English Literature - Of Mice and Men WJEC

Points:

• good natured
• fits theme of loneliness as he is a lonely old swamper
• used by Steinbeck to represent physically disabled and older people in the novel, as he has no hand (novel is a microcosm of society)
• useful source of information - reader and George and Lennie learn about ranch through Candy's gossip
• provides parallel to George and Lennie (Candy relies on his dog), and the shooting of the dog foreshadows Lennie's death (George learns from Candy's experience)
• dream appeals to him because of the threat of being canned

Quotes:

• "The swamper warmed to his gossip"
• "That's the boss' son"
• "I had him so long"
• "I won't have no place to go"
• "I ought to have shot that dog myself"

Points:

• intelligent and skillful
• used by Steinbeck to show that all of society can be noble, dignified, respected etc
• high status amongst others - natural leadership provides contrast to Curley's supposed authority
• kind - understands George and Lennie's relationship
• can draw confidences from others - we learn about Weed through his conversation with George

Quotes:

• "he moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen"
• "prince of the ranch"
• "invited confidence without demanding it"
• George tells him about "what happened in Weed"
• "you hadda George, I swear you hadda"

Points:

• Steinbeck uses him to give an example of how leadership and respect is earnt
• contrast between him and Slim
• No respect (particularly for his wife), example of sexist attitudes
• insensitive, cruel and selfish
• acts arrogant, but shows hints of insecurity
• his failure to control or understand his wife leads to Lennie's death
• angry and violent

Quotes:

• "that glove's fulla vaseline"
• "I don't like Curley, he ain't a nice fella"
• "Come on ya big *******"
• "his glance was at once calculating and pugnacious"
• "I didn't mean nothing Slim. I just ast you"

Points:

• No name - shows low status
• Fits theme of loneliness - can't talk to anybody (only men on the ranch)
• Used by Steinbeck to represent sexism in 1930s America
• Fits with the theme of dreams - dreams of being in the movies and Hollywood
• Flirty and provocative, and naive and gullible
• Desperate for attention
• Lennie's death her fault?
• Wears red - dangerous to herself and others
• Threatening (to Crooks)

Quotes:

• "She had full, rouged lips"
• "Ain't I got a right to talk to nobody?"
• "Jesus, what a tramp"
• "A guy tol' me he could put me in pitchers"
• "I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny"

Points:

• George is used by Steinbeck as an everyman figure he is relatable
• fits the theme of dreams - dream farm (Steinbeck gives pessimistic view of American dream through its failure)
• relationship with Lennie is different to other migrant workers - reciprocal
• often portrayed playing solitaire - foreshadows Lennie's death
• he is Lennie's moral compass, makes him feel guilty
• has grown as a person (used to do mean things to Lennie)
• small, smart and sharp - thinks and plans ahead

Quotes:

• "I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you"
• "Hide in the brush by the river"
• "George'll be mad"
• "Guys like us are the loneliest guys in the world", "but not us"

Points:

• represents mentally disabled people in the novel (no welfare state)
• relies on George to look after him
• BUT knows how to manipulate George
• dream represents heaven to him - dies with it in his head
• killing of mouse and puppy, and love of soft things foreshadows Curley's wife's death
• George and the rabbits make him feel guilty - give him a conscience

Quotes:

• "Lennie spoke craftily. 'Tell me'"
• "George'll be mad"
• "He ain't gonna let me tend no rabbits"
• "because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you"
• "Lennie giggled with happiness"
• "Le's get that place now"

• Wall St Crash
• Great Depression
• dust bowl
• migrant workers
• Hollywood
• American dream
• racism
• segregation
• sexism
• patriarchal society
• No welfare state

Points:

• Title "Of Mice and Men" is taken from scottish poem by Robert Burns - "the best laid schemes o' Mice and Men, gang aft agley" (often go wrong)
• In the book characters dreams go wrong (fate)
• Dreams and plans never come true, there to help people survive - pessimistic view of life
• Of MICE and Men - suggests human life is a small force pitted against the large one of destiny/fate

Quotes:

• "he was gonna put me in the movies"
• "Nobody never gets no land, and nobody gets to heaven"

Points:

• Dreams help the migrant workers to survive, gives them a purpose - American dream
• George and Lennie dream of their own farm and independence - represents family, roots and security
• Dream draws in Candy and Crooks
• BUT Crooks gives more pessimistic view - foreshadows inevitable ending, and George is more realistic
• Curley's wife dreams of being in the movies, but is trapped in an unhappy marriage
• American dream was when the US took in immigrants and offered them a new country, and many people believed they would someday have their own land and be independent

Quotes:

• "live off the fatta the lan'"
• "nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land"
• "I think I knowed we'd never do her"

Points:

• Loneliness represente by many different characters - except George and Lennie
• Curley's wife is the only female = isolated, married Curley to escape but ends up trapped in an unhappy marriage = irony, sexist, patriarchal society
• Crooks is the only black on the farm, and is segragated - has his own room, threatened with lynching, pessimistic and cynical - loneliness makes him better (mean to Lennie)
• Set in Soledad - means lonely
• Everybody is suspicious of eachother - migrant workers = no time for friendship
• George plays solitaire - foreshadows he will be lonely
• Candy loses a friend in his dog - foreshadows ending

Quotes:

• "tramp" and "********"
• "I don't like Curley. He ain't a nice fella"
• "ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of eachother"
• "They'll take ya to the booby hatch"

Points:

• Migrant workers = lasting friendships are difficult
• George and Lennie's friendship (reciprocal) is special because it's rare - Steinbeck constantly draws attention to this (foreshadows it won't last)
• The shared dream binds them together, it's like a mantra (chant) - calms Lennie and is like heaven
• George sacrifices the dream for his friend by killing Lennie
• Shooting of Candy's loyal dog foreshadows this - George learns from this

Quotes:

• "I ain't gonna let 'em hurt Lennie"
• "I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you"
• "He repeted the words rhythmically"
• "I never been mad, an' I ain't now"
• "I ought to have shot that dog myself"
• "Ain't many guys travel around together"

Points:

• Novel protests against 3 social and political issues of 1930s America:
  • racism (Crooks)
  • discrimination of the old and disabled (Candy and Lennie)
  • sexism and the patriarchal society (Curley's wife)
• The ranch is a microcosm of the world - each character is used to represent something
• Steinbeck gives a pessimistic view of the American dream through the failed dreams of the characters and Crooks

Quotes:

• "I ain't wanted in the bunk house"
• "I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny"
• "Tramp" and "********"
• "I ain't much good with on'y one hand", "They'll can me purty soon"
• "Glove fulla vaseline" 

Points:

• Slim is used by Steinbeck to show that ordinary people can be respected
• Slim is respectful, understanding and trustworthy - accepts George and Lennie and understands their relationship
• He has natural authority
• Curley only has authority because of his position
• He is angry and aggressive, has no respect from other workers, he is disrespectful

Quotes:

• "Carlson stepped back to let Slim precede him"
• "Slim's opinions were law"
• "invited confidence without demanding it"
• moves "with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen"
• "his glance was at once calculating and pugnacious"
• "glove fulla vaseline"
• "his hands closed into fists"

• Animal/natural imagery - heron and the water snake, rabbits
• Dialogue, dialect and colloquial language - "ffatta the lan'"
• symbolism - red
• foreshadowing - shooting of dog, solitaire, killing of puppy
• narrative voice, authorial intrusion, omniscient narration - after Curley's wife's death
• description
• light and dark -  "the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off"
• cyclical structure
• metaphors and similes
• irony
• parallels
• archetypes (characters represent types of people in society)