1) POWER
DESCRIBE: Slim is described as ‘the Prince of the ranch.’
POINT: He has power, authority and respect amongst the workers like a royal Prince, and also that
he is second in command on the ranch after the King who would be the ranch owner
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: Slim is described as the best worker on the ranch, because he can ‘drive’ the most
mules.’
POINT: Slim has earned his power as a result of being strong which allows him to be good at his
job.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: He can do amazing things like kill a fly with a whip.
POINT: this is another reason why Slim has power and respect and implies that Slim is exceptional,
like he has super powers, this explains further why he is good at his job: He is not only strong, but
also exceptionally skilled.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: when he speaks all the workers stop talking.
POINT: we learn that Slim uses this power to easily control the workers ; all he has to do to get the
workers to stop is speak shows the extent of his power/control over the workers. You might expect
him to have to scream/shout to get their attention, or be violent like Curley, but he doesn’t have to.
CRISP:
CONTEXT: This is surprising; it would have been unusual for a farm worker to have this much
power, because farm workers were normally migrants who had been forced to move to find work due
to the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, they did the jobs no one else wanted to do so were normally
the lowest of the low.
2) POWER
DESCRIBE: Curley apologises to Slim for questioning him about his wife.
POINT: in the scene we learn that Curley does not have power over all of the workers despite being
the boss’ son.
CRISP:
CONTEXT: this is surprising; it would have been unusual for a farm worker to have had power over his
boss, because farm workers were normally migrants who had been forced to move to find work due to
the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, they did the jobs no one else wanted to do so were normally the
lowest of the low.
DESCRIBE: Carlson asks Curley why he doesn’t make his wife stay at home where she belongs.
POINT: we learn that Curley does not have power over his wife and is unable to control her actions.
CRISP:
CONTEXT: this is surprising and would have been frowned upon during the time as women were not
viewed as equal to men, but instead as their husband’s property. Curley should, therefore, have
complete control over his wife.
Also shows that Curley also does not have complete control over Carlson either, as Carlson is being
rude to him/questioning him.
DESCRIBE: Curley attacks Lennie because he think Lennie was laughing at him.
POINT: in the scene we learn that Curley uses violence to try and control the workers as he knows his
status as the bosses son does not mean he automatically have power over the workers, even though he
should really, so uses violence to gain power over the weak (he does not attack Carlson or Slim who
actually are rude to him).
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: Lennie breaks his hand during the fight.
POINT: in the scene we learn that Curley’s physical power is also limited.
CRISP:
1) FRIENDSHIP
DESCRIBE: George tells Slim that they ‘look after’ each other.
POINT: we learn that George and Lennie are friend, because they care about each other
so implies they are close either friends or family.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: George tells Slim that Lennie is a ‘hell of a nice fella’ even though he ‘ain’t
bright.’
POINT: in the scene we learn that George is friends with Lennie despite the fact Lennie is
different; he is a really good friend.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: Slim says that not many guys travel around together.
POINT: in the scene we learn that George and Lennie’s friendship is unusual which is
further evidence of the strength of their friendship.
CONTEXT: this is surprising; it was unusual for people to travel together because the
Great Depression and Dust Bowl meant that men had to leave their friends and family in
order to find work. Also because there were so few jobs you would be more likely to find
one job than two (and even harder to find a job for someone with a disability), so it made
sense to travel alone.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: he tells Slim it is much nicer to travel with someone than on your own.
POINT: we learn that George’s friendship with Lennie makes him happy.
CRISP:
(2) Friendship
DESCRIBE: after killing Curley’s wife Lennie goes and waits for George in the brush like he was told
to.
POINT: we learn that Lennie sees George as a friend, because Lennie trusts him and knows he will
protect him.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: Lennie asks George if he is going to ‘give him hell’ for killing Curley’s wife.
POINT: we learn that George is a good friend because he cares about Lennie; he disciplines him for
his own good.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: George does not tell Lennie that the ranch workers are coming to get him/that he is
going to shoot him, but instead tells him to turn around and talks about their dream.
POINT: we learnt that George is a good friend because he does not want to upset Lennie; is
protecting him like a parent would protect their child, this shows the extent of George’s love for
Lennie.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: George shoots Lennie, before Curley and the other workers can hurt him.
POINT: we learnt that George is a good friend because he is selfless; it would be really hard for
George to kill Lennie/he will have to live with his decision forever, but he does not care about
this/himself, just about Lennie and not upsetting/scaring him.
CRISP:
CONTEXT: this is surprising as itt was unusual for two people to have such a strong friendship during
this period, because the Great Depression and Dust Bowl meant that men had to leave their friends
and family in order to find work. Also because there were so few jobs you would be more likely to find
one job than two, so it made sense to travel alone.
(1) Outsiders
DESCRIBE: Lennie enjoys ‘petting’ mice.
POINT: we learn that Lennie is different to other men because he is childlike. He does not enjoy
doing things the other men in the novel do like drinking or gambling, but instead likes playing with
animals, like a child plays with their toys. This is one reason why he would be an outsider.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: Lennie describes how he accidently killed the mice he was given.
POINT: Lennie is also not like the other men in the novel because he can’t control/does not
understand his actions. This suggests that Lennie has a mental disability, because he does not
understand the consequences of his actions. This also would explain why he is childlike, so Lennie is
an outsider because he has a mental disability.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: in Weed Lennie grabbed hold of a girl’s dress because it was soft, but she thought that
he was trying to attack her/rape her.
POINT: other characters find Lennie’s behaviour scary. Lennie is therefore an outsider because he
lives in a society that does not accept or understand his mental disability.
CONTEXT: this is unsurprising as during this time people did not understand mental illness like they
do today. Normally people who had mental illnesses were locked away, so it was unusual to meet
someone like Lennie, this would explain why the girl was shocked/scared by his actions/did not
understand what he was doing, so assumed the worse.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: Lennie and George had to flee Weed at night, in order to prevent Lennie from being
lynched.
POINT: people’s ignorance meant that people who had mental illnesses were treated badly; if you
were an outsider life was uncertain, scary and dangerous.
CRISP:
2) Outsiders
1) Loneliness
DESCRIBE: Crooks lives in the harness room, not in the bunk house with the other workers.
POINT: we learn that outsiders, such as black men, were separated from the other workers so led a
lonely life.
CRISP:
CONTEXT: this is unsurprising as during the 1930s the USA was a segregated society, which meant
that black and white people lived separate lives (there were separate toilets, schools, cinemas, drinking
fountains, etc),
DESCRIBE: He tells Lennie that he is not allowed to play cards with the other workers because he is a
negroe.
POINT: being an outsider meant that Crooks’ life was lonely, as he was not only forced to live on his
own, but was not allowed to socialise with the other workers.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: he tells Lennie that George will eventually leave him.
POINT: we learn that Crooks believes all outsiders would eventually be left on their own; so being an
outsider has made Crooks become a bitter person, because he believes that George will eventually tire
of Lennie and abandon him. It also shows that Crooks isolation has made him a spiteful person, because
he enjoys telling Lennie that he will be abandoned by George.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: Crooks says this is ‘just a nigger talking.’
POINT: Crooks knows that nobody cares about/listens to an outsider and shows that other characters
do not respect Crooks’ opinion due to the colour of his skin, it also shows that Crooks is aware that no
matter what he cannot be equal due to his skin colour. This adds to Crooks’ feeling of
abandonment/isolation.
CRISP:
2) LONELINESS
DESCRIBE: Curley’s wife has been left at the ranch whilst all the men have gone into town.
POINT: Curley does not allow his wife to do things with him; Curley’s wife is lonely as a
result of being left out of Curley’s plans and not having the power to do anything
independently.
CRISP:
CONTEXT: this is unsurprising as during this period women were viewed as the property of
their husbands, therefore, if Curley’s wife is not doing things with Curley she would be on
her own because she does not have the freedom to do things independently. This is why she
does not have a name, but is referred to only as Curley’s wife = she is not her own person
but an extension of Curley.
DESCRIBE: Curley’s wife is described as being heavily made-up.
POINT: we learn that Curley’s wife seeks male attention; as she dresses to impress/wants
attention. As the attention is linked to her physical appearance it is more likely she is
seeking this attention from men than women. Also we know there are no other women on the
ranch, so it must be for the men. This implies that because she is not getting attention from
Curley so is seeking it from other men.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: Crooks and Candy tell Curley’s wife to leave, because they don’t want any
trouble.
POINT: the workers think Curley’s wife is bad news. This suggests that although Curley’s
wife dresses to impress the workers she is not liked by them because she gets them in
trouble with Curley by flirting with them. Her isolation from the workers adds to her
loneliness.
CRISP:
1) DISCRIMINATION
DESCRIBE: Lennie describes how he accidently killed the mice he was given.
POINT: Lennie is not like the other men in the novel because he can’t control/does not
understand his actions which suggests he has a mental disability, because he does not
understand the consequences of his actions/cannot control his actions.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: In Weed Lennie grabbed hold of a girl’s dress because it was soft, but she
thought that he was trying to attack her/rape her.
POINT: other characters find Lennie’s behaviour scary. Lennie is therefore discriminated
against because he lives in a society that does not accept or understand his mental disability,
which leads people to react badly to his eccentric behaviour.
CRISP:
CONTEXT: During this time people did not understand mental illness like they do today.
Normally people who had mental illnesses were locked away, so it was unusual to meet someone
like Lennie, this would explain why the girl was shocked/scared by his actions/did not
understand what he was doing, so assumed the worse.
DESCRIBE: Lennie and George had to flee Weed at night, in order to prevent Lennie from
being lynched.
POINT: people’s ignorance meant that people who had mental illnesses were not only treated
badly, but attacked. Being lynched is a violent, cruel and painful way to die. The violent nature
of this reaction to Lennie’s mental disability highlights the extreme levels of discrimination
faced by people like Lennie at this time.
CRISP:
Can you add your own fourth point from the extract in chapter 1?
(2) Discrimination
DESCRIBE: Crooks lives in the harness room, not in the bunk house with the other workers.
POINT: we learn that due to discrimination Crooks is forced to live separately from the other
workers. This suggests that discrimination isolates people, so the victims of discrimination would have
been lonely.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: He tells Lennie that he is not allowed to play cards with the other workers because he is
a negroe.
POINT: the other workers/characters discriminate against Crooks due to the colour of his skin.
CRISP:
CONTEXT: this is unsurprising as during the 1930s the USA was a segregated society, which meant
that black and white people lived separate lives (there were separate toilets, schools, cinemas,
drinking fountains, etc), because white people believed that they were superior to black people.
DESCRIBE: Crooks says this is ‘just a nigger talking,’ as he knows nobody listens to what he has to
say.
POINT: Crooks is not only separated from the other workers, but also ignored. This shows further
the loneliness caused by discrimination; as it suggests that Crooks has not friends, because nobody
cares/respects what he has to say.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: He tells Lennie that if George ever leaves him he will be taken and tied ‘up with a collar
like a dog.’
POINT: we learn that Crooks believes people with other differences, such as Lennie who is slow, are
also discriminated against in 1930s society. This suggests that if you did not fit the social norm
during the 1930s you would not only be treated badly, perhaps segregated like Crooks, but treated
like an animal/less than human.
CRISP:
1) Representation of Women
DESCRIBE: she wears ‘rough’ lipstick and has red fingernails.
POINT: Curley’s wife is described as a tart; the colour red suggests that Curley’s wife is a
sexually loose woman, due to its association with scarlet women – women who were made to wear a
scarlet S after having sex before marriage. The attitude to women wearing red make-up at this
time reinforced this message.
CRISP:
CONTEXT: this is unsurprisingduring the 1930s it was unusual for women to wear red lipstick/nail
varnish. Although some women did, in imitation, of famous movie stars it was frowned upon as
tarty.
DESCRIBE: she poses in the doorway of the bunk house in a way intended to gain the workers’
attention.
POINT: Curley’s wife behaves like a tart, therefore, not only does she dress like a tart but also
acts like a tart. This further suggests that she is sexually loose.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: her body ‘brindled’ when Lennie looks at her.
POINT: this physical reaction suggests that Curley’s wife enjoys and is excited by attention from
the workers, even though they are not her husband.
CRISP:
CONTEXT: this is surprising as although a women enjoying attention from a man who is not her
husband would be frowned upon today it was even more shocking in the context of the 1930s.
Women were viewed as the property of their husbands and as such were for his eyes only.
Can you add your own fourth point from the extract in chapter 2?
(2) Representation of Women
DESCRIBE: She is ‘heavily made-up.’
POINT: Curley’s wife is described as a tart: for example she is wearing a lot of make-up which suggests
that she wants to appear attractive, which implies she is seeking attention – most likely from men. This is,
therefore, a negative representation.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: She insults/mocks Lennie, Candy and Crooks by saying ‘they left all the weak ones here.’
POINT/CONTEXT: Curley’s wife is a mean to anyone who is weaker than her. All of the men are weak
because they are handicapped in some way: Lennie is slow, Candy is old and has a bad hand and Crooks is
black and crippled. These difference mean that although they are men, who during the 1930s traditionally
had power over women who were not viewed as men’s equals but as their husband’s property that should
be kept in its place and controlled, they do not have power over Curley’s wife – instead Curley’s wife has
power. She uses this power to insult the men. This suggests that if women have any power they will
become vindictive.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: Crooks tells her to leave because they don’t want any ‘trouble.’
POINT: Curley’s wife is not liked/trusted by the workers. This reinforces the negative depiction of
women by suggesting that women, such as Curley’s wife, get men into bad dangerous situations.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: She knows that Curley did not really get his hand caught in a machine.
POINT/CONTEXT: Curley’s wife is intelligent. This suggests that despite the 1930s opinion that women
were not equal to men/as intelligent she is actually clever as she can see through Curley’s lies. However, it
could add to the negative depiction of women as it is another reason she is dangerous: she is more likely
to cause trouble if she is clever.
CRISP:
1) DREAMS
DESCRIBE: She tells Lennie that when she was 15 she met an actor who told her he would get her into a show.
POINT: Curley’s Wife believes she could have been a famous actress. This tells us that as a teenager Curley’s
wife dreamed of being an actress, and the fact that she tells Lennie this story implies it is still her dream.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: Curley’s Wife tells Lennie that her ‘ol’ lady’ wouldn’t let her join the show.
POINT: Curley’s Wife’s mother stopped her from pursuing her dream. This suggests that Curley’s Wife really
believes her dream could have come true, and that she blames her mother for the fact she has not realised
her dream.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: She tells Lennie that if she had been allowed to join the show she ‘wouldn’t be livin’ like this.’
POINT: Curley’s wife believes that if she has been able to pursue her dream her life would be better. This
suggests that she has a bad life/is unhappy because her dream did not come true.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: She tells Lennie that as a result of not receiving a letter about her acting career from a movie
director, she met and married Curley who she does not like.
POINT: She also blames Curley for her dream not coming true/having a bad life. The negative description of
Curley implies he is also responsible for her dream not coming true, and also that he is the reason her life is
bad. This suggests that she does not take responsibility for her actions, but blames those who have power
over her: firstly her mother then Curley even though she choose to marry Curley instead of waiting for the
letter which could have made her dream come true.
CRISP:
CONTEXT: this unsurprising as during the 1930s like today parent’s controlled/guided their children’s
actions/choices, which is why her mother was able to stop her joining the travelling show. Unlike today when
women reached adulthood they did not become independent, instead they would be married off after which
they became the property of their husbands. As such women were controlled by their husbands, which is why
Curley’s Wife can still blame others for the failure of her dream as an adult.
2) Dream
DESCRIBE: We know George is going to kill Lennie as ‘he snapped off the safety.’
POINT: George gets a gun out ready to kill Lennie. This suggests that Lennie and George’s dream
will not ever come true; Lennie will be dead. From the beginning of the extract, therefore, we
know their dream is impossible.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: Even though Lennie asks George to tell him the story of their dream he starts it off
by saying ‘We gonna get a little place.’
POINT: Lennie knows the story of their dream off by heart. This suggests that the two men have
had this dream a really long time, which implies it is unlikely to ever become a reality as probably
already would have happened if it was going to.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: George and Lennie describe their dream which is to have a little piece of land, a few
animals, for Lennie to tend some rabbits and for them both to live off of the ‘fatta the land.’
POINT: George and Lennie have a simple dream, however, they are discussing their dream before
we know that George is going to kill Lennie, which highlights how impossible even the most simple
dreams were during this hard period. This is reinforced when George shoots Lennie at the end of
the extract.
CRISP:
CONTEXT: this is unsurprising as it reflects the American dream which is that all men will live
happily and freely, because they will have their own land. Due to the Great Depression and Dust
Bowl, however, this dream, despite being simple/basic, had become less attainable.
Can you add your own fourth point based on the final chapter?
1) VIOLENCE
DESCRIBE: Curley swears at Lennie, he calls him a ‘big bastard’ and a ‘son of a bitch,’ because he thinks Lennie is
laughing at him.
POINT: Curley is verbally aggressive towards Lennie. This suggests that Curley is being violent in order to hold
onto his power; if Lennie was laughing at Curley it would undermine his power.
CRISP:
CONTEXT: the fact that Curley feels the need to defend his position of power through verbal aggression is
surprising given the context: during the period the Great Depression and Dust Bowl meant that jobs were hard
to find so people travelled around desperately looking for work. This meant that living/working conditions on
ranches were tough and wages low, because people were so desperate for work they would not challenge their
boss/look for better jobs. Given this context Curley position of power, as the boss’ son, should be secure and
not need defending. In fact you would expect all of the workers to be really nice to Curley in order to make sure
they keep their jobs. This, however, is obviously not happening as Curley feels the need to defend his power.
DESCRIBE: Instead of retaliating to Curley’s insults he looks ‘hopelessly at George’ and ‘tries to retreat.’
POINT: Lennie does not respond in an aggressive way. This suggests that Lennie is not a violent character, and
reinforces that he was not laughing at Curley. This implies that Curley’s aggressive behaviour is unnecessary so
he is an angry/violent character, and also that he may be paranoid that the workers do not respect him hence
his reaction.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: Curley ‘slashes’ at Lennie and ‘smashes’ his nose.
POINT: Curley attacks Lennie. The fact that Curley attacks Lennie whilst he is trying to avoid conflict
emphasises that Curley is a violent/confrontational character. It also shows that he does not automatically have
the power you could expect him to have given the context; he is having to behave in a violent way to maintain it.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: George tells Lennie to ‘get Curley’ so Lennie ‘slashes’ Curley’s eyes.
POINT: Lennie fights back. Lennie eventually attacking Curley shows that even characters who do not want to
be violent are forced to be. Also the fact that George has to give Lennie permission to fight/encourage him to
fight reinforces that Lennie is not naturally/normally violent.
CRISP:
2) Violence
DESCRIBE: he says that he ‘was jus’ playin’ with him.’
POINT: Lennie tells Curley’s wife how he killed the pup. This suggests that Lennie did not mean to kill the
puppy/be violent = he does not know his own strength.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: Lennie is worried that George will be cross with him when he sees that he has killed the puppy,
so thinks of ways of stopping George from finding out – like ‘throwing him way.’
POINT: Lennie knows he will get in trouble for hurting the puppy. This shows that Lennie knows that
behaving in a violent way/hurting an animal is bad, because he is aware that George will be cross/that he will
be punished (George won’t let him tend the rabbits). It also shows that George has a parental role; he
teaches Lennie the difference between right and wrong.
CRISP:
CONTEXT: this is surprising as it would have been unusual for two men to have had such a close relationship
given the context. The Great Depression and Dust Bowl meant that men had to leave their friends and family
in order to find work, they often travelled alone because it was easier to find work this way.
DESCRIBE: Lennie ‘strokes’ Curley wife’s hair, because it feels ‘nice.’
POINT: Lennie likes the feel of Curley’s wife’s hair. Lennie is not trying to hurt Curley’s wife, he is touching
her because he likes soft things, and the word ‘stroke’ shows that he is doing it gently to begin with.
CRISP:
DESCRIBE: Lennie gets excited and starts to stroke Curley’s wife’s hair too hard so she tries to make him
stop and then starts to scream. Lennie panics that someone will hear her and George will find out, so puts his
hand over her mouth, but she won’t stop. He then gets angry and tries to restrain her and accidently breaks
her neck.
POINT: Lennie kills Curley’s wife. This is another example of Lennie not knowing his own strength; it mirrors
when he kills the puppy. This shows that Lennie is violent because he is strong and cannot control his actions,
rather than violent deliberately.
CRISP: