Of mice and men test – Flashcards

you should use steinbecks name throughout, don’t write about characters as if they were real and that the events actually happened, write in past tense use PEE, simple and chronological structure, third person narrative, colloquial language, symbolism and foreshadowing

context

the american dream, the great depression, racism and prejudice, migration to the west steinbecks personal experiences

lonleness, friendship, fragility of dreams, relationships, prejudice/racism

George and lennies

their desire for friendship curley’s wife crooks and candy

george and lennie

he is called lennie small when he is a gigantic figure with enormous strength

he is simple but he is physically co ordinated and capable of doing repetitive manual jobs with skill

petting things (mice, puppies and rabbits)
also pleased when george tellings him about their american dream

george who organises his life and reassures him of their future

by firm but calm instructions

uses his strength – girl in weed, when curley attacks him and he retaliates (no unintentionally) and when stroking curley’s wifes hair and accidentally killing her

crooks curley’s wife and candy (as he remembers so little of what he’s heard unless its by george)

by telling him their american dream for when lennies like a child or before bed, as he is told it more he remembers some words and joins in

breaks her neck by shaking her too hard

he could have been put in a mental hospital, prison or home for the criminally insane, Georges actions were the kindest and most merciful actions

that in a confused way lennie understands he had a mental issue and he tries to cope with it

a smart little guy

a burden frequently gets him in trouble and on the run

that he abused lennie’s trust and made him jump in the river and nearly making him drown

a great moral dilemma he does the right thing though and kills lennie as a last act of friendship

slim as he is not just a hired labour man but a craftsmen – for most of the novel he is a detached man who observes georges and lennie’s relationship

by talking to george in the bunkhouse

george talking for lennie

appears once showing everyone an article from a previous worker on the ranch and his desperation for friendship

cleaning the bunkhouse after losing his hand in an accident

his compensation money from his hand allowing their dream to become more realistic if he could join them, but doesn’t wanna do it just with candy after lennie has killed curley’s wife

as he older than everyone else and his disability and demeaning job – his lack of status appears when he has no say in wether his dog is shot

as she destroyed his dream

a disabled negro who is the stable buck

being californaian born and raised there

as he’s black and disabled – even at christmas

by keeping his feelings to himself

to work on their dream for free but curley’s wife destroys it by reminding him he’s a negro and had no hope of sharing the dream so he quickly states it was a joke

curley’s wife

her limitations – the way she dresses and treats everyone

to become a movie star

the fact she still feels her mum stole a letter from hollywood which was obviously never written – he immaturity is shown by marrying curley

as she is desperate for companionship she doesn’t get at home and they are all fearful of curley’s actions

as he is conscious of his own feelings so he picks fights and boasts and is aggressive towards everyone

his wifes behaviour

the loneliest guys in the world
Carlson

outwardly friends but really he’s selfish – finds the smell of candy’s dog offensive so shoots it despite candy’s feelings

“what the hell … is eating them two guys” shows lack of compassion

Robert Burns’ poem

that the plans of men are no more secure than those of a mouse and this is the point of steinbecks title

it become more vivid but dies at the end destroyed by lennies behaviour

he knows the american dream never comes through and always fails yet he even tries to be a part of george and lennie’s

everyones dreams die

third person with no singular viewpoint

their actions such as curley’s aggressiveness

respect and friendliness

lennie doesn’t remember anything – ironic how the ‘retarded’ black notices that

by the beautiful setting of the first and last chapters – short text with huge message

colloquialism and to create an authentic voice

candy’s dog – both lennie and dog helpless merciful and both shot in skull

‘godlike’ ‘moved with majesty’ ‘understanding beyond thought’ ‘there was gravity in his manner…all talk stopped when he spoke’ ‘his hands larges and lean were as delicate in their action as those of a temple dancer’

‘small quick dark of face with restless eyes and sharp strong features’ ‘get ‘Im lennie’ ‘what the hell kind of bed you giving us anyways. we don’t want no pants rabbits’

‘a huge man, shapeless of face’ ‘the way a bear drags his arms. His arms … hung loosely’ ‘paws’ ‘i didn’t want no trouble’ ‘come on george. Tell me. Please george like you done before’ ‘can put up more grain alone than most pairs can’ ‘I done a real bad thing’

‘tall stoop shouldered old man’ ‘a drag footed sheep dog grey of muzzle and with pale blind old eyes’ ‘you god damn tramp’

‘hates big guys. He’s all a time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he’s mad at em because he aint big’ ‘curley says he’s keeping that hand soft for his wife’ ‘I don’t like curley he aint a nice fella’

‘you know what i can do if you open your trap’ ‘he says he was gonna put me in the movies’ ‘she was pretty and simple and her face was sweet and young’ ‘she had full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up, her fingernails were red, Her hair hung in little rolled clusters like sausages’

‘nice fella too. Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him’ ‘ the boss gives him hell when he’s mad’ ‘he reads a lot got a lot of books in his room’ ‘Crooks was a proud aloof man’ ‘I aint wanted in the bunkhouse cause I’m black’ ‘crooks had himself reduced to nothing’ ‘you guys just kidding yourselfs’ ‘nobody goes to heaven and nobody gets no land’

george and lennie have walked a long way and stop at the salamis river , off to work at a nearby ranch, clear lennie is simple, we learn they left cos lennie touched a girls dress, george tells a story he’s obviously told manyier times, george makes lennie promise to met him by the pool if anything goes wrong

george and lennie start work at the farm, meet other ranch hands, lennie is attracted to curley’s wife making george worried, george makes lennie promise to meet him by the pool if there trouble, meet eli who’s in charge and a godly figure around the ranch

george tells slim what happened at weed, slim gives lennie a puppy, carlson kills candy’s old dog (foreshadowing) candy overhears the dream and pitches in, curley and lennie fight, slim makes curley say his hand was injured in an accident t

while all the others are at the brothel lennie visits crooks, candy comes as well, interrupted by curley’s wife who abuses crooks, lennie accidently kills the pup slim gave hiim

lennie tries to burry the puppy, curley’s wife comes in and they talk, he strokes her hair, she panics feeling his strength when she starts to scream he breaks her neck not knowing her own strength, obvious lennie killed her when everyone finds her, a hunt is started to kill lennie

george realises nicest thing to do is to kill him prison wouldn’t work and couldn’t stand curley lyncheing him, george goes to the pool, he finds lennie there and starts to talk about their farm and shoots lennie in the head before the others arrive, slim comforts george telling him he had no choice

lennie’s killing of mice, lennie and girl in weed, killing of candy’s dog, killing of the puppy, empashis on lennie’s vast strength and georges repeated nagging about how she is trouble