Literature Analysis "Of Mice and Men"

Section 1:

·         Setting is in a riverbed in rural California

·         Describe George who is small and wiry

·         Lennie who is large and awkward

·         It is clear that Lennie has mental problems and that George looks after him

·         They are on their way to a ranch to begin a job and George remains Lennie that he must be on his best behavior

·         Lennie is holding a mouse in his hand which he killed

·         George is mad and throws the mouse across the river

·         Got kicked out of old town because Lennie was accused of touching a young girl though he was just feeling her soft dress

·         They talk about their future which is to buy their own ranch and live off of it

·         George tells Lennie that if while working he encounters any problems to go back to the clearing and stay there until George comes for him

Section2:

·         Next day go to the farm and meet Candy who introduces them to their new home\

·         They meet the boss and he is a bit suspicious of them

·         George answerers all of the questions that they are asked

·         Tells the boss that Lennie is his cousin and that he was kicked in the head by a horse when he was younger

·         They work in the grain team with a man Slim

·         Candy has a dog who is very old and accompanies him everywhere

·         Curley walks in and immediately picks on Lennie, he likes to pick on big men since he is so small

·         Married Tart who flirts with all the ranch men

·         Tart walks in soon after and flirts with the men, Lennie things she is pretty but George tells him to stay away from her

·         George doesn’t like Curley and knows he is up to something

·         The men want to convince Candy to kill his old dog and raise one of the new puppies

Section 3:

·         George convinces Slim to give one of his puppies to Lennie

·         He tells him that they became friends when Lennie’s Aunt dies and George looked after him

·         At first he made him to ridiculous things but them began to feel bad for him and looked after him

·         Lennie takes the puppy from the mother and George makes him take it back

·         After dinner all the men tell Candy that he should take the doing out of its misery

·         After all the men telling him this he gives in

·         Carlson takes the dog outside and shoots it Candy just turns away

·         The men discuss how Tart is going to cause trouble for someone

·         George is invited to a whore house but says no because he wants to save his money

·         Curley walks in looking for his wife again and asks about slim

·         They tell him that he is in the barn and Curley rushes off to the barn

·         As George and Lennie discuss their future ranch Candy hears and wants to join

·         The men agree that after a month of saving they will have enough to move

·         Slim and Curley return with Curley apologizing for his suspicion

·         Curley picks a fight with Lennie and Lennie fights back breaking his right hand

·         Lennie tells George that is want his fault and is concerned with not being able to tend the rabbits  

Section 4:

·         Crooks, a black man, likes to spend most of his time reading

·         Lennie goes into his room and stands at the door Crooks tells him to go away but after Lennie insists he invites him in

·         Crooks tells Lennie about his childhood and how his family was the only black family for  miles

·          He says how lonely he felt even when other children would play with him

·         Crooks tells Lennie that George isn’t coming back and Lennie gets mad and starts yelling Crooks quickly assures him that he will return and continues talking about his farm to calm him

·         Soon Candy joins them and they talk about the farm

·          Crooks continues to bring them down but Candy says they already have the land and almost all of the money

·         Crooks then timidly asks if he can join but are interrupted by Curleys wife

·         She won’t leave the men alone and talks about how lonely she is and how horrible her marriage is she asks what happened to her husband’s hand and they say it got caught in a machine but she knows the truth

·         She leaves when Candy says he hears the men coming but she tells Lennie she’s glad he broke her husband’s arm

·          George gets mad for talking about the farm in front of people

·         Crooks decides he doesn’t want to go with them after all

Section 5:

·         Lennie sits in hay stroking the dead puppy

·         He tries burying it but knows George will find it, angry he throws it across the room but then thinks that maybe George won’t care or get him in trouble

·         Soon Tart joins him and he tells her he can’t talk to her

·         She says it’s okay and then starts complaining about her life and marriage

·         ‘she tells him hoe she was going to go to Hollywood but at the end married Curley who she doesn’t like

·         He says he likes to touch soft thing and she lets him touch her hair

·         He starts to hold it too tightly and ends up breaking her neck

·         Candy soon finds the body and calls George

·         George immediately new what happened and Candy realized the idea of the farm was now impossible

·         George says he knew it would never happened but believed in it so much because Lennie did

·         Candy and George agree to make it seem as if George knows nothing

·         Candy curses at the dead body for ruining their dream then he tells the men

·         Curley orders for Lennie to be found and killed

·         They notice a gun is missing

Section 6:

·         Lennie remembers to go by the riverbed’ soon George joins him and does not get him in trouble instead he comforts him

·         He begins to tell Lennie about their farm

·         He tells him to take off his hat and look across the riverbed

·         He then shoots Lennie in the back of the head and then sits there

·         All of the men go to the sound of the shot

·          George tells the men that he wrestled the gun away from him and shot him

·         Slim understands what really happened and says that he had to

·          Slim helps George walk as he is in shock

·         Curley and Carlson wonder what happened