Of Mice and Men

Commentaries on Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men
Commentary by Daniela 8T

Chapter 1
Steinbeck describes the setting in which George and Lennie enter as a beautiful, natural place. His description of the setting creates a calm peaceful mood because of the way he uses words and figurative language. He used onomatopoeia, such as, "The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands...", personifications, "...sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs...", alliteration,"...and with the split-wedge tracks of deer that come to drink in the dark", and repetition,"...and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs...", "There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores...", "...the low horizontal limb of a giant sycamore...", "...the sound of footsteps on crisp sycamore leaves.", "The sycamore leaves whispered in a little night breeze."

In Chapter One, a couple of pieces of evidence reveal that men had been in this natural setting. "There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys coming down from the ranches to swim in the deep pool, and beaten hard by tramps who come wearily down from the highway in the evening to jungle-up near water. In front of the low horizontal limb of a giant sycamore there is an ash pile made by many fires; the limb is worn smooth by men who have sat on it." The listed evidence in the paragraph above include: a beaten path, an ash pile, and a limb that has been worn smooth.
The arrival of George and Lennie interrupts the harmony of the river bank, but before any sign of them is visible or within earshot, the birds fly away, the rabbits scatter, and all the other animals flee the area. This lets us know that something or someone is coming.

George and Lennie are very good friends. They are not relatives, but they knew each other for quite some time. When Lennie's Aunt Clara died, George promised her that he'd look after Lennie. He honored his promise, but in the meantime, George starting liking Lennie, so the friendship stuck. Both physically and character wise, George and Lennie are completely different, almost exact opposites. George is small, with sharp eyes and strong features, while Lennie is huge, with big eyes, sagging shoulders, and a much more sagging tired type of look. Character wise, Lennie is not very bright, and acts like a big baby. He likes to pet soft things, he throws tantrums once in a while, and when he senses his advantage in an argument he takes that opportunity and is whiny, immature, and unrealistic about the situation. "If you don' want me I can go off in the hills an' find a cave. I can go away any time.". George, on the other hand, is very mature, and although he gets angry and frustrated with Lennie sometimes, he always ends up feeling sorry that he was mean, and apologizes sadly. "I been mean, ain't I?" George and Lennie are very close friends, they travel together, they stick together, and they look after each other.

George and Lennie stay together, because despite their extreme differences, they need each other. George and Lennie are like the brain and the body of a human, you need both for it to function properly. Also, George says, "Guys like us...nothing to look ahead to." This phrase clearly states that Lennie is the only company, friend and family that George has (and vice-versa for Lennie). If they didn't have each other, they wouldn't have anybody. Even though they are not blood relations, they are like family.

Steinbeck uses a lot of animal imagery throughout 'Of Mice and Men', and they give specific characteristics and personalities to the characters. "...dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws." This phrase from chapter one describes how Lennie is walking as he enters the forest behind George. "...snorting into the water like a horse." This describes how Lennie drinks from the green pool of water thirstily. "Slowly, like a terrier who doesn't want to bring a ball back to its master..." describes how Lennie has retrieved his dead mouse, and doesn't want to give it back to George.

George and Lennie have a dream, one that they've had for apparently quite some time. Their dream is that, "Someday-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... 'An live off the fatta the lan...an' have rabbits. Go on George! Tell about what we're gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it.' [...] We'll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we'll just say the hell with goin' to work, and we'll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an' listen to the rain comin' down on the roof..."
George and Lennie want to own and live in a little house of their own, with animals and vegetables and fires for the winter. They want to have their dream house, a place where they can live on their own, without worrying about anyone or anything.

Chapter Two
The ranch's setting at the beginning of chapter two gives you the feeling that it isn't the nicest, cheeriest place in the world. The way that Steinbeck describes the bunkhouses makes it seem grey, closed in, and cold. This is very different from the description of the setting in chapter one. The beginning of chapter one describes the setting where George and Lennie appear as a beautiful, natural place in the middle of a forest, full of vivid, warm colors. They are both wonderful descriptions, with great adjectives, but the first description definitely gives me a more positive feeling about the world. This is because a gorgeous place without pollution, and almost never touched by man sounds much more pleasant than an industrialized building run by men who worked all day for little pay, miserable and lonely. The language at the beginning of each chapter differs because at the beginning of chapter one, Steinbeck uses a type of language that makes the natural setting of the river bank seem friendly and warm. Steinbeck's use of language in the second chapter, however, makes the ranch and bunkhouse location seem distant, as mentioned before. The words and imagery Steinbeck uses in his description creates a hostile mood. "The bunk house was a long, rectangular building. Inside, the walls were whitewashed and the floor unpainted. In three walls there were small, square windows, and in the fourth, a solid door with a wooden latch. Against the wall were eight bunks, five of them made up with blankets and the other three showing their burlap ticking."
The first chapter has a completely different feel to it. "A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees - willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter's flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool."
Steinbeck's purpose in adopting these different approaches is to compare and contrast the two places, so that the reader understands the sudden change of setting.

Candy is a kind old handyman that works on the ranch. He lost his right hand in some sort of accident, and introduces himself to George and Lennie, and shows them to their bunks. I think that Candy is a very nice old man, but he can't do much, seeing that he just has one hand. Throughout the chapter, we understand that Candy knows everybody on the ranch, and he tells us things about them. He tells George that the boss is a "pretty nice fella", especially since at Christmas time he brought a whole gallon of whisky for all the men. He also tells George about the negro stable-buck, who has a crooked back because a horse kicked him. He next tells about Curley, the boss' son, who's a small man, but he's "handy". Candy tells George some gossip about Curley, how he's been cockier ever since he got married, and how he keeps the glove on his left hand full of Vaseline, to keep it soft for his wife. He also mentions that Curley's wife is "purty" and a tart, giving everyone on the ranch "the eye", after being married for only two weeks.

When George first enters the bunkhouse and is assigned his bunk by Candy, he quickly notices a small yellow can of pesticide on the shelf. He automatically thinks that this means that the bed he'd been given is infested with bugs, and starts to complain. Candy explains that the previous user of the bunk was an overly clean man, who was picky with his food, and dressed up every Sunday. "Pants rabbits" contrast to outdoor rabbits because "pants rabbits" are pests, bugs, creepy-crawlies. Natural rabbits are soft, warm, and fluffy creatures that are usually brown, black, or white.

The names of the characters in 'Of Mice and Men' gives the idea that the whole story is a microcosm of American society. Basically, it's an allegory, a mini example of USA. Everyone and everything in it represents something much bigger, with much more meaning. For example: Candy represents an old man who is sweet like candy; and Lennie is compared to animals, and has a type of instinctive intelligence and understanding.

In chapter two, Curley and Lennie are contrasted. Some of the differences between the two include size and intellect. Their size is obviously a difference, because Lennie is a huge, kind, simple guy, and Curley is a small, pugnacious, aggressive man. A foreshadowing in this chapter is when George says to Candy, "Lennie ain't handy, but this Curley punk is gonna get hurt if he messes around with Lennie."

Slim and Carlson are almost like exact opposites. Slim is a jerkline skinner, the 'prince of the ranch'. He is tall, gracious, ageless and gentle. When he spoke, no one else did just to hear what he had to say; his words were law. When he asked questions, his voice invited confidence without demanding it. Carlson, on the other hand, is a fat man who jokes around a lot and has no respect for the feelings of others. The way he treats Candy's old dog is insulting and rude.

The situation at the end of the chapter, "After a moment the ancient dog walked lamely in through the open door. He gazed about with mild, half-blind eyes. He sniffed, and then lay down and put his head between his paws. Curley popped into the doorway again and stood looking into the room. The dog raised his head, but when Curley jerked out, the grizzled head sank to the floor again.", does not give me a sense of hope at all. This description seems to highlight the offensive behavior of Curley, and deepens my pity for Candy's old dog.

Of Mice and Men
Commentary by Nicolas A. 8C

Chapter 6:
The description of the setting in this chapter is very different from the previous one, but also very similar in other ways. It is different because the mood is generally more threatening and ominous, but also because our vision of the characters in it is different, and we have fears, hopes and general suspense coming from the previous chapters, while in the first description it was a completely new setting. It is much more ominous because small bits of the description make a fundamental difference. For example, there is the snake gliding smoothly on the pool surface, only to be eaten by a silent heron. There is also the presence of wings, which puts everything in motion and can be quite creepy sometimes at night when suddenly it goes away. There is an uneasy stillness and Lennie is also much more preoccupied and sad. This chapter is also very similar to the first however, because it is in the same location, at the same time (sunset), and with the same characters. Even the same words are repeated and the dream is a central point of discussion.
"The deep green pool of the Salinas River was still in the late afternoon. Already the sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan mountains, and the hilltops were rosy in the sun. But by the pool among the mottled sycamores, a pleasant shade had fallen."

Lennie has two different visions in the final scene: one of his aunt scolding him, and one of a giant rabbit telling him off. They reveal exactly what Lennie is thinking and feeling at that precise moment. He is in fact feeling great guilt, but also astonishment and frustration. It is also the most important insight we have on how Lennie thinks, feels, and therefore acts. I find it is almost a final insight into Lennie's mind and a further confirmation of his childishness, innocence and simple-mindedness. The two visions are really manifestations of Lennie's conscience reprimanding him.
Aunt Clara, the first vision, is telling him that he will make George angry and that ‘he's gonna give me hell', but it continues to argue mainly about George and how he deceived him. The second apparition, the giant rabbit, is more about himself and that he ‘won't get to tend the rabbits' any more, and that George is sick of him and will leave him all alone and never come back again. In fact, he starts his discussion with ‘You crazy bastard. You ain't fit to lick the boots of no rabbit', and continues with a quite rasher tone than Aunt Clara, which probably means that he cares more about the things the rabbit talks about.

"And when she spoke, it was with Lennie's voice. ‘I tol' you an' tol' you,' she said. ‘I tol' you, "Min' George because he's such a nice fella an' good to you." But you don't never take no care. You do bad things.'"

"He's nice to me. He ain't gonna be mean.'
‘Well, he's sick of you,' said the rabbit. ‘He's gonna beat the hell outta you an' then go away an' leave you.'
‘He won't,' Lennie cried frantically. ‘He won't do nothing like that. I know George. Me an' him travels together.'"

I think that the killing of Lennie was inevitable, and that it was really only a matter of time. I think this because, as you also see from the previous mess they'd been in (which is the most obvious foreshadowing of the book), Lennie was almost lynched because he touched a girl's soft dress, and didn't let go. This time it was only unluckiness and fate that Curley's wife made Lennie touch her soft hair. The death of Lennie though also gives this book a pessimistic side. Lennie, in this allegory, represents innocence and goodness, and it is this character that dies. It is also a clear reflection of the hard times in which it was written, for in that period there was a general economic and eventually a social depression. And the world war was coming.
Returning to the book, I also think that George did well in killing him, because otherwise they would have captured him and killed him in a much crueller way. Even if they did manage to escape, the cycle would repeat itself sooner or later, and Lennie would only cause more harm to himself and other people. In a way Lennie's death can be compared to the killing of Candy's old dog, where it was obvious that he was so old and aching that every day meant only more suffering for him.

"And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand and he lay without quivering."
I think that George lies about Lennie's death mainly for practical matters, for there was no need to hurt himself even further by telling the truth. He was also badly shaken by what he had just been forced to do, which had not been easy at all, even when he knew that it was for the further good, and this may also have affected him. I also think that Lennie had already done enough harm to himself, and that he didn't want his existence to have caused more harm than it has already done.
"But Carlson was standing over George. ‘How'd you do it?' he asked.
‘I just done it,' George said tiredly.
‘Did he have my gun?'
‘Yeah. He had your gun.'
‘An' you took it away from him and you took it an' you killed him?'
‘Yeah. Tha's how.' George's voice was almost a whisper. He looked steadily at his right hand that had held the gun."

I think that Steinbeck intended exactly this as an ending, because of this story being an allegory of American society and because the ranch is a microcosm of society. The story clearly reflects in many ways the 1930s period in which it was set; a period of depression and economic crisis leading to war. I think that George and Lennie's dream also represents the American dream, and it is the most important symbol in the story that Steinbeck wanted to transmit to us. In fact the dream becomes in chapter three, almost a tangible thing, something that you can almost touch, and this represents the 1920s, a period of exploration and growth. But then comes the disaster - in the story it's Curley's wife's death, while in history it comes as the crisis which changes everyone's lives, completely killing the hopes and dreams of the people, leaving them empty, without the will to live - like George after Lennie's death. This I think is the most important thing Steinbeck also wants to make us feel, to feel George's/America's depression, emptiness and hopelessness in this period. And at the end, I think that he really made it, because every time I read the passage of Lennie's death, tears come to my eyes.

"George let himself be helped to his feet. ‘Yeah, a drink.'
Slim said, ‘You hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with me.' He led George into the entrance of the trail and up towards the highway
Curley and Carlson looked after them. And Carlson said, ‘Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?'"

Of Mice and Men
Commentary by Eilif 8T
Chapter 3

In this descriptive opening I found many words that could be linked to light and dark. The first one I found was, ‘…there was an evening brightness showing through the windows of the bunk house, inside it was dusk.' If we take light to mean positive things and goodness and dark is negative and bad, we can see that outside there is lots of light, but that goodness cannot penetrate into the dark sullen bunkhouse. Another excerpt that I chose was, ‘…turned on the tin shaded electric light. Instantly the table was brilliant with light, and the cone of the shade threw its brightness straight downwards leaving the corners of the bunk house still in dusk.' This excerpt shows that there can be light (good) in this unnatural setting but it will never be completely light, (good) some darkness (bad) will still linger along with all the light (good). Artificial light is not the same as natural light. For one thing it does not give off any warmth like fire or the sun. It keeps it light but cold. It is not usually as bright as natural light and does not give off the same feeling of general warmth and wellbeing.

Now for the first time in the book we hear George tell the story of what happened in Weed and why they are at this new ranch. George tells Slim this story after Slim gives Lennie a puppy just like he had hoped for. He tells Slim about how he wanted to touch the girl's dress and how he had taken the girl by surprise and she was shocked and would not let go. The girl then tells this story about how Lennie tried to rape her and then all the men on the ranch were going to try and lynch him. This story brings a bad feeling to this chapter almost like an omen that something bad is going to happen again and that their wonderful plan is not going to work just like the hint in the title says.

In this chapter Carlson expresses to Candy his desire to get rid of the dog. I think that Carlson feels this way because he thinks that the dog is just a useless burden and discomfort in his life on the ranch. Because Carlson is so egocentric he does not realize that the dog means more to Candy because it is the one companion that he had and that they have a strong connection because they have been together for life. Carlson unfortunately succeeds in this and Candy is coaxed into letting Carlson kill his dog.

In chapter 3 a new character is introduced. His nickname is Whit. Whit is not a very important character in the story. He is just there to tell us how people live on the ranch and how their lives are empty and meaningless. He tells us how everybody works and at the end of the month they throw away everything playing poker, drinking and going to the ‘cat-house'. He first appears raving about how this guy he knew got his letter in a magazine and how big a deal that was. He kind of appears in the story but doesn't reappear. He is just like all people who work at ranches that ‘come with the dust and go with the wind'.

Carlson manages to persuade Candy to let him kill his dog. Candy is devastated and regrets soon afterwards that he let Carlson kill his dog because he feels that he should have done it himself. As always Steinbeck adds a bit of false hope to the plot to make it more interesting. While Candy is sulking in his bunk and George and Lennie are left alone they begin to talk of their ‘paradise' and Candy overhears. He starts to join the conversation by telling them that he has a lot of money saved up; $250 because he lost his hand, $50 in a bank account and $50 more coming at the end of the month. That means he could put in $350 and would leave everything to them in his will once he had gone. This is a generous offer that George cannot refuse and so he includes Candy, which gives him companionship and hope for a better future.

Curley is back from playing horseshoes and pokes his head into the bunkhouse and asks for his wife. The people in the bunkhouse crack a few jokes about him and trying to find his wife. Lennie doesn't know what is going on and is grinning because he is still reminiscing about the little piece of property and the rabbits that he will get to tend. Curley sees this the wrong way and thinks that Lennie is laughing at him so Curley attacks him. Lennie is taken by shock but had been told by George not to fight so while Curley is hitting him Lennie is calling for George to ‘make him stop'. When George tells Lennie to fight back Lennie grabs Curley's hand and doesn't let go until he is forced to but by this time every bone in Curley's hand is broken.

Of Mice and Men
Commentary by John B. 8T

Chapter 5

The dead puppy contradicts the atmosphere. It is no longer a peaceful atmosphere, but instead a tense one. We are thinking about what will happen to Lennie and how he might get into trouble. We lose all sense of optimism.

In the previous chapters we see a recurring theme of death. In the first chapter the mouse died, and now the dog - all because of Lennie's animal like hands and nature. The dead mouse made us think that something bad would happen again to Lennie like in Weed. When Crooks tells Slim that Lennie would kill the dog, we start to understand the truth in that assumption. Lennie is like an animal.

Lennie is not really sad about the pup being dead, he is just worrying about the consequences that he will face with George. He only wonders what George will do to him. He thinks about all the things that George said he could do if he was good. Like a child, he now thinks that it is impossible to have and that it is the fault of the thing that caused him to mess up, in this case the dog.

The conversation that Lennie has with Curley's wife is very much like that the one he had with Crooks in many ways. The most evident similarity is that both Crooks and Curley's wife ask Lennie why he is so childish. They ask why he cares so much about a dream that'll never become true, even though they secretly have their own dreams they want to happen. They ask him why he relies on George so much. They talk to him as if he was an adult, not knowing that he understands like a child. Furthermore they both tell inner secrets to Lennie, like how they are mistreated, and their dreams because they realize that Lennie does not understand things, thus, a person can say almost anything to him.

Curley's wife sparks the struggle which happens with Lennie. Even though Lennie tries to resist, Curley's wife insists on getting Lennie to come closer. When it seems as though they are having a thorough conversation, she tells Lennie to stroke her hair (seeing as though he loves soft things). At this point, Lennie is running off his instincts. Once he touches the hair he transforms into a type of bear. His "paws" stroke harder and harder. When she tells him to stop, he gets confused and frightened, (like a animal) and immediately starts to try and silence her, not realizing that the more she struggles, the harder his grip on her. When she dies, he partly buries her under some hay and leaves the corpse alone, like a animal who has finished eating its prey. Steinbeck uses animal imagery so that we can better see what is happening and understand the huge paw stroking the hair, see the crazy flare in Lennie's eye as he strokes ever so hard. It helps us picture the scene better.

Once again after the second of Lennie's "murders" he is only worrying about the consequences of his action. He only partly covers the body, a clear sign that he does not fully understand the gravity of what he has just done. He then runs off with the already forgotten dead puppy, chiefly thinking of what George will do to him as he lumbers to their meeting point. I think that this perfectly illustrates how he is just like a child and how nobody fully understands that except for George. They either act like he is stupid, or, they act like he' s an adult and he barely listens.

The conversation that Candy has with George is the breaking point of the story. At this stage we figure out that the whole dream is destroyed. It was just a dream after all. Here I feel extremely bad for Candy because he has no more life. Soon he will be kicked off the ranch and he will have nowhere to go. The farm with George and Lennie was his only hope and now it is crushed. The ending shows us that men in the 1930's usually did not achieve their dreams. No matter how hard they tried, they never could get it. They just worked until they died.

By the time the chapter closes there is a lot of tension. We can tell George already has a plan, but he is crying. Candy is also sad. He is still clinging on to his dream of living on a farm of his own. It is very melancholy mood. Then Curley comes in and the story goes back into action. Already we are dreading the outcome. The sentences, "The barn was darkening gradually and, in their stalls, the horses shifted their feet and rattled the halter chain," and "Old Candy lay down in the hay and covered his eyes with his arm.", both illustrate the growing tension on the ranch. Candy's look is of defeat, knowing everything is falling apart. No more dream. Lennie will be killed, and George will leave and he will eventually be kicked off the ranch. This leaves us with a feeling of dread and dark foreshadowing of what is to come.

Chapter 6

In the first chapter of the novel the description of the setting is calm and peaceful, with little bunnies jumping about. The descriptions of the deep pool and its surroundings gives us a warm calm feeling. In the last chapter, the description of the setting is tense. There is a sense of doom and gloom. The water is no longer calm. The pool's inhabitants are eating each other, like the people on the ranch. As Lennie kills the elegant, slim body that is Curley's wife, so the bird eats the slim, quick moving snake slithering about in the pool. This helps add a sense of foreshadowing about what might happen to Lennie.

The two visions of Lennie are of the things he loves most. These memories are of the rabbits he so deftly loves, and his Aunt Clara, who did everything in her power to help him while she was alive, and lastly, a bit of George. They reveal his guilty feeling of killing, first the puppy, and then Curley's wife and disappointing George. He reprimands himself through the visions. He deepest fear surfaces; that of George leaving him. We can tell however that the memory of George is the most prominent. Both the image of the rabbit and Aunt Clara are speaking the words that George said to Lennie, as if it was really George speaking. They represent George; the good and scorn in Lennie's life.

I personally am torn with the killing of Lennie. I know that it was in Lennie's best interest (this way he could die peacefully and not face the cruelty of man) yet at the same time I feel like it was wrong, like he did not deserve it (which he did not). Lennie is just like a child; he is very likeable. The way that Steinbeck has Lennie killed is very poignant. It is a very good ending to the book that makes you think hard. There is no right or wrong answer on whether Lennie should have been shot or not. So, Steinbeck sets it up perfectly at the place where we first met George and Lennie. In my view it's the perfect way to round off this book.

George lies about Lennie's death so that he could save himself. If he did not lie, he would also be hurt and tortured. He thought that Lennie would want to save him. George knew it was better for only one of them to suffer instead of two. In any case George would suffer a lifetime for the drastic measures he was compelled to take.

The ending of the novel is poignant; it is very touching and moving. Steinbeck intended to do this because it is a taste of the everyday pain that people had in their lives at that time and still do. It leaves people thinking about Lennie's death - whether or whether not it was needed. I know people who have cried after finishing the novel. That is how touching it was to them. To them it is like reading about a child dying. The way George kills Lennie is so gentle and peaceful. He makes Lennie happy, so that he does not die depressed about not being able to tend the rabbits. We can tell how hard it is for George to pull the trigger. We can almost imagine being there. Only a truly fantastic novel leaves you in a deep thought, unable to move upon finishing it. This is one of those novels.

Of Mice and Men
Commentary by Claudia 8C

Chapter 3

The contrasting worlds of inside and outside the bunkhouse are juxtaposed at the beginning of chapter three. "Although there was evening brightness showing through the windows of the bunk house, inside it was dusk". The outside world is more hopeful and promising, while the inside of the bunkhouse is dark and unpleasant: " Slim reached up over the card table and turned on the tin-shaded electric light". Outside the natural light still shines upon the ranch, while inside it's pitch black and a lamp is not enough to light the whole room: "Instantly the table was brilliant with light, and the cone of the shade threw its brightness straight downward, leaving the corners of the bunk house still in dusk".

George tells Slim about what had happened in Weed. At first, he was not so sure he could trust Slim, but then he realized that he would not have told the story to anyone, and explained what had happened to him. He told his friend that Lennie wouldn't have let go of a girl's dress and how it had been the first time George had hurt Lennie to make him stop doing something: "I socked him over the head with a fence picket to make him let go. He was so scairt he couldn't let go of that dress. And he's so damn strong, you know". This is a foreshadowing of what is going to happen at the end of the book, when George has to hurt Lennie once more in order to save him.

Carlson wanted to get rid of the dog for several reasons. The main one was because he thought Candy's dog stunk "He stopped and sniffed the air. ‘God awmighty that dog stinks. Get him outta here Candy'". The second reason was for pity. It is true that Carlson is a ranch worker who has no feelings - as I explained in the last chapter's questions- but it's also true that he felt some compassion for an old dog who could hardly walk anymore, " ‘Got no teeth', he said. ‘He's all stiff with rheumatism. He ain't no good to you, Candy. An' he ain't no good to himself. Why'n't you shoot him, Candy?".

Whit's role in the chapter is very different from everyone else's. He represents the average ranch worker. He works alone on a ranch and then moves on another one, unlike George and Lennie, who travel together. All the other characters in the book link to the allegorical part of the book, and Whit is the model for all of them to follow. As well as working, he also reads the papers, and follows the news, especially when he found out that a previous ranch worker's letter had been posted on the back of his magazine: "Yours for success, William Tenner [...] ‘You think he wrote this letter?', ‘I know it, Bill and me was in here one day. Bill had one of them books that had come. He was lookin' at it and he says: ‘I wrote this letter. Wonder if they put it on the book' but it wasn't there. Bill says, ‘Maybe they're savin' it for later.' An' that's just what they done. There it is". Whit not only represents a model farm worker, but also reveals to the reader what average ranch workers did in those days: cleaning the stables, skinning and carrying bags of wheat, but also reading the news and playing cards.

The change in mood is caused by George and Lennie's dream. While they were both narrating their dream to each other, old Candy was listening and had a new idea. He realized that what George and Lennie were talking about could really happen in the future. Candy explained how he had some money that if added to George and Lennie's, would make up to the amount needed to buy a small house with an acre of land, "That's why they gave me a job swanpin'. An' they give me two hundred an' fifty dollars ‘cause I los' my hand. An' I got fifty more saved up right in the bank, right now. That's three hundred, and I got fifty more comin' the end a month. Tell you what [...] s'pose I went in with you guys [...] I ain't much good but I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden..." . Once he had explained his intentions, the dark mood caused by the killing of the dog is replaced with a warm and innovative mood, one of change. The three of them, realized that the dream they shared was actually possible to fulfill and that hope was not lost.

Like in the last chapter, the presence of Curley creates a threatening mood. His provoking attitude not only irritates George and Lennie but also Slim, and the other ranch workers. When he appears in the bunkhouse, looking for his wife and finds out that Slim is missing, he becomes suspicious and goes to check if she was with him. When they both return from the stable, Slim is furious, and Curley, annoyed by his mistake, picks on Lennie, who was staring blankly at the both of them. "What the hell you lookin at?". At that point the reader knows that things are not going to turn out well.

Chapter 4

Crooks is the ranch skinner. He is a black man who is never accepted by his companions due to his appearance. He lives in the ranch stable, an isolated place, where the only person who comes occasionally is Slim. The objects he possesses are all broken, none are whole, just as Crooks' body and character have been beaten hard by insults and meanness. In this chapter the setting changes from the bunk house to the stable. The physical move to a different setting leads to a social and psychological movement too, one of insecurity, isolation and abandonment. Our viewpoint becomes the viewpoint of an outsider; Crooks.

We see Lennie without George for the first time in this chapter. Alone, Lennie does not know what to say or what to do. His life has always been alongside George, who acted as a sort of guide to him, and gave him confidence. The reader clearly notices Lennie's vulnerability and lack of experience, especially when he talks to Crooks: " ‘George gonna come back.' Lennie reassured himself in a frightened voice. ‘Maybe George come back already. Maybe I'd bet go see."; " George wun't go away and leave me. I know George wun't do that.".

The conversation between Lennie and Crooks does not match at all. Crooks is a man with great knowledge due to all the books he had read in the stable. On the other hand, Lennie is dumb and uneducated. When the two characters speak to each other, they each talk about different things. Lennie's only concern is about his dream and his aspiration to tend the rabbits he will have one day. Crooks instead talks about how he is never accepted by the others. I think Crooks' mean comments to Lennie were a way to let his anger out on someone as fragile as him. In a way he was acting like Curley, who used his power on someone inferior, but when he noticed that he had actually hurt Lennie's feelings, he apologized: "I didn't mean to scare you. He'll come back. I was talkin' to myself".

The only other person who comes into Crooks' room is Candy. What I noticed about the three characters in that room is the fact that they are all outcasts but all different from each other: an old man, a dumb, big guy and a black man. None of them went to the cathouse or played cards with the others. They all were alone in their peculiar worlds, and all excluded in a way.

Now the reader finds out more about the ranch. The new setting - the stable - is place for outcasts, and the home of one of the ranch workers. At the beginning of the chapter the description of the stable is very accurate. Steinbeck describes the stable in detail because the reader does not know anything about this new place.
In this chapter my feelings have radically changed. I feel compassion both for George and Lennie. Going to the cat-house was George's way of forgetting Lennie for a while. To him, Lennie was a burden he had carried ever since Aunt Clara died. Moving away from the farm was George's own way of freeing himself of his worries. I feel compassion for Lennie too, even if it is expressed in a different way. In this chapter, Lennie acts like a kid more than ever. His only worry is whether he'll be able to tend the rabbits or not. He is not understood by anyone and many times insulted. Overall, my feelings for the two main characters have evolved into something deeper, especially because during the last two chapters the reader gets to know both George and Lennie better.

Of Mice and Men
Commentary by Oscar 8C

Chapter3
In the bunkhouse it is very dark and only some rays of sunlight come in through the windows. The only light is over the table. It gives a very bright light, which illuminates the bunkhouse except in the corners. For me the bunkhouse is dark and dull and no one is talking when it's dusk. The bunkhouse is lifeless but when Slim and Carlson come in the place revives. This is due to people who start to play cards and talk. Outside it more joyful because there is natural light and they play a horseshoe game, which is some fun for the men as the lifestyle on a ranch is rather boring.
George makes Slim swear that he won't tell anyone about the story that he is about to tell. Slim promises not to. George tells Slim about what happened in Weed where Lennie wanted to feel a girl's dress and when he was touching it she started screaming. Lennie in a panic kept holding onto the dress until George forced him to let go. The girl tells the police that she had been raped and the whole town goes out to find and lynch Lennie. George and Lennie have to hide in a ditch all day long until that night when they run away. George tells Slim about the first time he met Lennie. He says that he thought Lennie was just fooling but that if you told Lennie to jump off a cliff he would do it. In one of these instances he had to harm Lennie to save him and this is a foreshadowing of the end of the book. George has to kill Lennie to save him.

Carlson wants to get rid of Candy's dog because he smells and because he doesn't do anything. He is practically worthless. Like Candy. And sometimes I think Carlson wants to get rid of Candy too.

Whit livens up the scene as he is one of the chatter boxes and gossip boys on this ranch. He is the one who usually breaks the silence. Whit reveals that what Candy said about Curley's wife is true; she is a big piece of jailbait. He also explains that they go sometimes to town and go to Susy's place (Cat House). Whit tells George about how much better Susy's place is compared to the other cat house in town. Whit also warns the men that Curley is very protective about his wife. Whit represents the average ranch man because he has no dream and no future. When he gets his money he spends it right away. Through Whit, Steinbeck gives us more information about the empty lives of ranch hands.

When everyone leaves the room except Candy, George and Lennie start talking about their dream and especially about the part of buying their own ranch. Candy who was listening to their conversation comes up with the crazy idea that he could go along with them and be a part of their dream. He says that he has 300 dollars in the bank and is going to have another 50 at the end of the month, so he will pitch in and they could almost have enough to buy the ranch. George and Lennie accept because their dream can actually become reality much faster than they thought. And Candy to make the deal even more appetizing says that when he dies he will leave them all his possessions since he has no relatives. And so the mood changes to a mood of enlightenment and hope. Now it seems that their dream can actually become a reality.

Curley creates a threatening mood first when he enters the demanding where his wife is. Even though it doesn't last long it gets Lennie and George very nervous. The second time he comes in is when he creates the most threatening mood. He is just looking for a fight. He immediately picks on Lennie and then starts punching Lennie's face. Lennie eventually breaks his hand in self-defence.

Chapter 4:
Crooks is the black stable buck who works on the ranch. He lives in a little room that is attached to the stable. He is probably the most knowledgeable man on the ranch because since he has no one to talk to, he reads books. At first in the bunk house there is a lot of light. But in Crooks' room it is quite gloomy due to the almost burned out light bulb. Even though it is dirty in the bunkhouse at least they have a pavement. But Crooks' little house has no pavement. There is dirt on the ground so it's very dusty. To me it feels more homely because he has a whole room to himself while the others just have a little confined space. "Crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn". Even though Crooks acts like he doesn't care what is going on in there he is very lonely. He wants to be part of the action.

Lennie without George is much more confident. And since George is not there to speak for him he has to do it himself. He sometimes forgets things and tells about thing that he shouldn't tell. In Crooks' room he talks about the dream that is about to come reality even though George had told him that it had to remain a secret. In this scene we see a more courageous Lennie because he ventures out into the dark and talks to this stranger.

The conversation between Lennie and Crooks is significant because it shows that Lennie can't control himself. Even though he was told many times that he wasn't supposed to tell anyone about their dream he does, and to more than one person. He first tells Crooks and then Curley's wife too. This scene is significant because it shows that many people want to leave this place but they can't because they're not economically stable like the boss.

When Candy is about to come into Crooks' room he hesitates and doesn't dare to come in until Crooks asks him to. "Candy stood in the doorway scratching his bald wrist and looking blindly into the lighted room. He made no attempt to enter….". This shows how there was almost no contact between the white and black men. "I been here a long time; an' Crooks been here a long time. This's the first time I ever been in his room.". Everyone who goes to Crooks' room is an ‘outcast'. Candy is an outcast because he is old. Crooks is an outcast because he is black. Lennie is an outcast because he's simple-minded and might get them into trouble. Curley's wife is an outcast because she is a woman and she can't participate in their daily life.

My feelings changed towards the end of chapter 3 because I felt worried about more people knowing about the dream. It could lead to more people telling about it and someone like the boss finding out. That could lead to trouble. I don't feel the same way I did about Lennie because now I know that he can't be trusted and so if I were George I would tell him that he has one more chance - and if he tells he's out. I think the dream is actually closer as the days pass but they have to be much more careful to not let the word spread around.

Of Mice and Men
Commentary by Davide 8T

Chapter 5

In the barn we can feel something in the air that makes us feel uncomfortable, that interrupts the stillness and gives us a foreshadowing of unhappy events. This element is the dead pup that Lennie just killed by accident. The foreshadowing gives us the feeling that Lennie is probably going to do another bad thing that is going to drastically change the story.

We have a feeling from the beginning that Lennie would have created a mess on every single occasion. Some examples of foreshadowing may be: when we get to know about the story of the girl in Weed, the mice Lennie kills, and breaking Curley's wrist in the fight with him. Lennie doesn't want all these events to happen but unfortunately they happen and he gets into big trouble.

Lennie doesn't really think about the puppy and isn't really sad for him. The thing he is sad about is to do with the consequence of his actions. The first thing that comes to his mind is the fact that he won't get to tend the rabbits and this makes him feel guilty, angry, worried, and scared.

The two conversations are similar because in both cases the people who Lennie is talking to are both very lonely and have no friends, so they need someone to talk to and to express their feelings with. Even if Lennie is not the best person to talk to they choose him because they know he won't make comments and he will just listen to what they have to say.

Curley's wife talks to Lennie in a way that makes us strongly feel that something very bad is going to happen. She asks Lennie if he wants to touch her hair and he guiltily says ‘yes', and slowly, with big curiosity Lennie lays his big paw on Curley's wife soft hair and starts to pat her with admiration for that softness. All of a sudden Curley's wife tells him to stop but for Lennie that hair is like a drug, so he continues to pat her hair with energy. After losing her patience Curley's wife pulls her head away and unfortunately Lennie's hand remains stuck in it so she starts screaming with fear. Lennie is afraid and tells her to stop but she doesn't, so he pulls her hair harder and tragically breaks her neck.

Incredibly Lennie remembers to go back to the brush and when he goes there we see again many elements that were also in the first chapter, like the setting, which is the same as the first chapter and makes us remember the first scene where Lennie and George were alone. After the killing we can also see how Lennie reacts. He is very scared and afraid just like a little baby, so he goes to hide and in the monologue which follows we get to know all the things he is thinking at this moment.

It makes us understand that although many people had a dream in those times, almost no one could realize it and there wasn't much hope. Candy however had a lot of hope and was almost sure that they could do it before Lennie destroyed the dream. After the homicide Candy asks George if it's still possible for them to make it, even though he's almost sure about the answer that he is going to sadly get.

At the end of this chapter the mood is a very sad, angry and scary, and most of all a mood of disillusionment because Candy, George and Lennie had almost realized their dream but at the end they can't and this makes us feel very sad. Some phrases and words that emphasize this mood are: " The barn was darkening gradually", "Curley carried a shotgun in his hand", "Candy covered his eyes with his arm as a sign of surrender".

Chapter 6

The last scene is described very differently from the first because what happened is different. At the beginning everything is calm, relaxed and very natural. In this scene however everything is chaotic. The last scene gives us a feeling of discomfort and unease. Here we can see the death of the dream and Lennie's fear of being left alone and of being punished. We also can easily notice the way in which Lennie matures and becomes aware that he can't always get what he wants.

The two visions that Lennie has are the big rabbit and his Aunt Clara that appear to him like a mirage. They have the purpose of punishing him verbally, which makes him feel even sadder and more guilty than any other possible punishment. These visions probably represent on one side what he wanted the most and on another side what he is the most afraid of.

Lennie's death is the most shocking and moving event in the whole book and it makes us feel confused and also a bit sorry. Unfortunately George is forced to kill Lennie because otherwise he would have suffered at the hands of the lynching mob. Someone else would have killed him and George would have felt ashamed exactly like Candy felt ashamed when a stranger, Carlson, killed his dog. Strangely I admire George for doing what he did because he prevented a whole lot of problems for Lennie and saved him from suffering.

George lies about Lennie taking the gun because otherwise he too would have been in trouble as well, and Lennie had already caused enough problems for George, so he decided to lie and finally finish this story.

The ending leaves me with some very strong feelings because it is shocking, unexpected, very moving and poignant. This leaves us with a bit of delusion and it makes us feel sorry. Steinbeck probably wanted us to feel this sadness.

Of Mice and Men
Commentary by Roberto 8T
Chapter 5

Lennie's reaction to the pup's death is extremely childish. Once again, Lennie has not been able to control himself and his strength. Lennie's sadness and desperation isn't caused by the rabbit's death but by the consequences that he fears he will face: not being able to tend the rabbits. He knows that George will now tell him that he kills every single animal he pets and for that reason won't let him tend the rabbits.
"Why do you got to get killed? You ain't so little as mice. Now I won't get to tend the rabbits. Now he won't let me."

The conversation taking place between Curley's wife and Lennie is similar to the discussion in Crooks' room in the previous chapter. They're both in the same situation, kind of useless in a way. They talk to themselves without listening to each other much.

When Lennie and Curley's wife were talking, Lennie expressed his interest in tending and petting soft things like rabbits. Curley's wife, whose reaction to Lennie's words is quite difficult to describe, tells Lennie to feel her hair and pet it.
" I like to pet nice things. I like to pet nice things with my fingers, sof' things'.
"Let go - she cried, Let go".
"Please don't he begged, Oh please don't do that George'll be mad. George gonna say I done a bad thing. He ain't gonna let me tend no rabbits. Now don't I don't want you to yell, you're gonna get me in trouble just like George says you are. No don't you do that."
Lennie doesn't know what to do and he is afraid that George will get angry with him and not let him tend the rabbits so he covers her mouth and in the struggle he breaks her neck.
"And she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her then, and he was angry with her. ‘Don't you go yellin he said; and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then s he was still for Lennie had broken her neck." Steinbeck uses words like ‘pawed' and ‘crouched' and images that relate to animals because Lennie is compared to an animal throughout the whole story.

Curley demonstrates no sense of grief or pity after the death of his wife.
"Slim stood looking down at Curly's wife. He said, ‘ Curley - maybe you better stay here with your wife."
"I'm goin", he said. "Im going to shoot the guts outta that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand. I'm gonna get him. You George! Stick with us so we know you had nothing to do with this."
We can see that Curly didn't really love her and is really interested in seeking revenge. This for Curly is the perfect opportunity to reverse on Lennie all the hatred and anger he had accumulated from the time George and Lennie had first appeared. On the other hand, it also helps us understand what George's situation is now: the murderer of Curley's wife is not trouble just for Lennie but will soon have a consequence on George as well. George finds himself in the middle of a dramatic situation: he is responsible for Lennie who has just committed murder and now George will have to risk his own life in order to save his friend from the hands of Curley and the lynch mob.

After the death of Curley's wife Candy and George don't talk very much. Most of their discussion up to now had been about their dream, which they realize is now lost and will never come true. They both are aware that Lennie's destiny will be tragic and that it will be up to George to intervene. Curley and Carlson are after Lennie and there is nothing George can do to stop them. As we have underlined in the previous chapters, George and Lennie are kept together by an unbreakable bond of friendship and affection, which will always keep them united. Steinbeck gives us a view of the 1930's when many people didn't know what would happen the next day, when anything and everything could change suddenly, when life was lived one day at a time and the future was uncertain.

The chapter ends with a very heavy and oppressive atmosphere. The circumstances are no longer positive as in some of the previous chapters, which had ended with a thread of hope. The atmosphere is established by the dramatic events and deathly imagery, which Steinbeck presents. Murder has struck the tranquillity of the ranch. Unfortunately, the murderof Curley's wife is not only a dramatic event itself but will have a dramatic consequence on all the others. Candy's and George's dream has been destroyed and the angry party has begun their hunt for Lennie. The essence of the chapter is summarized in the two last words pronounced by Candy, " Poor bastard".

The foreshadowing that Lennie will kill the pup by petting him too hard is in the first chapter when Lennie is petting a mouse and he ends up crushing him because he is too strong. In chapter three Crooks tells Slim, "The big new guy's messin' your pups out in the barn" and Slim says, "Well, he ain't doin' no harm."

Of Mice and Men
Commentary by Rosa 8C

Chapter 4

To the whole ranch Crooks is just a ‘negro’ stable buck, but they fail to understand that the colour of his skin is not his predominant characteristic and does not define his entire personality. “Crooks, the negro stable buck”: Crooks spends most of his time reading and has a room full of books, which makes him most probably more educated than any of the white men on the ranch. “And he had books, too”. The sudden change of setting into Crooks’ room is interesting, since before this chapter very little, if anything, had been known about Crooks. He is more permanent than the other men, and the room where he sleeps alone is filled with his possessions, “being a stable buck and a cripple, he was more permanent than the other men”. The movement into Crooks’ room is not only Lennie’s physical movement from the bunkhouse but a social and psychological movement on a background of racism. Only because he has the ingenuity of a child and is innocent in his mind, does Lennie walk through the set boundaries without even noticing; “I seen your light” “Lennie’s disarming smile defeated him”. This act, of being allowed into Crooks’ room is surely a big step towards the diminution, if not elimination, of racism at the ranch.

For the first time in the book Lennie is not George’s sidekick, and he is going about alone. One sees that Lennie is not to be trusted when alone because even though it is obvious that he loves George very much, he can’t keep quiet and is dangerous to others as well as himself, “gonna get a little place an’ live on the fatta the lan’”. Crooks’ provokes him very easily and since Lennie’s unawareness of his strength has already been pointed out, the danger is much too close, “who hurt George?” “Ain’t nobody gonna suppose hurt to George”. Luckily, Crooks sees this and manages to calm Lennie down.

During the conversation between Crooks and Lennie a lot is learned about Crooks, who is obviously desperate for someone to talk to. At first Crooks doesn’t want to let Lennie come in, as if to get vengeance for not being allowed into the bunkhouse, “I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room”. He obviously resents the fact that he is treated differently because he is black, and perhaps sees Lennie as a way to get out at least some of his anger towards all the other men who treat him like an outcast. He gets mean and teases Lennie, who is very easily provoked by him,“S’pose George don’t come back no more”. But behind all of the spiteful cockiness and comments that hurt Lennie, Crooks really just want to tell his story, wants to talk to someone. Everything he tells Lennie gets taken the wrong way and Lennie doesn’t understand that Crooks is trying to make him see how his own life is, how horrible that dreaded loneliness is;“I didn’t mean to scare you. I was talking about myself”, “A guy needs somebody”. After this discussion it is obvious that between George’s reasons for staying with Lennie, the fear of being alone is very important.

Everyone who comes into Crooks’ room is an outcast, a weakling who has been left behind. Although this fact is fairly obvious from the beginning, Curley’s wife draws attention to it; “they left all the weak ones here”. And it’s true that all the ‘weak ones’ had been left behind: Candy is old and almost useless, Lennie is terribly stupid, and Crooks is an outcast with a broken back; “a bunch of bindle stiffs- a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep”. All three men are handicapped in some way, even though Crooks’ skin colour is only made a ‘handicap’ because the other men treat him differently.Now that we have seen Lennie without George, they no longer seem stuck together; they start to become two separate people in the eyes of the reader. Certainly, after Lennie and Crooks’ anxious talk one realizes how much Lennie loves George, and the last thing in the world one could hope for is for either of the two to be alone;“George gonna come back”. Loneliness has become much more menacing after meeting Crooks and the vision of the ranch seems more and more inviting, “A guy needs somebody”. The ranch also starts to seem less realistic and more like a dream than it did in the previous chapter. Crooks’ pessimistic outlook on the matter does affect the readers’ minds and the depressing way in which the chapter ends, with such a hopeless situation.

Chapter 5
Chapter 5 opens with a calm, warm setting inside the barn that isn’t spoiled by the game of horseshoes going on outside, “but in the barn it was quiet and humming and lazy and warm”. Even the description of the light is calm and peaceful, and nothing is noticeable enough to spoil the atmosphere, “afternoon sun sliced in through the cracks”. This seems like the calm before the storm, too relaxed to last forever, and inside the barn everything is contradicted by the dead puppy in front of Lennie; “Lennie sat in the hay and looked at the dead puppy that lay in front of him”. It seems as though not even Lennie wants to break the atmosphere, “and Lennie said softly to the puppy”, but once the reader knows about the puppy the calm turns menacing and a slightly apprehensive mood invades the seeming calm.

From the very beginning of the book we have been warned about Lennie’s incredible strength and his lack of control over it. In the very first chapter George talks about what happened in Weed, “bad thing like you done in Weed”, and about the way Lennie used to kill all the mice he was given without meaning to, because he loved to pet them so much;“they was so little. I’d pet ‘em…and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead”. In chapter 3 George tells Slim what happened in Weed when Lennie’s urge to pet things overwhelmed him again, “just wants to feel it. So he reaches out for this red dress”, and the two talk about Lennie’s incredible strength; “damn near killed his partner bucking barley”, “except he’s so strong”. Lennie is also warned that the puppies are too small to be messed with so much and we are already wary about his having a puppy. It’s obvious that Lennie can cause a lot of harm without meaning to.

From the very beginning of the book, one realizes that Lennie is just like a child. The way he responds to the death of his puppy, in fact, reassures us of this fact. Lennie is very worried about the death of the puppy, “Why do you got to get killed?”, but not because he misses the puppy or understands he took away a life. Lennie is only worried of the consequences and punishments he might have to endure because of this, especially not being able to tend the rabbits;“George ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits”, “he’ll know. George always knows”, “I won’t get to tend the rabbits”, “I done anymore bad things he ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits”. This is just like a child’s reaction, because even though he is afraid of the consequences he doesn’t at all understand the heaviness of what he did. Like a child he also thinks about lying and covering up his tracks, “I’ll tell George I found it dead”, but decides against it since he already knows George will understand. He even gets mad at the poor puppy for ‘getting killed’ and he doesn’t understand that he killed it.

The conversation between Curley’s wife and Lennie calls back to the conversation between Lennie and Crooks in the previous chapter, in some way. Both Crooks and Curley’s wife are the ‘underdogs’ of the story, both are considered less important or worse than everyone else: Crooks because he is black, and Curley’s wife because she is a woman;“I never get to talk to nobody”(Curley’s wife), “they don’t let me play because I’m black” (Crooks). They are both treated differently from anyone else and are both thought of only as the stereotypical woman and the stereotypical black man. Through the conversations with Lennie and his child-like innocence, the readers are made to understand that both people are individuals, that they both have their own personalities and thoughts,“I could go with that show”, “Says he was gonna put me in the movies”.

When Curley’s wife tells Lennie to touch her hair because it is soft, he starts petting it too hard and she begins wanting him to let go. She tries to move out of his grip, and yells at him to stop messing up her hair. Frightened, all he can think of doing is to keep holding on. She struggles more and screams loudly, which leads Lennie to cover her mouth with his huge hands to muffle the sounds, scared that George will punish him. By now he is holding on to her firmly and her feet are no longer touching the ground. She doesn’t abandon her struggling and when Lennie turns angry, he rattles her a bit. Since one hand is on her head and she is struggling against her hold, he unknowingly breaks her neck, and her body turns unresponsive, flopping like a dead animal.
Steinbeck has already used very much animal imagery to describe Lennie’s actions, and once again they are easily found. After he has killed Curley’s wife he ‘paws’ at the hay,“He pawed up the hay”, and the way his actions, especially his hands, are described during the struggle, really hint to an animal side, “big fingers fell to stroking her hair”, “fingers closed on her hair and hung on”, “other hand closed over her mouth and nose”. Obviously, Lennie is very similar to a big bear-like animal: he is instinctive, his intellect is not very high (at least in the way humans think about intellect), and his uncontrollable strength is very animal-like. Steinbeck manages to vividly describe Lennie’s actions, and the many similes and metaphors help show Lennie’s character.

After the killing, Lennie remembers what George told him and runs away to hide in the brush, “hide in the brush till he come”, and people start appearing in the barn, each showing their own response to the death. Candy and George walk in first, and although neither of the two care about Curley’s wife they are both desperate and know what Lennie’s actions will mean. When the rest of the men walk in, Curley’s response is the most surprising since the deceased woman is, after all, his wife. When he sees her dead body he feels no sorrow, he feels no grief, the only thing he manages to feel is a rough, uncaring, violent anger,“he worked himself into a fury”. It almost seems as though he is just using his wife’s death as an excuse to finally go after Lennie, and get back at him for his broken hand,“I’ll kill the big son of a bitch”. If he had felt anything for his wife, his anger (if present at all) would have been of a much different sort: perhaps there would have been some vengeful feelings but they would have been revolving around his dead wife, not his own personal enjoyment.

The exchange between George and Candy is very sad, since one can feel how much the dream was appealing to both. Obviously, after such a horrible event, Lennie will either get canned or lynched, and the dream, which the pair realizes was never more than dream, becomes impossible to turn into reality,“Candy spoke his greatest fear”, “I think I knowed we’d never do her”. Suddenly, their life loses any meaning or goal, and their outlook turns as grim and hopeless as any other farmworker, “I’ll take my fifty bucks…”. This really shows how little people had to live for, how few the things one could aim for were, and how little this gave any motivation to anyone,“then I’ll come back and work another month an’ I’ll have fifty bucks more”.

As the men head away from the ranch, everything seems to die down, matching the fact that all the action is now taking place elsewhere. The mood in the farmhouse is very sad and hopeless, since the readers are confronted with a problem that can have no positive resolution, and the only thing they had to hope for has been shot down. In the last paragraph, Steinbeck shows that everything is drifting to an end: the way the men’s noise grows fainter, the way the barn is gradually darkening, the way old Candy lays down in the hay and stops moving. Everything is ending on a slow, melancholy note, because even though the story is not yet finished, there is no way things could turn better.
“The sound of the men grew fainter. The barn was darkening gradually and, in their stalls, the horses shifted their feet and rattled the halter chains. Old Candy lay own in the hay and covered his eyes with his arm.”

Of Mice and Men
Commentary by Pietro 8C

Chapter 1

Steinbeck describes the setting using many figurative expressions. He tells us how everything is in harmony and actually connects each thing to something else, ‘on one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees’. He explains that we’re outside surrounded by nature. I love how Steinbeck is able to make us imagine this setting. Everything he describes he does with extreme precision, enough to make us see how the water twinkles over the yellow sands in the sunlight. Some examples of figurative language follow, “water is warm”, alliteration, “deep and green”, assonance, “the rabbits sat as quietly as little grey, sculptured stones”, simile, “dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws”simile, “the sycamores leaves whispered”, personification.

“There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys coming down from the ranches to swim in the deep pool”. This is the first clue that Steinbeck introduces in the story to tell us that other men have passed there. I think that by this he wants to tell us that the protagonists are not the only ones who crossed that path but that many other men came and went. At the beginning of the first scene there is only nature and its sounds, its pureness, its beauty and its calmness and friendliness, but when the humans break in all the calmness vanishes. Animals run away to hide and nature is no longer the story’s protagonist. The first word is said by George: “Lennie!” I think that this is a foreshadowing to tell us that Lennie will cause problems. The protagonists are now the two men who interurrupted nature’s calmness.

The protagonists of this engaging adventure are Lennie and George. They have opposite personalities. Lennie, a childish powerful giant is very naive. He is like a little boy on his first day of school. It seems to me that he is a stranger to the world. Lennie in fact doesn’t even realize how powerful he is and he doesn’t know how he should behave. He is also very sentimental. Luckily for him George is a smart guy. He is to Lennie like a father: he tells him how to act, he guides him around the challenging world. Although he is very brusque with Lennie I think he is very patient with him because it is difficult to live with someone who you always need to look after. Although George has a commanding personality he is a slender little man. Both the men speak with very incorrect grammar which tells us that they are poor people from the rural areas of the United States, who, as many others at that time, travel around without having anywhere where to stay.

George and Lennie stay together because they don’t have anyone else on whom they can rely. They have no friends, no places where they could go knowing that there will be someone waiting for them. They only have each other. They also share a dream which makes them even more tied together because when you share a dream with someone it’s easier to realize because there is someone else that supports the dream.
George’s words are practically a foreshadowing. We can clearly see how George doesn’t believe what he is saying to Lennie but he says it only to give Lennie something to hope for. He is actually telling us that most of the things that he is saying won’t happen. He is not convinced of the words. In fact he says them morosely. It’s almost as if he was actually not there and he was somewhere else when he says those words.

Animals are very important in this story. The most relevant example in this first chapter is the dead mouse that Lennie wants to keep in his pocket. Lennie says he keeps it because he likes petting furry and soft things. George gets mad at him because of this and reminds him why he can’t have a mouse. Lennie used to have a mouse but he killed it because he pet him too hard. George also tells us how Lennie can’t control his strength. Another animal who is put in the middle of many conversations is the rabbit. The most important discussion in which the rabbit is mentioned is when George and Lennie are speaking about their dream. “ Let’s have different color rabbits, George”, “Sure we will” George said sleepily, “Red and blue and green rabbits, Lennie. Milions of them”.
This helps us understand how George actually is a father to Lennie: he tells him lies to make him happy, he looks after him and helps him survive. This could also tell us that Lennie is mentally immature because he actually doesn’t know anything of the world. I think that in the first chapter rabbits represent prosperity because of George’s irony in saying “Milions of them”, and also because it’s one of Lennie’s strongest desires. Mice instead represent poverty and oppressed people who cannot react to the power of their master.

It’s the dream that makes them go forward in life that makes them want to live. Lennie and George’s dream can make us understand how in the 30’s men weren’t dreaming about having a beautiful house or car, but the only thing they wanted was some place where they could settle, where they could live without being forced to change habitat time and time again. This dream is one of the reasons for which they stay together and look after each other: because they have a dream. This also tells us how they wanted to settle in a place full of life and freedom, where they could have animals and live without rules.

Of Mice and Men
Commentary by Maita 8C

Chapter1

In ‘Of Mice and Men’ each chapter begins with a description of the setting. Steinbeck does this to try and recreate the image, to make things more realistic. He describes the balance of nature with figurative language creating a picture that seems almost tangible. Steinbeck describes the setting as a very lonely place because Lennie and George have each other and no one else but each other. They take care of each other, when everybody else is on their own and they love each other like a family. They are surrounded by nature and life. Steinbeck makes the story very realistic by using figurative language as in these quotes:

“The water is warm”
This is an alliteration that is used to capture the readers’ attention and to make the setting seem more realistic.
“deep and green”
This is assonance that Steinbeck uses to emphasize the power of nature because the color is so deep, so pure, that only nature could have produced such a color.
The word “green” is often repeated in the first chapter. Steinbeck uses this word to describe a lush landscape full of natural resources that humankind is draining out of the earth.
“On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones.”
This is a simile that Steinbeck uses to emphasize the fear that other animals have towards humankind.

The first scene describes the balance of nature, which is abruptly interrupted by a path that goes through the forest, leaving nature to deal with its remains. There are piles of ashes that have been left by humans and there is a path clearly visible through the sycamore. The trees are worn down by the weight of humankind. Nature is swept away by the presence of people who innocently destroy their surroundings.
“There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys coming down from the ranches to swim in the deep pool, and beaten hard by tramps who come wearily down from the highway in the evening to jungle-up near water. In front of the low horizontal limb of a giant sycamore there is an ash pile made by many fires; the limb is worn smooth by men who have sat on it.”
This is what breaks the calmness and balance of nature.

George is a small, quick man with a dark face and well defined, strong features. He has restless eyes, small and strong hands, slender arms and a thin bony nose. Lennie is the exact opposite. He is a large man with soft features and large, pale eyes. He has wide, sloping shoulders and he walks heavily. He is relaxed and lets his arms swing loosely by his sides.

George is in charge; he takes care of Lennie. Lennie tries his best to please George and George is always insulting him because he is frustrated with him. Lennie does his best to be obedient, but is always doing something wrong. Lennie is like a child in the sense that he is not very intelligent.

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.”
George takes care of Lennie because without Lennie he is alone. He feels affectionate towards Lennie. They are like a family and they only have each other. George feels a sense of responsibility for Lennie because Lennie’s Aunt Clara asked George to take care of him and George doesn’t want anything bad to happen to Lennie. They would be all alone, but they have each other and together they share a dream. Together they feel hope that maybe one day their dreams will come true.

“and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.”
Here Lennie is compared to a bear. Bears are playful animals that are never fully aware of their strength, just like Lennie. Lennie is a very kind and gentle person, but he does not know what he is capable of.
“snorting into the water like a horse”
This is a simile comparing Lennie to a horse. Lennie is often compared to an animal because he is intellectually challenged thus making him seem more like a loving animal then a cruel adult. He underestimates not only his own strength, but every man’s power and I am sure that this will have importance consequences in the end.
Animals are put on the same level as men. In the title “of Mice and Men” a mouse symbolizes a coward and men symbolize the responsible and brave. Chapter 1 involves many animals at ease in Nature.

George and Lennie’s dream is to have a little house and a small piece of land. They want to own a cow and some pigs. They want a vegetable patch with many rabbits to which Lennie can tend. They want to “live off the fatta the lan’”. Their dream is very simple. They have tended to every detail of their bright future and now all they need is for their dream to come true.

“The best-laid schemes
Of mice and men
Gang aft agley.”

This means that the most accurately planned schemes of mice and men often go wrong. Their dream is a foreshadowing of the terrible fate that awaits them.

Chapter 2
The ranch setting is colorless, dirty, crowded, and unhealthy. Right from the beginning of the chapter, you see that the ranch has a lot of tension and no freedom when Candy says “The boss was expectin’ you last night. . . He was sore as hell when you wasn’t here to go out this morning”. Here you see that as soon as they enter the ranch they have no more power and are imprisoned; all the freedom they had outside is gone.
The first chapter starts off peacefully in freedom, in a positive manner, whilst the beginning of the second chapter is glum, dirty and crowded. They are surrounded by pests in chapter two. They are in the world of civilization and they have to be cautious in their steps so that nothing bad happens to them. They are surrounded by men who don’t belong anywhere. These men are passing through; nobody will fully remember them because at this time everyone comes and goes and with them goes the memory of them. Once they are gone their name has no meaning.
The first chapter has long descriptive sentences expressing the life, unity and balance of nature. The second chapter is frank, gloomy and emphasizes how everything on the ranch is temporary. It describes how things are barely balanced and anybody who is too different will make the whole thing collapse. George and Lennie travel together, which is extremely unusual in that time. This is just the type of difference that could throw everything off balance.

Candy is like his name, a sweet man. I think Candy is definitely one of the oldest members of the ranch. He knows a lot about the people on the ranch, but he has to be careful about what he says because he might get fired. He warns George and Lennie about Curley. He is always trying to stay on people’s good side and is, in many ways, diplomatic and respectful.

George immediately notices the insect poison that the previous worker left and starts asking questions to make sure that the place is not so bad. He says, “ We don’t want no pants rabbits.” He notices how the mattresses are made of hay. ‘Pants rabbits’ is the name for pests that show up in dirty and not very pleasant places. The rabbits outside are furry, warm and soft to the touch and they don’t disturb anyone.

The names in this story are allegorical. Candy is a sweet old man, like candy. Curley enjoys tangling with people. He is rough and always causes a mess. Lennie Small is actually a very big man, but he is not so big inside meaning that he is like a child. His name is a pun. George Milton is the other main character and Milton was a writer who wrote ‘Paradise Lost’. George has his own dream of paradise and this is a foreshadowing to say that he might lose his paradise, or never really get it.

Curley is a small man who is always trying to pick a fight. Lennie is a big man who wants no trouble and is easy to please. There are many suggestions of impending danger, one of which is that the moment Curley sees Lennie, he decides that he wants to fight with him. He feels threatened by Lennie’s size so he tries to make up for his lack of size by having a strong and somewhat problematic character.

Slim is respected all through the ranch. He has poise and is seen as a nice person who people don’t mess with. He is caring and compassionate and manages to be liked by everybody on the ranch. Whatever Slim does or says is listened to and respected. Carlson, instead, has no feelings and he demonstrates this when he wants to put Candy’s dog to sleep. Candy doesn’t want to get rid of the dog because he has had him for so long, but Carlson doesn’t understand why he would be attached to such a smelly old thing and convinces Candy to let Carlson put the dog to sleep.

The situation at the end of the chapter seems very hopeful and too good and easy to be true. Candy will help George and Lennie get the money to buy their farm and if he adds his money they will be able to get the farm in around two months. All three of them are really excited that their dream might actually come true. Until then their dream had been merely a dream and now it is hopefully going to evolve into reality.

Chapter 3
Steinbeck emphasizes the contrasting worlds of inside and outside the bunkhouse. Inside, the bunkhouse is described as dim, gloomy, and closed off from the world, nature and freedom. Inside everybody is controlling themselves, their tempers, their feelings, what they say, and their actions.
“Although there was evening brightness showing through the windows of the bunk house, inside it was dusk.”
“Slim reached up over the card table and turned on the tin-shaded light.”
Outside the light is bright; things seem clear, people know their place and know what to do. The image of light creates and atmosphere of relaxation and clarity. The image of dark creates a tense and hazy atmosphere. This is a microcosm as to how people felt inside and outside in the 1930.

George tells Slim how he used to play jokes on Lennie because Lennie was too stupid to take care of himself and how Lennie never got mad at him. “I’ve beat the hell outta him, and he coulda bust every bone in my body jus’ with his han’s, but he never lifted a finger against me.”
He tells Slim about how he told Lennie to jump into a river and he did, but Lennie couldn’t swim so George had to jump in after him to save him. Lennie was so grateful that George had saved him that he forgot that it was George who had told him to jump in, in the first place. George tells Slim about their incident in Weed and how Lennie got so scared that George had to hit him on the head with a picket fence to get him to let go of the girls dress. This is a foreshadowing because the next time Lennie panics, George won’t be there to stop him and Lennie will not know what to do.

Carlson want to get rid of the dog so badly because the dog smells bad, has bad teeth and is of no use to the ranch. Carlson has no feelings or sentiments towards other people, but he says that the dog is only suffering. Later when Carlson takes the dog to put him to sleep Candy says, “When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me.”

Whit does not play a part in the actual story. He represents the average farm hand and talks about what a ranch hand does. He tells us how there is a good cat house and a bad cat house. Steinbeck is telling us about the life on a typical ranch through a character in the story. He tells us how dull ranch life really is because nobody was special and everything was just temporary. People didn’t really have anything to look forward to. Whit is described as alone, empty headed and with no future, but he accepts it. George and Lennie have each other; they have a dream, a future and are saving up money to make it come true.
"He don't give nobody else a chance to win--" This is said about Curley. Whit does not have deep feelings, he just plays cards and worries about winning. He works up a stake and blows that stake at the end of the month.

A dark mood is caused by the killing of the dog and this is contrasted by the scene between George, Lenny and Candy which is a very hopeful scene. This change is brought about because of Candy. He decides to help George and Lennie in their dream so that he too has somewhere to go when he is too old to work on the ranch. Candy has 250 dollars which he got when his hand got cut off and he has another 50 saved up in the bank. This means that they only need to work for one more month and then they will be able to get their own little place and realize their dream. Suddenly their dream is becoming reality. Their little farm is almost tangible. “We could live offa the fatta the lan.”

Curley creates a threatening mood in this chapter when his hand gets crushed because people aren’t sure if he is going to lie the way he was asked or if he is going to tell the truth and get Lennie fired. Curley is the son of the owner of the ranch so he could get whoever he wanted fired, but he also doesn’t want to seem weak. “Curley was white and shrunken by now and his struggling had become weak. He stood crying, his fist lost in Lennie’s paw.”

Chapter 6
The final scene is set in the same place as the first scene, along the banks of the Salinas River. Although the location is the same, Steinbeck’s description of the setting is quite different. The opening description was calm and relaxed, full of hope, dreams and futures. The ending scene is restless. The wind isn’t calm; there is a restless, rustling through the leaves. There is an atmosphere of tension not existing in chapter one. There is a bird eating a snake. “Already the sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan mountains, and the hilltops were rosy in the sun." Here the sun is leaving the Valley, when in the first chapter, the sun was lingering in the Valley. The world is restless and the people in it have no future. The predominant mood is one of death.

One of the visions Lennie has is of a rabbit. The other one is of his Aunt Clara. Both these characters are scolding Lennie, confirming his deepest fears. The two visions Lennie has are repetitions of what George has told him all along. They are manifestations of guilt and fear of being left alone. “I tried, Aunt Clara, ma’am. I tried and tried.” This is from the vision of his Aunt Clara. This is Lennie’s response. Lennie is always trying to do what George tells him but he always manages to do something wrong and he notices all the good things George does for him without really understanding that George needs him just as much as he needs George.

I think that there is only one positive outcome of the killing of Lennie and that is that it has finally ended. He can be at rest and doesn’t have to worry anymore, and his last thoughts were of their little ranch across the river. He can be sure that George will never leave and he doesn’t have to worry about anything anymore. I think that the killing of Lennie was necessary. George had to kill him or Lennie would suffer much more. It is his last gesture of love towards a brother.
"The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again."

I think George lies about Lennie’s death because he would end up in jail. He might as well save himself from a bad future, but he can never really save himself because he has to live with what he has done.
"'Never you mind,' said Slim.’A guy got to sometimes.'"

Steinbeck’s novel’s ending leaves me wondering about the motives behind people’s actions. Although I understand why George killed Lennie I can never fully convince myself that he actually killed him. The sad thing is that George had to kill Lennie. For once there was no way out of it. I feel that everybody in the 1930’s had a dream, and those who tried to pursue theirs ended up like Lennie and George. I think this and many more things are what Steinbeck intended for his readers to feel because this story faces the cruelties and realities of human life and those can leave people feeling in many different ways.
"As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment."

Commentary by Giorgia 8C
Chapter 1

The setting is described in a very detailed way. It’s a natural, calm and peaceful place: a pond surrounded by a sandbank and all around it there is vegetation. Steinbeck tells us that many animals go to drink there and at that precise moment rabbits are drinking at the pool without making a sound. “The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool.” The scene does not seem real but unsubstantial, just like a dream, especially because in a world that has been changed by humanity, such a place barely exists. Water especially, creates a mood of peacefulness and freshness. The soundless movements of the rabbits, gives a sense of serenity. “Rabbits come out of the brush to sit on the sand in the evening.”
Steinbeck describes this natural setting with a lot of figurative language, which gives an sense of richness (not money) or lushness. For example he describes the water using assonance, “deep and green”, which draws the reader’s attention. “Water is warm”, “drink in the dark”, “dressed in denim”, “brass buttons”, “down and drank”, “dripped down” are examples of alliteration. Like all figurative language they draw the reader’s attention but also add detail to the setting. They create a sense of harmony using words and make the description more ‘smooth’. Some words like denim, both, drink, look are examples of repetition. They highlight a concept and stand out so the reader gets a clear idea of what is going on or what the characters are talking about. Other types of figurative language found in this chapter are similes: “rabbits sat as quietly as little grey, sculptured stones.” “Dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.” “Snorting into the water like a horse.” They describe the action in a detailed way and the effect helps the reader visualise the characters and their behaviour. An example of a metaphor is: “Lennie dabbled his big paw.” Metaphors have nearly the same effect as similes. In this case it exaggerates Lennie’s movements and strength. The imagery makes the story more alive.

“There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys …, and beaten hard by tramps.” The thing that breaks the calmness of the first scene is the description of the path made by boys and tramps coming down to the pool as well. Men have a way of impacting negatively on nature. The first mark is the path that has been worn smooth, then an ash pile made by many fires, then the rubbish, even George and Lennie throw a can of beans in the brush, and last the sound men make causes all the animals to run away. Steinbeck suggests here that nature in its own state is beautiful but men intrude and ruin the peace.

As they come into the setting they are in single file, George in front and Lennie behind. This already shows that the one in charge is George. He is small but with defined features while Lennie is big with undefined features. They are dressed the same but are the opposite. From their dialogue we can tell that Lennie likes to stroke soft things, especially mice. The problem is that he is very strong and every time he pets them he unintentionally ends up killing them. He is very child-like and depends completely on George who is like a life-teacher to him. He copies him in everything, even in the sitting position. Lennie usually is the one who does most of the work mainly because of his strength but he is mentally challenged or disabled. George, on the other hand, is father-like. Deep down he enjoys being depended on, even though he complains all the time. He stays with Lennie because he’s compassionate and because he promised it to Lennie’s aunt on her deathbed. He is the one who plans things and gets Lennie out of trouble; he is in charge and sometimes comes across as a harsh person who also swears when he’s angry.

The one thing George and Lennie have in common is a dream about having their own farm. In other words they share the same ‘fate’. Men like them, who move from place to place to get money and do not have a stable home, don’t belong anywhere, have no family, and are alone. They stay together to support each other since there is no one else who would do it for them. This is why they need each other; for company, to combat loneliness. They fit together as one; one is simple-minded and the other is too quick and clever, one is big and the other is small. Together they would form a normal person.

In the title of the book, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck puts animals and humans on the same level. For example, Lennie is compared to an animal quite often: “he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws”, or “drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse”, or “Lennie dabbled his big paw”. There is a saying, which goes: “are you a man, or are you a mouse?” in other words “are you brave, or are you a coward?” Usually men are seen as strong and intelligent people while animals, in this case mice, are considered small and insignificant creatures. For example Lennie keeps on killing mice and all George does is to throw the dead mice away. They do not care about the fact they died, it’s not significant and they barely notice that mice are living things! On their dream-farm George and Lennie talk about having rabbits, obviously closed in a metal cage. This shows that humans didn’t and often do not give freedom to animals. They ruin their habitat and force them to leave (like at the water pool). In nature animals are at peace and men very often intrude. Both mice and men have schemes. We all are equal and have a part to play. Since animals are mentioned in the title they must be important in the story.

One day, when they will have enough money George and Lennie plan to buy a little house with a couple of acres of land with a cow, some pigs, chickens and rabbits. In winter, when it will rain they will not have to follow any orders or will not be forced to work in the rain. Instead they will be next to a stove drinking the milk from their own cow. They will have a vegetable patch and will ‘live off the fat of the land’. In other words, they won’t have to follow any more orders or work for anybody. They will do whatever they feel like. But it seems too good a dream to come true. George tells Lennie that if there is a problem Lennie is to hide in the brush until George comes and finds him. This is a negative foreshadowing because it warns us that something is really going to happen.

Chapter 6
Even thought the setting of the final scene is the same as the one for the first scene it gives a completely different mood. The sun had gone away from the valley, leaving it in shade. The pool isn’t vivid, colourful and full of light anymore. The light, the happiness, the life seems to be slowly escaping from the valley. On the ground the leaves are dead and brown. Steinbeck does not talk about the path beaten hard by boys nor about the sand nor tracks. The mood that is immediately created is of impending death. From the description of the dead leaves to the water snake being eaten up and killed there is a heavy atmosphere of death: “A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically.” This reminds us of the time when Lennie was in water and nearly drowned but George saved him. It foreshadows what we know and fear; that he is going to die next to a pool by the hand of George who had saved him before and will ‘save’ him again in a different way. The quietness also contributes to this mood along with the cool wind as if it were the last breath that died away. None of the beautiful nature and wildness is described, nor the interfering of men. When Lennie comes along, he is very quiet and surprises the heron as well as his next victim, another snake, unlike in the first chapter when he “dragged his feet a little”. He is expressionless and drinks very gently from the pool, as if taken over by some kind of surreal calmness.

Lennie’s two visions come from his own head. One is his Aunt Clara, an old, fat woman with very thick glasses and an apron. In Lennie’s imagination she is telling him that he is no good and keeps on doing bad things and that George has done all he can to help but that he (Lennie) doesn’t care and is always in the way. She tells him that if it weren’t for him George could have a good life and that Lennie always says that he tries but really never does. Then out of his imagination came a gigantic rabbit. He tells Lennie that he was a “crazy bastard” to think of petting rabbits because he is not responsible and that he would let them die in an instant. He tells Lennie that George does all he can to get him out of trouble but that this time he isn’t going to let him tend the rabbits. He tells him that George is sick of him and that he will leave him. Here we see that the things that Crooks had said had had an impact on Lennie. The two characters that Lennie imagines are his way of showing his guilt and the realization of what he has done. Lennie now believes that he isn’t good and that this time he has gone too far. Through these visions Steinbeck shows us exactly what Lennie is feeling; he still acts like a child but something has changed. Lennie is afraid and all his insecurities come up at once. He is trying to reassure himself but he can’t. He is too convinced, that George and Aunt Clara are really angry with him this time and that he’s let them down.

George kills Lennie while talking about the dream and forgiving him, making him feel peaceful and happy for the last time. It would have been worse if Curley had killed him. In that case Lennie would be terrorised and possibly tortured. If Lennie were locked up he would end up going crazy or harming himself or something like that since his childish character would not allow him to understand the cruelty inflicted on him, so I believe that it’s a good way to end the story even though it is very sad. At this point of the story we fear what is going to happen. We suspect that George is going to kill Lennie but Steinbeck keeps us in a sort of suspense. What I found was that when I was reading this part, there was something in me that wanted Lennie to save himself or George to give up shooting him so the audience is held on spikes. I think that the effect created by Steinbeck during the time from when George tells Lennie to turn around to when he actually shoots him is very strong and effective. Everything seems to be in slow-motion; the voices of the other men get louder and closer by the minute, though the time passes really slowly and every word that they say seems to bring us one step closer to death.

“An’ you got it away from him and you took it an’ you killed him?”
George tells Carlson and the others that Lennie had stolen Carlson’s Lugar. He also said that he took it away from Lennie and killed him, but actually it wasn’t Lennie who took it. George already had it and killed him while he was turned around, facing the pond in a peaceful moment. I think that George lies about Lennie’s death because he doesn’t want any more trouble. He somehow saved Lennie by killing him and then saves himself by lying. His reasoning is that in any case his lie is not going to affect Lennie anymore since he is dead and that it makes more sense if he saves himself as well.

I think that one of the things Steinbeck tried to do and succeeded was to keep the readers’ full attention until the end. One example is the moment of suspense when George kills Lennie. He manages to keep us wondering the whole way through the story.
I think that the ending leaves us feeling sad. All the hope is gone; the dream is gone. But one of the things that satisfies us at the end is the fact that Lennie is at peace now and is free from the world’s problems. He will not have to worry and struggle anymore. The one thing that makes us with the story is the fact that it ends very clearly. It does not end with uncertainty even though it has not left any happy feelings.
I think that Steinbeck did intend to finish the story with a strong, heart-breaking conclusion. Yes, some do say that he suffered depression when he had to finish novels and that he was never satisfied but I do think that he wanted this particular story to “go all the way around” or be a complete thing. I think that is demonstrated by Steinbeck’s opening scene and the closing scene, which are set in exactly the same location and with the same protagonists but at the end with the tragic circumstances which have developed throughout the story.

Commentary by Silvia 8T

Chapter 1

The first chapter of the book begins with the description of the setting. Steinbeck illustrates the natural calmness in the air and the way everything seems to be in harmony. He writes about the colors, textures and sounds of nature, emphasizing its beauty. The silence that reigns in the forest is also highlighted, making it appear as if time had been stopped and only the reader can admire the fascinating view. The author uses long and flowing sentences to underline the calm and serene mood of the scene. In his description, in fact, nature is rich, open and alive. Steinbeck makes it appear as if the reader were looking at the scene through the lenses of a camera, catching every breathtaking detail.

‘On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan Mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees – willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding’.

In Steinbeck’s description it is easy to find numerous examples of alliteration : ‘the sands in the sunlight’, assonance: ‘under the trees the leaves lie deep’, repetition: ‘sycamore’, similes: ‘snorting into the water like a horse’ and personification: ‘The sycamore leaves whispered in a little night breeze’.

At the end of the chapter there is another small description of the setting, explaining how, once the men have gone to sleep, the sweet and relaxed mood that was present in the beginning of the chapter has once more returned.

‘The red light dimmed on the coals. Up the hill from the river a coyote yammered, and a dog answered from the other side of the stream. The sycamore leaves whispered in a little night breeze’.

The second description to appear illustrates a path that has been walked on by many men and boys. It shows the way the nature has been trampled and describes the remaining pieces and ash piles of old fires those people had left. This is to show the way man has broken the natural spirit of that river bank.

‘In front of the low horizontal limb of a giant sycamore there is an ash pile made by many fires; the limb is worn smooth by men who have sat on it’.

The calmness of the first scene is broken by the arrival of Lennie and George. The warning of this event is the sudden skittering and running of the animals. This indicates the approach of someone.

‘The rabbits hurried noiselessly for cover. A stilted heron labored up into the air and pounded down river. For a moment the place was lifeless, and then the two men emerged from the path and came into the opening by the green pool’.

The two main characters in the story are called George and Lennie. These two men work on ranches, thus move around very often, and are also good friends, but nothing alike each other.

George is a small and sharp man. He has strong and marked features, as well as small hands, slender arms and a bony nose. George is a very clever and crafty man. He is also extremely tolerant, because he always helps his friend Lennie get out of trouble, and additionally is highly responsible. His main defect, though, is his quick temper, that might turn against him as the story evolves.

Lennie, on the other hand, is a huge man and quite the contrary of his friend. Lennie has shapeless features, a pale face and wide shoulders. He is also uncommonly sloppy and slouchy. Lennie, though, is a sweet, nature loving person with big hopes and dreams. As Steinbeck describes him we are able to understand, by the way he interacts with the other character, that he is more like a ‘big child’.

‘The first man was small and quick, dark of the face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. […] Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, wide, sloping shoulders; […] His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely’.

By looking closely at the way the two characters interact, it is possible to understand a few concepts. The first and most obvious is that Lennie looks up to George. From the contents of the book it is made clear that Lennie was given in custody of George by his Aunt Clara, thus George has a sense of responsibility towards his friend. This way, I believe, Lennie sees George as a sort of role model, as a kid sees his own father or mother. Even though in the episode below, taken from the book, Lennie is only speaking of ketchup his true feelings are evident.

“I was only foolin’, George. I don’t want no ketchup. I wouldn’t eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me.”

“If it was here you could have some.”

“But I wouldn’t eat none, George. I’d leave it all for you. You could cover your beans with it and I wouldn’t touch none of it.”

Despite their differences, Lennie and George always stay together because, in some way or another, they need each other. Being ranch workers they don’t have a home, only what they carry on their backs. Because of that, they need one another. Lennie is always getting into trouble, like a child does, and needs George to bail him out. Lennie also needs his friend for support and sustain whenever he is feeling lonely or wants to talk to someone. George, even though it might not seem very obvious, needs Lennie as well. First of all, Lennie is a great worker because he is big and strong, making it easy to find a job and make some money. George also likes the feeling that someone depends on him because being alone is not even close to being as bad as feeling like you are useless. George feels like he needs to take care of Lennie, both for Aunt Clara and for himself. He needs Lennie to keeps his dreams high and visible, because without them he wouldn’t survive another day.

“Guys like us… nothing to look ahead to.”

This sentence, spoken by George, best describes their situation: they have nothing, except each other.

The title of the book has a deep and profound meaning, as does the book itself. This novel is called ‘Of Mice and Men’. Steinbeck related it to the words of a greatest Scottish poet, Robert Burns:

‘The best-laid schemes

Of mice and men

Gang aft agley.’

In other words: The most carefully thought out plans of both mice and men can often go wrong. When referring to ‘mice and men’, Robert Burns means all the creatures, from the smallest mouse, to man himself.

In the Steinbeck’s novel, lots of animal imagery can be found. One example is:

“Lennie looked sadly up at him. ‘They was so little,’ he said, apologetically. ‘I’d pet ‘em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead – because they was so little.’”

Lennie can be compared to a big child with lots of power in his hands, too much power. Lennie doesn’t realize what kind of strength he has and can’t seem to control it. He is so big that when he tries to pinch the mouse, he takes its life away. This way, Steinbeck is able to underline the difference in size between men and mice. Additionally, he introduces the concept of the title from the very beginning and uses it as a foreshadowing. I believe that the mouse indicates the future victims of Lennie and his uncontrollable strength.

Another example of animal imagery is the way Lennie is compared to a bear.

‘And he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws’.

This man is very large, thus a bear suits him well. Bears have large paws; the same way Lennie has big hands (also meaning that he is a good worker). With one hit a bear can leave a man unconscious, or even worse. I believe that Lennie is compared to a bear to emphasize his relationship with the mouse.

The last case of animal imagery is present in the descriptions of the nature surrounding the two men.

‘On the sandy banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little grey, sculptured stones. And then from the direction of the state highway came the sound of footsteps on crisp sycamore leaves. The rabbits hurried noiselessly for cover. A stilted heron labored into the air and pounded down river.’

In this passage it is made clear that the animals are aware of man’s presence. This makes the reader reflect on the way nature, animals and man are all connected, and part of the same ‘community’. In fact, the close link between these three elements is highly important in this novel, starting from the very first chapter.

George and Lennie don’t have anything but each other, and a dream.

“George’s voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before. “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. […] With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. […] Someday – 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 […]. We’ll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we’ll just say the hell with going to work, and we’ll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an’ listen to the rain comin’ down on the roof”

Their dream is simple, they don’t wish for something impossible, just for a stable life in a fixed house and the ability to live off the fat of the land. Like George said himself, guys like them have nothing, and to them their dream would be the opposite: having everything. In their dream they have vegetable patches so there is no need to go find food for themselves. They would have rabbits for Lennie to play with and a stove for when it gets cold in the winter. To us, today, that might seem like something completely possible, but in those days of the Great Depression it was hard for people like them to live such a life, but this doesn’t stop them from fantasizing about it.

Chapter 2

The second chapter of this novel begins with the description of the ranch, where George and Lennie work. This is setting is completely different from the previous chapter because, in chapter one, the two men were surrounded by nature and peace, while the second section is set in a civilized place. The beginning of the first chapter expressed the calmness and serenity of nature and the sense of freedom that comes with it. In the subsequent chapter, the two men have to work on a ranch with other men, just like them. This setting is the contrary of the other one because it is restricted and harsh.

The way Steinbeck writes these two descriptions; the ones in section one and two, is significant. At the beginning of the book he writes long and flowing sentences, very elegant and gracious. A lot of imagery, metaphors, alliteration and assonance are used to create a peaceful feeling. The words seem sweet and tender, inviting the reader to visualize the beautiful scene as a sort of heavenly location.

‘The flame of the sunset lifted from the mountaintops and dusk came into the valley, and a half darkness came in among the willows and the sycamores. A big carp rose to the surface of the pool, gulped air and then mysteriously into the dark water again, leaving widening rings on the water. Overhead the leaves whisked again and little puffs of willow cotton blew down and landed on the pool’s surface.’

The start of the following chapter, on the other hand, is written in short sentences. It seems more like Hemingway’s style of writing because, here, the sentences are very straightforward, direct and sharp, just like the environment described. Steinbeck includes all the minor details, like he did with the first section of the novel, but in this case it all seems harsher. During this description the ranch appears to be a horrible, dusty, rotten, and threatening place to be, even because it will be most likely compared to the previous scenes of nature. In this description, there is no use of imagery or metaphors, which makes the sentences plain and simple.

‘The bunk house was a long, rectangular building. Inside, the walls were whitewashed and the floor unpainted. In three walls there were small, square windows, ad in the fourth, a solid door with a wooden latch. Against the walls were eight bunks, five of them made up with blankets and the other three showing their burlap ticking.’

Another difference in the two descriptions is the light. In chapter one the nature is very rich and lush, absorbing the warmth of the sparkling yellow sun. Its rays produce a bright light that shines on everything and warms up the environment.

‘The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool.’

The second chapter, instead, is characterized by civilization. As a reaction there is no color, no wealth, and no warmth. The light is electric light, cold and sad. This creates a depressing, dark and dismal mood. Everything in this chapter is very impersonal and lifeless.

I believe that Steinbeck’s purpose in adopting these different approaches is to show the difference between the two environments. I also think that it acts as a ‘reality check’ because after the nature setting, Steinbeck wants to make evident that George and Lennie are now part of the civilized world, taking the reader away from their dream and directly to the ranch.

‘The old man came slowly into the room. He had his broom in his hand. And at his heals there walked a drag-footed sheep dog, gray of muzzle, and with pale, blind old eyes. The dog struggled lamely to the side of the room and lay down, grunting softly to himself and licking his grizzled, moth-eaten coat.’

Candy is the very first new character introduced in the book. He is a very old man, such as his dog. As a matter of fact, this very dog of his seems to be his only real companion. He is very attached to his pet, showing his loving side. He explains to George and Lennie that he has been taking care of it since he was a pup and has never even thought of letting him go. Candy is a man just like the others on the ranch, the only difference is that he has something that he can look after and that will keep him company. In a way, this links him to George and Lennie, who also depend on each other. George can be compared to Candy because they are the ones who take care of the other, the ‘fathers’. Lennie and the dog, on the other hand, aren’t really needed for any specific reason, but they are loved anyway. This shows the way George needs Lennie and they need one another, and vice versa, just like Candy needs his dog, and vice versa. As it can be deducted by the description, the dog, just like his owner, is very old and weary, but this just makes Candy even more compelled to take care of it.

As a character I like Candy. He represents the old and less useful people, but he still has his own personality that I enjoy. I find it sweet that he is very attached to his dog, as a sort of light in the middle of all the hate and hostility on the ranch. Sometimes I pity the old man because I can’t even imagine the way it must feel to be useless, even though he can find some happiness in loving his dog.

Candy, like many other old people in the world, can get carried away while speaking. He, in fact, talks about some of the other people on the ranch. Firstly he speaks of the boss. Because of the fact that he is the boss, he says he is a ‘nice fella’, but does admit that when cross he can ‘give hell’. This is like a bad omen, telling us that George and Lennie might have problems with the boss in the future. Candy also talks of the stable buck. This last character is a dark skinned person, who is treated worse for that matter. Never the less, he is a strong and determined man and even though he isn’t allowed in the bunk house and has to stay alone, he is proud of his race. I believe he represents all black people, but also the strength of the their pride in their race. In the thirties, in fact, people like him weren’t respected or thought of the same way white people were, but this character is smart, he knows how to read, and is never ashamed of who he is. The old man then talks of Curley, the son of the boss. This character is a very aggressive, small man who always wants to be in charge.

The first thing George notices in bunk house is a can used for killing lice and roaches. He is immediately discouraged and outraged to hear that there are bugs in their beds. When he tells the old man, he tells George that the last man who slept in that bed was a very clean and organized man who didn’t want to risk having bugs in his bed.

“Says ‘positively kills lice, roaches, and other scourges.’ What the hell kind of bed you giving us, anyways. We don’t want no pants rabbits.”

‘Pants rabbits’ are what the people at the time called bugs such as lice. Men who lived on ranches knew a lot about them because, living in such non-hygienic conditions they were often in contact with these kinds of pests. They called them like that because they were like little rabbits crawling around and creating terrible itches in uncomfortable places. ‘Pants rabbits’ contrast with the rabbits in the previous chapter. These last rabbits were free and fluffy and sweet:

‘On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones.’

This kind of animal, in fact, reinforces the mood and setting of that chapter: peace, beauty, and calmness. While ‘pants rabbits’ suggest this new atmosphere of dirt, civilization, and work:

‘The sound of approaching grain teams was louder, thus of big hooves on hard ground, drag of brakes and the jingle of trace chains. Men were calling back and forth from the teams.’

This story is an allegory, thus it has a deeper meaning to it. In the second chapter many new characters are introduced. Each of these people, though, aren’t called by their actual names, but by their nicknames. These nicknames not only describe the person but also make them not have true identities, so each character isn’t an individual but represents the society. The ranch, in fact, is a microcosm of American society which means a mini example of U.S.A. This means that there are elements and people that represent a type of persons. For example: Lennie represents all disabled and slow people, while the stable buck symbolizes all black people and their style of life at the time.

Candy is what the people on the ranch call the old man. This name is an unusual name for an old fellow, but it best describes his sweet personality and care towards his dog.

Curley is the son of the boss.

‘At that moment a young cam into the bunk house; a thin young man with a brown face, with brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair.’

Curley is a very quick-tempered man, who may become quite rude and irritating. The problem with standing up to him is that he is the son of their boss, thus if they were to do anything to insult him they would be immediately fired.

Curley’s wife is a very attractive woman, whose real name is never mentioned. She, in fact, does not have an identity. That is why she is always searching for attention, so that people will notice her:

‘A girl was standing there looking in. She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers.’

[…] ‘Jesus, what a tramp,’

Slim is also called the Prince of the Ranch. He is a tall and handsome man, respected by everyone. Slim is very strong, extremely capable in doing his job, but also many other important skills. All the men on the ranch admire him and look up to him.

Then there is Carlson. He is the one who is probably called by his real name. He is a big man who cares only for the essentials. For example, when speaking Candy’s dog he reflects on killing it because it is so useless. What he doesn’t understand is that this dog is all that Candy’s got. Carlson is a very rational person, but he doesn’t take into consideration any feelings or emotions.

As soon as Lennie meets Curley, he already is worried about him and suspects something bad will happen (this is a foreshadowing). Curley is mean and irritable when he first meets the two men, but really, he always is. In the beginning George speaks for Lennie, answering all sorts of questions. Then, accidentally, Lennie says something and Curley becomes very suspiscious of the two.

‘We just came in,’ said George.’

‘Let the big guy talk.’

‘Lennie twisted with embarrassment. […]’

‘He can talk if he wants to tell you anything.’ He nodded slightly to Lennie.’

‘We jus’ came in,’ Lennie said softly.’

‘Curley stared levelly at him. ‘Well, nex’ time you answer when you’re spoke to.’ He turned the door and walked out, and his elbows were still bent out a little.’

The contrasts between these two men are obvious: Lennie is a very tranquil and quiet person who doesn’t want to get in any fights. Curley, instead, seems to be looking for a fight. He is provocative and rude, taking advantage of his power.

When Lennie tells George that he doesn’t like this ranch, and especially Curley, I believe Steinbeck wanted to warn the reader, revealing that things won’t go according to plan and there might be problems between Curley and Lennie later on. The problem between these two is that Curley ‘invites’ Lennie to fight and become aggressive, trying to get him into trouble. Lennie, even though he might not want to, will probably fight back because he isn’t in control of his own strength.

First of all, Carlson and Slim are opposites in physical appearance. Carlson is a large man with no particular grace or elegance. Slim is a lean and tall person with such royalty that he’s respected by all.

‘There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love. This was Slim.’

When they first appear in the book, they are introduced one after the other, thus Steinbeck juxtaposes them to highlight their differences. As a matter of fact, Carlson is one of those people who only focus on essentials and basics. He’s not interested in details. Slim, alternatively, has a very royal and majestic personality. He listens to other people and takes into consideration their thoughts, ideas and emotions. Carlson is, in fact, the one that wants to get rid of Candy’s dog. He doesn’t realize that the dog is all the old man has. All he sees is that it is too old to be useful, as the old man himself, and it needs to be eliminated.

In the last few pages of the chapter there is happiness, but also many bad omens. The serene part is that Lennie hears Slim saying he has to give away a few puppies, thus he might have one for Lennie.

Unfortunately, right after that Curley appears, looking for his wife. At that point, George tells Lennie that he has a feeling he will get into a fight with that small man. This is a foreshadowing:

‘Ya know, Lennie, I’m scared I’m gonna with that bastard myself. I hate his guts.’

The last paragraph of chapter two describes Candy’s dog as he lays down, tired and old. Steinbeck describes the way, as soon as Curley walks into the room, he looks up, but as the man leaves, he slowly returns to his original position.

I believe the chapter ends in a sad way, but still hopeful because the two men have just arrived and already Lennie’s dream of a pup might be fulfilled.