‘Of Mice and Men’
by John Steinbeck
Chapter Six:
The giant rabbit comes to Lennie as a vision.
George kills Lennie.
Possible questions:
 How is ‘Of Mice and Men’ a circular narrative?
o Setting – begins and ends in the same place.
o Characters – George and Lennie.
o Plot – begins with elements of foreboding and ends
with the foreboding come to fruition.
o Dream – hopeful beginning and despondent ending.
Quotations:
 How is ‘Of Mice and Men’ a circular narrative?
o Setting – begins and ends in the same place:
Chapter One: ‘A few miles south of Soledad, the
Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and
runs deep and green’.
Chapter Six: ‘The deep green pool of the Salinas River
was still in he late afternoon. Already the sun had left
the valley…’
 Begins optimistically in a picturesque setting
and ends with a focus on events drawing to the
close as the day ends and sun / hope fades.
o Characters – George and Lennie.
Chapter One: ‘Lennie broke in. ‘But not is! An’ why?
Because… because I got you to look after me, and you
got me to look after you, and that’s why.’
 The two men remain supportive of one
another, even at the end when George is
forced to kill Lennie – cruel to be kind.
o Plot – begins with elements of foreboding and ends
with the foreboding come to fruition.
(Chapter One): ‘Lennie – if you jus’ happen to get in
trouble like you always done before, I want you to
come right here an’ hide in the brush’.
 Lennie lives out the fate that seems
pre-ordained from the very start.
(Chapter Six): ‘And Carlson said, ‘Now what the hell
ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?’
 The final line of the novella is highly
pessimistic revealing a lack of empathy in
society since Carlson does not seem
aware of the magnitude of George having
to kill his best friend.
o Dream – hopeful beginning and despondent ending.
(Chapter One):
 (Chapter One): ‘OK. Some day – we’re
gonna get the jack together and we’re
gonna have a little house and a couple of
acres an’ a cow and some pigs and…’
(George).
‘An live off the fatta the lan’. (Lennie).
 (Chapter Six):
‘Go on,’ said Lennie. ‘How’s it gonna be.
We gonna get a little place’ (Lennie).
The Dream unites the men – they even
relay it together – but ultimately George
uses it as a distraction to kill Lennie
since this is all it will be now a
‘distraction’ – extreme pathos.