Characters

• Lenny: he’s a simple-minded guy, and he’s very tall. He doesn’t know how strong he is and that is very dangerous. He is always in trouble.He's very strong but he doesn’t  want to hurt anyone, Lenny is actually very nice. Lenny loves to touch soft things like a rabbit or a mice. Lennie is very strong so he can kill animals by accident because he is simple minded.
• George: he’s smart and small, and he always gets Lennie out of his problems. George is a lot smarter than Lenny, and he is the one who tells Lenny what to do. George is a very nice person and he is very patient, but he can sometimes lose his temper.
• Candy: he's an old man. He misses one hand. He's the boss of the ranch.
• Slim: he's a skinner.
• Carlson:he's another worker on the ranch.
• Curley: he's a boxer, he's the son of the boss, and he is very aggressive.

I like George the most, because he is smart and doesn’t do stupid things. Before he do something, he thinks about it, that's why I like him.
I dislike Curley, because he is not nice and very aggressive. I don't like that sort of people.

Explain the title
The title is linked to a Robert Burns poem, 'to a mouse'. In this poem a mouse has built a nest in which it can survive the winter. But the farmer destroys it. The same is the case with Lennie's plans for his future.

Theme
The theme is love and friendship. George and Lennie have been friends for a long time. You can tell that because George shoots Lennie. You have to be real friend when you're able to do that for the other's own best. This is an important theme for our ages. This is realistic in our time now.

Turning points
- When Lennie is just a kid, he gets kicked by a horse. This event causes Lennie to be very slow and dumb.
- When George and Lennie worked on a ranch in Weed, Lennie saw a women in a red dress and he wanted to touch it. The women accuses him of sexual abuse and George and Lennie have to flee.
- When they arrive in Soledad, at the ranch, you get to know the other workers. When Curley sees Lennie, he threatens him. Candy tells them that Curley is always out to fight men whom he dislikes. At dinner, they meet Slim, a skinner, and Carlson. He tells about Slim’s young pups. Lennie is very excited and wants one, so Slim gives one to him.
- Later, in the evening, Carlson tells Candy that his old dog is not used anymore and is only a burden and that the dog ought to be shot. After a while, Candy agrees on it, and Carlson shoots his dog. This refers to later events, and is therefore important.
- When George, Lennie and Candy are alone in the bunk, Lennie wants to tell George about their future. Candy is interested and tells them he has some money to let this come true. He says he could do the easy work (he is missing one hand). George can’t refuse the money.
- That same evening Curley comes in. He thought that Slim was with his wife, but he wasn’t. Candy starts teasing him. Lennie is still smiling about his future. Curley thinks he is laughing at him and starts a fight. Lennie doesn’t know what to do, so George says he must defend himself. Lennie shattered Curley’s hand.
- The next evening, all but Crooks (the negro stable buck), Candy, and Lennie have gone to the city. They have a talk together, what is unusual, because normally nobody wants to talk with Crooks, because he’s black. Lennie doesn’t care and Candy was also lonely. When Curley’s wife enters Crooks’ bunk, she asks them if they’d seen Curley. Candy answers her. They tell her if she will not leave, they’d tell Curley she was there.
- Next afternoon, Lennie is in the barn with his dead puppy. He accidentally crushed it. Then Curley’s wife came along. Lennie explains that he likes to pet soft things, and she says he can stroke her hair. When he strokes to hard, she tells him to stop. Lennie gets scared and breaks her neck. He realizes that he’d done a bad thing and flees to the river.
- The men find out when they came back. Curley goes for his shotgun and Carlson for his gun, but it is missing. They think that Lennie took it, but it was George. They go looking for Lennie. Of course George knows where Lennie is. Lennie sits by the river.
- Finally George comes. He tells Lennie to look across the lake. He starts telling about their dream. Then he aims for Lennie’s neck. At first he can’t shoot, but when he hears the others coming, he shoots. This is also a very important scene, because this is the place where the story begins and ends, it is kind of a short summary of the whole book. 
- Slim tells the others that Lennie indeed had the gun, that he took it from him and shot. Slim feels sympathy for him and invites George for a drink. Carlson and Curley are left , they do not understand.

My opinion
I have read this book with pleasure. There are more than one meanings behind this story, it isn't only about dumb Lenny and smart George. The story also tells about racism the difference between black and white, Crooks the Negro has to sleep apart in his own shed next to the bunkhouse, away from the other men, because he is black. I really loved this book not only for the simplicity of the language of George and Lenny but also for the different meanings behind the story. The way the author has written it, that wasn't so hard. I have read it without much trouble.