Chapters 1-4: Of Mice and Men
note - all based on my notes so please do not used word-for-word and give credit. Thank you.
Characters
George – he looks after Lennie both in frustration (with Lennie’s behaviour) and fondness or loyalty towards him. He only looks after Lennie out of the fear of being alone. He dreams of a better life, owning his own farm. His presence shows how hard it is to survive.
Lennie – has special needs and is often forgetful. As a disabled man lacking proper understanding, he is innocent and childish, as seen when he requests for a puppy. He dreams of looking after rabbits, bringing about a sense of hope.
Slim – respected as everyone considered himform the ‘’prince of the ranch’’. Even though Curley is the boss’s son, Slim has more respect from the others as the jerkline skinner. This job requires lots of strength when looking after the mules and rest of the farm. He is the confidante for the other workers.
Crooks – the black stable buck who is lonely. He spends his time reading and owns a dictionary to educate himself to be like the white men. His presence tells us the state of racism at the time. His isolation is because of his black skin.
Candy – he is old and lonely. He wants to join George and Lennie in their dream, showing how he looks for companionship and a purpose in life. He is so hopeful to join George and Lennie in their plans that he offers them some of his saved money.
Curley’s Wife – labelled as “jail-bait” and “a tart” in the novella. She seeks attention from the other ranch workers and represents the women at the time. Her presence gives us an idea of power dynamics also. She is the only female character of the novella. Can be described as ‘seductive’.
Curley – the boss's aggressive son; he wears high-heeled boots, showing his authority. He is very possessive of his wife and always looks for her who pretends to be looking for him. He feels insecure and likes to pick fights because of this.
Carlson – he lives in the bunkhouse with George and Lennie. He doesn’t like Candy’s old dog and insists on shooting it.
Note regarding the novella: This novella is set in the Great Depression in the 1930s. The ranch symbolises the harsh realities of the workers’ lives. A ranch is a large, typically rural, area of land dedicated to grazing and raising livestock, mostly cattle, horses or sheep.
Themes
The American Dream: the hope for a better life and happiness. George, Lennie and Candy discuss this together.
Loneliness/isolation: many characters struggle with their feelings of loneliness. Susy’s place is a place where the men can make relations with the opposite gender.
Companionship: many characters seek this. George and Lennie’s relationship highlights loyalty. Even though George gets frustrated with Lennie’s behaviour at times, he never leaves him.
Discrimination: Crooks is isolated because of his race and Lennie is discriminated against because of his mental disability. There are other forms of social inequality.
Chapter Recaps (chapters 1 to 4)
Chapter 1: introduces the main characters George and Lennie. The themes of loneliness and companionship are emphasised. Talks about a past incident involving Lennie and a woman’s dress. It ends with George telling Lennie to hide by the river in times of trouble, emphasising the need for caution in such an atmosphere.
Chapter 2: Lennie and George arrive at the ranch. New characters are introduced such as Candy and Curley and his wife. George advises Lennie to not get involved with Curley and his wife as it may cause trouble. The chapter ends with Lennie asking for one of Slim’s new puppies.
Chapter 3: John Steinbeck continues to explain the relationship between the ranch workers. Tensions rise with Curley and his confrontations. The chapter mentions dreams compared to the reality of the workers and ends with Lennie requesting a puppy. This highlights Lennie’s innocent desires.
Chapter 4: This chapter zooms in on Crooks who is isolated with the impacts of racism and loneliness. Lennie visits Crooks in the absence of the other men, talking about the dream of owning a farm in the future. Candy comes along and also talks about this dream, bringing about a sense of hope. Curley’s wife then comes and intimidates Crooks, the once sparked hope extinguished.
Context of the Novella
The American Dream
The American Dream is the idea/concept of every US citizen having the right to pursue their own version of happiness and is a key theme of the novella. It points at the right of anyone, poor or wealthy, faithless or one with a faith, to improve their life. It ties back to 1776, the Declaration of Independence, which states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
However, during the 1920s, the American Dream began to change. It turned to the pursuit of wealth and material goods. It soon became an obsession and in 1929, people soon became bankrupt, causing depression. Of Mice and Men is set in the 1930s, amidst the Great Depression. James Truslow Adams, in 1931, described the American Dream as the belief that “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.”
Racism in the Great Depression
Racism intensified, with Black Americans experiencing unemployment rates over 50% (double that of whites). They were often last hired and first fired. Their wages were 30% less than whites. They were forced to be isolated with a lack of access to public aid in such a hostile environment. Whites were usually seen as educated and black people were not.
Working Conditions During the Great Depression
The US was the only industrialised country without unemployment until the US economy weakened greatly. By 1933, almost half of America’s banks had failed and unemployment reached 15 million people (approximately 30% of the workforce). According to Wikipedia, about ⅓ of farmers had lost their land. Poverty, homelessness and starvation spread across America. The Great Depression was the longest-lasting financial crisis in the history of the industrialised Western World. It led to poverty, homelessness, starvation and disease. Many struggled.
Women (and the link to Curley’s Wife) and the Elderly
Due to the rise of unemployment, women were often pushed out of the workforce. Married women would stay at home so men and single individuals could take the available jobs. Marriage rates fell sharply during the Great Depression, dropping by approximately 20% to 25% between 1929 and 1933. As economic conditions worsened, marriage became too costly for many couples, leading to a significant increase in postponed marriages. Elderly individuals struggled financially in the Great Depression as there was no welfare system to support them. Without pensions, they often relied on family for survival.
The Wall Street Crash
Following World War I, crop prices plunged, forcing farmers to expand their farms and buy more equipment to make up for the shortfall. This situation was exacerbated when a severe drought crippled much of the American West. When the stock market plummeted in the historic crash of 1929, an already difficult situation for farmers and farm workers quickly grew significantly worse. When the market crashed, farmers could not pay back the debts they had built up in buying more land and equipment. As a result, many farmers and farm workers migrated to California in hopes of finding enough work to live. Laborers often worked for pitiful wages, without the support of unions or the stability of knowing their job would be secure in the future. Families were torn asunder, while at the same time strange new allegiances were made, such as the intense but difficult-to-describe bond between Lennie and George.
Chapter 1 Quotes
“Small” and “huge man”: contracting characters. Usually it is the stronger one who is the caretaker but in this case, George (described as small) cares for Lennie (described as a huge man).
“Jus’ a dead mouse…”: mice represent American society. They are not important. They chose happiness (cheese) but they still remain unsatisfied.
“Off the fatta the lan’”: society was built on money. Happiness was achieved through money so if Lennie and George had their own farm, they would benefit a lot financially.
"Lennie, for God' sakes don't drink so much.": shows George’s frustration towards Lennie but also how he cares for him, warning him not to drink too much as the water may be polluted.
Chapter 2 Quotes
“Curley’s wife”: Her name is unknown to show she has no power as a woman.
“George studied the cards”: the workers played solitaire/euchre a lot to escape hard work, the opposite of the American Dream.
“Ain’t many guys travel around together”: Slim’s weakness is loneliness but he is not the only one.
“Nine of ‘em. I drowned four of ‘em right off. She couldn’t feed many.”: Slim talks about his puppies and how even the mother dog struggled. This shows the hard life of America.
“You seen a girl around here?”: Curley’s wife pretends to look for her husband but it is Curley who looks for her. Curley looks for respect but his wife looks for companionship.
“Don’t tell Curley I said none of this. He’d slough me.”: Curley doesn’t have power because he’s strong. He has power as the boss’s son. He has money which everyone desires to gain happiness.
“High-heeled boots”: This affirms that Curley has the money to afford things that others cannot.
Chapter 3 Quotes
“He pointed with his toe. ‘Right back of the head. He wouldn’t even quiver.’”: Carlson has no respect or sympathy for the old dog.
“Hoosegow”: jail
“Curley’s new wife”: this may imply that Curley had wives before her, showing that he may not be a good husband. Women were seen as an object. They can be replaced with a new one.
“She’s a jail bait all set on the trigger”: Curley’s wife could get the workers fired or in trouble.
“Susy’s place”: this place is like a pub where social interactions with the opposite gender was common. This reflects the loneliness of the workers, seeking a place for companionship.
“looloo”: attractive
“Old Candy turned slowly over. His eyes were wide open. He watched George carefully”: Candy is listening to their plan. This shows that everyone wants to be part of the American Dream.
“Why’n’t you tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs?”: This is Carlson talking to Curley. This reflects the concept of married women – like Curley’s wife – staying at home.
“If you can’t look after your own God damn wife, what you expect me to do about it? You lay offa me”: Slim tries to scare Curley to a certain degree after Curley tries to scare Slim. This also brings about the sense of feminism.
“If me and Lennie work a month an’ don’t spen’ nothing, we’ll have a hundred bucks.”: George is willing to sacrifice his free-spending for the future dream but it requires money.
“Sell eggs an’ stuff like that”: This depicts how all happiness centres around money and if they do not save their money now, they will never live their desired life.
Chapter 4 Quotes
“Range of medicine bottles”: a motif is present here. Liniment symbolises Crooks' social disease (black skin) as well as the problem with his back.
“Being alone”: Crooks is the stable buck. He is always alone and his only company is the animals.
“Stable buck and a cripple”: social, emotional and physical disease. He is lonely, faces racism and is the stable buck with a crooked back.
“Tattered dictionary”: being white meant you were knowledgeable in the 1930s so Crooks tried to learn and educate himself.
“California civil code for 1905”: Crooks wants to understand the law to know where he needs to be and where not to be as an African-American. This emphasises the racism of the time.