Name:
Chapter 1 Study Guide: Of Mice and Men
Idioms: (use website http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Belmont_HS/mice/info.html to find definitions)
blow their stake—lose or spend all their money
bustin' a gut—to engage in hard physical labor
in hot water—to be in trouble
jungle-up—to camp out for a night with other hobos
live off the fatta the lan'—having the best of everything
Vocabulary:
Debris (1)—trash
Morosely (4) (12)—gloomily, moodily
Brusquely (8)—short, abrupt in manner
Imperiously (9)—authoritatively, done in a bossy way
Dejectedly (9)—discouraged, unhappy
Anguished (11)—distressed, painful
Study Questions:
1) The 1st 2 paragraphs are entirely description of the setting. List 3 strong adjectives that
Steinbeck uses, and for each one, describe the picture that it paints in your mind.
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Crisp- the leaves have fallen and are dried up
Twinkling water and yellow sand
Beautiful- trees are fresh and green
Beaten down path- tells us that a lot of people go to this area by the creek (to jungle up) b/c it is
a very luscious spot
Soothing and tranquil
2) List the words used to describe the 1st man that we meet.
George is a very small, fast, and cautious man. He thinks before he acts and he seems like he is looking
everywhere, checking things out around him. He is a slender man but very strong with a bony nose, and
he has a defined face with sharp features.
3) List the words used to describe the 2nd man that we meet.
Lennie is a big man with a shapeless face, and it seems like he is a little bit slow—he isn’t all quite there.
He acts before he thinks. He’s very tall and big, and his eyes are big and pale.
*Lennie and George are CHARACTER FOILS (opposites of each other).
4) Complete the sentence: from the initial description, the 2 men seem to be very
_________________________________________. Explain why your statement is true below:
5) Why did Lennie and George have to run away from their last job?
Lennie did something bad at their last job, but we’re not sure what he did exactly. He sexually assaulted
a young woman, and they had to run.
6) Who does George blame his current life situation on? Why?
George blames his situation on Lennie. Lennie always gets in trouble, and as a result, they have to move
and find new jobs. Lennie is easy to blame; he doesn’t know any better. Lennie is mentally retarded, so
he doesn’t always understand or know what he’s doing.
7) Describe Lennie and George’s dream for the future.
They want to have their own ranch. They will have a couple acres of land, a cow, chickens, and a couple
pigs. They will have a garden. Lennie wants lots of rabbits. Lennie might get a dog.
8) What color rabbits does George tell Lennie they will have? Based on this, what can you
conclude about their dream? Why can you conclude this?
Millions of colors like blue, red, and green. The dream is imaginary or a fantasy. It’s not actually going to
happen, according to George. Lennie thinks that the dream is really going to happen.