Of Mice and Men - Study Guide

Themes: @@Attainment of the American Dream Loneliness@@

\ Carlson reveals he is callous ( lacking empathy, hard, uncaring )

  1. @@He tells Candy to kill the dog@@
  2. @@Has to be reminded to bring a shovel to bury said dog@@
  3. @@He's anxious to learn the details of Lennie's death@@
  4. @@He can't understand why Slim & George are upset@@

\ Steinbeck's position on the possibility of the attainment of the American Dream -- it won't come true / will never be more than a dream

\ %%Ironical %%that Lennie's last name is Small, because he's so large - Why did the author give George the last name "%%Milton%%" A very famous English poet, John Milton, wrote a poem: %%"Paradise Lost" (starts out in the Garden of Eden, loss of paradise / loss of American Dream)%%

Ironical - the opposite of what is expected

Curley's wife married him to get ^^freedom^^ from her mother, yet ^^lost her freedom^^ to Curley

\ Incident that foreshadowed Lennie's Death: ==shooting Candy's dog==

  • both mercy killings

  • Candy kept the dog for company, George kept Lennie for company

  • Candy's dog is an animal, Lennie is constantly described with animalistic traits

\ Foreshadowing of Curley's Wife's death

  • The incident at their last workplace (Wood)

\ Setting- Salinas River, outskirts of Soledad: 1982

Information given in exposition - main characters appearance, general personality

Protagonists - George, Lennie, ~~Candy~~ Antagonists - Curley, “society”, ~~Curley's Wife, Carlson~~

\ 3 Examples of Foreshadowing

  • Lennie holding onto the mouse & not letting go
  • Lennie holding the girls dress at their past job in Wood
  • Lennie accidentally kills his puppy
  • Candy regrets that he didn’t kill his dog himself, which anticipates George’s decision to shoot Lennie

\ Main External Conflict - Man vs. Man (George vs. Lennie), Man vs. Society, Man vs. Self (George vrs. his decisions/feelings towards Lennie)

What is the stake the men talk about in the story? The down payment given to ranch hands after a period of work Why does Curley's wife like Lennie? Lennie hurt Curley, and Lennie is fond of her Why does Candy want to join George and Lennie's goal?

  1. Candy got extra pay for losing his hand, which can contribute to their goal.
  2. He’s worried that he'll be fired soon.
  3. He's lonely after the death of his dog, and would like company.

\ How does Candy get Gurley's wife to leave Crook's room? He promises that "if she leaves now, he wont tell Curley that she ever showed up"

\