THREADS
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Argument: The central
guiding principle of the
novel is the theme of
Cain and Abel.
“The mythical discourse
theme that is present
throughout the novel is
the question of man’s
destiny and fate, which
Cain is noted to have
asked God.”
Comes from chapter 4
of Genesis in the Old
Testament.
 Immediately following
the Creation and
Expulsion (from the
Garden of Eden).

Cain and Abel were
sons of Adam and Eve.
 Cain was a farmer, but
his offerings of
agricultural produce to
the Lord failed to find
favor; Abel, the second
son, offered livestock,
which was well
received.

Angry, jealous, and
rejected, Cain killed
Abel when they were
working in the field.
 When the Lord
inquired of Cain,
“Where is your
brother?” Cain replied:
“I know not: Am I my
brother’s keeper?”

Cain was marked by
the Lord so as to
preserve him from the
wrath of others.
 He left home and went
to the land of Nod,
which the story says
lies east of Eden.
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For his crime, the Lord
banished Cain and set
upon him a curse that
Cain was to become
homeless, a wanderer,
and an agricultural
laborer who would
never possess or enjoy
the fruits of his labor.
Where does the story
find application in Of
Mice and Men?
 The relationship of
George and Lennie,
and the reactions of
the other characters to
that relationship.
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George and Lennie have
a brotherly, mutual
concern for each other
and faithful
companionship.
“If them other guys gets
in jail they can rot for all
anybody gives a damn.
But not us.”
“…because I got you to
look after me, and you
got me to look after
you.”
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Secondly, this sort of
camaraderie is rare, almost
unique in the world George
and Lennie inhabit.
Other men are solitary
souls without friends or
companions (such as
Candy).
So the alternative to
George and Lennie is
aloneness: The migratory
ranch worker seems to be
the fulfillment of the
Lord’s curse on Cain.
Takes place along the
Salinas River, a few
miles south of Soledad,
California.
 Steinbeck often used
California as symbolic
of a fallen world or lost
Eden.
 “The Promised Land”
is a painful and illusory
dream.
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Let’s consider Candy.
It’s easy to see the
parallel between the
shooting of Candy’s dog
by Carlson, and the
shooting of Lennie by
George.
But Lennie and Candy
are very similar.
Candy needs someone
to look after his affairs:
He needs George and
the dream farm.
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However, George
declines to still get the
farm with Candy, even
though Candy is still
more than willing to put
up the money.
This proves that being in
one safe place with
Lennie was more
important to George
than simply being in one
safe place.
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He elects to continue living
the hard life of a ranch
hand rather than settle
down to life on a small
farm with Candy.
This may be the true
tragedy in the book.
It’s not just that George
loved Lennie too much,
but this unnatural
attachment was the only
reason why George could
put up with and do so
much for Lennie in the first
place.
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Without Lennie, George
sentences himself to the
same fate as the other
migrant workers: a life of
loneliness.
So when Lennie dies, the
dream of the farm dies
with him.
While his weakness
doomed the dream, it
was only his innocence
that kept it alive.