The exam questions in the English Literature paper often
deal with themes in Of Mice and Men :
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Dreams
Loneliness
The working man
Prejudice and protest
Fate and destiny
Dreams – why do characters have their dreams,
will they come true, how do they carry the story?
• Lennie and George’s farm –
independence, no bullying or slave labour
• Curley’s boxing
• His wife’s acting
• Pulp magazines
• Candy’s “retirement”
• The American Dream
Loneliness
• “Lonely” and loneliness are often mentioned and
there are different reasons why people are
lonely. Think of
Lennie/George/Candy/Crooks/Curley’s wife
• “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the
loneliest guys in the world,”… Lennie broke in.
“But not us! And’ why? Because… because I got
you to look after me, and you got me to look
after you, and that’s why.”
The Working Man
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The boss comes from a higher social order
Curley, the boss’s son
George – quick-witted
Lennie – slow
Slim – dignified
Crooks – cynical
Whit – superficial
Carlson – brutal
Candy – fatalistic
Prejudice and protest
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Crooks is black and disfigured
Candy is old and disabled
Lennie has learning difficulties
Curley’s wife is a woman
George and Lennie are viewed with
suspicion as it is unusual for two men to
travel together. (George is thought to be
taking a cut of Lennie’s money.)
Fate and destiny
• The title of the novel appears to be taken from a poem
by Robert Burns (1756-96) called “To a Mouse”:
The best laid schemes o’ mice and men
Gang aft agley
And leave us nought but grief and pain
For promised joy!
• “Gang aft agley” means “often go wrong”. Thus, George
and Lennie’s best laid plans often go wrong, leaving
nothing but grief instead of joy. The irony of this is that
we all need dreams in order to get through the hard
times but Steinbeck doesn’t seem to suggest that we
should give up our dreams even if we are unlikely to
achieve them.
The title
• The mice and men of the title might also
refer to the relative size of George and
Lennie, however, it might also be a
reference to the metaphorical idea of
something small and vulnerably
(humanity?) being pitted against
something large and powerful (destiny?).
• Lennie’s mice occur like a motif showing
his vulnerability throughout the novel.
THE CHARACTERS
Steinbeck gives a brief description, then
lets characters speak for themselves.
George, Candy, Crooks and Curley’s wife
have long speeches in which they confess
their deepest feelings. Curley is
characterised by his action, and by what
others say of him.
George
• George is: “a smart little guy”, “small and quick”,
“restless”, “sharp, strong features”, “small, strong hands,
slender arms”, “a thin and bony nose”. He is kind, softhearted, has a strong sense of duty and responsibility,
needs Lennie to prevent loneliness although
occasionally dreams how easy it would be to be on his
own (“God a’mighty, if I was along I could live so
easy…”), good, kind (“We kinda look after each other”),
loyal, good judge of others, clean-living, peaceful and full
of compassion. He’s also honest (“Made me seem God
damn smart alongside of him.”)
Lennie
• Lennie is: “a huge man, shapeless of face
with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping
shoulders. He walked heavily, dragging his
feet a little, the way a bear drags his
paws.” He’s also a “nice fella” with a
child’s mind (“jes’ like a kid”), immense
body, innocent, animal-like (he drinks
“scummy” water), dependent, incapable
and “he ain’t mean” and has learning
difficulties.
Slim
• Slim “moves with a majesty only achieved
by royalty”, and was “the prince of the
ranch”. He seems to understand how
George feels at the end of the story: “You
hadda, George. I swear you hadda,” and
shows “understanding byond thought”.
Candy
• Candy is “a tall, stoop-shouldered old
man” who clings to his dog, like Lennie
clings to George. He “ain’t much good with
on’y one hand.” He is “grinning with
delight” when planning the ranch with
George and Lennie. About his old dog, he
says, “I’m so used to ‘im”, which echoes
the way George is used to Lennie.
Crooks
• Crooks is “a proud, aloof man”, also
physically disabled and a negro (therefore
doubly vulnerable), cynical (“nobody gets
to heaven, and nobody gets no land”) and
intelligent. He realises his limitations as a
black man when Curley’s wife says, “You
know what I can do to you if you open your
trap?”
Curley
• Curley is a “thin young man” who is
pugnacious, awkward, spoilt, restless
(Whit says that his “pants is just crawlin’
with ants”), grudging and obsessive about
his wife and is “alla time picking scraps
with big guys”.
Curley’s wife
• Curley’s wife is “heavily made up”, “a tart”,
“jail bait” and “her voice had a nasal, brittle
quality”. She’s pathetic, looks innocent and
simple when dead. Had dreams to be an
actress but gave them up when she
married Curley. She is very lonely and
doesn’t seem to have any female
companionship on the ranch. Seems
innocent and naive. (She thought her
mum was hiding the letters and believed
that the man would get her in the movies.)
The Boss
• The Boss is a reasonable man who buys
whiskey for the hands at Christmas but
probably spoils Curley. His wife is never
mentioned – maybe she is dead.
Carlson
• Carlson is a brutal, “powerful, bigstomached man” who objects to the smell
of Candy’s dog. George uses his Luger to
shoot Lennie.
STRUCTURE
• “Of Mice and Men” is a short novel or novella. There are
no chapter divisions but it is divided into six identifiable
sections – the first and last sections are set by the pond
on the Salinas River valley, California. These two scenes
“book-end” the story. All the other sections are set in the
bunk house or barn. The sections are more like scenes
in a play than chapters in a book: each of these “scenes”
is a clearly identified setting, which is simple and often
very visual, like the characters; the plot is chronological
(there are no flashbacks, unlike the film – simplicity is
key to the style of the novel) and Steinbeck uses
dialogue and speech to further the action.
Hints about how the story might
end…
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Steinbeck seems to drop plenty of hints about how the book will end:
Lennie’s killing of mice
What happened between Lennie and the girl in Weed
The killing of Candy’s dog
The fight with Curley
The killing of the puppy
The emphasis on Lennie’s vast, seemingly uncontrollable strength
Curley’s wife’s interest in Lennie
George’s oft-repeated assertions that the girl will bring nothing but
trouble
• Lennie’s bad feelings about the ranch: “I don’t like this place,
George. This ain’t no good place. I wanna get outa here.”
LANGUAGE AND STYLE
• Steinbeck is associated with two aspects of style:
description, which is almost poetic in intensity, or
down-to-earth and colloquial language.
• Steinbeck uses minute observations of nature and life.
He paints pictures with metaphors and similes, such as
the head of the water snake, “like a periscope”. This
image works because it’s startling, it creates a strong
image because we’ve all seen pictures of submarine
periscopes emerging, dangerously from the depths.
• On the other hand, his down-to-earth description of the
water that Lennie drinks by the pond as “scummy” not
only gives the reader a clear sense of how it looks but
also conveys his disgust for it and shows Lennie’s
ignorance at the same time.
LANGUAGE AND STYLE
contd.
• Steinbeck does not over-do the description but uses the
senses economically. Look at the use of light in the
opening scene (“the shade climbed up the hills towards
the top”, and “as the blaze dropped from the fire the
sphere of the light grew smaller”), the barn where
Curley’s wife dies (“the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar
through one of the side windows, and in and out of the
beam flies shot like rushing stars”), the closing scene
(Lennie died looking “across the pool and up the
darkening slopes of the Gabilans”). This gives the
scenes a play- or film-like quality again.
• Continuing this film-like theme, Steinbeck uses sound in
his descriptions. Remember “the thuds and occasional
clangs of a horseshoe game” and, in the closing scene,
“…the leaves rustled… And the shouts of men sounded
again, this time much closer than before.”
Places
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Each section/chapter of the novel, take part in a
specific place:
Chapter 1 – the Salinas River valley
Chapter 2 – the bunk room
Chapter 3 – the bunk room
Chapter 4 – Crooks’ room
Chapter 5 – the barn
Chapter 6 – the Salinas River valley
Each place is described in detail – how are they
described, what happens in them and why are
they important?
Dialogue
• Steinbeck uses a realistic, vernacular, slangy
and colloquial language you would expect of
ranch hands. Thus, he uses taboo words (“It’s
brighter’n bitch outside”) and non-Standard
grammatical forms, e.g. “Ain’t got no relatives
nor nothing.” Steinbeck tries to recreate the
voice of ‘ordinary’ people: “an’ I’d get a job an’
make up the res’, an’ you could sell eggs an’
stuff like that.”
• Dialogue reveals much about the characters,
their optimism, pessimism, hope, cynicism and
fears.
The Essay
One question will be based on a short printed extract from the story. You will usually be
asked to answer this question based mainly on this extract concerning an important
character, a relationship between two or more characters, an effective use of setting
or atmosphere or some aspect of plot or theme. Whilst your answer should focus mainly
on the extract itself, you might also be expected to show awareness of what happens
before and after the events of the extract. Here are typical questions:
– 'With close reference to the extract, how does Candy react when he hears his pet dog
will be shot?'
– 'How do you respond to this part of the story?'
– 'With close reference to the extract, how might the reader's attitude towards Crooks
change at this point?’
The second question will expect you to relate to an aspect of the whole story, such as the
use its writer has made of a key character or how the writer has developed a particular
theme. This type of question is called a discursive question. Here are some typical
questions:
– 'What impressions of ranch work are created in Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men'?'
– 'At the end of the novel, George walks off with Slim. How do you feel about this ending
to the story?'
– 'For which character in the novel do you feel the most sympathy?'
– 'Violence is a key theme of the story; how does the writer convey this to his reader?
– Remind yourself of the closing part of the novel. Do you think this is an effective way
to end the story?
The second question might also ask you to write as if you were a character - writing a
diary entry or a letter, for example. This is called an empathetic response.
– 'Imagine you are George Milton. Write a diary entry for the day you leave the ranch.'
Essay Structure
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Underline the keywords in the question
What does the question ask of you?
Think…
Make a brief plan:
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Introduction – refer to the question
Argument in several paragraphs, discussing one
point (P), supporting it with evidence (E) from the
book and explaining (E) how it relates to the
question. One PEE per paragraph.
Conclusion – refer back to the question to reinforce
your argument
5. Now start writing your essay…
Use key words from the question to
structure your introduction, e.g.:
Animals are important in “Of Mice and Men”.
Why is this and how does Steinbeck show their
importance?
In the story “Of Mice and Men”, Steinbeck
chooses to include a number of animals, which
appear to be symbolic of aspects of the story.
Steinbeck clearly wanted us to view the mice as
a symbol of the vulnerability of the weak against
the strong, the dog shows the vulnerability of the
old against the young and the rabbits represent
George and Lennie’s American Dream, easy to
see, yet impossible to catch.
Use key words from the question to
structure your introduction, e.g.:
How does Steinbeck present the relationship between
George and Lennie in the novel? Write about how
George feels about Lennie, how Lennie feels about
George, why you think George stays with Lennie and the
methods Steinbeck uses to present their relationship.
The relationship between George and Lennie is crucial
to the development of “Of Mice and Men”. Lennie’s
dependence upon George and George’s responsibility
towards Lennie puts them both in a difficult situation and
as the plot develops, the reader discovers how both
characters deal with their relationship.
How would you introduce these two
essays:
How does Steinbeck present loneliness and
isolation in the novel? Write about characters
who are lonely and isolated, why they are lonely
and isolated, how Steinbeck’s settings reflect
characters’ loneliness and isolation.
How does Steinbeck prepare you for the idea
that Curley’s wife’s death is inevitable?
The Argument
If the essay title/question has bullet points, then
make sure you answer each of the bullet points
fully, e.g:
How far do you think Steinbeck presents dreams
as futile in “Of Mice and Men”? Write about:
• the dreams the characters have
• the effects of the dreams on the characters
• the extent to which Steinbeck presents the
dreams as futile.
Plan your argument
• Jot down four ideas in response to each
bullet point.
• Match up either direct quotations from the
text or references to specific parts of the
text to support your ideas.
• Now get writing…
Writing the Argument
Don’t forget to use the PEE system. Be
systematic:
• Make a point in response to the question/title - P
• Support your point with a quotation/example
from the book – E
• Explain how this relates back to the question – E
Start a new paragraph for each major point you
make.
Writing the Argument – an example
The American Dream means different things to different
characters in the book. For example, Curley’s wife
dreams that she could be a famous performer on stage.
She says, “………………..” which shows that
……………………. However, Crooks’ also has a dream;
although because of his isolation, he rarely shares his
thoughts with the white people on the ranch he says,
“…………………..,” which suggests. Central to the novel,
of course, is George and Lennie’s dream – but do they
share the same dream? Lennie’s dream is
“………………..,” whereas George admits that he would
like to “………………………”. Thus, although they all
share the idea of the American Dream, it manifest in
different ways for different characters.
Writing the argument
Be methodical – write your essay point by
point, providing examples from the text to
back up your points and making sure
you’ve explained them fully.
Keep an eye on the time – you have only
45 minutes in total. 5 minutes for planning,
35 for writing and 5 for checking at the
end.
Conclusion – refer back to the question
to reinforce your argument
Thus, it would appear that although the
dreams Steinbeck’s characters have in “Of
Mice and Men” seem to have been futile in
the story, they are essential in order to
give meaning to their hard lives, to make
sense of their difficult existence and to
keep alive the idea that, one day, their luck
could change.