Characters
What was the dream of Curley's wife?
Curley's wife dreamed of being a movie star, acting in pictures and going with shows
From where did Lennie used to procure mice?
From his Aunt Clara
How does Lennie's death mirror that of Candy's dog? Support with two reasons.
1. Candy's dog was "no good to itself" and "no good" to Candy, just as Lennie was "no good" to George
2. Candy's dog represented his only sense of companionship, just as Lennie served as a companion for George
3. After convincing from Carlson and Slim, Candy agrees to have his dog killed as a mercy for his "uselessness" as a farm dog, while George kills Lennie out of mercy knowing that Curley would brutally kill Lennie himself
"Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him. The boss gives him hell when he’s mad. But the stable buck don’t give a d@mn about that. He reads a lot. Got books in his room."
1. What theme does it relate to?
2. Who said it?
1. Intolerance
2. Candy
Who is the most respected character on the boss's farm?
Slim
Which character wears a glove full of Vaseline and why?
1. Curley
2. He does this so that he can keep one hand soft for his wife
What event made George stop picking on Lennie?
George wants to make some guys laugh, so he tells Lennie to jump into the Sacramento River, but Lennie nearly drowns because he does not know how to swim
What are three reasons that Carlson wants to kill Candy's dog?
1. "I don't know nothing that stinks as bad as an old dog"
2. "Got no teeth... He's all stiff with rheumatism"
3. "He ain't no good to you, Candy. An' he ain't no good to himself"
4. "This old dog jus' suffers hisself all the time"
"Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It's just in their head."
1. What theme does it relate to?
2. Who said it?
1. The American Dream / Impossibility of Dreams
2. Crooks
What nickname does Curley's wife give to Lennie?
Why does Crooks have a crooked back?
He was kicked by a horse and the injury was never treated / didn't heal properly
What animal does Steinbeck frequently compare Lennie to?
Bear
"...dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws."
" Lennie covered his face with his huge paws and bleated with terror."
"Suddenly Lennie appeared out of the brush, and he came as silently as a creeping bear moves."
Why does Curley fight Lennie in Ch. 3?
Curley is angered when he thinks Slim is flirting with his wife, after Slim denies this, Curley looks over to see Lennie smiling (about the rabbits) --- Curley then begins to fight Lennie
"He---would of went south... We come from north so he would of went south."
1. What theme does it relate to?
2. Who said it?
1. Deception
2. George
What lie does George tell the boss both to explain his relationship with Lennie and to explain why Lennie isn't much of a talker?
George tells the boss that Lennie is his cousin who was kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid
Why did the boss's farm pay Candy an extra $250?
The boss had to pay candy $250 as compensation for the fact that Candy lost his hand working on the property
DAILY DOUBLE:
1. Where are George and Lennie originally from?
2. Where were George and Lennie before they reached the boss's farm?
1. Auburn, California
2. Weed, California
What two things does Lennie hallucinate at the end of the novella and what is their significance?
1. his Aunt Clara
2. a giant rabbit
Significance: Both of these visions talk to Lennie in his own internal voice, showing that Lennie (for the first time) somewhat understands the weight and criminality of his actions
"You know what I could do? Well, you keep your place then."
1. What theme does it relate to?
2. Who said it?
1. Intolerance
2. Curley's wife
What two historical events influenced Steinbeck's writing and how can this be seen in the text?
1. Great Depression --- George and Lennie dream about having their own property one day, where they will have financial stability and freedom beyond work
2. Dust Bowl Movement --- George, Lennie, and other farm workers travel from farm to farm, staying through the crop yield, before continuing on to work elsewhere
What job does each of these characters have?
1. Slim
2. Candy
3. Crooks
1. jerkline skinner
2. swamper
3. stable hand
What are two examples of foreshadowing within Of Mice and Men?
1. George telling Lennie to wait in the brush if he gets in trouble in Ch. 1, Lennie returning there to wait for George in Ch. 6
2. Carlson shooting Candy's dog in the same way George shoots Lennie
3. Lennie killing mice in the beginning foreshadows how he will kill his puppy
4. Lennie grabbing the girl's dress in weed, and not letting go, foreshadows how Lennie will grab onto Curley's wife, not letting go, until he accidentally kills her
5. George foreshadows how Lennie will injure Curley in the fight when he warns Candy that no one should try and fight Lennie for their own safety
What are three pieces of powerful imagery from George's depiction of he and Lennie's dream property?
1. "There's a place for alfalfa and plenty water to flood it ... I could easy build a few hutches and you could feed alfalfa to the rabbits"
2. "Got a kitchen, orchard, cherries, apples, peaches, 'cots, nuts, got a few berries"
3. "An' we could have a few pigs. I could build a smokehouse an' when we kill a pig we can smoke the bacon and the hams, and make sausage"
4. "Maybe we'd have a cow or a goat, and the cream is so God d@mn thick you got to cut it with a knife and take it out with a spoon."
5. "Sure, we'd have a little house an' a room to ourself. Little fat iron stove, an' in the winter we'd keep a fire goin' in it."
6. "S'pose they was a carnival or a circus come to town, or a ball game...We'd just go to her"
"Don’t tell Curley I said none of this. He’d slough me. He just don’t give a d@mn. Won’t ever get canned ’cause his old man’s the boss."
1. What TWO themes does this quote relate to?
2. Who said it?
1. Greed + Power, The Weak vs. The Strong
2. Candy
Why is the color red symbolic within Of Mice and Men?
Both the girl in Weed and Curley's wife prominently wear red throughout the story, this symbolizes the danger posed to / by Lennie --- red should remind readers that Lennie is in danger of getting himself in a bad situation