Book Background
The author of Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
This small, quick man travels with Lennie and dreams of owning a farm someday; first and last name
Who is George Milton?
This ranch worker shoots Candy’s old dog.
Who is Carlson?
In this type of characterization, the author tells us what to think about a character
What is direct characterization?
This large, strong man loves petting soft things but doesn’t know his own strength; first and last name is an oxymoron
Lennie Small
She is lonely and is never given a name throughout the novel.
Who is Curley's wife?
This state is where the story takes place.
What is California?
This old swamper owns an aging dog that Carlson wants to shoot.
Who is Candy?
This is what gets George and Lennie fired from Weed.
What is Lennie grabbing a girl’s dress?
In this type of characterization, the reader interprets character traits through their speech, emotions, and thoughts.
What is indirect characterization?
This man is the boss’s son and picks fights with bigger men.
Curley
This kind mule driver comforts George after Lennie’s death
Who is Slim?
This era of American history shapes the characters’ poverty and instability.
What is the Great Depression?
This character is isolated because he is a colored man and works in the stable.
Who is Crooks?
This deadly event forces George to find Lennie at the riverbank.
What is Lennie accidentally killing Curley’s wife?
"Lennie was as big as a bear" is an example of what type of figurative language?
Simile
This ranch location symbolizes segregation.
Crooks' room
1. Direct or indirect characterization?
2. Which character is being described?
“I didn't do nothing George, I promise.”
Indirect; Lennie
This event foreshadows Lennie’s accidental killing of Curley’s wife.
What is Lennie killing small animals or the puppy?
The way characters like Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Candy are marginalized shows this central theme.
Loneliness
The novel often contrasts George’s pragmatism with Lennie’s innocence, highlighting this theme about human relationships.
Friendship, companionship
When Steinbeck compares Lennie to a “bear dragging his paws,” he is using this figure of speech
What is a metaphor?
1. Direct or indirect characterization?
2. Which character is being described?
“He was a thin young man with a brown face, with brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair.”
Direct; Curley
1. Direct or indirect characterization?
2. Which character is being described?
“But I had him as a pup. If anything, I'll kill him."
indirect; Candy
The description of the Salinas Valley as “golden as the sun” is an example of what kind of figurative language?
Simile
1. Direct or indirect characterization?
2. Which character is being described?
“You ain't got no right coming into my room you know."
Indirect; Crooks
This is what Lennie kills first, setting the pattern for later accidents.
What is a mouse?
This type of figurative language appears when the Steinbeck describes the Salinas mountains are described as being “blue and shivering."
Personification
The reason why George decides to kill Lennie
1. To prevent a brutal death at the hands of a mob
2. To spare Lennie fear and suffering
3. An act of mercy and love
The repeated failure of characters’ dreams illustrates this recurring theme in the novel.
What is the impossibility of the American Dream / shattered dreams?