Of Mice and Men
Section Four
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Plot summary (Section Four)
Complete the plot summary by filling in the blanks.
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Section 4 – Plot Summary
• Crooks is on his bed (made of straw) in his room (off the barn)
when Lennie enters.
• Crooks, jealous of George and Lennie’s relationship, taunts
Lennie about George not coming back.
• This frightens and angers Lennie so Crooks backs down and
asks if he can join their plan.
• Curley’s wife enters looking for someone to talk to but the
men (scared of her) ask her to leave.
• She threatens them all (especially Crooks) before leaving.
• Crooks, reminded of his status, is demoralised and tells the
men to forget his request.
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Vocabulary
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Crooks
• Copy this into your jotter
• Crooks is marginalised because he is black. In
the USA at that period, black people were
treated as second-class citizens.
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The harness room
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Answer the following questions about
Crooks character:
1.
a. Why do you think Crooks is annoyed when Lennie comes into his room? (Bottom of page 67/68)
b. Why do you think he behaves the way he does?
2 a. Copy this statement - Crooks understands that George and Lennie are very important to each other because they keep each
other company and that we all need someone to make us feel less alone.
b. Write down a quotation which shows Crooks understands this. (p70/71)
3.
a. How is Crooks cruel to Lennie? (P70/71)
b.Find a quotation that shows Crooks enjoys being cruel to Lennie (P71)
c. Explain why he might behave like this.
To show Lennie what it might feel like to have no-one for
company just as he does.
Crooks is treated extremely unfairly and never has power over
others, so he revels in the opportunity to treat Lennie in the
way that he has been treated himself and enjoys the rare
experience of having power over someone.
4.
Why do you think
•
Crooks hesitates and seems unsure when he offers to come and work on the farm for his keep?(p76)
He is
aware that he is normally denied most things because
he is black and is unsure of how his request will be
received.
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Thinking about Curley’s wife
1. Where is Curley at the beginning of section 4? (p76)
2. a. Why does Curley’s wife come in?
b. Write down a quotation as evidence (p77)
“Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while?
Think I like to stick in that house alla time?”
3. Why don’t the men want her to stay?
4a. Write down the following quotation:
“Standin’ here talkin’ to a bunch of bindle stiffs- a nigger an’ a
dumdum and a lousy ol’ sheep- an’ likin’ it because there ain’t
nobody else.” (p78)
b. What does this tell us about about Curley’s wife’s feelings and
how she is MARGINALISED by society?
Curley’s wife is desperate for company because of her loneliness
because of the way she is treated by her husband and
marginalised as a woman on the ranch; she is so desperate that
her only option is to talk to the ranch workers who are often
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Continued
5. What is Curley’s wife’s dream? Use your own
words or quote. (p78)
6. a. Find a quotation that shows what she
threatens to do to Crooks. (P80)
b. Why do you think she does this? (p80)
7. Do you feel any sympathy for her? Try to
explain your answer.
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Female stereotypes
Think about the other women who are mentioned in the
novel.
Lennie’s Aunt Clara
The girl in Weed who, like Curley’s wife, wears red,
and who apparently shares her love of attention (she
“rabbits in an’ tells the law she been raped”)
Old Susy who keeps the brothel in Soledad
Susy’s rival Clara, who shares her name with
Lennie’s aunt
In the society depicted in the novel, women are
perceived as falling into two categories or stereotypes:
sex symbol or mother figure.
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Marginalization: gender
Curley’s wife hangs around the bunk house and the stable
because she is lonely and looking for companionship.
But the men will not accept her as a friend because neither
they nor she are capable of perceiving her as anything
other than a sex object.
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Double standards
Now think of all the derogatory terms the men
use about Curley’s wife.
tart
poison
tramp
bitch
rattrap
looloo
What do you think these terms say about the men who
use them?
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Theme: loneliness
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Loneliness and dreams
Reread Candy’s defiant speech to Curley’s wife.
“We ain’t got to stay here. We gotta
house an’ chickens an’ fruit trees
and a place a hunderd time prettier
than this. An’ we got fren’s, that’s
what we got. Maybe there was a
time when we was scared of gettin’
canned, but we ain’t no more.”
Loneliness and dreams are closely linked in this section.
All the men have dreams, but it is only when they stand
together that it looks as if they may have a chance of
achieving them.
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Predictions
In this section of the novel four of the loneliest and most
downtrodden characters talk together about their dreams
of a better life.
At this stage in the novel, do you think they
have a chance of achieving their dreams?
What do you think will happen next?
As ever, give reasons for your answer!
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Questions
How does the structure of the chapter reinforce a sense
of futility?
Which character do you think has most power in this
chapter? Which has least? Give reasons for your
answers.
Choose one character. Writing from his or her point of
view, describe your dreams, how you might go about
achieving them, and what you think might stand in your
way.
“Crooks’ face lighted with pleasure in his torture.” Of
Mice and Men is full of instances of cruelty, but rather
than being confined to the powerful, it is often the
underdogs who behave most viciously to one another.
Why do you think this is? Can you find some more
examples?
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Extension work
“I seen guys nearly crazy with loneliness for land,
but ever’ time a whore house or a blackjack game
took what it takes.”
Crooks’ remark suggests that it is isolation as much
as irresponsibility that prevents the disenfranchised
of the novel from achieving their dreams. Discuss.
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