How does Steinbeck present George
and Lennie in Chapter 1?
The first man stopped short in the clearing, and the follower
nearly ran over him. He took off his hat and wiped the sweat-band
with his forefinger and snapped the moisture off. His huge
companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and
drank from the surface of the green pool; drank with long gulps,
snorting into the water like a horse. The small man stepped
nervously beside him.
"Lennie!" he said sharply. "Lennie, for God' sakes don't drink so
much." Lennie continued to snort into the pool. The small man
leaned over and shook him by the shoulder. "Lennie. You gonna
be sick like you was last night."
Lennie dipped his whole head under, hat and all, and then he
sat up on the bank and his hat dripped down on his blue coat and
ran down his back. "That's good," he said. "You drink some,
George. You take a good big drink." He smiled happily.
George unslung his bindle and dropped it gently on the
bank. "I ain't sure it's good water," he said. "Looks kinda scummy."
Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water and wiggled his
fingers so the water arose in little splashes; rings widened across
the pool to the other side and came back again. Lennie watched
them go. "Look, George. Look what I done."
George knelt beside the pool and drank from his hand with
quick scoops. "Tastes all right," he admitted. "Don't really seem to
be running, though. You never oughta drink water when it ain't
running, Lennie," he said hopelessly. "You'd drink out of a gutter if
you was thirsty." He threw a scoop of water into his face and
rubbed it about with his hand, under his chin and around the back
of his neck. Then he replaced his hat, pushed himself back from
the river, drew up his knees and embraced them. Lennie, who had
been watching, imitated George exactly. He pushed himself back,
drew up his knees, embraced them, looked over to George to see
whether he had it just right. He pulled his hat down a little more
over his eyes, the way George's hat was.
Where?
Why?
The adjective
the “first” man –
he is the leader
The adverb
drops his bindle “gently”
careful man
The warning
“ain’t sure it’s good water”
cautious, cares about L
The exclamation “Lennie!” followed by the adverb
“sharply”
bossy, critical?
but
cos of L’s lack of understanding, G has to treat him like a child.
The adverb
“hopelessly”
shows George’s despair
The noun
“follower”
shows he watches his friend closely
The verb
“imitated”
shows he copies him
The adverb
“exactly”
emphasises that he wants to see “he had it just right”.
His urging
“You drink some, George”
shows he likes George, wants to help,
His actions
“nearly ran over him”
show he’s clumsy and unobservant
The verbs
“dropped”, “flung”
show he does not have G’s refined movements
The simile
“like a horse”
animal-like, simple, primitive
His actions
“dabbling” his “big paw”
child-like pleasure,
and the metaphor
“paw”
again shows his closeness to animals
Calling George by name
“Look, George. Look what I done.”
shows that he is attention-seeking like a little child
The warning
“like you was last night”
doesn’t listen or learn from experience,
This extract from the opening of the book introduces the
two main characters, establishing their relationship.
When we first meet George, the “first” man, the adjective
is symbolic of his part in the relationship: he is the leader who
takes responsibility for both men and whom Lennie follows in
everything. We find out that he is a careful man who drops his
bindle “gently” onto the ground, the adverb contrasting with the
clumsy behaviour of his companion. He is also a cautious man who
cares about his companion: his first words are an order, warning
his companion not to drink the water because he “ain’t sure it’s
good water.” The use of exclamation marks and the adverb
“sharply” might suggest that he is bossy and critical, but as we
get to know the two men, we realise that because of Lennie’s lack
of understanding, George has to treat him like a child. Even
then, Lennie doesn’t seem to listen, which makes George despair;
we see this in the writer’s choice of adverb, “hopelessly” when he
warns Lennie for the umpteenth time.
point+ “evidence” + explain
Now try to write your own paragraph
on:
How does Steinbeck present Lennie
at the start of Of Mice and Men?
Lennie idolises George and copies him in every way: he
looks up to him as a father figure. He is described as the
“follower” who watches his friend closely and the verb “imitated”
is qualified by the adverb “exactly” emphasising that he wants to
check to see “whether he had it just right”. He obviously likes
George and wants to help, urging him to drink the green water:
“You drink some, George”. Unlike George, he is clumsy and
unobservant as he “nearly ran over him”. He does not have the
refined movements of George as we see from the verbs used to
describe his movements: “dropped” and “flung”. He is described
almost as if he is an animal. The simile “like a horse” suggests
that there is something simple and almost primitive about him.
He also takes great pleasure in simple activities, dabbling his “big
paw” in the water, begging for attention like a little child and
frequently calling George by name: “Look, George. Look what I
done.” Again like a child, he doesn’t seem to listen, ignoring
George’s pleas not to drink the water, nor does he seem to learn
from experience, as George warns him that he will be ill “like you
was last night.”
point+ “evidence” + explain
Although these are two grown men, it is obvious from
the first pages that the relationship is more like that of
father and son, and that George feels a duty of care for
Lennie who seems unable to cope on his own. He watches out
for him throughout the story, telling him what to do and what
not to do. Despite all the trouble Lennie causes, like a father,
George does not abandon him, but stays with him to the bitter
end.
CURLEY
At that moment a young man came into the bunk house; a
thin young man with a brown face, with brown eyes and a head of
tightly curled hair. He wore a work glove on his left hand, and,
like the boss, he wore high-heeled boots. "Seen my old man?" he
asked.
The swamper said, "He was here jus' a minute ago, Curley.
Went over to the cook house, I think."
"I'll try to catch him," said Curley. His eyes passed over the
new men and he stopped. He glanced coldly at George and then
at Lennie. His arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands
closed into fists. He stiffened and went into a slight crouch. His
glance was at once calculating and pugnacious. Lennie squirmed
under the look and shifted his feet nervously. Curley stepped
gingerly close to him. "You the new guys the old man was waitin'
for?"
"We just come in," said George.
"Let the big guy talk."
Lennie twisted with embarrassment.
George said, "S'pose he don't want to talk?"
Curley lashed his body around. "By Christ, he's gotta talk
when he's spoke to. What the hell are you gettin' into it for?"
"We travel together," said George coldly.
"Oh, so it's that way."
George was tense, and motionless. "Yeah, it's that way."
Lennie was looking helplessly to George for instruction.
"An' you won't let the big guy talk, is that it?"
"He can talk if he wants to tell you anything." He nodded
slightly to Lennie.
"We jus' come in," said Lennie softly.
Curley stared levelly at him. "Well, nex' time you answer
when you're spoke to." He turned toward the door and walked out,
and his elbows were still bent out a little.
George watched him out, and then he turned back to the
swamper. "Say, what the hell's he got on his shoulder? Lennie
didn't do nothing to him."
The old man looked cautiously at the door to make sure no
one was listening. "That's the boss's son," he said quietly.
"Curley's pretty handy. He done quite a bit in the ring. He's a
lightweight, and he's handy."
Where?
Early on, the first meeting with Curley, the
boss’s son and Lennie’s nemesis
Why?
tense, potential for violence lurking
The adjective
“high-heeled” boots (like the boss)
suggests an inferiority complex – wanted to appear important
His body language
arms “gradually bent at the elbows” hands “closed into fists”
aggressive, fighting stance, suggests he wants to fight Lennie
The adjectives
“calculating and pugnacious”
sums up his opponent – shrewd, cunning as well as belligerent
The verb/metaphor
C “lashed” his body
violent reaction; unpredictable?
The adverb
“coldly”
unfriendly, unwelcoming
“By Christ!” What the hell…”
unwarranted violent aggressive response
speech
G “tense and motionless”
suggests G is apprehensive, senses trouble
adjectives
L “squirmed” shifted his feet “nervously”
uncomfortable, senses hostile attitude
verb, adverb
L looking “helplessly”
vulnerable despite his size, a victim
adverb
C’s “pretty handy”
knows how to fight
adjectives
C “hates” big guys; all the time “picking scraps with big guys”
warns that there could be trouble for L
verb, verb phrase
G: “that Curley punk is gonna get hurt…”
reminds us of L’s strength
warning
This extract comes from the early part of the novella, after
George and Lennie have arrived at the ranch. It describes their first
meeting with Curley, the boss’s son and Lennie’s nemesis.
The mood and atmosphere had been quite relaxed, with Candy,
the swamper, trying to make the men feel welcome and allay their fears.
However, as soon as Curley walks into the bunkhouse the atmosphere
becomes tense, with the potential for violence ever-present. Even
Curley’s appearance gives us clues to his mood. The fact that he wore
“high-heeled” boots (like his father, the boss) suggests an inferiority
complex. This adjective tells us that he wanted to appear important. He
also speaks in a commanding tone without any preliminary niceties:
“Seen my old man?” is more like a command than a question. His
attitude is intimidating, becoming more belligerent when he sees the
newcomers. His body language, as his arms “gradually bent at the
elbows” and hands “closed into fists”, suggests an aggressive, fighting
stance, as if he is waiting, or looking for, trouble. This is underlined by
the adjectives “calculating and pugnacious” which suggest he wants to
fight Lennie; he sums up his opponent, showing that he is shrewd and
cunning, as well as belligerent.
However, at the same time, he is cautious: the adverb “gingerly”
suggests that he is in awe of Lennie’s size.
From this point, the tension escalates. Curley’s reactions are full
of aggression. When he turns, Steinbeck uses a metaphor: “lashed his
body” suggests an unnecessarily violent reaction. His speech too is
threatening: the exclamations “By Christ!” What the hell…” again show
an unwarrantedly aggressive response, and he raps out orders: “Nex’
time you answer when you’re spoken to”, “staring” at Lennie as he
warns him. Curley has clearly been incensed by Lennie’s silence and
we sense an impending fight.
Tension is also created through the reactions of the other
characters. George is described as “tense and motionless”, these
adjectives suggest he is apprehensive, sensing trouble, but standing
his ground. On the other hand, Lennie’s discomfiture is plain to see
through his body language: the verb “squirmed” tells us that he is
uncomfortable, whilst he shifted his feet “nervously”, this adverb
showing us that although not understanding, he senses Curley’s hostile
attitude. Another adverb, “helplessly” reminds us that he is vulnerable
despite his size.
CURLEY’S WIFE
Where?
The first meeting with Curley’s wife, having
been prepared already for a trouble-making flirt
Why?
Introduces us to her character in person –
seems to confirm expectations – or does it?
“cuts off” the rectangle of sunlight in the doorway.
sunshine and light seem to represent harmony
symbolic
“heavily” made up, painted fingernails and ostrich feathers
suggesting appearance is important to her, incongruous,
inappropriate – attention-seeking?
adverb, detail
“red” – her lips, her fingernails and mules.
suggests attention-seeking;
flirtatious, provocative;
danger, girl in Weed?
repeated adjective
voice: “nasal, brittle”
suggest someone shallow and hints at her fragile nature
adjectives
speaks “playfully”;
deliberately flirting with the men,
adverb
“looking”
provocative attitude: could mean that she is looking for Curley, or
that she wants the men to look at her.
double entendre
This is the first time we meet Curley’s wife, but Steinbeck has
already built up a picture of her as flirtatious, a “tart” and “trouble”, and
our expectations seem to be realised here. As she arrives, she “cuts
off” the rectangle of sunlight in the doorway.
This is symbolic:
sunshine and light seem to represent harmony in this book, as we have
already seen at the pool, where Lennie and George are happy; so the
reader is immediately made wary of her and given a sense of
foreboding.
Steinbeck gives the reader lots of details about her appearance,
suggesting that it is important to her – no detail is neglected, from her
carefully curled hair (in childlike ringlets) to the painted fingernails and
ostrich feathers on her mules. Her appearance is incongruous,
contrasting with the coarse denims and working boots of the hands – we
do not expect someone living on a ranch to dress so inappropriately.
The fact that she is “heavily” made up suggests that she is either
inexperienced or that she is not very pretty, an idea also suggested by
Steinbeck’s comparison of her ringlets with “sausages” – an
unflattering image. It also suggests that she has time on her hands and
is out to impress.
Another point to note is that she is wearing a lot of red – her lips,
her fingernails and mules. Red suggests that she is attention-seeking;
red suggests danger, too and reminds us of the girl in Weed. Steinbeck
has made the reader aware of Lennie’s love of soft, pretty things and
that the girl in Weed was wearing a red dress so he means for us to
sense trouble here.
When she speaks, she deliberately tries to draw them into the
conversation. The hands have interpreted this as flirting, but we learn
later - in the barn - that it is her way of relieving her lonely existence.
Steinbeck’s describes her voice as “nasal, brittle”; these adjectives
suggest someone shallow and hints at her fragile nature when Lennie
later breaks her neck. She speaks “playfully”; this adverb indicates
that she is deliberately flirting with the men, and her provocative attitude
is shown towards the end of this section when she uses double
entendre: “looking” could mean that she is looking for her husband, or
that she wants the men to look at her.
This is supported by her actions. She deliberately attracts the
men’s attention by adopting provocative poses “she bridled a little”
and “she smiled archly and twitched her body”.
The hands - including George – interpret this as flirting, and it is
not until the end of the book that we realise that she is desperately
lonely and seeking companionship in the only way she knows. She
doesn’t love Curley; he spends little time with her and when he does, he
physically abuses her and breaks her only form of escapism, her
records. George, however, doesn’t understand this and his reaction,
like that of the other hands including Slim, is to try to ignore her. Her
overtures are met with a brusque response and the audience, like the
hands, for the moment see her as “trouble”. It is only later that
Steinbeck will arouse our sympathy for her.
Crooks’ room – where? why?
Men gone to town, left the weakest characters on the ranch
See another side to Curley’s wife:
Loneliness > pity
Abuse > disgust
NB reader’s attitude > what she says and does
loneliness > pity
“the girl”
Pity: youth, innocence?
noun
“I ain’t giving you no trouble”
defensive – misunderstood?
negative sentence
“Think I like to..?”
bewildered – why will no one talk to her?
questions
“I like to talk to somebody once in a while”
lonely
adverb phrase
“Sure I’ve got a husband…”
Shows anger at her lot
Series of short sentences
“Swell guy, ain’t he?”
feel sorry for her, married to an unpleasant character
sarcasm…
“stay in that two-by-four house”
doesn’t think of it as home
demonstrative adjective: that = contemptuous; noun: house
”embarrassed silence” “Awright, cover him up if ya wanta”
pity: men won’t talk to her, side with thuggish Curley!
noun phrase
“Baloney!”
more intelligent than the men give her credit for
exclamation
“could put me in pitchers”
pity: dreams crushed
verb phrase
“breathless with indignation” “ever’body out doin’ sompin”
pity: her loneliness, deserted by husband of two weeks
adjective shows extreme feeling; pronoun emphasises rejection
but
Abuse > disgust
“flared up”
quick-tempered
verb
“sullenness”
sulky, resentful attitude
noun
“contemptuously”
shows no respect towards fellow rejects
adverb
“bindle bums” “bindle stiffs” “ a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy
ol’ sheep”
abusive
epithets
Overview: different side to her personality – previously a “tart”,
“jailbait”, “rat-trap”, provocative, a flirt, shallow, etc
Here she seems almost innocent, misunderstood – pity her
loneliness and her loveless marriage to Curley
But also cruel and abusive
where? why?
This scene takes place when nearly all the men have gone
into Soledad on a Saturday evening, leaving behind the rejects:
Crooks, Candy, Lennie and Curley’s wife. This is an important
scene because we see a different side to Curley’s wife’s
character, which goes some way to explaining her behaviour.
At the start of the extract, the reader would feel almost
sorry for Curley’s wife; she seems almost innocent: “I ain’t giving
you no trouble,” she pleads defensively to be allowed to stay in
the negro’s room with the other rejects. She also seems very
bewildered and lonely, questioning the men why she would not
like to talk to somebody “ever’ once in a while”, the adverb phrase
suggesting that she rarely gets to converse with anyone except
her husband who we already know to be pugnacious, a totally
unsympathetic character. In fact, on the mention of her husband,
she “flared up” immediately. This verb suggests an almost fiery
anger towards him, and her quick short sentences show that she
is overcome with anger. Her rhetorical, sarcastic question “Swell
guy, ain’t he?” shows her true feelings towards Curley. Her then
rapid burst of words and long sentences suggests she can’t
control this burst of frustration. We as readers feel sorry for the
girl trapped in a marriage to Curley and equally that “two-by-four
house” which is obviously not a home to her.
We may also feel sorry for her because the other
characters seem to read her all wrong: they seem to think that she
has it all, just because she is the boss’s son’s wife. We can see
this when they tell her to go along to “your” house, the pronoun
showing that they see that house as belonging to her. However,
Curley’s wife describes it as “that” house, the repetition of the
demonstrative adjective makes the house seem like a negative
place, a place that definitely does not belong to her. The
characters even think she is satisfied with her husband, whereas
Curley is controlling, checking up on her, he talks at her, rather
than to her, or leaves her on her own.
However, we also she that she can be devious: she
obviously knows the answer to the question “What happened to
Curley’s han’?” before she asks it. Her demanding tone of voice
“Who bust him?” makes us feel that her mask is coming off and
that maybe Curley’s wife isn’t just a pretty, naïve girl. Her
repetition of the word “awright” shows a change in tone as she
senses rejection by the men. At first she responds by trying to
impress them with her boast that she could have been “in
pitchers”. Again we feel sorry for her briefly, because here is
another person whose dreams remain unfulfilled; we see her
clinging to an escape from the harsh reality of her life. It is such an
exciting prospect that she is “breathless” with indignation, the
adjective showing her excitement.
But them our view towards her changes as she abuses the
men who were left behind, calling them “bindle bums” and “bindle
stiffs”. She describes Crooks as a “nigger”, Lennie as a “dumdum” and Candy as a “lousy ol’ sheep” – she doesn’t even think of
them as men because she exclaims that “ever’body went to town”.
But again our feelings change because she admits she is “likin’ it”
because she is so lonely and unhappy with her life.
In conclusion, I think that reader would mostly feel pity for
Curley's wife as her speech and body language makes her seem
more innocent, lonely and desperately unhappy than we have
realised before.
Discovery of Curley’s wife’s body
Still by far and away the most popular prose text, there
was plenty to say about the extract from “Of Mice and Men”
and candidates discussed the feelings of George as well as
commenting on Steinbeck’s use of language, such as the image
of George’s face “as tight as wood”.
There were also
interesting speculations about George’s motivation at the end
of the extract; it’s always good to see candidates putting
forward their own theories backed up by supporting evidence.
One perceptive candidate succinctly observed how
“pragmatism takes over George’s emotions.” Another noted
how “it is at this point in the novel when dreams meet reality
and dreams do not last long in the real world.”
(a)
George tries to act calmly at the start of this extract as “…He
put his hand over her heart.” This shows us that he wanted to be
sure she was dead before he did anything else; he wanted to remain
calm.
When George stood up he knew what had happened. This is
indicated by the quote “stood up slowly and stiffly, his face was hard
and tight as wood, and his eyes were hard.” This indicates that
George knew that Lennie had killed her, but he could also see that
the dream of buying the ranch had gone.
George then had to think what to do. He was unsure of what
would happen both to himself and Lennie. He hoped that Lennie
would be helped: “Maybe they'll lock ‘im up an’ be nice to ‘im,” but he
knows that it won’t happen. This is supported by the quote “That’s
right, Curley will.” George is almost more worried about Lennie than
he is about himself.
Selects and discusses.
C-
(b)
You could argue to a great extent about the way George takes
this news. Is he panicking and out of control? Or has he got it under
control?
When Candy calls George to see Curley’s wife dead on the floor
at first he can’t believe it, shown by the verb “stared” and question
“What’s the matter with her?” When he realises, the exclamation “Oh,
Jesus Christ!” shows he is very shocked. The realisation of the
inevitable comes as a huge shock and his first reaction is to hide his
emotions: the simile “His face was as hard and tight as wood.” shows
that he is still in shock. He is only starting to understand. He seems to
berate himself for believing that they could get away without any trouble.
He speaks to himself “hopelessly” and confesses “I should of knew.”
Finally he begins to get to grips with what has just happened.
“George was a long time in answering” but his first comments are
tentative; he is not very sure of himself seen by the use of ellipsis and
repetition: “Guess…we gotta tell the guys.. I guess…” At the moment
George is not in full control of the situation and is still trying to digest the
news and tries to “reassure himself” that, like previous times, all will turn
out well. “Maybe they’ll lock ‘’im up an’ be nice to ‘im.”
As ever, he has Lennie’s best interests at heart when he says
“We can’t let ‘im get away.” He doesn’t say this so that Lennie could get
punished but he is worried what will happen to Lennie if he is by himself.
Throughout the whole novel George was a good friend to Lennie and his
reaction here proves this: “Why the poor bastard’d starve.”
However, Candy’s description of what Curley will do when he
finds him seems to bring him back to reality: “that’s right, Curley will,”
and he confesses that deep down he “knowed we’d never do her.” By
now George has lost faith and gives up on the dream, stating that he is
going to behave like all the other ranch hands and start going to “some
lousy cat-house” after he’s worked for a month.
Towards the end of this passage George finally realises what will
happen and comes up with a solution. He says “I ain’t gonna let ‘em
hurt Lennie.” He has found his love for Lennie again. So George tells
Candy what to do and he is back in control again and thinking right.
Very engaged, sustained and thorough discussion.
A-