Revision Guide
Name:
OF MICE AND
MEN
Contents
Context ............................................................................................................... 4
Plot....................................................................................................................... 6
Chapter 1 ........................................................................................................ 6
Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................... 6
Chapter 3 ....................................................................................................... 7
Chapter 4 ....................................................................................................... 7
Chapter 5 ....................................................................................................... 8
Chapter 6 ....................................................................................................... 8
Characters ....................................................................................................... 10
George .......................................................................................................... 10
Lennie ............................................................................................................ 10
Candy .............................................................................................................. 11
Curley ............................................................................................................ 12
Curley’s Wife .............................................................................................. 12
Slim................................................................................................................ 13
Crooks ........................................................................................................... 13
Carlson .......................................................................................................... 13
Whit .............................................................................................................. 14
Themes ............................................................................................................. 15
Ranch Life .................................................................................................... 15
Shooting Candy’s Dog ................................................................................ 16
Hands ............................................................................................................ 17
Names and Titles ....................................................................................... 18
Men and Women ......................................................................................... 19
Lonliness .................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Doomed to Failure...................................................................................... 21
Dreams.......................................................................................................... 22
Why George Kills Lennie........................................................................... 23
Interpretation ............................................................................................ 24
Key Questions ................................................................................................. 25
Chapter 1 ...................................................................................................... 25
Chapter 2 ..................................................................................................... 25
Chapter 3 ..................................................................................................... 25
Chapter 4 ..................................................................................................... 25
Chapter 5 ..................................................................................................... 25
Chapter 6 ..................................................................................................... 26
Characters ................................................................................................... 26
Themes ......................................................................................................... 27
Context ......................................................................................................... 28
Useful Revision Guides ................................................................................. 30
Websites ...................................................................................................... 30
Context
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Steinbeck was born in the Salinas Valley in 1902 which means that the places in
the book really exist. He often worked on ranches in the school holidays and had
a love of animals due to his family’s rural life.
He was very sensitive to loneliness as he lived it. He had always wanted to be a
writer but it wasn’t until 1937 when "Of Mice and Men" was published that he
became a success. However he needed some privacy as the fame from the novel
became too much to handle.
It has been the 2nd most frequently banned book of the 1990s due to the
language and swearing, the portrayal and racism towards Crooks and the
questionable morals and violence.
The novel is set in the 1930s, a time of great misery for many Americans. The
stock market on Wall Street crashed dramatically in 1929 this led to a state of
economic depression where the dollar wasn’t worth anything. Increasing
mechanisation was driving manual labourers off the land which meant that
migrant workers moved over America trying to find places to earn money.
Drought and over farming meant that reduced the amount of fertile land needed
to grow crops and official refugee camps were set up. Banks began collapsing and
bankers themselves committed suicide but if you were black it was even worse
due to the highly racist and segregated society in America at the time.
Even so the population was increasing due to a fervent belief in the American
Dream where any man in America could settle down in his own house with family
and good job: “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator
with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness.
Poverty and starvation meant that the rich stayed rich while the poor became
poorer. There was no more claimable land for people to settle down in and
striking gold just wasn’t as easy as it sounds. Wages were so low that no one
could save and there was a 30% unemployment rate.
This wasn’t limited to America only, even Europe was in a mess with a civil war in
Spain and the Nazi’s gaining more and more power (World War Two wasn’t far
away).
The novel starts and ends with a scene at the pool. It starts with life and
dreams and ends in death. The bits in-between all happen on the ranch which no
one can call their own because it belongs to the boss, is sparse and unwelcoming.
As Lennie is described as an animal it is appropriate that he dies in nature,
despite one of the main messages of the novel is that having a dream goes
against nature.
Nothing goes right for George and Lennie, they switch from despair to
happiness several times in the novel and when they think they are getting
somewhere it ends up going badly for them. This time they hit rock bottom as
Lennie dies and George has to face reality. As their story goes up and down the
violence and suspense is building.
dead mouse
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dead dog
crushed hand
dead girl
dead Lennie
It is written like a play with many entrances and exits. It is very visual and
dramatic with just one location and plot taking place over one weekend. The
descriptions at the beginning of chapters could be stage directions and reach of
the characters have very visual qualities such as a bright red dress.
The language is trying to be realistic presenting the guys in the bunk house as
literate and not stupid. Crooks even reads a law book so their language doesn’t
express ignorance, but they can be very harsh towards Crooks.
There is a lot of period specific and dialect specific words included too such as
“jerkline skinner” and “cat house”
Plot
Chapter 1
The book starts with the introduction of Lennie and George walking by the Salinas
River. They sit and rest at the river and it is revealed that there have been some
complications in their time at Weed. They are long term companions and we see that
Lennie copies George’s mannerisms and that he is very mentally very childlike. They are
heading to a ranch in order to work and have no money to themselves. This doesn’t stop
them from dreaming though and the first mention of their plan comes when they are
eating by the river. They plan to own their own property and to live off the land making
their own money and living comfortably. George is very anxious in this chapter as he
knows they have been on the run from Weed and he worries that this is also going to
happen in the new ranch. It is hard for Lennie to fit into different places because of
the time that the novel is set in and also the lack of acceptance there was for anything
that was out of the ordinary. The setting helps to create a beautiful atmosphere but it
is also creepy because of the animals that are around and the fact that Lennie is
described to these often. Also George’s emotions are quite up and down because he
flicks between shouting at Lennie and chastising him like a parent would to a child and
trying to reassure him by discussing the dream with him.
Chapter 2
George and Lennie arrive late to the ranch and are introduced to the other men on the
ranch. The first person they meet is Candy who is a swamper with only one hand. The
bunkhouse is not a clean place and because they are late the first thing that they get
to do is eat a bit of lunch. The atmosphere is tense and some of the people they meet
are friendlier than others. Everyone in the bunk house as his own bed and a small
cupboard where they keep a few possessions and there is a table in the middle for
playing cards. The boss is angry because George and Lennie have arrived late, he can be
a decent boss as he gave the boys a gallon of whisky at Christmas however he is quite
aggressive towards Lennie and George particularly when George has to answer for
Lennie. His son is worse though; Curley is threatened by bigger guys and acts
aggressively towards Lennie from the minute they meet. He is aggressive for not good
reason and we get another warning about Lennie as George tells Curley he shouldn’t
mess with Lennie.
There are some ranch hands that are much friendlier. Slim, Candy and Carlson are not
edgy like the boss and prove to be useful. Candy tells George all about the other people
on the ranch, Slim is friendly and interested in the newcomers to the ranch and Carlson
is pleasant too. Candy is definitely the friendliest of the group and is helpful. He
confides in George that he wants a quiet life but is not sure how long he will be kept on
because of his hand.
Curley’s wife also turns up and gets a reaction from everyone; George and Candy are
jumpy because of the previous threat from a woman in Weed. She is openly flirtatious
particularly towards Slim who responds less hostile to her than the other characters in
the bunkhouse. This makes George restless and question whether he is in the right
place. He is very distrusting and isn’t sure about Candy and responded defensively to
the boss’s questioning. He doesn’t like Curley’s aggressive attitude or the way he treats
his wife, but he doesn’t like her either and sees her as trouble. He thinks that Lennie
will mess things up again and shouts at him for talking to the boss and physically shakes
him when he says that Curley’s wife is “purty”. George makes a bargain with Lennie and
agrees to get him a puppy if he will keep out of trouble.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 is a turning point in the novel and it is where things start to turn sour. Whit
turns out to be a source of information and advice, George plays cards with him and
explains where the best brothels are to go to on a Saturday night and bursts out when
he hears there is a fight between Curley and Slim. He is shown to be a typical ranch
hand. Carlson however is not so easy going. He complains a lot particularly about Candy’s
dog and eventually bullies Candy into agreeing that the best thing for the dog is to be
put down, so he walks it outside and shoots it in the back of the head. This is similar to
the end of the novel and foreshadows what is to happen with George and Lennie. After
this event there is a chance that the dream could become a reality. Candy overhears
George and Lennie talking about the dream and agrees to put in his compensation money
in order to help them achieve their dream, so long as he can work for them and live with
them. He also agrees to write a will leaving his share to the men when he dies. This
convinces George that if they work until the end of the month they should have just
enough money to make the dream work. Curley accuses Slim of having an affair with his
wife, and burst into the bunkhouse. Lennie has just been talking about the dream and is
smiling so Curley believes he is laughing at him and begins to fight him. Lennie follows
George’s instructions to the letter and only when George says that Lennie should fight
back he does and crushes Curley’s hand. The men manage to blackmail Curley into saying
that it was a machine accident rather than Lennie. Slim and George talk after the
incident and George explains what happened to them on their travels. He explains how
he was looking after Lennie because he promised his Aunt Clara he would after she
died. He also explains that he has often abused his power over Lennie, asking him to
jump into a lake even though he knew he couldn’t swim. He then confides in Slim what
happened in Weed – Lennie liked the look of a girl’s dress and reached out to feel it
because he likes soft things. She screamed but Lennie’s gut reaction is to hang on when
he is scared and so the girl believed he was going to rape her and they had to escape
before the lynch mob would get him. We also get a warning for the end of the novel
with George explaining that Lennie is likely to kill his puppy because he doesn’t know his
own strength. Overall the end of this chapter leaves a grim atmosphere.
Chapter 4
The majority of the action in this chapter happens in Crooks’ room. George has gone
with the men into town and has left Lennie alone with his puppy. Lennie sees a light on in
Crooks’ room and, not knowing any different, decides to walk in. Crooks’ room is his
workshop as well as his home and he is kept separate from the other men because he is
the only black worker on the ranch. He is rubbing liniment into his back when Lennie
walks in and initially he treats him with hostility but Lennie’s innocence wins him over
and he allows him to sit a while. He teases him about George not coming back but he
backs down when Lennie gets angry and realises he has gone too far. He is not a
malicious character he is feeling the injustices of the time. Lennie starts talking about
the dream and his optimism wins Crooks’ over and he too believes that he could have a
part on the dream far. Candy then comes into the room and explains how they could
afford it and what they could do with their produce.
The happy and optimistic air in the room is shattered by Curley’s wife who enters from
nowhere. The men are shocked and wary about her and she doesn’t like them either, she
calls each of them names. She is defensive at first but then shows that she has all of
the power when threatening to get Crooks strung up. When she leaves the relationships
between each of the men are shattered and Crooks gives up on the dream leaving a
depressing end to the chapter.
Chapter 5
Set on a peaceful Sunday afternoon the chapter starts with Lennie in the barn. He has
killed his pup and is worried that he will get into trouble with George. He is glum and
angry. Curley’s Wife enters and initially calms his down. She confides in him that she
doesn’t like being married to Curley, she mentions how her dream was to be in the
movies and she had a chance but her mother stopped her. She is lonely and talks to
Lennie because she feels he is safe and too dumb to mention it to anyone else. She
allows Lennie to stroke her hair because it is soft but Lennie gets carried away and
when she screams he tries to stop her and accidentally breaks her neck. It means that
everyone’s dreams are over, George, Candy and Lennie won’t be able to get the dream
ranch as George and Lennie will have to run away again, Curley’s Wife won’t ever be able
to have that chance of the pictures again.
Lennie runs to the bush where George told him to hide and then the body is discovered
by Candy. He fetches George who tells him to wait a moment before raising the alarm.
George knows that he has to kill Lennie before the other men do otherwise the same
thing will be happening over and over again. When he does and the men arrive it is Slim
not Curley who goes over to check her pulse. It is affectionate and quiet and is
disrupted by Curley who wants revenge. He rallies the other guys who grab their guns
and head out.
Chapter 6
The story has come a full circle and we are back to the setting in the woods. The men
can be heard in the background searching for him but while he is waiting for George,
Lennie hallucinates his Aunt Clara and a giant rabbit. These two figments of his
imagination are personifications of his guilt and fears and tell Lennie that he is no good
and show how much he has dragged George down, suggesting that the Lennie is
retaining information and may not be as stupid as everyone thinks. George eventually
arrives and sits behind Lennie telling him about the dream as he has done before. This
calms Lennie down and gives him something pleasant to think about before George
shoots him in the back of the head. George tells everyone that he took the gun off
Lennie and they believe that Lennie stole it from Carlson. He is a cold man and doesn’t
understand what Slim and George have got to be thoughtful about. Slim understands
and knows straight away what really happened but he doesn’t say anything and comforts
George instead.
Characters
George
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He has no problems when he is on his own. He is reasonably smart and can find
work. He is small and quick and has strong hands. He has no family and money. He
tends to be suspicious of people when he first meets them and is very defensive.
He is also very pessimistic and believes the worst will happen. He regularly says
that he would be better off on his own and is tempted to leave Lennie but his
feelings of responsibility are greater than the temptation to leave him.
He is trapped in his partnership with Lennie, his conscience and sense of loyalty
makes him stay. He is Lennie’s minder and instructor and tells him what to do
and how to behave. He is nervous that Lennie could get himself into trouble at
any time and make things difficult for them both so he tries to get Lennie to
stay out of trouble by staying quiet or watching out for people who may get him
into trouble. He is often irritated by the responsibility of Lennie but since
saving him from drowning and telling him to jump into a river he regrets his
actions and wants to look out for Lennie.
He has bad mood swings. Sometimes he can be optimistic, pessimistic, aggressive
or reassuring. He is unhappy at the start because they have had to run from
Weed because of Lennie’s actions but he settles down when they sleep out in the
bush. However he is usually irritable with Lennie and regrets not having his own
girlfriend. He is negative about the job initially but Candy calms him down again.
His moods are understandable because of his complicated commitment to Lennie.
George is aggressive, he hates Curley immediately because similarly Curley is
aggressive to them straight away. He is also jealous because Curley has things
that George doesn’t and he hasn’t earned them. He doesn’t like Curley’s wife and
thinks that women like her are dangerous. He still shouts at Lennie a lot and
when Candy tries to become part of their dream George is immediately
defensive.
He has no control over his life. The life they have on the road moving from job
to job has taken its toll. George is very cynical about anything going his way. He
doesn’t even have control over his own food. He has to obey others all the time
and is tied to both Lennie and having to find work to survive. He dislikes having
to take orders from people who he doesn’t respect and everyone seems to give
him a hard time. He is tried to all of it and wants to escape so dreams of his own
farm.
His dreams keep him going. Sometimes he recites the dream of land and rabbits
just to keep Lennie happy. However sometimes he gets sucked in and believes it
himself. He is hopeful when Candy joins and puts forward his money because he
sees it as something practical that can happen now.
Lennie
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He’s a grown man but acts like a child. He is powerful and makes a good farm
labourer and although he may have grown up physically but he hasn’t grown up
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mentally. Lennie’s innocent like a child and doesn’t know how to behave, he asks a
lot of questions and genuine characters can tell that he isn’t a mean character.
He isn’t very interested in other people apart from beautiful women because he
likes things that are pretty. He takes orders from George and can also take
orders from Slim about his new puppy. It shows that Lennie doesn’t want to do
anything wrong and can retain some information. He is a very useful person for
George to have teamed up with because he can earn a lot of money with Lennie
can do so much. Many of the other characters believe Lennie to be crazy but
George quickly denies it. There is no proof that Lennie is sane or insane things
certainly weren’t diagnosed as well during the time.
He identifies with animals and Steinbeck includes a lot of animal imagery to
show his movements, how he looks at beautiful women. He can’t control some of
his animal instincts and has befriended creatures more than he has people. He is
stubborn and possessive over them and we know that he is always on the lookout
for a new pet even if George can tell when he is hiding them. Like most of the
animals he keeps he is tame and friendly and animals seem unthreatened by him.
George has adopted Lennie after his Aunt Clara’s death. Lennie couldn’t survive
on his own and depends on George for food and shelter. George is also the only
person who stimulates his mind when he talks about the dream farm even though
he gets addicted to it. He gets himself into trouble and needs George to get him
out of it so George acts as a parent, big brother, guardian and a friend. He is
always there for him and George knows him inside and out which isn’t surprising
as they have been together for a long time.
Lennie is also a killer. He might be a very gentle person but he is also
destructive and a violent killer. He attacks Curley, Curley’s wife, kills mice and
throws the dead pup onto the barn floor in anger. Even though this is not
malicious he doesn’t want to cause pain. He has little self restraint and
everything he does is in extremes. He is liable to panic when someone else does
and in these panics things tend to happen suddenly. This is how Curley’s Wife
dies and how the trouble in Weed happens. Even though his aggression is
innocent unlike the other characters it is the tragedy that causes the end to his
life.
Candy
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Candy isn’t a threat to anyone and is positive about others. He is the man who
welcomes George and Lennie to the farm and shows them to their beds. He is
patient with George. He admires Curley for his fighting but nothing else. He
likes the boss for the whisky he gave them. He befriends Lennie and George and
then Crooks. In the end he realises Curley’s Wife is more than just a tart.
He is frail and powerless just like his dog. He is old and disabled and has the
least respected job of all the bunkhouse guys. He is not quite part of the group
as no one tries to save his dog from execution. He is the only who is left behind
to clean when the men go out to work and when they go into town.
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He is too quick to offer his compensation money to George and s a desperate
man to put them in his will even though he has only known them for a day. He
wants something concrete and of his own rather than something from somebody
else.
Curley
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No one likes Curley. He should have a lot going for him as he is young, the boss’
son and just married but he has no respect for anyone so no one likes him which
must make him very lonely. Slim and Carlson threaten him and order him to lie
about his hand. He has no control over his wife and realises he has picked the
wrong wife. He may have high end clothes but he is still an anxious little man who
is power mad. He is jealous, insecure and a failure as he never gets what he
wants.
He is restless and an outsider because he isn’t one of the bunkhouse men. He
isn’t even happy about his new marriage because his wife flirts with the other
men and he never knows where she is. Because he is so jumpy he picks fights
with the wrong men. He is nervous about everything and everyone.
He is a boxer and fights well. It is the one thing he’s good at and he wants to
show it up. He wants an audience because he craves the attention.
Curley’s Wife
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She is a disruptive influence being a woman in a man’s world. All of the men are
wary of her because she is what the men lack in their lives. They may also be
aware of the fact that they are tempted and as such are aware of the
consequences.
The men have a lot to say about her, some are attracted to her but others
despise her. Candy, Crooks and George see her as dangerous. Lennie is dazzled b
her beauty. She is another soft thing that he is tempted by. Slim seems to enjoy
her flirting and he seems to be able to handle her because he’s not as
frightened of Curley.
After two weeks to marriage she is already unhappy and pretends to be looking
for Curley but is actually looking for some company. She is bored by her husband
boasting about his fighting and doesn’t believe it. She only married Curley on the
rebound from losing her dream.
She is very lonely, no one seems to love her and she wants some companionship.
She wears a lot of makeup and is proud of her hair. She has already lost her
dream and is married to Curley.
She isn’t stupid and knows she has power over Curley and Candy even though she
has been there for two weeks. She says she knows all about men and is certainly
aware of her affect on them.
Slim
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Slim is the top bunkhouse worker, controlling the horses, which is a very skilful
job. He has an air of authority and is fit, healthy and good looking even
attracting Curley’s Wife who is the only person she addresses by name. Everyone
likes him because he is easy going and has the best team on the ranch.
He is there at key moments: he supports Carlson before Candy’s dog is killed, he
organises Curley’s trip to the doctors, he twice says Lennie has to be killed and
he comforts George.
He is Godlike. He is different from the other men and we’re told that his slow
speech has tones of understanding beyond thought. He has an instinctive
understanding of the way nature works and is opposite to Lennie. He
understands the survival of the fittest attitude. He has dignity and so the men
allow him to lead them.
He is not cruel but he is practical such as when he lets Carlson shoot Candy’s dog
and when he drowns some of his own puppies but he has a reason for it all.
He accepts his own fate and that of the other. He has accepted a life of work
and has no escape plan. He can do nothing about the deaths of Curley’s Wife or
Lennie. He is always calm.
Crooks
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Only Crooks has a room of his own. It is small, basic and functional but homely
and full of his own possessions. People who enter it get a frosty reception
because it is his and the fact he looks after it shows that he is a proud man. It
also shows how separated from the others he is. However when he is with the
others he can be the best.
He’s the only one with many personal possessions. He is practical and active
shown by the boots and shotgun, he reads and thinks and the tools in his room
show he is skilled with his hands. However he is also getting old as shown by his
medicine and is similar to Candy.
He is a victim of racism. America was a very racist place in the 1930s and his
life represents the experience of many black men in America. He is the only
black man in the book and is excluded from the bunkhouse because he is not
wanted. The ranch men say that he stinks and he is picked on which makes him
lonely. He is also in pain from his crippled back.
He is a survivor but he has no power on the ranch. There is no justice because he
has the skills on the ranch that very few have but because he is black he is at
the bottom of the pile. He was kicked and crippled by a horse years ago and
being black he is racially abused all the time and excluded from everything.
Carlson
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Carlson likes conflict. He stirs things up to get it such as when Curley is
apologising to Slim he jumps in. He tells Curley to tell his wife to stay at home,
tells him s a coward, calls him names, gloats over the fact Curley has to grovel,
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and threatens Curley. He complains all the time about the smell of Candy’s dog,
the darkness in the bunkhouse and Crooks always winning at horseshoes.
He is very insensitive and doesn’t think about anyone’s feelings. When he is tired
of Candy’s dog being in the place he just suggests that it should be shot. H has
no tact when it comes to the dog and isn’t perceptive, he doesn’t know what’s
going on at the end of the novel. Carlson sees the world in black and white when
actually it is much more complex.
Whit
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He is a young man destined for life on the ranch and is also friendly. He has
helpful knowledge about the life on the farm and the guys who work there. He is
not bitter and could turn into someone like Candy who has spent his life on the
ranch.
He is keen to impress. He is excited when a former workmate is published in one
of his magazines and welcomes George and Lennie by playing cards and showing
off about where to go in town. He is also open about Curley’s Wife being
attractive.
There are signs that things could get worse for Whit as he already has sloping
shoulders and is sad about the departures of other men. He knows about the
best brothels to go to in town and shows that he is already throwing his money
away.
Whit is aware of what happens around him and sees through George arriving
late. He also sees the rivalry between Slim and Curley.
He likes to be in on any of the action and dashes out when he hears about the
possible fight between Slim and Curley.
Themes
Ranch Life
Shooting Candy’s Dog
Hands
Names and Titles
Men and Women
Loneliness
Doomed to Failure
Dreams
Why George Kills Lennie
Interpretation
Key Questions
Chapter 1
1. Which of these words best describes George’s reactions to Lennie:
a. Harassed
b. Comforting
c. Apologetic
d. All of these
2. Do you think George would be happy without Lennie (Based on what he says in
Chapter 1)? Write a paragraph explaining your answer.
3. Do you think it’s significant that they eat beans with no ketchup? Why?
4. Does this first chapter make you interested in what happens to Lennie and
George in the rest of the book? Explain why.
Chapter 2
1. Do you think the boss is a nice guy? Give three reasons.
2. Why do you think Curley takes an instant dislike to Lennie?
3. Write a sentence that sums up the way Slim is described when he first appears
in this chapter.
4. Write a paragraph saying whether you think Lennie likes the ranch or not.
Chapter 3
1. Why did George and Lennie have to get out of Weed?
2. Why do you think Carlson wants to kill Candy’s dog?
3. Do you think that George and Lennie’s dream could come true (based only on the
section in chapter 3 here they discuss it with Candy)?
4. Whose fault is it that Lennie ends up crushing Curley’s hand? Explain your
answer fully.
Chapter 4
1. Do you think Crooks likes having Lennie in his room?
2. Do you think Curley’s wife is a racist? Back up your argument with at least three
points and explain each one fully.
3. As they are leaving Crooks’ room, Crooks tells Candy that he doesn’t want to be
any part of their dream after all why do you think Crooks says this?
Chapter 5
1. Do you think Curley’s Wife is flirting with Lennie in this section? Why?
2. Why do you think Lennie kills Curley’s Wife?
3. Which of these best sums up Curley’s reaction to the death of his wife?
a. Broken hearted
b. Emotionally distraught
c. Pretty happy
d. Hungry for revenge
Chapter 6
1. What do you think Lennie’s hallucinations are meant to show the reader?
2. Choose the word that you think describes Lennie’s death most accurately and
explain why in detail:
a. Execution
b. Murder
c. Destiny
Characters
1. Which of the following describes George better?
a. small, quick, restless, strong and bony-nosed
b. fit, healthy, good looking and easy going
2. Give three reasons that could help explain George’s cynicism.
3. Name an animal that Lennie is described as. Why do you think Steinbeck
describes Lennie as an animal?
4. When Lennie panics does he:
a. lose control of himself
b. get mad
c. get scared
Explain your answer.
5. Which of these best describes Carlson
a. Tactless
b. Moody
c. angry
6. Why doesn’t anyone like Curley?
7. Give three reasons why the bunkhouse boys don’t like Crooks.
8. Which of the following describes Whit
a. Young and depressed
b. naive and enthusiastic
9. Give three reasons why Slim stands out from the others on the ranch.
10. Describe what dreams Curley’s Wife has.
11. Do you think Candy is going to die old and miserable and alone? Explain your
answer.
12. Give an example where George is kind to Lennie and another where George is
irritable towards Lennie. Find both examples in the first chapter.
13. Why do you think George is so worried from the very start about Curley’s Wife’s
presence on the farm?
14. Give three reasons why you think Lennie might like stroking or petting animals.
15. How do you think Lennie sees George?
16. Why do you think Carlson wants to shoot Candy’s dog?
17. What do you think Curley’s Vaseline glove is supposed to say about Curley?
18. Say which of the following best describes Crooks and explain why
a. he’s proud aloof and doesn’t like any other people
b. he’s really lonely and secretly longs for human companionship
19. Why do you think Whit gets excited to see Bill Tenner’s letter in the magazine?
20. Explain why you think the ranch men look up to Slim?
21. Suggest why Curley’s wife is always out and about looking for Curley.
22. Write a paragraph saying why you think Candy offers Lennie and George all his
money so that he can buy the farm with them.
23. Describe the role that Carlson plays in “Of Mice and Men”.
24. What do you think Steinbeck is saying about racism in the book?
25. Do you think Whit is doomed to a life on the ranches? Explain your answer.
26. Explain whether you think Slim was right or wrong to let Carlson shoot Candy’s
dog.
27. Do you think George is a pessimist or an optimist? Explain your answer.
28. Write a paragraph explaining Candy’s importance in the book.
29. Why do you think George looks after Lennie
30. Is Curley’s Wife just a tart? Explain your answer.
31. Do you think Lennie is a bad man?
32. Say whether you agree or disagree with the following statement – Lennie is just
a stupid guy who drains poor George’s energy’. Explain your answer.
Themes
1. Write a list of the characters you can think of putting them in order of
importance in the ranch’s hierarchy. Start at the top putting the boss first.
2. Explain why Crooks is at the bottom of the ranches hierarchy.
3. Why do you think Steinbeck chose Soledad to be the nearby town?
4. Why does Carlson kill Candy’s dog?
5. Write a couple of lines saying why the colour red is important in the book.
6. In what ways does Candy resemble his dog?
7. Say what is noticeable about each of these characters’ hands:
a. Lennie
b. Candy
c. Slim
8. Curley fills his glove with Vaseline – write a couple of lines explaining why he
does this and what it says about him.
9. Why do you think Steinbeck bothers with all these descriptions of hands?
10. Do you think Lennie’s desire to stroke soft things is an innocent one? Give three
reasons why you think that.
11. For each of these characters explain what their name represents (or why it is
important)
a. Curley
b. Slim
c. Crooks
d. Candy
e. Whit
12. Write a paragraph to explain why you think Slim lets Carlson kill Candy’s dog.
13. Where does the title of the book “Of Mice and Men” actually come from?
14. What does the title tell us about what’s inside the book?
15. Who was Aunt Clara and why is she important?
16. What (apart from the crudely obvious) do you think is the attraction of the
brothel for the bunkhouse boys?
17. What do you think the guys’ general opinion of women is in this book?
18. Write a paragraph about the way Steinbeck writes about nature in “Of Mice and
Men”
19. Why do you think Bill Tenner’s letter is mentioned?
20. Do you think it’s significant that George always plays solitaire?
21. Explain why each of the following characters is lonely? Write a short paragraph
for each one.
a. Curley
b. Curley’s Wife
c. Crooks
d. George
22. One of the messages of the books seems to be “men should not be treated like
dumb animals” Do you agree with this? Write a couple of paragraphs saying why.
23. Is Lennie mean? Give at least five decent points to back up your opinion.
24. Why do you think George and Lennie want to own their own farm?
25. Do you think having dreams is important for the characters in the book? Why?
26. Why do you think George kills Lennie?
27. If you had been in George’s place do you think you would have killed Lennie?
28. Write an alternative ending to “Of Mice and Men” it can be anything you life but
it has to be realistic.
Context
1. Where does the novel begin and end?
2. Does the farm seem like a healthy environment for Lennie and George? Explain
your answer.
3. Give three reasons why “Of Mice and Men” is a very visual book.
4. Why do you think Steinbeck uses racist language?
5. What is a jerkline skinner?
6. Are the places mentioned in the book real or fictional?
7. Give three reasons why “Of Mice and Men” keeps getting banned.
8. What part did Steinbeck’s dog play in the writing of the novel?
9. What do you think Steinbeck could be saying about the laws of nature in this
novel? Write a couple of paragraphs to explain your answer.
10. Write a paragraph explaining how the levels of violence build up throughout the
book.
11. What kind of effect did the 1929 Wall Street Crash have on rural America?
12. Why did it become impossible for people to pursue the American Dream during
the economic depression?
13. Why do you think “Of Mice and Men” was so successful when it was published?
Useful Revision Guides
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GCSE English Of Mice and Men The Text Guide, CGP Publications, ISBN:
9781841461144
The York Notes Guide to Of Mice and Men, ISBN: 978-1408248805
Websites
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Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Mice_and_Men
BBC Bitesize:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/prosemicemen/
Spark Notes: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/micemen