Title: Of Mice And Men
Author: John Steinbeck Main Characters: 1) Lennie, a simple-minded guy, but very big and strong. He likes to pet soft things. 2) George, he looks after Lennie and tries to keep him out of trouble. He’s little and smart.. Setting: The story plays in the thirties . I think it’s somewhere around the autmn because there is nothing said about rain or bad weather and they are harvesting. The story takes place in a few days in Soledad in California. Subject/Theme: The (non)-survival of a simple minded character(a freak of nature) that has to work and live on various ranches.
Summery: The simple minded Lennie, together with his protecting friend George travels from ranch to ranch to get work. Lennie is a simple minded guy, who likes to pet soft things. This causes some problems, because he is very big and strong and when he pets animals like mice an rabbits they die because he breaks there necks. Lennie isn't smart, but he can take orders and work very hard. Candy, one of the ranchmen has an old dog that stinks enormously. Slim has also a dog, who got 9 pups. So they want old Candy to shoot his dog and he can get than a pup from slim. Candy doesn’t want to do that, but Carlson can, also a ranch worker. As Lennie likes to pet soft animals, but always kills them because he pets too hard, he arranges Lennie to get one of the puppies from Slim. But he may not pet it until a couple of weeks, because they're too little now. But Lennie can't wait and pets the dog. When the dog dies, Lennie is in panic. George has told him that they are gonna get a little house with some land with cows and pigs and rabbits. Curley - son of the boss, an unpleasant man, comes along to look for his wife and talks to the new comers. Lennie has been instructed by George to let George do all of the talking. Curley's son doesn’t like that; he wants to be obeyed by the people at the farm exactly as he says. Curley's wife, who gives the eye to everybody, also comes along looking for her husband. Candy, George and Lennie secretly agree to buy a quiet place to live that George knows to be for sale. There Lennie can tend the rabbits and the three men can live, as they want. On Saturday night most of the man, including George go out in town. Lennie enters the room of Crooks, the one and only Negro who lives rather lonely on the range. They start a conversation and Lennie tells the secret: he will be able to tend the rabbits. Also Curley's wife comes along and makes the Negro clear that he has no rights; even receiving Lennie in his room is not allowed. On Sunday afternoon most men are outside, enjoying themselves. Lennie, despite the rule not to touch the puppies, plays with one of them. He of course accidentally kills the animal. As he sits there Curley’s wife comes along and during their talking she lets Lennie feel her hair. Lennie does so, but to rough, Curley’s wife gets frightened, Lennie panics and the result is that she sufficates . He goes to the place near the river where he has been said to hide in case of problems. After a while the men come in and discover the dead body. They understand that Lennie has killed the woman and start a search to revenge. George takes Carlson's Luger gun but tells nobody, so that the others think Lennie has stolen the gun before leaving the ranch. George finds Lennie near the river and while talking about the rabbits that they will have at their new house, he shoots him in the back of his head. The other men consider George as a courageous man who has captured an armed killer. Personal Comment: My openion is that Lennie is the most important character of the story because he gets in all sorts of trouble and eventually kills Curley’s wife. Example: He kills Curley’s wife because he panics when she started te jell at him to let go of her hare. Example: Lennie panics again when the little girl with the red dress screamed because he was stroking her dress... The most important occurance(in my opinion) is when Lennie kills Curley’s wife because he had to pay that with his life... The influence of this event is that George and Lennie won’t have their farm and that Lennie ends up dead... I mostly could identify myself with george because he protects his friend and I protect my little brother but his opinion about women isn’t even close with mine... I havn’t read this book with pleassure because I couldn’t imagine George’s or Lennies situation. And also because it’s written in the thirties ans also the way it’s written: But you’re kinda nice fella...