was “thrown” forward. she has “rouged, full” lips.
in the context that the novella is set in, this presents curley’s wife as scandalous and even ‘asking for attention’. she presents herself well and wants to be seen. steinbeck is trying to characterise her as someone whom wants to alure men in.
she is called a “tart”, “poison”, “jail bait”
called names throughout the entire book. no-one wants to talk to her except slim. she is obviously lonely, shown by how we never see her in her own house. emphasises the inequality of women during the time period.
curley’s wife is always described as “looking in” or “looking for curley”.
can be symbolic of how lonely she feels. she looks in, out of the world of men and so is therefore quite lonely as she feels she is excluded.
curley’s wife threatening him by saying she could get him “strung” up on a tree so “easy”. she also takes control of lennie’s disability, talking “softly” and “quietly” to him as she “sat close”.
these quotes emphasise curley’s wife’s need to put others down so she does not have to face the own oppression that she has to deal with for being a woman. she puts down crooks by threatening him with lynching and takes advantage of lennie so that she can feel less lonely.
curley’s wife’s emphasis on how she could have been in the “movies”.
the quote itself can symbolise the glamorised american dream lifestyle that many wanted to attain. she says that the "letters” to her, accepting her into this life of prosperity, were “stole[n]” from her by her mother. her dream of being in the “movies” relies only on men to come out and scout her, symbolising the overall obedience women had to have to achieve anything substantial.
CROOKS CHARACTERISATION
is the only person of colour within the novella. is characterised as grumpy and alone but intelligent and a hard worker. he is a reflection of the isolation and discrimination that people of colour faced within the 1930s.
crooks adresses slim as “mr slim”, and is quick to do what slim tells him to. he offers to put the tar on the horse, saying he “can” do it if slim “wants” him to.
crooks is the only character that is ever seen working. while working, he is respectful and does as he is told, even offering to do extra things without being asked. this can be interpreted in two ways: he is extremely hard working and willing to work, or this scene is displayed to show that crooks respects slim, as slim does not call him derogatory names or discriminate against him. and so, this can portray crooks as someone who will treat you as you treat him.
in crooks’ room, he has “books”, even a “dictionary” and a “civil code”, with “gold” rimmed “spectacles”. steinbeck describes crooks as having “wrinkles”.
these quotes for crooks infer to the reader his intelligence. in no other place are books mentioned, let alone dictionaries or a civil code. this displays that crooks has a respect for learning and gaining more wisdom. the “gold” spectacles also emphasise a strength in his wisdom, maybe even suggesting it is a major part of him. wrinkles can symbolise hard work or wisdom, like an elder, which crooks can both be seen possessing through his characterisation.
crooks’ bed is described as being filled with “straw”, and steinbeck calls the bed a “box”.
symbol of how he is treated. while the other characters get their own bunkhouse with suitable beds, crooks must stay with the animals in the barn and sleep on literal straw. emphasis on how people of colour were deeply discriminated against.
crooks has a “crooked” back and “pain-tightened” lips.
crooks’ physical deformities can be seen as a representation or symbol of the discrimination that has tarnished him mentally, steinbeck choosing to also represent this physically. despite this, crooks continues to work hard and persist. despite there being no legal slavery, discrimination is still rapid within american culture.
“rattle” of “chains” in crooks’ room.
symbolises how crooks is still shacked and unable to experience freedom.
crooks tells lennie that he doesn’t have “no rights” to come into his room in keeping his “distance”.
is reflecting what he personally has been told by white culture, displaying the segregation that black americans faced. these quotes could also be highlighting how crooks is trying to protect himself from the outside world.
crooks gets excited by the proposal of george and lennie’s farm, but immediately says he was “jus’ foolin’ “
he realises, due to who he is, will never be able to attain a dream such as that. the discrimination that he has faced has eroded his sense of a better future, shown by how he doesn;t even believe in god, claiming there is no “heaven”.
crooks, when lennie is coming to enter his living quarters, he “stiffen[s]” and a “scowl” appears on his face. he talks to lennie “sharply”. he “torture[s]” lennie about george leaving him.
crooks is a reflection of how white society treated african americans within the 20th century. he enjoys his personal space because, really, it is the only place he feels safe. it is his, and feels intruded. crooks himself has been neglected and segregated, and so treats others in a similar light to protect himself. he talks to lennie this way because, frankly, he is angry about how he has been treated, and wants justice (or even a feeling of just a bit of power).
CANDY CHARACTERISATION
he is the old man of the ranch, and is portrayed as being completely useless, but in awe of lennie and george’s dream.
steinbeck describes candy as “stoop-shouldered”
heavily weighed down by the work and arduous life he has had to live.
when around the boss, candy is described as “shuff[ling]” around him.
can symbolise nervousness, candy’s weakness compared to the boss. it describes candy somewhat as scurrying around like an animal, emphasising their power dynamic.
carlson asks why candy can’t just “shoot” his own dog and get another pup.
this line and how they reference the idea of candy just taking one of slim’s pups is a symbol of how society treats candy. in the land of capitalism, once you do not provide a service, you are discarded and can be easily replaced. can also portray social darwinism, in which it is the ‘survival of the fittest’.
when hearing about george and lennie’s dream, his eyes swell up with “tears” and he is practically “blinded” by them. he leans forward “eagerly” to hear more. when he realises that the dream may be at threat due to lennie’s actions, he still wants to pursue it with george, “can’t we?”
due to being a hard worker and subject to the torment of being apart of the working class, candy is ecstatic at the idea of being able to live of a couple of acres, free from the shackles of capitalism.
“you keep away from curley, lennie.”
displays george’s protective side, telling lennie to keep away from curley.
“nobody never gets it. but we gonna get it.”
george’s hopeful quote, telling lennie how they’re gonna get the farm despite being of the working class / disadvantaged.
“we ain’t like the others, we work on ranches, we got a future.”
we got a future george quote.
“i seen hundreds of men come by an’ go on the road an’ same damn thing in their heads.”
george hyperbole quote same damn thing in their heads.
“i don’t want no trouble. i just want to tend the rabbits.”
“i can’t help it. i like to pet nice things.”
lennie innocence quote, he just wants to tend to the rabbits.
“dangerously”
describing lennie quote as he walks towards crooks.
“s’pose george don’t come back no more…”
crooks intimidating lennie quote.
“crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn.”
crooks living space description compared to barn.
“the old swamper looked quickly at him, and then shuffled to the door rubbing his whiskers with his knuckles as he went.”
candy quote, shows his inferiority to the boss.
“an’ he ain’t no good to himself. why’n’t you shoot him, candy?”
carlson quote about candy and his dying dog uwu
“if you jus’ happened to get in trouble like you always done before, i want you to come right here an’ hide in the brush.”
george quote to lennie, foreshadows lennie getting in trouble.
“…and her body flopped like a fish.”
quote about lennie’s strength.
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Flashcard (32)