Of Mice and Men

By John Steinbeck

Lennie Small

George MiltonSlim

Curley

Candy

Curley’s wife

Carlson

Crooks

Lennie Small

George Milton

Items to Consider: What’s in a Name?• George and Lennie are the only

two characters with last names.• Lennie’s last name is a contrast to

his physique, possibly alluding to his cognitive disability.

• George’s last name might be a reference to a great English poet, John Milton, who wrote Paradise Lost, the epic poem discussing Lucifer’s fall from heaven, a classic story of the internal struggle between good and evil:• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLnw9VWqJjM • http://www.paradiselost.org/5-sum-short.html

Items to Consider: What’s in a Name?• Curley’s wife is referenced only by

her connection to her husband.• This makes “less” than all of the

other characters, for her name is only a title, a title that, in the 1930s, did not amount to much. This, along with her appearance, makes us believe that she is a “tart”. • But, is she?

• Consider why we might not be seeing her correctly: we cannot be sure, as an audience, that Curley’s name is “real”. It might just be a reference to his curly hair!• If this is off, might Curley’s wife just

be an innocent victim? Trapped by a violent man, on a lonely ranch, dreaming of what might have been?

Curley

Curley’s wife

Items to Consider: What’s in a Name?• The majority of the names used

throughout the novel, might be nicknames, not actual names the characters grew up with.• Candy: a kind old man, someone

who is very “sweet” to everyone?

• Slim: described as “ageless” and “majestic”, “the prince of the ranch” (pg. 33); might this be a reference to his physique or attitude?

• Crooks: has a “crooked back” (pg. 20); um… do I really need to go on?

Slim

Candy

Crooks

Items to Consider: Archetypes• Curley and his wife are at the

top of the financial hierarchy.• How they treat others is

indicative of how the rich address society.

• Why would this attitude be expected in the 1930s?

• George and Lennie are operating on the fringe of society. • What they say and do connects

to the “common working man”. • Imagine what the papers will say

about the incidents at the end of “Chapter 5” and the entirety of “Chapter 6”.

Lennie Small

George Milton

Curley

Items to Consider: Archetypes• Candy and his dog are elderly

and physically disabled.• They are at the “end of the line”.• How society treats both of them

is a symbolic indication of what the future holds in store for the aged and infirmed.

• Crooks is the only black/African-American character.• To have a “broken back” is to be

unable to do anything. And, yet, Crooks is on par with or above most other men.

• His single appearance in “Chapter 4” with Lennie, Candy, and Curley’s wife gives us insight into Black America.

Candy and his dog

Crooks

Items to Consider: Archetypes• Curley’s wife is clearly the

only woman on the ranch.• The descriptions of her

physically seem to match what others suggest she is. • Is there truth in appearance?

• She wanted more for her life but kept running into people that held her back.• Women in the 1930s?

• Slim is an authority on all things but generally never decides or acts.• His silence gives Carlson consent

to shoot Candy’s dog. • He gave Lennie the pup!

• Is this what mercy and generosity amount to?

Slim

Curley’s wife

Being Crippled:

All of the primary characters in the novel are crippled

in one way or another. What

does this mean?

Inhuman strength

and a malfunctioni

ng mind

A life based on other’s

choices that you cannot

control

Having one hand just to make a point

Losing a hand (and a friend)

through no fault of your own

Being broken but able and

then limited by society

What is symbolic about:

Being too beautiful in a

place that doesn’t value it

THEMES:What is John

Steinbeck saying about life (in

general or life during the Great

Depression)?