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Of Mice and Men
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Lenny died

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Chapter 1

1. To what animal is Lennie compared? How does Steinbeck convey Lennie's animal-like qualities? Find examples in the text.
Lennie's way of walking described similar to a bear: "[He] walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws." - Page 4. He was also described as a bear again on page 5 with: "Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water..." Bin master

He was also described to be like a horse when he drank from the lake: "... drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse" - Page 4

By having these animalistic traits, it links Lennie mentally to the animals by not logically thinking through things. For an animal, if their prey starts screaming the predator will immediately silence them by targeting the throat and won't stop until they stop moving. That was evident within the movie and the book when Lennie just held onto Curley's wife and not letting go until she stop moving when he broke her neck. Also, it sets up the relationship between Lennie and George as Lennie is almost like a pet who adores and follows George completely like a dedonkified conked weirdo

2. How does Steinbeck describe the actions of Lennie's hands? Why does he do this (foreshadowing their importance)?
To hint at the significance of Lennie's hands, Steinbeck gives specific examples of how Lennie uses his rough hands to pet soft things and how he harms everything he touches, 'That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides, you’ve broke it pettin’ it.'  Using this description the author foreshadows the unfortunate event at the end of the novel, "Lennie's big fingers fell to stroking her hair. " don't mess it up," she said. Lennie said, "Oh! that's nice," and he stroked harder. "Oh, that's nice." ... She jerked her head sideways, and Lennie's fingers closed on her hair and hung on.

3. What is George's attitude toward Lennie in this section? Why does he stay with Lennie?
George is resentful towards Lennie and is constantly annoyed by him but due to his mental illness he pities Lennie. George believes that he is better off without Lennie. This is demonstrated through dialogue, "If I was alone I could live so easy." He doesn't want to leave Lennie by himself as he knows he can take care of himself. Also, he doesn't want them to become lonely, which is the primary reason Lennie and George remained together.

4. Explain the connection between Lennie's mouse and what happened in Weed.
The connection between the events that occurred in Weed and Lennie's mouse is that they both ended badly as Lennie has no knowledge of what he is capable of due to his mental disability.

5. Describe George's dreams in this section.
Nice, lots farm animals, being their own boss, living in peace and harmony. A dream that one day they will have some land of their own and live freely without people controlling them.

6. What suggests that the dream of the farm is unrealistic?
"With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don't have to sit in no bar room blowin' our jack jus' because we got no place else to go. if them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us."
"But not us! An' why? Because... Because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why."
"--- We're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple or acres an' a cow and some pigs and-"
"An' live off the fatta the lan'. An' have rabbits in the garden and in the cages and about the tain in the winter and the stove, an how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it."

The dream appears to be unrealistic and idealistic because for two men to achieve this much in the span of years they have left (also taking into consideration that they have to keep changing jobs because of Lennie's 'condition'), it is unlikely they'll be able to achieve it all. Also, the Great Depression may hinder these dreams. They wanted to grow their own food but the most they can grow at the moment is wheat and barley. If they were able to achieve it all, the farm, the chickens, the rabbits and so on, just having the two won't be enough to maintain it all.

Chapter 2

1. Most of the opening paragraphs of this section consist of a realistic description of the bunkhouse. What detail suggests that the ranch hands have a "romantic" side?
It is seen that they often groom themselves to be clean and look presentable such as razors, shaving cream, combs and soaps.

"And these shelves were loaded with little articles, soaps and talcum powder, razors and those Western magazines ranch men love to read and scoff at and secretly believe."

Shooting stars are also associated with hope and dreams which can be a romanticised trait within males. ".... the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows, and in and out of the beams flies shot like rushing (shooting) stars."

2. How does the account of Whitey's quitting contribute the book's mood of alienation?
His lack of fitting in (Alienation), because of his ethics.

3. Why is the stable buck set apart from the other men?
Apart from his race, it is because of the smell that other men claim he has and that he is a cripple. These qualities alienate him.

4. Which character names from this section have symbolic importance?
Curley's wife indicates lack of identity and her isolation and loneliness. Crooks' name is derived from his crooked back and his crooked leg. As Lennie is taller/larger than anyone else, his last name is 'small'. Due to the fact that Curley's wife has no name, this is stripping her of her identity, isolating her from everyone.

5. Why is the boss suspicious of George and Lennie?
George does all the talking, which makes the boss suspicious. He can't understand why George is looking out for Lennie, because most ranch men travel alone so the boss is suspicious when they are travelling together.  George lies and says he and Lennie are cousins, and that they left their last job because it was done.

6. Who or what seems to be a source of tension in this chapter that may foreshadow future conflicts?

Curley's wife because she leads on the ranch hands and can easily get the guys interested in her. She is always curious to see the men since she is isolated throughout most of the novel, which became a big problem as her husband is strongly against the fact she is with the men.

Another source of tension is Curley and there are two symbols to suggest this. Firstly, he wears a glove on his right hand for his wife, which shows how he is dominant over her. Secondly, both Curley and his father wear high-heeled boots. This symbolises how he is quite high in the ranch hierarchy and lords his power over the men.

7. Is Candy's opinion of Curley's wife justified? Why/why not?

Candy always referred to Curley's wife as a,'Tart,' which is defined as someone who is very immoral in her sexual behaviour. Candy's opinion of Curley's wife isn't justified since he doesn't know her and the life she has lived. The reason she acts flirtatious is because all she wants is attention. Also, she is scared of Curley which is shown when she asks Slim where Curley was and he told her that he went back to the house. She becomes, 'suddenly apprehensive' and hurries away, which shows how scared she is of her new husband and allows the reader to sympathise with her situation.

8. What qualities does the description of Slim suggest?
Slim is the moral judge of the bunkhouse, he is a skilled work man, sensible and civilised and talks with authority. He doesn't wear high heeled boots like the boss and his son because he commands authority in these other ways, 'His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject.'

9. What is the significance of Slim's and Carlson's remarks about the dogs?
This significance is the idea of "Survival of the fittest", only use the useful ones then kill the rest because of their lack of contribution to the farm. This also suggests that sometimes cruelty can be a form of kindness, foreshadowing George's decision to shoot Lennie later in the novel.

Chapter 3

1. What does George's conversation with Slim reveal about his past treatment of and present feelings toward Lennie?
In this conversation, George reveals that he hasn't always treated Lennie well, but that one near-tragic incident taught him a valuable lesson. Early in their friendship, George explains, he used to take advantage of Lennie and play jokes on him because Lennie was "too dumb even to know he had a joked played on him." Because he trusted George, Lennie would do whatever George told him to do. George found these jokes fun: "Made me seem God damn smart alongside of him."

George continues, however, to tell Slim how and why the joking came to a stop. On one occasion, George told Lennie, in front of a group of other men, to jump in the river. Lennie did so immediately, and almost drowned. George and some others had to pull him out. George finishes his story with this poignant detail:

An' he was so damn nice to me for pullin' him out. Clean forgot I told him to jump in.

After that near-tragedy, George never tricked Lennie again; instead, realizing how much power he had over Lennie,  George took care to never again take advantage of him and his trust.

2. Why does George trust Slim?
Slim does not believe in duplicity and has a sense of deception. He inspires trust amongst everyone because he is like one of those Western heroes that they read about in the Western magazines. Everything works out for the heroes unlike the migrant workers and their real lives. Also, being like these heroes Slim is kind to Lennie unlike the other workers, which George also likes.

3. Does George's analysis/explanation of Lennie's attack on the girl in Weed seem probable?
Yes, George's explanation of Lennie's attack on the girl in Weed seems probable because of Lennie's animalistic side and his thought process. Lennie is not a person full of malice, he simply does not know his own strength.

4. Analyze Carlson's reasons for and Candy's reasons against shooting Candy's dog. How do they touch on the central issues of the novel?
It touches the recurring theme of survival of the fittest, and if your not useful your casted away. Also, that it is kinder to end suffering rather than to let the suffering continue in a cruel manner.

5. Why does George decline Whit's invitation to visit the brothel?
He is building up a stake and doesn't want to spend his money on frivolous things as he sees his and Lennie's dream as more important.

6. Relate George's description of the farm to a romantic Eden (identify descriptive words).
Unrealistic details such as, “not having to work hard for 6 or 7 hours a day” and “cream so thick it has to be cut with a knife” create the romanticised view of the dream farm. Then there are also the realistic details such as, “having a shack” and “chicken run”.

7. Does George's dream seem any more realistic now? Explain.
There is a light of hope to George's dream. Candy's money makes the dream seem possible. The tipping point, however, is Lennie's pattern of getting in trouble and ruining George's plan.
8. What comparisons does Candy make between his own condition and his dog's? How does this relate to the idea of responsibility (mercy killing)?
Both Candy and his dog are old and crippled hence society sees them as being useless. Because once Candy is seen to have no value to society and to the ranch he says he will be sent away to an institution, and it would probably be better to just kill him instead.

9. What does Lennie's fight with Curley show the ranch hands? What does the description of this fight suggest about the nature of violence?
Lennie's fight with Curley demonstrates to the ranch hands Curley isn't as tough as he seems. Lennie quickly begins to overpower him as his strength is revealed to the men. Sometimes violence can be caused by fear and not just anger, leading to uncontrollable situations.