SPRI

NG2021
I
bnTof ai
lUni
versi
ty
Facul
tyofletters
DepartmentofEngli
shStudi
es-Keni
tra

TO:S4STUDENTS–DEPARTMENTOFENGL
ISHSTUDI
ES

SUPPL
EMENTARYMATERI
AL(
FROMTHEWEB)FORTHEANAL
YSI
SOFTHE
NOVEL
:

OFMI
CEANDMEN BYJ
ohnStei
nbec
k
KeyFac
ts

FULLTI
TLE 
 ·
 OfMi
  ceandMen

AUTHOR 
 ·
 JohnStei
nbec
k

TYPEOFWORK 
 ·
 Nov
ell
a

GENRE 
 ·
 Fi
cti
on;tr
agedy

LANGUAGE 
· 
Engl
i
sh

TI
MEANDPLACEWRI
TTEN 
 ·
 Mi
d-1930s;Pac
ifi
cGr
oveandL
osGatosr
anc
h,
Cal
i
for
nia

DATEOFFI
RSTPUBLI
CATI
ON 
 ·
  
1937

PUBLI
SHER 
 ·
 Cov
ici
,Fr
iede,I
nc.

NARRATOR 
 ·
 Thi
rd-pe
rsonomni
sci
ent

CLI
MAX 
 ·
 Lenni
eac
cidental
l
yki
l
lsCur
ley’swi
fei
nthebar
n

PROTAGONI
STS 
 ·
 Geor
geandL
enni
e

ANTAGONI
STS 
 ·
 Cur
ley;soc
iety;thec
ruel
,pr
edator
ynatur
eofhumanl
i
fe
SETTI
NG(
TIME)
  ·
  
1930s

SETTI
NG(
PLACE)
  ·
 SouthofSol
edad,Cal
i
for
nia

POI
NTOFVI
EW 
 ·
 Thestor
yistol
dfr
omthepoi
ntofv
iewofathi
rd-per
son
omni
sci
entnar
rator
,whoc
anac
cessthepoi
ntofv
iewofanyc
har
acterasr
equi
red
bythenar
rati
ve.

FALLI
NGACTI
ON 
 ·
 Lenni
erunsawayf
romthebar
n;themenr
etur
nandf
ind
Cur
ley’swi
fedead;Cur
leyl
eadsamobofmentosear
chf
orandk
il
lLenni
e;Geor
ge
f
indsL
enn
iei
nthec
lear
ingand,whi
l
eretel
l
ingthestor
yofl
i
feonthei
rfar
m,shoots
hi
minthebac
kofthehead.

TENSE 
 ·
 Past

FORESHADOWI
NG 
 ·
 Lenni
epetti
ngthedeadmouse,L
enni
ebei
ngr
unoutofWeed
f
orthei
nci
denti
nvol
vi
ngthegi
rli
nther
eddr
ess,andL
enni
eki
l
li
nghi
spuppy—al
lof
whi
chanti
ci
pateL
enni
eac
cidental
l
yki
l
li
ngCur
ley’swi
fe;thedeathofCandy’sdog,
whi
chanti
ci
patesthedeathofL
enni
e;Candy’sr
egr
etthathedi
dn’tk
il
lhi
sol
ddog
hi
msel
f,whi
chanti
ci
patesGeor
ge’sdec
isi
ontoshootL
enni
e

TONE 
· 
Senti
mental
,tr
agi
c,doomed,f
atal
i
sti
c,r
usti
c,mor
ali
sti
c,c
omi
c

THEMES 
 ·
 Thepr
edator
ynatur
eofhumanex
istenc
e;thei
mpor
tanc
eoff
rater
nity
andi
deal
i
zedr
elati
onshi
psbetweenmen;thei
mpossi
bi
li
tyoftheAmer
icanDr
eam;
thedestr
ucti
vei
mbal
anc
eofsoc
ialpowerstr
uctur
esi
nAmer
icansoc
iety

MOTI
FS 
 ·
 Thec
orr
upti
ngpoweroff
emal
esex
ual
i
ty;str
engthandweak
ness;
l
onel
i
nessandc
ompani
onshi
p

SYMBOLS 
 ·
 Thec
lear
ingi
nthewoods;L
enni
eandGeor
ge’sf
arm;mi
ce;Candy’s
dog;theher
onthatpl
uck
swatersnak
esf
romthestr
eam;Cur
ley’sboots;L
enni
e’s
puppy

MOREHEL
P

Contex
t
J
ohnStei
nbec
kwasbor
nin1902i
nSal
i
nas,Cal
i
for
nia,ar
egi
onthatbec
amethe
setti
ngf
ormuc
hofhi
sfi
cti
on,i
ncl
udi OfMi
ng  ceandMen.
 
Asateenager
,hespenthi
s
summer
swor
kingasahi
redhandonnei
ghbor
ingr
anc
hes,wher
ehi
sex
per
ienc
esof
r
uralCal
i
for
niaandi
tspeopl
eimpr
essedhi
mdeepl
y.I
n1919,heenr
oll
edatStanf
ord
Uni
ver
sity,wher
ehestudi
edi
nter
mittentl
yforthenex
tsi
xyear
sbef
oref
inal
l
y
l
eav
ingwi
thouthav
ingear
nedadegr
ee.Forthenex
tfi
veyear
s,hewor
kedasa
r
epor
terandthenasc
aretak
erf
oraL
akeTahoeestatewhi
l
ehec
ompl
etedhi
sfi
rst
nov
el,anadv
entur
estor
ycal
l CupofGol
ed  d, 
whi
chwaspubl
i
shedi
n1929.Cr
iti
cal
andc
ommer
cialsuc
cessdi
dnotc
omef
oranothersi
xyear Tor
s,when  til
l
aFl
atwas
publ
i
shedi
n1935,atwhi
chpoi
ntStei
nbec
kwasf
inal
l
yabl
etosuppor
thi
msel
f
enti
rel
ywi
thhi
swr
iti
ng.

I
nhi
sac
ceptanc
espeec
hforthe1962NobelPr
izei
nli
ter
atur
e,Stei
nbec
ksai
d:

...thewr i
teri
sdelegatedtodecl ar
eandtocel ebrateman’spr ovencapacityfor
greatnessofheartandspiri
t—f orgall
antryindef eat,forcour
age,compassionand
l
ov e.I
ntheendlesswaragainstweak nessanddespai r,thesearethebr i
ghtrall
y
fl
agsofhopeandofemul ati
on.Iholdthatawr iterwhodoesnotpassi onatel
ybeli
eve
i
ntheper fecti
bil
i
tyofmanhasnodedi cati
onnoranymember shipi
nliteratur
e.

Stei
nbec
k’sbest-k
nownwor
ksdeali
nti
matel
ywi
ththepl
i
ghtofdesper
atel
ypoor
Cal
i
for
niawander
ers,who,despi
tethec
ruel
tyofthei
rci
rcumstanc
es,of
tentr
iumph
spi
ri
tual
l
y.Al
wayspol
i
tic
all
yinv
olv
ed,Stei
nbec
kfol
l Tor
owed  til
l
aFl
at 
withthr
ee
nov
elsaboutthepl
i
ghtoftheCal
i
for
nial
abor
ingc
lass,begi
nni
ngwi I
nDubi
th  ous
Battl
e 
i OfMi
n1936.
  ceandMen 
fol
l
owedi TheGr
n1937,and  apesofWr
ath 
wonthe
1940Pul
i
tzerPr
izeandbec
ameStei
nbec
k’smostf
amousnov
el.Stei
nbec Of
ksets 
Mi
ceandMenagai
nstthebac
kdr
opofDepr
essi
on-er
aAmer
ica.Theec
onomi
c
c
ondi
ti
onsoftheti
mev
icti
miz
edwor
ker
sli
keGeor
geandL
enni
e,whosequestf
or
l
andwasthwar
tedbyc
ruelandpower
fulf
orc
esbeyondthei
rcontr
ol,butwhose
tr
agedywasmar
ked,ul
ti
matel
y,bysteadf
astc
ompassi
onandl
ove.

Cr
iti
calopi
ni
onsofStei
nbec
k’swor
khav
eal
waysbeenmi
xed.Bothstyl
i
sti
cal
l
yand
i
nhi
semphasi
sonmanhoodandmal
erel
ati
onshi
ps,whi
chf
igur
eheav
il
yi OfMi
n  ceand
Men,
 
Stei
nbec
kwasstr
ongl
yinf
luenc
edbyhi
scontempor
ary,Er
nestHemi
ngway.Ev
en
thoughStei
nbec
kwashai
l
edasagr
eatauthori
nthe1930sand1940s,andwonthe
NobelPr
izef
orl
i
ter
atur
ein1962,manyc
riti
cshav
efaul
tedhi
swor
ksf
orbei
ng
super
fic
ial
,senti
mental
,andov
erl
ymor
ali
sti
c OfMi
.Though  ceandMen 
i
sregar
dedby
someash
isgr
eatestac
hiev
ement,manyc
riti
csar
guethati
tsuf
fer
sfr
omone-
di
mensi
onalc
har
acter
sandanex
cessi
vel
ydeter
mini
sti
cpl
ot,whi
chr
ender
sthe
l
essonofthenov
ell
amor
eimpor
tantthanthepeopl
eini
t.

Stei
nbec
kconti
nuedwr
iti
ngthr
oughoutthe1940sand1950s.HewenttoEur
ope
dur
ingWor
ldWarI
I
,thenwor
kedi
nHol
l
ywoodbothasaf
il
mmak
erandasc
riptwr
iter
f
orsuc
hmov
i Vi
esas  v
aZapata!
 (
1950)
.Hi
simpor
tantl
aterwor
ksi
ncl Eastof
ude 
Eden 
(1952)
,aspr
awl
i
ngf
ami
l
ysagaseti
nCal
i
for
ni Tr
a,and  av
elswi
th
Char
ley 
(1962)
,aj
our
nal
i
sti
cac
countofhi
stourofAmer
ica.Hedi
edi
nNewYor
k
Ci
tyi
n1968.

TheHi
stor
yofMi
grantFar
mer
sinCal
i
for
nia

Af
terWor
ldWarI
,ec
onomi
candec
ologi
calf
orc
esbr
oughtmanyr
uralpoorand
mi
grantagr
icul
tur
alwor
ker
sfr
omtheGr
eatPl
ai
nsstates,suc
hasOk
lahoma,Tex
as,
andKansas,toCal
i
for
nia.Fol
l
owi
ngWor
ldWarI
,ar
ecessi
onl
edtoadr
opi
nthe
mar
ketpr
iceoff
armc
rops,whi
chmeantthatf
armer
swer
efor
cedtopr
oduc
emor
e
goodsi
nor
dertoear
nthesameamountofmoney.Tomeetthi
sdemandf
or
i
ncr
easedpr
oduc
tiv
ity,manyf
armer
sboughtmor
elandandi
nvestedi
nex
pensi
ve
agr
icul
tur
alequi
pment,whi
chpl
ungedthemi
ntodebt.Thestoc
kmar
ketc
rashof
1929onl
ymadematter
swor
se.Bank
swer
efor
cedtof
orec
loseonmor
tgagesand
c
oll
ectdebts.Unabl
etopaythei
rcr
edi
tor
s,manyf
armer
slostthei
rpr
oper
tyand
wer
efor
cedtof
indotherwor
k.Butdoi
ngsopr
ovedv
erydi
ffi
cul
t,si
ncethe
nati
on’sunempl
oymentr
atehadsk
yroc
keted,peak
ingatnear
lytwenty-f
ive
per
centi
n1933.

Thei
ncr
easei
nfar
mingac
tiv
ityac
rosstheGr
eatPl
ai
nsstatesc
ausedthepr
eci
ous
soi
ltoer
ode.Thi
ser
osi
on,c
oupl
edwi
thasev
en-yeardr
oughtthatbegani
n1931,
tur
nedonc
efer
til
egr
assl
andsi
ntoadeser
tli
ker
egi
onk
nownastheDustBowl
.
Hundr
edsofthousandsoff
armer
spac
kedupthei
rfami
l
iesandf
ewbel
ongi
ngs,and
headedf
orCal
i
for
nia,whi
ch,f
ornumer
ousr
easons,seemedl
i
keapr
omi
sedl
and.
Mi
grantwor
ker
scametobek
nownasOk
ies,f
oral
thoughtheyc
amef
rommany
statesac
rosstheGr
eatPl
ai
ns,twentyper
centofthef
armer
swer
eor
igi
nal
l
yfr
om
Ok
lahoma.Ok
ieswer
eof
tenmetwi
thsc
ornbyCal
i
for
niaf
armer
sandnati
ves,whi
ch
onl
ymadethei
rdi
sl
ocati
onandpov
ertyev
enmor
eunpl
easant.

Pl
otOv
erv
iew
Twomi
grantwor
ker
s,Geor
geandL
enni
e,hav
ebeenl
etof
fabusmi
l
esawayf
romthe
Cal
i
for
niaf
armwher
etheyar
eduetostar
twor
k.Geor
gei
sasmal
l
,dar
kmanwi
th
“shar
p,str
ongf
eatur
es.
”Lenni
e,hi
scompani
on,i
shi
sopposi
te,agi
antofaman
wi
tha“shapel
ess”f
ace.Ov
erc
omewi
ththi
rst,thetwostopi
nac
lear
ingbyapool
anddec
idetoc
ampf
ortheni
ght.Asthetwoc
onv
erse,i
tbec
omesc
learthatL
enni
e
hasami
l
dmentaldi
sabi
l
ity,andi
sdeepl
ydev
otedtoGeor
geanddependentupon
hi
mforpr
otec
tionandgui
danc
e.Geor
gef
indsthatL
enni
e,whol
ovespetti
ngsof
t
thi
ngsbutof
tenac
cidental
l
yki
l
lsthem,hasbeenc
arr
yingandstr
oki
ngadead
mouse.Ge
orgeangr
il
ythr
owsi
taway,f
ear
ingthatL
enni
emi
ghtc
atc
hadi
sease
f
romthedeadani
mal
.Geor
gec
ompl
ai
nsl
oudl
ythathi
sli
fewoul
dbeeasi
erwi
thout
hav
ingtoc
aref
orL
enni
e,butther
eadersensesthatthei
rfr
iendshi
panddev
oti
on
i
smutual
.HeandL
enni
eshar
eadr
eamofbuyi
ngthei
rownpi
eceofl
and,f
armi
ngi
t,
and,muc
htoL
enni
e’sdel
i
ght,k
eepi
ngr
abbi
ts.Geor
geendstheni
ghtbytr
eati
ng
L
enni
etothestor
yheof
tentel
l
shi
maboutwhatl
i
fewi
l
lbel
i
kei
nsuc
hani
dyl
l
ic
pl
ace.

Thenex
tday,themenr
epor
ttothenear
byr
anc
h.Geor
ge,f
ear
inghowthebosswi
l
l
r
eac
ttoL
enni
e,i
nsi
ststhathe’l
ldoal
lthetal
ki
ng.Hel
i
es,ex
plai
ni
ngthatthey
tr
aveltogetherbec
ausetheyar
ecousi
nsandthatahor
sek
ick
edL
enni
einthehead
whenhewasac
hil
d.Theyar
ehi
red.TheymeetCandy,anol
d“swamper
,”or
handyman,wi
thami
ssi
nghandandananc
ientdog,andCur
ley,theboss’smean-
spi
ri
tedson.Cur
leyi
snewl
ymar
ried,possessi
veofhi
sfl
i
rtati
ouswi
fe,andf
ullof
j
eal
oussuspi
ci
on.Onc
eGeor
geandL
enni
ear
eal
onei
nthebunk
house,Cur
ley’swi
fe
appear
sandf
li
rtswi
ththem.L
enni
ethi
nksshei
s“pur
ty,
”butGeor
ge,sensi
ngthe
tr
oubl
ethatc
oul
dcomef
romtangl
i
ngwi
ththi
swomanandherhusband,war
ns
L
enni
etostayawayf
romher
.Soon,ther
anc
h-handsr
etur
nfr
omthef
iel
dsf
or
l
unc
h,andGeor
geandL
enni
emeetSl
i
m,thesk
il
ledmul
edr
iverwhowi
el
dsgr
eat
author
ityonther
anc
h.Sl
i
mcommentsonther
ari
tyoff
riendshi
pli
kethatbetween
Geor
geandL
enni
e.Car
lson,anotherr
anc
h-hand,suggeststhatsi
nceSl
i
m’sdoghas
j
ustgi
venbi
rth,theyshoul
dof
ferapuppytoCandyandshootCandy’sol
d,good-
f
or-nothi
ngdog.

Thenex
tday,Geor
gec
onf
idesi
nSl
i
mthatheandL
enni
ear
enotc
ousi
ns,buthav
e
beenf
riendssi
ncec
hil
dhood.Hetel
l
showL
enni
ehasof
tengottenthemi
ntotr
oubl
e.
Fori
nstanc
e,theywer
efor
cedtof
leethei
rlastj
obbec
auseL
enni
etr
iedtotouc
ha
woman’sdr
essandwasac
cusedofr
ape.Sl
i
magr
eestogi
veL
enni
eoneofhi
s
puppi
es,andCar
lsonc
onti
nuestobadgerCandytok
il
lhi
sol
ddog.WhenSl
i
magr
ees
wi
thCar
lson,sayi
ngthatdeathwoul
dbeawel
comer
eli
eftothesuf
fer
ingani
mal
,
Candygi
vesi
n.Car
lson,bef
orel
eadi
ngthedogoutsi
de,pr
omi
sestodothej
ob
pai
nl
essl
y.

Sl
i
mgoestothebar
ntodosomewor
k,andCur
ley,whoi
smani
acal
l
ysear
chi
ngf
or
hi
swi
fe,headstothebar
ntoac
costSl
i
m.Candyov
erhear
sGeor
geandL
enni
e
di
scussi
ngthei
rpl
anstobuyl
and,andof
fer
shi
sli
fe’ssav
ingsi
ftheywi
l
llethi
m
l
i
vether
etoo.Thethr
eemak
eapac
ttol
etnooneel
sek
nowofthei
rpl
an.Sl
i
m
r
etur
nstothebunk
house,ber
ati
ngCur
leyf
orhi
ssuspi
ci
ons.Cur
ley,sear
chi
ngf
oran
easytar
getf
orhi
sanger
,fi
ndsL
enni
eandpi
cksaf
ightwi
thhi
m.L
enni
ecr
ushes
Cur
ley’shandi
ntheal
ter
cati
on.Sl
i
mwar
nsCur
leythati
fhetr
iestogetGeor
ge
andL
enni
efi
red,hewi
l
lbethel
aughi
ngstoc
kofthef
arm.

Thenex
tni
ght,mostofthemengotothel
ocalbr
othel
.Lenni
eisl
eftwi
thCr
ook
s,
thel
onel
y,bl
ackstabl
e-hand,andCandy.Cur
ley’swi
fef
li
rtswi
ththem,r
efusi
ngto
l
eav
eunti
ltheothermenc
omehome.Shenoti
cesthec
utsonL
enni
e’sf
aceand
suspec
tsthathe,andnotapi
eceofmac
hiner
yasCur
leyc
lai
med,i
sresponsi
bl
efor
hur
tinghe
rhusband.Thi
sthoughtamusesher
.Thenex
tday,L
enni
eac
cidental
l
yki
l
ls
hi
spuppyi
nthebar
n.Cu
rley’swi
feenter
sandc
onsol
eshi
m.Sheadmi
tsthatl
i
fe
wi
thCur
leyi
sadi
sappoi
ntment,andwi
shesthatshehadf
oll
owedherdr
eamof
bec
omi
ngamov
iestar
.Lenni
etel
l
sherthathel
ovespetti
ngsof
tthi
ngs,andshe
of
fer
stol
ethi
mfeelhe
rhai
r.Whenhegr
abstooti
ghtl
y,shec
riesout.I
nhi
s
attempttosi
l
enc
eher
,heac
cidental
l
ybr
eak
shernec
k.

L
enni
efl
eesbac
ktoapooloftheSal
i
nasRi
verthatGeor
gehaddesi
gnatedasa
meeti
ngpl
aceshoul
dei
therofthemgeti
ntotr
oubl
e.Asthemenbac
katther
anc
h
di
scov
erwhathashappenedandgathertogetheral
ync
hpar
ty,Geor
gej
oinsL
enni
e.
Muc
htoL
enni
e’ssur
pri
se,Geor
gei
snotmadathi
mfordoi
ng“abadthi
ng.
”
Geor
gebegi
nstotel
lLenni
ethestor
yofthef
armtheywi
l
lhav
etogether
.Ashe
desc
ribesther
abbi
tsth
atL
enni
ewi
l
ltend,thesoundoftheappr
oac
hingl
ync
hpar
ty
gr
owsl
ouder
.Geor
geshootshi
sfr
iendi
nthebac
kofthehead.

Whentheothermenar
riv
e,Geor
gel
etsthembel
i
evethatL
enni
ehadthegun,and
Geor
gewr
estl
edi
tawayf
romhi
mandshothi
m.Onl
ySl
i
munder
standswhathas
r
eal
l
yhappened,thatGeor
gehask
il
ledhi
sfr
iendoutofmer
cy.Sl
i
mconsol
i
ngl
yleads
hi
maway,andtheothermen,c
ompl
etel
ypuz
zled,watc
htheml
eav
e.

J
ohnStei
nbec
kimmor
tal
i
zedthepl
i
ghtofonesuc
hfami
l
y,theJ
oads,i
nhi
smost
f
amousnov
elTheGr
,
  apesofWr
ath.
 
Insev
eralofhi
sfi
cti
onwor
ks,i
ncl
udi OfMi
ng  ce
andMen,
 
Stei
nbec
kil
l
ustr
ateshowgr
uel
i
ng,c
hal
l
engi
ng,andof
tenunr
ewar
dingthe
l
i
feofmi
grantf
armer
scoul
dbe.J
ustasGeor
geandL
enni
edr
eamofabetterl
i
feon
thei
rownf
arm,theGr
eatPl
ai
nsf
armer
sdr
eamedoff
indi
ngabetterl
i
fei
n
Cal
i
for
nia.Thestate’smi
l
dcl
i
matepr
omi
sedal
ongergr
owi
ngseasonand,wi
thsoi
l
f
avor
abl
etoawi
derr
angeofc
rops,i
tof
fer
edmor
eoppor
tuni
ti
estohar
vest.
Despi
teth
esepr
omi
ses,though,v
eryf
ewf
oundi
ttobethel
andofoppor
tuni
tyan
d
pl
entyofwhi
chtheydr
eamed.

Char
acterL
ist
L
enni
e 
- Al
arge,l
umber
ing,c
hil
dli
kemi
grantwor
ker
.Duetohi
smi
l
dmental
di
sabi
l
ity,
Lenni
ecompl
etel
ydependsuponGeor
ge,hi
sfr
iendandtr
avel
i
ngc
ompani
on,
f
orgui
dan
ceandpr
otec
tion.Thetwomenshar
eav
isi
onofaf
armthattheywi
l
lown
together
,av
isi
onthatL
enni
ebel
i
evesi
nwhol
ehear
tedl
y.Gentl
eandk
ind,L
enni
e
nev
erthel
essdoesnotunder
standhi
sownstr
ength.Hi
slov
eofpetti
ngsof
tthi
ngs,
suc
hassmal
lani
mal
s,dr
esses,andpeopl
e’shai
r,l
eadstodi
saster
.
Geor
ge 
- Asmal
l
,wi
ry,qui
ck-wi
ttedmanwhotr
avel
swi
th,andc
aresf
or,L
enni
e.
Al
thoughhef
requentl
yspeak
sofhowmuc
hbetterhi
sli
fewoul
dbewi
thouthi
s
c
aretak
ingr
esponsi
bi
li
ti
es,Geor
gei
sobv
iousl
ydev
otedtoL
enni
e.Geor
ge’sbehav
ior
i
smoti
vatedbythedesi
retopr
otec
tLenni
eand,ev
entual
l
y,del
i
verthembothto
thef
armofthei
rdr
eams.ThoughGeor
gei
sthesour
ceoftheof
ten-tol
dstor
yof
l
i
feonthe
irf
utur
efar
m,i
tisL
enni
e’sc
hil
dli
kef
aiththatenabl
esGeor
geto
ac
tual
l
ybel
i
evehi
sac
countofthei
rfutur
e.
Candy 
- Anagi
ngr
anc
hhandyman,Candyl
osthi
shandi
nanac
cidentandwor
ries
abouthi
sfutur
eonther
anc
h.Fear
ingthathi
sagei
smak
inghi
musel
ess,hesei
zes
onGeor
ge’sdesc
ripti
onofthef
armheandL
enni
ewi
l
lhav
e,of
fer
inghi
sli
fe’s
sav
ingsi
fhec
anj
oinGeor
geandL
enni
einowni
ngthel
and.Thef
ateofCandy’s
anc
ientdog,whi
chCar
lsonshootsi
nthebac
koftheheadi
nanal
l
egedac
tofmer
cy,
f
oreshadowsthemannerofL
enni
e’sdeath.
Cur
ley’swi
fe 
- Theonl
yfemal
echar
acteri
nthestor
y,Cur
ley’swi
fei
snev
ergi
ven
anameandi
sonl
ymenti
onedi
nref
erenc
etoherhusband.Themenonthef
armr
efer
toherasa“tr
amp,
”a“tar
t,”anda“l
ool
oo.
”Dr
essedi
nfanc
y,f
eather
edr
ed
shoes,sher
epr
esentsthetemptati
onoff
emal
esex
ual
i
tyi
namal
e-domi
natedwor
ld.
Stei
nbec
kdepi
ctsCur
ley’swi
fenotasav
il
lai
n,butr
atherasav
icti
m.L
ikethe
r
anc
h-hands,shei
sdesper
atel
ylonel
yandhasbr
okendr
eamsofabetterl
i
fe.
Cr
ook
s - Cr
ook
s,thebl
ackstabl
e-hand,getshi
snamef
romhi
scr
ook
edbac
k.Pr
oud,
bi
tter
,andc
austi
cal
l
yfunny,hei
sisol
atedf
romtheothermenbec
auseofthec
olor
ofhi
ssk
in.Despi
tehi
msel
f,Cr
ook
sbec
omesf
ondofL
enni
e,andthoughheder
isi
vel
y
c
lai
mstohav
eseenc
ountl
essmenf
oll
owi
ngemptydr
eamsofbuyi
ngthei
rownl
and,
heask
sLenni
eifhec
angowi
ththemandhoei
nthegar
den.
Cur
ley 
- Theboss’sson,Cur
leywear
shi
gh-heel
edbootstodi
sti
ngui
shhi
msel
f
f
romthef
iel
dhands.Rumor
edtobeac
hampi
onpr
izef
ighter
,hei
sac
onf
rontati
onal
,
mean-spi
ri
ted,andaggr
essi
veyoungmanwhoseek
stoc
ompensatef
orhi
ssmal
l
statur
ebypi
cki
ngf
ightswi
thl
argermen.Rec
entl
ymar
ried,Cur
leyi
spl
aguedwi
th
j
eal
oussuspi
ci
onsandi
sex
tremel
ypossessi
veofhi
sfl
i
rtati
ousyoungwi
fe.

Sl
i
m - Ahi
ghl
ysk
il
ledmul
edr
iverandtheac
knowl
edged“pr
inc
e”ofther
anc
h,Sl
i
m
i
stheonl
ychar
acterwhoseemstobeatpeac
ewi
thhi
msel
f.Theotherc
har
acter
s
of
tenl
ooktoSl
i
mforadv
ice.Fori
nstanc
e,onl
yaf
terSl
i
magr
eesthatCandyshoul
d
puthi
sdec
repi
tdogoutofi
tsmi
ser
ydoestheol
dmanagr
eetol
etCar
lsonshooti
t.
Aqui
et,i
nsi
ghtf
ulman,Sl
i
mal
oneunder
standsthenatur
eofthebondbetween
Geor
geandL
enni
e,andc
omf
ortsGeor
geatthebook
’str
agi
cendi
ng.

Car
lson 
- Ar
anc
h-hand,Car
lsonc
ompl
ai
nsbi
tter
lyaboutCandy’sol
d,smel
l
ydog.
Hec
onv
inc
esCandytoputthedogoutofi
tsmi
ser
y.WhenCandyf
inal
l
yagr
ees,
Car
lsonpr
omi
sestoex
ecutethetaskwi
thoutc
ausi
ngtheani
malanysuf
fer
ing.
L
ater
,Geor
geusesCar
lson’sguntoshootL
enni
e.

TheBoss 
- Thestoc
ky,wel
l
-dr
essedmani
nchar
geofther
anc
h,andCur
ley’s
f
ather
.Hei
snev
ernamedandappear
sonl
yonc
e,butseemstobeaf
air
-mi
ndedman
.
Candyhappi
l
yrepor
tsthatthebossonc
edel
i
ver
edagal
l
onofwhi
skeytother
anc
h-
handsonChr
istmasDay.

AuntCl
ara 
 - L
enni
e’saunt,whoc
aredf
orhi
munti
lherdeath,doesnotac
tual
l
y
appeari
nthewor
kex
ceptattheend,asav
isi
onc
hasti
si
ngL
enni
eforc
ausi
ng
tr
oubl
eforGeor
ge.Byal
lac
counts,shewasak
ind,pati
entwomanwhotookgood
c
areofL
enni
eandgav
ehi
mpl
entyofmi
cetopet.
Anal
ysi
sofMaj
orChar
acter
s
L
enni
e

Al
thoughL
enni
eisamongthepr
inc
ipalc
har
acter
sinOfMi
ceandMen,
 
hei
sper
haps
thel
eastdynami
c.Heunder
goesnosi
gni
fi
cantc
hanges,dev
elopment,orgr
owth
thr
oughou
tthestor
yandr
emai
nsex
actl
yasther
eaderenc
ounter
shi
minthe
openi
ngpages.Si
mpl
yput,hel
ovestopetsof
tthi
ngs,i
sbl
i
ndl
ydev
otedtoGeor
ge
andthei
rvi
si
onofthef
arm,andpossessesi
ncr
edi
bl
ephysi
calstr
ength.Near
ly
ev
erysc
enei
nwhi
chL
enni
eappear
sconf
irmstheseandonl
ythesec
har
acter
isti
cs.

Al
thoughStei
nbec
k’si
nsi
stentr
epeti
ti
onofthesec
har
acter
isti
csmak
esL
enni
ea
r
atherf
latc
har
acter
,Lenni
e’ssi
mpl
i
cityi
scentr
altoStei
nbec
k’sc
onc
epti
onof
thenov
ell
a.
 OfMi
ceandMen 
i
sav
eryshor
twor
kthatmanagestobui
l
dupan
ex
tremel
ypower
fuli
mpac
t.Si
ncethetr
agedydependsupontheoutc
omeseemi
ngto
bei
nev
itabl
e,ther
eadermustk
nowf
romthestar
tthatL
enni
eisdoomed,andmust
besympatheti
ctohi
m.Stei
nbec
kac
hiev
esthesetwof
eatsbyc
reati
nga
pr
otagoni
stwhoear
nsther
eader
’ssympathybec
auseofhi
sutterhel
pl
essnessi
n
thef
aceoftheev
entsthatunf
old.L
enni
eistotal
l
ydef
ensel
ess.Hec
annotav
oid
thedanger
spr
esentedbyCur
ley,Cur
ley’swi
fe,orthewor
ldatl
arge.Hi
sinnoc
enc
e
r
aiseshi
mtoastandar
dofpur
egoodnessthati
smor
epoeti
candl
i
ter
arythan
r
eal
i
sti
c.Hi
senthusi
asmf
orthev
isi
onofthei
rfutur
efar
mpr
ovesc
ontagi
ousashe
c
onv
inc
esGeor
ge,Candy,Cr
ook
s,andther
eaderthatsuc
hapar
adi
semi
ghtbe
possi
bl
e.Buthei
sac
har
acterwhomStei
nbec
ksetsupf
ordi
saster
,ac
har
acter
whosei
nnoc
enc
eonl
yseemstoensur
ehi
sinev
itabl
edestr
ucti
on.

Geor
ge

L
ikeL
enni
e,Geor
gec
anbedef
inedbyaf
ewdi
sti
nctc
har
acter
isti
cs.Hei
sshor
t-
temper
edbu
tal
ovi
nganddev
otedf
riend,whosef
requentpr
otestsagai
nstl
i
fewi
th
L
enni
enev
erweak
enhi
scommi
tmenttopr
otec
tinghi
sfr
iend.Geor
ge’sf
irstwor
ds,
aster
nwar
ningtoL
enni
enottodr
inksomuc
hlesthegetsi
ck,setthetoneofthei
r
r
elati
onshi
p.Geor
gemaybeter
seandi
mpati
entatti
mes,buthenev
erstr
aysf
rom
hi
spr
imar
ypur
poseofpr
otec
tingL
enni
e.

Unl
i
keL
enni
e,howev
er,Geor
gedoesc
hangeasthestor
ypr
ogr
esses.Ther
eader
l
ear
nsthathei
scapabl
eofc
hangeandgr
owthdur
inghi
sconv
ersati
onwi
thSl
i
m,
dur
ingwhi
chheadmi
tsthatheonc
eabusedL
enni
eforhi
sownamusement.Fr
omthi
s
i
nci
dentGeor
gel
ear
nedthemor
all
essonthati
tiswr
ongtotak
eadv
antageofthe
weak
.OfMi
  ceandMen 
fol
l
owshi
mtowar
dadi
ffi
cul
treal
i
zati
onthatthewor
ldi
s
desi
gnedtopr
eyontheweak
.Atthestar
tofthenov
ell
a,Geor
gei
ssomethi
ngofan
i
deal
i
st.Despi
tehi
shar
dened,someti
mesgr
uffex
ter
ior
,hebel
i
evesi
nthestor
yof
thei
rfutur
efar
mthathetel
l
sandr
etel
l
stoL
enni
e.Hel
ongsf
orthedaywhenhe
c
anenj
oythef
reedomtol
eav
ewor
kandseeabasebal
lgame.Mor
eimpor
tantthana
bal
lgame,howev
er,i
sthethoughtofl
i
vingi
nsaf
etyandc
omf
ortwi
thL
enni
e,f
ree
f
rompeopl
eli
keCur
leyandCur
ley’swi
fe,whoseemtoex
istonl
ytoc
ausetr
oubl
e
f
orthem.L
enni
eisl
argel
yresponsi
bl
eforGeor
ge’sbel
i
efi
nthi
ssaf
ehav
en,but
ev
entual
l
ythepr
edator
ynatur
eofthewor
ldasser
tsi
tsel
fandGeor
gec
anno
l
ongermai
ntai
nthatbel
i
ef.Byshooti
ngL
enni
e,Geor
gespar
eshi
sfr
iendthe
mer
cil
essdeaththatwoul
dbedel
i
ver
edbyCur
ley’sl
ync
hmob,butheal
soputsto
r
esthi
sowndr
eamofaper
fec
t,f
rater
nalwor
ld.

Candy

Oneofthebook
’smaj
orthemesandsev
eralofi
tsdomi
nantsymbol
srev
olv
ear
ound
Candy.Theol
dhandyman,agi
ngandl
eftwi
thonl
yonehandasther
esul
tofan
ac
cident,wor
riesthatthebosswi
l
lsoondec
lar
ehi
musel
essanddemandthathe
l
eav
ether
anc
h.Ofc
our
se,l
i
feonther
anc
h—espec
ial
l
yCandy’sdog,onc
ean
i
mpr
essi
vesheepher
derbutnowtoothl
ess,f
oul
-smel
l
ing,andbr
ittl
ewi
th
age—suppor
tsCandy’sf
ear
s.Pastac
compl
i
shmentsandc
urr
entemoti
onalti
es
matterl
i
ttl
e,asCar
sonmak
esc
learwhenhei
nsi
ststhatCandyl
ethi
mputthedog
outofi
tsmi
ser
y.I
nsuc
hawor
ld,Candy’sdogser
vesasahar
shr
emi
nderofthe
f
atethatawai
tsanyonewhooutl
i
veshi
susef
ulness.

Forabr
iefti
me,howev
er,thedr
eamofl
i
vingouthi
sdayswi
thGeor
geandL
enni
eon
thei
rdr
eamf
armdi
str
actsCandyf
romthi
shar
shr
eal
i
ty.Hedeemsthef
ewac
res
ofl
andtheydesc
ribewor
thyofhi
shar
d-ear
nedl
i
fe’ssav
ings,whi
chtesti
fi
esto
hi
sdesper
ateneedtobel
i
evei
nawor
ldk
inderthantheonei
nwhi
chhel
i
ves.L
ike
Geor
ge,Candyc
li
ngstothei
deaofhav
ingthef
reedomtotak
euporsetasi
dewor
k
ashec
hooses.Sostr
ongi
shi
sdev
oti
ontothi
sideathat,ev
enaf
terhedi
scov
ers
thatL
enn
iehask
il
ledCur
ley’swi
fe,hepl
eadsf
orhi
msel
fandGeor
getogoahead
andbuyth
efar
maspl
anned.

Cur
ley’swi
fe

OfMi
ceandMeni
snotk
indi
nitspor
trayalofwomen.I
nfac
t,womenar
etr
eated
wi
thc
ontemptthr
oughoutthec
our
seofthebook
.Stei
nbec
kgener
all
ydepi
cts
womenastr
oubl
emak
erswhobr
ingr
uinonmenanddr
ivethemmad.Cur
ley’swi
fe,
whowal
ksther
anc
hasatemptr
ess,seemstobeapr
imeex
ampl
eofthi
s
destr
ucti
vetendenc
y—Cur
ley’sal
readybadtemperhasonl
ywor
senedsi
ncethei
r
weddi
ng.Asi
def
romwear
isomewi
v OfMi
es,
  ceandMen 
off
ersl
i
mited,r
ather
mi
sogyni
sti
c,desc
ripti
onsofwomenwhoar
eei
therdeadmater
nalf
igur
esor
pr
osti
tute
s.

Despi
teStei
nbec
k’sr
ender
ing,Cur
ley’swi
feemer
gesasar
elati
vel
ycompl
exand
i
nter
esti
ngc
har
acter
.Al
thoughherpur
posei
srathersi
mpl
einthebook
’sopeni
ng
pages—shei
sthe“tr
amp,
”“tar
t,”and“bi
tch”thatthr
eatenstodestr
oymal
e
happi
nessandl
ongev
ity—herappear
anc
esl
ateri
nthenov
ell
abec
omemor
ecompl
ex.
Whenshec
onf
rontsL
enni
e,Candy,andCr
ook
sinthestabl
e,sheadmi
tstof
eel
i
nga
k
indofshamel
essdi
ssati
sfac
tionwi
thherl
i
fe.Herv
ulner
abi
l
ityatthi
smomentand
l
ater
—whensheadmi
tstoL
enni
eherdr
eamofbec
omi
ngamov
iestar
—mak
esher
utter
lyhumanandmuc
hmor
einter
esti
ngthanthester
eotypi
calv
ixeni
nfanc
yred
shoes.Howev
er,i
tal
sor
einf
orc
esthenov
ell
a’sgr
imwor
ldv
iew.I
nhermomentof
gr
eatestv
ulner
abi
l
ity,Cur
ley’swi
feseek
soutev
engr
eaterweak
nessesi
nother
s,
pr
eyi
nguponL
enni
e’smentalhandi
cap,Candy’sdebi
l
itati
ngage,andthec
olorof
Cr
ook
s’ssk
ini
nor
dertosteelher
sel
fagai
nsthar
m.

Cr
ook
s

Cr
ook
sisal
i
vel
y,shar
p-wi
tted,bl
ackstabl
e-hand,whotak
eshi
snamef
romhi
s
c
rook
edbac
k.L
ikemostofthec
har
acter
sinthestor
y,headmi
tsthathei
s
ex
tremel
ylonel
y.WhenL
enni
evi
si
tshi
minhi
sroom,hi
sreac
tionr
eveal
sthi
sfac
t.At
f
irst,hetur
nsL
enni
eaway,hopi
ngtopr
oveapoi
ntthati
fhe,asabl
ackman,i
snot
al
l
owedi
nwhi
temen’shouses,thenwhi
tesar
enotal
l
owedi
nhi
s,buthi
sdesi
ref
or
c
ompanyul
ti
matel
ywi
nsoutandhei
nvi
tesL
enni
etosi
twi
thhi
m.L
ikeCur
ley’swi
fe,
Cr
ook
sisadi
sempower
edc
har
acterwhotur
nshi
svul
ner
abi
l
ityi
ntoaweaponto
attac
kthosewhoar
eev
enweak
er.Hepl
aysac
ruelgamewi
thL
enni
e,suggesti
ngto
hi
mthatGeor
gei
sgonef
orgood.Onl
ywhenL
enni
ethr
eatenshi
mwi
thphysi
cal
v
iol
enc
edoesher
elent.Cr
ook
sex
hibi
tsthec
orr
osi
veef
fec
tsthatl
onel
i
nessc
an
hav
eonaper
son;hi
schar
acterev
okessympathyastheor
igi
nsofhi
scr
uelbehav
ior
ar
emadeev
ident.Per
hapswhatCr
ook
swantsmor
ethananythi
ngel
sei
sasenseof
bel
ongi
ng—toenj
oysi
mpl
epl
easur
essuc
hasther
ighttoenterthebunk
houseorto
pl
ayc
ardswi
ththeothermen.Thi
sdesi
rewoul
dex
plai
nwhy,ev
enthoughhehas
r
easontodoubtGeor
geandL
enni
e’stal
kaboutthef
armthattheywanttoown,
Cr
ook
scannothel
pbutaski
fther
emi
ghtber
oomf
orhi
mtoc
omeal
ongandhoei
n
thegar
den.
Themes,Moti
fs&Symbol
s

Themes

Themesar
ethef
undamentalandof
tenuni
ver
sali
deasex
plor
edi
nal
i
ter
arywor
k.

ThePr
edator
yNatur
eofHumanEx
istenc
e

OfMi
ceandMen 
teac
hesagr
iml
essonaboutthenatur
eofhumanex
istenc
e.Near
ly
al
lofthec
har
acter
s,i
ncl
udi
ngGeor
ge,L
enni
e,Candy,Cr
ook
s,andCur
ley’swi
fe,
admi
t,atoneti
meoranother
,tohav
ingapr
ofoundsenseofl
onel
i
nessandi
sol
ati
on.
Eac
hdesi
resthec
omf
ortofaf
riend,butwi
l
lsettl
efortheattenti
veearofa
str
anger
.Cur
ley’swi
feadmi
tstoCandy,Cr
ook
s,andL
enni
ethatshei
sunhappi
l
y
mar
rie
d,an
dCr
ook
stel
l
sLenni
ethatl
i
fei
snogoodwi
thoutac
ompani
ontotur
nto
i
nti
mesofc
onf
usi
onandneed.Thec
har
acter
sar
erender
edhel
pl
essbythei
r
i
sol
ati
on,andyet,ev
enatthei
rweak
est,theyseektodestr
oythosewhoar
eev
en
weak
erthanthey.Per
hapsthemostpower
fulex
ampl
eofthi
scr
ueltendenc
yiswhen
Cr
ook
scr
iti
ci
zesL
enni
e’sdr
eamofthef
armandhi
sdependenc
eonGeor
ge.Hav
ing
j
ustadmi
ttedhi
sownv
ulner
abi
l
iti
es—hei
sabl
ackmanwi
thac
rook
edbac
kwho
l
ongsf
orc
ompani
onshi
p—Cr
ook
szer
oesi
nonL
enni
e’sownweak
nesses.

I
nsc
enessuc
hasthi
sone,Stei
nbec
krec
ordsapr
ofoundhumantr
uth:oppr
essi
on
doesnotc
omeonl
yfr
omthehandsofthestr
ongorthepower
ful
.Cr
ook
sseemsat
hi
sstr
ongestwhenhehasnear
lyr
educ
edL
enni
etotear
sforf
earthatsomethi
ng
badhashappenedtoGeor
ge,j
ustasCur
ley’swi
fef
eel
smostpower
fulwhenshe
thr
eatenstohav
eCr
ook
slync
hed.Thenov
ell
asuggeststhatthemostv
isi
bl
eki
ndof
str
ength—thatusedtooppr
essother
s—i
sitsel
fbor
nofweak
ness.

Fr
ater
nityandtheI
deal
i
zedMal
eFr
iendshi
p

Oneofther
easonsthatthetr
agi
cendofGeor
geandL
enni
e’sf
riendshi
phassuc
h
apr
ofoundi
mpac
tisthatonesensesthatthef
riendshav
e,bytheendofthe
nov
ell
a,l
ostadr
eaml
argerthanthemsel
ves.Thef
armonwhi
chGeor
geandL
enni
e
pl
antol
i
ve—apl
acethatnooneev
err
eac
hes—hasamagneti
cqual
i
ty,asCr
ook
s
poi
ntsout.Af
terhear
ingadesc
ripti
onofonl
yaf
ewsentenc
es,Candyi
scompl
etel
y
dr
awni
nbyi
tsmagi
c.Cr
ook
shaswi
tnessedc
ountl
essmenf
allunderthesamesi
l
ly
spel
l
,andsti
l
lhec
annothel
pbutaskL
enni
eifhec
anhav
eapatc
hofgar
dentohoe
ther
e.ThemeniOfMi
n  ceandMen 
desi
retoc
ometogetheri
nawaythatwoul
dal
l
ow
themtobel
i
kebr
other
stooneanother
.Thati
s,theywanttol
i
vewi
thone
anothe
r’sbesti
nter
estsi
nmi
nd,topr
otec
teac
hother
,andtok
nowthatther
eis
someonei
nthewor
lddedi
catedtopr
otec
tingthem.Gi
venthehar
sh,l
onel
y
c
ondi
ti
onsunderwhi
chthesemenl
i
ve,i
tshoul
dcomeasnosur
pri
sethatthey
i
deal
i
zef
riendshi
psbetweenmeni
nsuc
haway.

Ul
ti
matel
y,h
owev
er,thewor
ldi
stoohar
shandpr
edator
yapl
acetosustai
nsuc
h
r
elati
onshi
ps.L
enni
eandGeor
ge,whoc
omec
losesttoac
hiev
ingthi
sidealof
br
other
hood,ar
efor
cedtosepar
atetr
agi
cal
l
y.Wi
ththi
s,ar
aref
riendshi
pvani
shes,
butther
estofthewor
ld—r
epr
esentedbyCur
leyandCar
lson,whowatc
hGeor
ge
stumbl
eawaywi
thgr
ieff
romhi
sfr
iend’sdeadbody—f
ail
stoac
knowl
edgeor
appr
eci
atei
t.

TheI
mpossi
bi
li
tyoftheAmer
icanDr
eam

Mostofthec
har
acter
si OfMi
n  ceandMen 
admi
t,atonepoi
ntoranother
,to
dr
eami
ngofadi
ffer
entl
i
fe.Bef
oreherdeath,Cur
ley’swi
fec
onf
essesherdesi
reto
beamov
iestar
.Cr
ook
s,bi
tterashei
s,al
l
owshi
msel
fthepl
easantf
antasyof
hoei
ngapatc
hofgar
denonL
enni
e’sf
armoneday,andCandyl
atc
heson
desper
atel
ytoGeor
ge’sv
isi
onofowni
ngac
oupl
eofac
res.Bef
oretheac
tionof
thestor
ybegi
ns,c
irc
umstanc
eshav
erobbedmostofthec
har
acter
softhese
wi
shes.Cur
ley’swi
fe,f
ori
nstanc
e,hasr
esi
gnedher
sel
ftoanunf
ulf
il
li
ngmar
riage.
Whatmak
esal
lofthesedr
eamstypi
cal
l
yAmer
icani
sthatthedr
eamer
swi
shf
or
untar
nishedhappi
ness,f
orthef
reedomtof
oll
owthei
rowndesi
res.Geor
geand
L
enni
e’sdr
eamofowni
ngaf
arm,whi
chwoul
denabl
ethemtosustai
nthemsel
ves,
and,mosti
mpor
tant,of
ferthempr
otec
tionf
romani
nhospi
tabl
ewor
ld,r
epr
esentsa
pr
ototypi
cal
l
yAmer
icani
deal
.Thei
rjour
ney,whi
chawak
ensGeor
getothe
i
mpossi
bi
li
tyofthi
sdr
eam,sadl
ypr
ovesthatthebi
tterCr
ook
sisr
ight:suc
h
par
adi
sesoff
reedom,c
ontentment,andsaf
etyar
enottobef
oundi
nthi
swor
ld.

Moti
fs

Motif
sarerecurr
ingstr
uctur
es,contrasts,andl
i
ter
arydev
icesthatcanhel
pto
devel
opandinf
ormthetext’smaj orthemes.

TheCor
rupti
ngPowerofWomen

Thepor
trayalofwomeniOfMi
n  ceandMen 
i
sli
mitedandunf
latter
ing.Wel
ear
near
ly
onthatL
enni
eandGeor
gear
eonther
unf
romthepr
evi
ousr
anc
hwher
etheywor
ked,
duetoenc
ounter
ingtr
oubl
ether
ewi
thawoman.Mi
sunder
standi
ngL
enni
e’sl
oveof
sof
tthi
ngs,awomanac
cusedhi
mofr
apef
ortouc
hingherdr
ess.Geor
geber
ates
L
enni
eforhi
sbehav
ior
,buti
sconv
inc
edthatwomenar
eal
waysthec
auseofsuc
h
tr
oubl
e.Th
eirenti
ci
ngsex
ual
i
ty,hebel
i
eves,temptsmentobehav
einwaysthey
woul
dother
wisenot.
Av
isi
ttothe“f
lophouse”(
acheaphotel
,orbr
othel
)isenoughofwomenf
or
Geor
ge,andhehasnodesi
ref
oraf
emal
ecompani
onorwi
fe.Cur
ley’swi
fe,theonl
y
womantoappeariOfMi
n  ceandMen,
 
seemsi
ni
ti
al
lytosuppor
tGeor
ge’sv
iewof
mar
riage.Di
ssati
sfi
edwi
thhermar
riagetoabr
uti
shmanandbor
edwi
thl
i
feonthe
r
anc
h,shei
sconstantl
ylook
ingf
orex
citementortr
oubl
e.I
noneofhermor
e
r
eveal
i
ngmoments,shethr
eatenstohav
ethebl
ackstabl
e-handl
ync
hedi
fhe
c
ompl
ai
nsabouthertotheboss.Heri
nsi
stenc
eonf
li
rti
ngwi
thL
enni
eseal
sher
unf
ortunatef
ate.Al
thou
ghStei
nbec
kdoes,f
inal
l
y,of
ferasympatheti
cvi
ewof
Cur
ley’swi
febyal
l
owi
nghertov
oic
eherunhappi
nessandherowndr
eamf
ora
betterl
i
fe,womenhav
enopl
acei
ntheauthor
’si
deal
i
zedv
isi
onofawor
ld
str
uctur
edar
oundthebr
other
lybondsofmen.

L
onel
i
nessandCompani
onshi
p

Manyofthec
har
acter
sadmi
ttosuf
fer
ingf
rompr
ofoundl
onel
i
ness.Geor
gesets
thetonef
orthesec
onf
essi
onsear
lyi
nthenov
ell
awhenher
emi
ndsL
enni
ethatthe
l
i
feofar
anc
h-handi
samongthel
onel
i
estofl
i
ves.Menl
i
keGeor
gewhomi
gratef
rom
f
armtof
armr
arel
yhav
eanyonetol
ooktof
orc
ompani
onshi
pandpr
otec
tion.Asth
e
stor
ydev
elops,Candy,Cr
ook
s,andCur
ley’swi
feal
lconf
essthei
rdeepl
onel
i
ness.
Thef
actthattheyadmi
ttoc
ompl
etestr
anger
sthei
rfearofbei
ngc
astof
fshows
thei
rdesper
ati
on.I
nawor
ldwi
thoutf
riendstoc
onf
idei
n,str
anger
swi
l
lhav
etodo.
Eac
hofthesec
har
acter
ssear
chesf
oraf
riend,someonetohel
pthemmeasur
ethe
wor
ld,asCr
ook
ssays.I
ntheend,howev
er,c
ompani
onshi
pofhi
ski
ndseems
unattai
nabl
e.ForGeor
ge,thehopeofsuc
hcompani
onshi
pdi
eswi
thL
enni
e,andtr
ue
tohi
sor
igi
nalesti
mati
on,hewi
l
lgothr
oughl
i
feal
one.

Str
engthandWeak
ness

Stei
nbec
kex
plor
esdi
ffer
enttypesofstr
engthandweak
nessthr
oughoutthenov
ell
a.
Thef
irst,andmostobv
ious,i
sphysi
calstr
ength.Asthestor
yopens,Stei
nbec
k
showshowL
enni
epossessesphysi
calstr
engthbeyondhi
scontr
ol,aswhenhe
c
annothel
pki
l
li
ngthemi
ce.Gr
eatphysi
calstr
engthi
s,l
i
kemoney,qui
tev
aluabl
eto
meni
nGeor
geandL
enni
e’sc
irc
umstanc
es.Cur
ley,asasymbolofauthor
ityonthe
r
anc
handac
hampi
onbox
er,mak
esthi
scl
eari
mmedi
atel
ybyusi
nghi
sbr
uti
sh
str
engthandv
iol
enttempertoi
nti
midatethemenandhi
swi
fe.

Physi
calstr
engthi
snottheonl
yfor
cethatoppr
essesthemeni
nthebook
.Iti
sthe
r
igi
d,pr
edator
yhumantendenc
ies,notCur
ley,thatdef
eatL
enni
eandGeor
gei
nthe
end.L
enni
e’sphysi
calsi
zeandstr
engthpr
ovepower
less;i
nthef
aceofthese
uni
ver
sall
aws,hei
sutter
lydef
ensel
essandther
efor
edi
sposabl
e.

Symbol
s

Symbol
sareobjects,char
acter
s,f
igur
es,andcol
orsusedtor
epr
esentabstr
act
i
deasorconcepts.

Geor
geandL
enni
e’sFar
m

Thef
armthatGeor
gec
onstantl
ydesc
ribestoL
enni
e—thosef
ewac
resofl
andon
whi
chtheywi
l
lgr
owthei
rownf
oodandtendthei
rownl
i
vestoc
k—i
soneofthemost
power
fulsymbol
sinthebook
.Itseduc
esnotonl
ytheotherc
har
acter
sbutal
sothe
r
eader
,who,l
i
kethemen,wantstobel
i
evei
nthepossi
bi
li
tyofthef
ree,i
dyl
l
icl
i
fei
t
pr
omi
ses.Candyi
simmedi
atel
ydr
awni
nbythedr
eam,andev
enthec
yni
calCr
ook
s
hopesthatL
enni
eandGeor
gewi
l
llethi
mli
vether
etoo.Apar
adi
sef
ormenwhowant
tobemaster
softhei
rownl
i
ves,thef
armr
epr
esentsthepossi
bi
li
tyoff
reedom,
sel
f-r
eli
anc
e,andpr
otec
tionf
romthec
ruel
ti
esofthewor
ld.

L
enni
e’sPuppy

L
enni
e’spuppyi
soneofsev
eralsymbol
sthatr
epr
esentthev
ictor
yofthestr
ong
ov
ertheweak
.Lenni
eki
l
lsthepuppyac
cidental
l
y,ashehask
il
ledmanymi
cebef
ore,
byv
irtueofhi
sfai
l
uretor
ecogni
zehi
sownstr
ength.Al
thoughnootherc
har
acter
c
anmatc
hLenni
e’sphysi
calstr
ength,thehugeL
enni
ewi
l
lsoonmeetaf
atesi
mil
ar
tothatofhi
ssmal
lpuppy.L
ikeani
nnoc
entani
mal
,Lenni
eisunawar
eofthev
ici
ous,
pr
edator
ypower
sthatsur
roundhi
m.

Candy’sDog

I
nthewor
l OfMi
d  ceandMen 
desc
ribes,Candy’sdogr
epr
esentsthef
ateawai
ti
ng
anyonewh
ohasoutl
i
vedhi
sorherpur
pose.Onc
eaf
inesheepdog,usef
ulonthe
r
anc
h,Can
dy’smutti
snowdebi
l
itatedbyage.Candy’ssenti
mentalattac
hmentto
theani
mal
—hi
spl
eathatCar
lsonl
etthedogl
i
vef
ornootherr
easonthanthat
Candyr
aisedi
tfr
omapuppy—meansnothi
ngatal
lonther
anc
h.Al
thoughCar
lson
pr
omi
sestok
il
lthedogpai
nl
essl
y,hi
sinsi
stenc
ethattheol
dani
malmustdi
e
suppor
tsac
ruelnatur
all
awthatthestr
ongwi
l
ldi
sposeoftheweak
.Candy
i
nter
nal
i
zesthi
slesson,f
orhef
ear
sthathehi
msel
fisnear
inganagewhenhewi
l
lno
l
ongerbeu
sef
ulatther
anc
h,andther
efor
enol
ongerwel
come.

Sec
tion1

Fr
omtheopeni
ngofthenovel
latoGeor
gei
nstr
ucti
ngL
enni
einpr
epar
ati
onf
orthei
r
ar
riv
alatther
anch(
nightf
all
)

Summar
y

Thestor
yopenswi
ththedesc
ripti
onofar
iver
bedi
nrur
alCal
i
for
nia,abeauti
ful
,
woodedar
eaatthebaseof“gol
denf
oothi
l
lsl
opes.
”Apathr
unstother
iver
,used
byboysgoi
ngswi
mmi
ngandr
iff
raf
fcomi
ngdownf
romthehi
ghway.Twomenwal
k
al
ongthepath.Thef
irst,Geor
ge,i
ssmal
l
,wi
ry,andshar
p-f
eatur
ed,whi
l
ehi
s
c
ompani
on,L
enni
e,i
slar
geandawk
war
d.Theyar
ebothdr
essedi
ndeni
m,f
armhand
atti
re.

Astheyr
eac
hac
lear
ing,L
enni
estopstodr
inkf
romther
iver
,andGeor
gewar
nshi
m
nottodr
inktoomuc
horhewi
l
lgetsi
ck,ashedi
dtheni
ghtbef
ore.Asthei
r
c
onv
ersati
onc
onti
nues,i
tbec
omesc
learthatthel
argermanhasami
l
dmental
di
sabi
l
ity,andthathi
scompani
onl
ook
soutf
orhi
ssaf
ety.Geor
gebegi
nsto
c
ompl
ai
naboutthebusdr
iverwhodr
oppedthemof
fal
ongwayf
romthei
rintended
desti
nati
on—ar
anc
honwhi
chtheyar
eduetobegi
nwor
k.L
enni
einter
ruptshi
mto
askwher
etheyar
egoi
ng.Hi
scompani
oni
mpati
entl
yremi
ndshi
mofthei
rmov
ements
ov
erthepastf
ewdays,andthennoti
cesthatL
enni
eishol
dingadeadmouse.
Geor
getak
esi
tawayf
romhi
m.L
enni
einsi
ststhathei
snotr
esponsi
bl
efork
il
li
ng
themouse,thathej
ustwantedtopeti
t,butGeor
gel
oseshi
stemperandthr
owsi
t
ac
rossthestr
eam.Geor
gewar
nsL
enni
ethattheyar
egoi
ngtowor
konar
anc
h,and
thathemu
stbehav
ehi
msel
fwhentheymeettheboss.Geor
gedoesnotwantany
tr
oubl
eofthek
indtheyenc
ounter
edi
nWeed,thel
astpl
acetheywor
ked.

Geor
gedec
idesthattheywi
l
lstayi
nthec
lear
ingf
ortheni
ght,andastheypr
epar
e
thei
rbeansupper
,Lenni
ecr
ossesthestr
eamandr
ecov
ersthemouse,onl
ytohav
e
Geor
gef
indhi
mouti
mmedi
atel
yandtak
ethemouseawayagai
n.Appar
entl
y,
L
enni
e’sAuntCl
arausedtogi
vehi
mmi
cetopet,buthetendsto“br
eak
”smal
l
c
reatur
esuni
ntenti
onal
l
ywhenheshowshi
saf
fec
tionf
orthem,k
il
li
ngthembec
ause
hedoesn’tk
nowhi
sownstr
ength.Asthetwomensi
tdowntoeat,L
enni
eask
sfor
k
etc
hup.Thi
srequestl
aunc
hesGeor
gei
ntoal
ongspeec
haboutL
enni
e’s
ungr
atef
ulness.Geor
gec
ompl
ai
nsthathec
oul
dgetal
ongmuc
hbetteri
fhedi
dn’t
hav
etoc
aref
orL
enni
e.Heusesthei
nci
dentthatgotthemc
hasedoutofWeedasa
c
asei
npoi
nt.L
enni
e,al
overofsof
tthi
ngs,str
okedthef
abr
icofagi
rl
’sdr
ess,and
woul
dnotl
etgo.Thel
ocal
sassumedheassaul
tedher
,andr
anthemoutoftown.

Wi
thusi
tai
n’tl
i
kethat.Wegotaf
utur
e.Wegotsomebodytotal
ktothatgi
vesa
damnaboutus.

Af
terthi
sti
rade,Geor
gef
eel
ssor
ryf
orl
osi
nghi
stemperandapol
ogi
zesbytel
l
ing
L
enni
e’sf
avor
itestor
y,thepl
anf
orthei
rfutur
ehappi
ness.Thel
i
feofar
anc
h-
hand,ac
cor
dingtoGeor
ge,i
soneofthel
onel
i
esti
nthewor
ld,andmostmenwor
king
onr
anc
heshav
enoonetol
ookoutf
orthem.ButheandL
enni
ehav
eeac
hother
,and
someday,assoonastheymanagetosav
eenoughmoney,theywi
l
lbuyaf
arm
togetherand,asL
enni
eputsi
t,“l
i
veof
fthef
attathel
an’.
”Theywi
l
lgr
owthei
r
ownf
ood,r
aisel
i
vestoc
k,andk
eepr
abbi
ts,whi
chL
enni
ewi
l
ltend.Thi
sfami
l
iarstor
y
c
heer
sbothofthemup.Asni
ghtf
all
s,Geor
getel
l
sLenni
ethati
fheenc
ounter
sany
tr
oubl
ewhi
l
ewor
kingatther
anc
h,hei
stor
etur
ntothi
scl
ear
ing,hi
dei
nthebushes,
andwai
tforGeor
getoc
ome.

Anal
ysi
s

Thec
lear
ingi
ntowhi
chL
enni
eandGeor
gewanderev
okesEdeni
nitsser
eni
tyand
beauty.Stei
nbec
kwi
sel
yopensthenov
ell
awi
ththi
sidyl
l
icsc
ene,f
ori
tcr
eatesa
bac
kgr
oundf
orthei
deal
i
zedf
riendshi
pbetweenthemenandi
ntr
oduc
esthe
r
omanti
ci
zeddr
eamoff
arml
i
fethattheyshar
e.Theopeni
ngpagesestabl
i
sha
senseofpur
ityandper
fec
tionthatthewor
ld,whi
chwi
l
lpr
ovetobec
rueland
pr
edator
y,c
annotsustai
n.Stei
nbec
kal
sosol
i
dlyestabl
i
shesther
elati
onshi
p
betweenGeor
geandL
enni
ewi
thi
nthef
irstf
ewpagesofdi
al
ogue.Thei
rspeec
his
thatofuneduc
atedl
abor
ers,buti
semoti
onal
l
yri
chandof
tenl
yri
cal
.

Bec auseGeor geandL enniearenotpar ti

cularlydynamicc haracters(neitherofthem
changessigni f
icantlydur ingthec ourseofthenar rati
ve),theimpr essionther eader
getsf romtheseear lypagesper siststhroughoutthenov ell
a.Lennie’sand
Geor ge’sbehav i
orisr elati
vel
ystati c.Lennie’ssweeti nnoc ence,theundyi ng
dev oti
onheshowsGeor ge,andhishabi tofpetti ngsoftthi ngsarehi smaj ordefini
ng
traitsfromtheopeni ngpagestothef i
nalsc ene.Justasc onstantar eGeor ge’s
blusteryrantsabouthowmuc heasierlif
ewoul dbewi thoutthebur denofc ari
ngfor
Lennie,andu nconvinci
ngspeec hesthatal waysendbyr evealinghislovef orand
desi r
etopr otec this

FromLenni
eandGeor
ge’sar
riv
alatther
anchtoanunpl
easantencounterwi
th
Curl
ey

Summar
y

Thenex
tday,L
enni
eandGeor
gemak
ethei
rwaytother
anchbunk
house,wher
e
theyar
egr
eetedbyCandy,anagi
ng“swamper
,” orhandyman,whohasl
osthi
s
r
ighthand.Thebunk
housei
sanunador
nedbui
l
dingwher
ethemensl
eepon“bur
lap
ti
cki
ng” andk
eepthei
rfewpossessi
onsi
nappl
ebox
esthathav
ebeennai
l
edto
thewal
l
s.Geor
gei
sdi
smayedtof
indacanofl
i
cepowderi
nhi
sbunk
,butCandy
assur
eshi
mthathe’si
nnodangerofbei
ngi
nfested,si
ncethemanwhosl
ept
ther
ebef
oreGeor
gewasr
emar
kabl
ycl
ean.Geor
geask
sabouttheboss,andCandy
r
epor
tsthatal
thoughthebosswasangr
ythatGeor
geandL
enni
edi
dnotar
riv
e
thepr
evi
ousni
ghtashehadex
pectedthemto,hecanbea“pr
ettyni
cef
ell
a.”
Candyr
elateshowthebossgav
ethemenagal
l
onofwhi
skeyf
orChr
istmas,whi
ch
i
mmedi
atel
yimpr
essesGeor
ge.

Thebossappear
sandquesti
onsthepai
raboutthei
rlatear
riv
al.Geor
gebl
amesi
ton
thebusdr
iver
,who,hec
lai
ms,l
i
edtothemaboutthei
rpr
oxi
mitytother
anc
h.When
thebossask
saboutthe
irsk
il
lsandpr
evi
ousempl
oyment,Geor
gespeak
sforL
enni
e
topr
eventhi
mfr
omr
eveal
i
nghi
slac
kofi
ntel
l
igenc
e.WhenL
enni
emomentar
il
y
f
orgetsGeor
ge’si
nstr
ucti
onsandspeak
s,Geor
gebec
omesv
isi
bl
yner
vous.Thei
r
behav
iorstr
ikesthebossassuspi
ci
ous,andheask
swhyGeor
gef
eel
stheneedto
tak
esuc
hgoodc
areofh
isc
ompani
on.Hewonder
sifGeor
gei
stak
ingadv
antageofa
manwhol
ack
sthef
acul
ti
estotak
ecar
eofhi
msel
f.Geor
ger
epl
i
esthatL
enni
eishi
s
c
ousi
nandwask
ick
edi
ntheheadbyahor
sewhenhewasyoung,soGeor
gehasto
l
ookoutf
orhi
m.Thebossr
emai
nssuspi
ci
ousandwar
nsGeor
genottotr
ytopul
l
anythi
ngov
eronhi
m.Nonethel
ess,theyar
eassi
gnedtooneofthegr
ainteams,
wor
kingunderamannamedSl
i
m.

Onc
ethebossl
eav
esthebunk
house,Geor
geber
atesL
enni
eforhav
ingspok
enup.
Candyov
erhear
sGeor
getel
l
ingL
enni
ethathei
sgl
adtheyar
enotac
tual
l
yrel
ated.
Geor
gewar
nsCandythathedoesn’tappr
eci
ateotherpeopl
esti
cki
ngthei
rnosesi
n
hi
sbusi
ness,butCandyassur
eshi
mthathemi
ndshi
sownbusi
nessandhasno
i
nter
esti
nthei
raf
fai
rs.Ac
companyi
ngCandyi
sananc
ient,hal
f-bl
i
ndsheepdog,an
ani
malthattheol
dmanhasr
aisedsi
ncei
twasapuppy.Soonenough,Cur
ley,the
boss’sson,asmal
lyoungmanwhowear
saVasel
i
ne-f
il
ledwor
kgl
oveonhi
slef
t
handandh
igh-heel
edbootstodi
sti
ngui
shhi
msel
ffr
omthel
abor
ers,j
oinsthem.
Cur
ley,anaggr
essi
veandmal
i
ciousex
-box
er,i
mmedi
atel
ysensesthathemi
ghthav
e
somef
unatL
enni
e’sex
pense,andbegi
nstodemandthat“thebi
gguytal
k.
”Af
ter
Cur
leyl
eav
es,Candyex
plai
nsthatCur
leyl
ovesbeati
ngupbi
gguys,“k
indofl
i
ke
he’smadat’embec
auseheai
n’tabi
gguy.
”Cur
ley’stemperhasonl
ygotten
wor
sesi
ncehi
srec
entmar
riagetoa“tar
t”whoenj
oysf
li
rti
ngwi
thther
anc
h-
hands.

Candyl
eav
estopr
epar
ewashbasi
nsf
orthemenwhowi
l
lsoonr
etur
nfr
omthe
f
iel
ds,andGeor
getel
l
sLenni
etosteerc
learofCur
ley,bec
ausef
ighti
ngthe
“bastar
d”wi
l
lli
kel
ycostthemthei
rjobs.L
enni
eagr
ees,assur
ingGeor
gethathe
doesn’twantanytr
oubl
e.Geor
ger
emi
ndshi
magai
nofthemeeti
ngpl
acethey
agr
eedonshoul
danythi
nggowr
ong.Atthatmoment,Cur
ley’swi
fe,apr
etty,
heav
il
ymade-upwomanwi
thanasalv
oic
e,appear
s.Shec
lai
mstobel
ook
ingf
orher
husbandan
dfl
i
rtswi
ththetwomenandSl
i
m,thesk
il
ledmul
edr
iver
,whopassesby
outsi
de.Sl
i
mtel
l
sherthatCur
leyhasgonei
ntothehouse,andshehur
riesof
f.
L
enni
espeak
sadmi
ri
ngl
yofhow“pur
ty”thewomani
s,andGeor
geangr
il
yor
der
s
hi
mtostayawayf
rom“thatbi
tch.
”Lenni
e,suddenl
yfr
ightened,c
ompl
ai
nsthath
e
wantstol
eav
ether
anc
h,butGeor
ger
emi
ndshi
mthattheyneedtomak
esome
moneybef
oretheyc
anbuythei
rownl
andandl
i
vethei
rdr
eam.

Sl
i
menter
sthebunk
house.Hi
stal
entsmak
ehi
moneofthemosti
mpor
tantand
r
espec
tedmenonther
anc
h.Ther
eisa“gr
avi
tyi
nhi
smanner
,”andev
eryonestops
tal
ki
ngandl
i
stenswhenhespeak
s.Hec
onv
erseswi
thL
enni
eandGeor
ge,andi
s
qui
etl
yimpr
essedbythei
rfr
iendshi
p,appr
eci
ati
ngthef
actthattheyl
ookoutf
or
onean
other
.Themenar
ejoi
nedbyCar
lson,anotherr
anc
h-hand.Car
lsonask
sabout
Sl
i
m’sdog,whi
chhasj
ustgi
venbi
rthtoni
nepuppi
es.Sl
i
mrepor
tsthathedr
owned
f
ourofth
epuppi
esi
mmedi
atel
ybec
ausethei
rmotherwoul
dhav
ebeenunabl
eto
f
eedthem.Car
lsonsuggeststhattheyc
onv
inc
eCandytoshoothi
sol
d,wor
thl
ess
muttandr
aiseoneofthepupsi
nstead.Thetr
iangl
eri
ngsf
ordi
nner
,andthemen
f
il
teroutofthebunk
house,wi
thL
enni
esuddenl
yex
citedbythepr
ospec
tofhav
inga
puppy.AsGeor
geandL
enni
epr
epar
etol
eav
e,Cur
leyappear
sagai
n,l
ook
ingf
orhi
s
wi
fe,andh
urr
iesof
fangr
il
ywhentheytel
lhi
mwher
eshewent.Geor
geex
presseshi
s
di
sl
ik
eforCu
rley,andc
ommentsthathei
saf
rai
dhewi
l
l“tangl
e”wi
thCur
ley
hi
msel
f.

Anal
ysi
s

Onc
eGeor
geandL
enni
ear
riv
eatthebunk
house,thedi
ffi
cul
ti
esofthel
i
vesthey
l
eadbec
omestar
klyappar
ent.Ther
ear
efewc
omf
ortsi
nthei
rquar
ter
s;themen
sl
eeponr
oughbur
lapmattr
essesanddonotownanythi
ngthatc
annotf
iti
ntoan
appl
ebox
.Geor
ge’sf
earthatl
i
ceandr
oac
hesi
nfesthi
sbunkf
urther
sthei
mageof
thestr
uggl
esofsuc
hal
i
fe.Thi
ssec
tional
soi
mmedi
atel
yandpai
nful
l
yestabl
i
shes
thec
ruel
,pr
edator
ynatur
eofthewor
ld.Car
lson’sbel
i
efthatCandyshoul
drepl
ace
hi
sol
ddogwi
thaheal
thynewbor
npuppysi
gnal
sawor
ldi
nwhi
chthel
i
vesofthe
weakanddebi
l
itatedar
econsi
der
edunwor
thyofpr
otec
tionorpr
eser
vati
on.The
r
anc
h-hands’wor
ldhasl
i
mitedr
esour
ces,andonl
ythestr
ongestwi
l
lsur
viv
e.As
Sl
i
m,whov
oluntar
il
ydr
ownsf
ourofhi
sdog’sni
nepuppi
es,mak
esc
lear
,ther
eis
l
i
ttl
eroomortol
eranc
efortheweak
,espec
ial
l
ywhenr
esour
cesar
eli
mited.
Thr
oughoutthec
our
seofthewor
k,near
lyal
lofthec
har
acter
swi
l
lconf
rontthi
s
gr
imr
eal
i
ty.Notonl
ydoesther
anc
hrepr
esentasoc
ietythatdoesnotc
onsi
derthe
wel
far
eofi
tsweak
ermember
s,buti
tal
sostandsasonei
nwhi
chthosewhohol
d
powerwi
el
diti
rresponsi
bl
y.

f
riend.Thoughthebossseemsf
air
-mi
nded,tr
eati
nghi
smentowhi
skeyat
Chr
istmasandgi
vi
ngL
enni
eandGeor
gethebenef
itofthedoubt,hei
san
uni
mpor
tantc
har
acter
.Instead,hi
ssonCur
leyembodi
esauthor
ityonther
anc
h.I
n
thebook
’sv
isi
onofthewor
ld,Cur
leyr
epr
esentsthev
ici
ousandbel
l
iger
entwayi
n
whi
chsoc
ialpowertendstomani
festi
tsel
f.Gi
venCur
ley’stemper
ament,heser
ves
asanatur
alf
oil
—ac
har
acterwhoseemoti
onsorac
tionsc
ontr
astwi
ththoseof
otherc
har
acter
s—f
orboththegentl
eLenni
eandthesel
f-assur
edSl
i
m.Wher
eas
Cur
leyi
spl
aguedbysel
f-doubtsthatc
ausehi
mtoex
plodev
iol
entl
y,Sl
i
mpossesses
aqui
etc
ompetenc
ethatear
nshi
mther
espec
tofev
eryoneonther
anc
h.L
ikeCur
ley,
Sl
i
mstandsasanauthor
ityf
igur
e.Themenonther
anc
hlooktohi
mforadv
ice,and,
l
ater
,ev
enCur
leywi
l
ldel
i
veranunc
har
acter
isti
capol
ogyaf
terwr
ongl
yac
cusi
ngSl
i
m
off
ool
i
ngar
oundwi
thhi
swi
fe.Sl
i
m’sauthor
ityc
omesf
romhi
ssel
f-possessi
on;h
e
needsnei
thertheappr
ovalnorthef
ail
ureofother
stoc
onf
irmhi
sstatur
e.
Cur
ley’sstr
ength,ontheotherhand,dependsuponhi
sabi
l
itytodomi
nateand
def
eatth
oseweak
erthanhi
m.

Geor
geandL
enni
eimmedi
atel
yfeelthethr
eatthatCur
ley’spr
esenc
eposes.To
av
oidgetti
ngi
ntotr
oubl
ewi
thCur
ley,theypr
omi
setosti
ckev
enc
losertoeac
h
otherthanu
sual
.Thei
rfr
iendshi
pisr
areandi
mpr
essi
ve.Sl
i
m,whowonder
swhymor
e
mendon’ttr
avelar
oundtogetherandtheor
izesthatmaybei
t’sbec
auseev
eryon
e
i
ssc
aredofev
eryoneel
se,appr
eci
atesthec
losenessofthei
rfr
iendshi
p.I
nthe
nov
ell
aasawhol
e,Stei
nbec
kcel
ebr
atesandr
omanti
ci
zesthebondsbetweenmen.
ThemeniOfMi
n  ceandMendomi
natether
anc
handl
ong,mor
ethananythi
ngel
se,to
l
i
vepeac
eful
,untr
oubl
edl
i
vesi
nthec
ompanyofothermen.Theonl
yfemal
e
c
har
acterwhohasanac
tiv
erol
einthebooki
sCur
ley’swi
fe,who,si
gni
fi
cantl
y,
Stei
nbec
knev
ernames,andi
denti
fi
esonl
yinr
efer
enc
etoherhusband.Otherf
emal
e
c
har
acter
sar
ementi
onedi
npassi
ng,butwi
ththeex
cepti
onofthemater
nalAunt
Cl
ara,whoc
aredf
orL
enni
ebef
oreherdeath,theyar
einv
ari
abl
ypr
osti
tutesor
tr
oubl
emak
ers.

Ev
enwi
thal
lofi
tsc
onc
ernf
ortr
eati
ngwi
thdi
gni
tythel
i
vesofthesoc
ial
l
y
di
sempower OfMi
ed,
  ceandMen 
der
ogator
il
yassi
gnswomenonl
ytwol
owl
yfunc
tions:
c
aretak
ersofmen,andsexobj
ects.Thenov
elal
togetherdi
smi
sseswomenf
romi
ts
v
isi
onofpar
adi
se,r
egar
dlessofthei
rpl
acei
nther
ealwor
ld.Femal
esex
ual
i
tyi
s
desc
ribedasatr
apl
ai
dtoensnar
eandr
uinmen.Geor
geandL
enni
eimagi
ne
themsel
vesal
one,wi
thoutwi
vesorwomentoc
ompl
i
catethei
rvi
si
onoftendi
ngthe
l
andandr
aisi
ngr
abbi
ts.Muc
hli
keatr
adi
ti
onal
,conser
vati
veChr
isti
ani
nter
pretati
on
ofthemythofman’sex
pul
si
onf
romtheGar
denofEden,thenov
ell
apr
esents
womenasatemptati
onl
eadi
ngtoman’sf
allf
romper
fec
tion.

Sec
tion3

FromSli
mandGeorger
etur
ningtothebunk
housetoGeor
gecomf
orti
ngL
enni
eaf
ter
thefi
ghtwi
thCurl
ey

Summar
y

Attheendofthewor
kday,Sl
i
mandGeor
ger
etur
ntothebunk
house.Sl
i
mhas
agr
eedtogi
veoneofthepupstoL
enni
e,andGeor
gethank
shi
mforhi
ski
ndness,
i
nsi
sti
ngthatL
enni
eis“dumbashel
l
,”buti
snei
therc
raz
ynormean.Sl
i
m
appr
eci
atesGeor
ge’sf
riendshi
pwi
thL
enni
e,sayi
ngthati
tisawel
comec
hangei
na
wor
ldwher
enooneev
er“seemstogi
veadamnaboutnobody.
”Geor
gec
onf
idesi
n
Sl
i
mthestor
yofhowheandL
enni
ecametobec
ompani
ons.Theywer
ebor
ninthe
sametown,andGeor
getookc
har
geofL
enni
eaf
terthedeathofL
enni
e’sAunt
Cl
ara.Atf
irst,Geor
geadmi
ts,hepushedL
enni
ear
ound,getti
nghi
mtodor
idi
cul
ous
thi
ngs,su
chasj
umpi
ngi
ntoar
iverev
enthoughhedi
dn’tk
nowhowtoswi
m.Af
ter
watc
hingh
isf
riendnear
lydr
own,Geor
gef
eltashamedofhi
sbehav
ior
.Si
ncethat
day,hehastak
engoodc
areofhi
scompani
on,pr
otec
tinghi
mev
enwhenhegetsi
n
tr
oubl
e.Forex
ampl
e,i
nWeed,thel
asttownwher
etheywor
ked,L
enni
ewantedto
touc
hthef
abr
icofagi
rl
’sr
eddr
ess.Whenshepul
l
edaway,L
enni
ebec
ame
f
rightenedandhel
dontoherunti
lGeor
gehi
thi
mov
ertheheadtomak
ehi
mletgo.
Thegi
rlac
cusedL
enni
eofr
ape,andGeor
geandL
enni
ehadtohi
dei
nani
rri
gati
on
di
tchtoesc
apeal
ync
hmob.

L
enni
ecomesi
ntothebunk
house,c
arr
yinghi
snewpuppyunderhi
scoat.Geor
ge
ber
ateshi
mfortak
ingthel
i
ttl
ecr
eatur
eawayf
romi
tsmother
.AsL
enni
eretur
ns
thepuppytothel
i
tter
,CandyandCar
lsonappear
.Car
lsonbegi
nstoc
ompl
ai
nagai
n
aboutCandy’sdog,sayi
ngthati
tsti
nksandthati
t“ai
n’tnogoodtohi
msel
f.
”
Heur
gesCandytoshoottheani
mal
.Candyr
epl
i
esthathehashadthedogf
ortoo
manyyear
stok
il
li
t,butCar
lsonc
onti
nuestopr
essur
ehi
m.Ev
entual
l
ySl
i
mjoi
nsi
n,
suggesti
ngthatCandywoul
dbeputti
ngasuf
fer
ingani
malouti
fitsmi
ser
y.Sl
i
m
of
fer
shi
mapuppyandur
geshi
mtol
etCar
lsonshootthedog.Anotherf
armhand,
Whi
t,enter
sandshowsSl
i
mal
etterwr
ittenbyamantheyusedtowor
kwi
th
publ
i
shedi
napul
pmagaz
ine.Theshor
tletterpr
aisesthemagaz
ine.Asthemen
mar
velov
eri
t,Car
lsonof
fer
stok
il
lthedogqui
ckl
ybyshooti
ngi
tinthebac
kofthe
head.Rel
uctantl
y,Candygi
vesi
n.Car
lsontak
esthedogoutsi
de,pr
omi
si
ngSl
i
mthat
hewi
l
lbur
ythec
orpse.Af
teraf
ewawk
war
dmomentsofsi
l
enc
e,themenheara
shotr
ingout,andCandytur
nshi
sfac
etothewal
l
.

Cr
ook
s,thebl
ackstabl
e-hand,c
omesi
nandtel
l
sSl
i
mthathehaswar
medsometar
toputonamul
e’sf
oot.Af
terSl
i
mleav
es,theothermenpl
ayc
ardsanddi
scuss
Cur
ley’swi
fe,agr
eei
ngthatshewi
l
lmak
etr
oubl
eforsomeone;asGeor
gesays,
“She’saj
ail
bai
tal
lsetonthetr
igger
.”Whi
tinv
itesGeor
getoac
companythem
toal
ocalwhor
ehousethef
oll
owi
ngni
ght.Whi
tdi
scussesthemer
itsofol
dSusy’s
pl
aceov
erCl
ara’s,i
tbei
ngc
heaperandhav
ingni
cec
hai
rs,butGeor
gec
omments
thathec
annotaf
for
dtowastehi
smoneybec
auseheandL
enni
ear
etr
yingtoput
togethera“stak
e.”L
enni
eandCar
lsonc
omei
n.Car
lsonc
leanshi
sgunandav
oids
l
ook
ingatCandy.Cur
leyappear
slook
ingf
orhi
swi
feagai
n.Ful
lofj
eal
ousyand
suspi
ci
on,heask
swher
eSl
i
mis.Whenhel
ear
nsthatSl
i
misi
nthebar
n,hestor
ms
of
finthatdi
rec
tion,f
oll
owedbyWhi
tandCar
lson,whohopetoseeaf
ight.

Geor
geask
sLenni
eifhesawSl
i
mwi
thCur
ley’swi
fei
nthebar
n,andL
enni
esaysno.
Geor
gewar
nshi
scompani
onagai
nstthetr
oubl
ethatwomenc
ause,andthenL
enni
e
ask
shi
mtodesc
ribethef
armthattheyhopetobuy.AsGeor
getal
ks,Candyl
i
sten
s
andbec
omesex
citedbythei
deaofsuc
habeauti
fulpl
ace.Heask
sifthepl
acer
eal
l
y
ex
ists.Geor
gei
sguar
dedatf
irst,butsoonsaysthati
tdoesandthattheowner
s
ar
edesper
atetosel
li
t.Ov
erc
omewi
thhope,Candyof
fer
stoc
ontr
ibutehi
sli
fe’s
sav
ingsi
ftheyal
l
owhi
mtol
i
vether
etoo.Si
ncehei
sol
dandc
rippl
ed,hewor
ries
thatther
anc
hwi
l
llethi
mgosoon.Themenagr
eethataf
teramonthofwor
kat
thi
sranc
h,theywi
l
lhav
eenoughmoneysav
edtomak
eadownpaymentonthehouse.
Geor
getel
l
stheothertwonottotel
lanyoneel
seaboutthei
rpl
an.Astheyhearth
e
othermen
’sv
oic
esappr
oac
hing,Candysaysqui
etl
ytoGeor
gethatheshoul
dhav
e
shothi
sol
ddoghi
msel
f,andnotl
etastr
angerdoi
t.

Sl
i
m,Cur
ley,Car
lson,andWhi
tretur
n.Cur
leyapol
ogi
zestoSl
i
mforhi
ssuspi
ci
ons,
andthentheothermenmoc
khi
m.Knowi
ngthatSl
i
mistoostr
ongtobebeateni
na
f
ight,Cur
leyl
ook
stov
enthi
srageel
sewher
e.Hef
indsaneasytar
geti
nLenni
e,who
i
ssti
l
ldr
eami
ngofthef
armandsmi
l
ingwi
thc
hil
dli
kedel
i
ght.ThoughL
enni
ebegsto
bel
eftal
one,Cur
leyattac
kshi
m.Hethr
owssev
eralpunc
hes,bl
oodyi
ngL
enni
e’s
f
ace,andhi
tshi
minthegutbef
oreGeor
geur
gesL
enni
etof
ightbac
k.OnGeor
ge’s
c
ommand,L
enni
egr
absCur
ley’sr
ighthandandbr
eak
sitef
for
tlessl
y.AsSl
i
mleads
Cur
leyawaytoadoc
tor
,hewar
nshi
mnottohav
eGeor
geandL
enni
efi
red,orhewi
l
l
bemadeth
elaughi
ngstoc
kofther
anc
h.Cur
leyc
onsentsnottoattempttohav
e
themf
ired.Geor
gec
omf
ortsL
enni
e,tel
l
inghi
mthatthef
ightwasnothi
sfaul
tand
thathehasnothi
ngtof
ear
.Lenni
e’sonl
yfeari
sthathewi
l
lnotbeal
l
owedtotend
ther
abbi
tsonthei
rfar
m.Geor
geassur
eshi
mthathewi
l
l.

Anal
ysi
s

Dur
ingGeor
ge’sc
onv
ersati
onwi
thSl
i
m,Stei
nbec
kestabl
i
shestheor
igi
nsofL
enni
e
andGeor
ge’sr
elati
onshi
pinaf
ewbr
oadstr
okes.Thei
rsi
sac
hil
dhoodr
elati
onshi
p
gr
owni
ntoar
areadul
tcompani
onshi
p.Af
teryear
softor
tur
ingandtak
ing
adv
antageofhi
sfr
iend,Geor
gehadamor
alawak
eni
ng,r
eal
i
zingthati
tiswr
ongto
mak
eawe
akerl
i
vingbei
ngsuf
ferf
orspor
t.Thi
sconv
icti
onr
unsc
ountertothec
ruel
natur
eofthewor
ldofther
anc
h-hands,i
nwhi
chthestr
onghuntdownanddoaway
wi
ththeweak
.Inthi
ssec
tion,thedeathofCandy’sdogtesti
fi
estothepi
ti
less
pr
ocessbywhi
chthestr
ongattac
kandel
i
minatetheweak
.Candy’sdog—al
though
nol
ongerusef
ulatc
orr
all
i
ngsheep—i
sofgr
eati
mpor
tanc
etotheol
dswamper
.
Candy’semoti
onalattac
hmenttothedogi
scl
ear
.Regar
dless,al
l
owi
ngtheani
mal
tol
i
veouti
tsdaysi
snotanopti
oni
nthi
scr
uelenv
ironment.Car
lsoni
nsi
ststhat
theani
mal
’si
nfi
rmi
tymak
esi
tunwor
thyofsuc
hdev
oti
on.Themostc
omf
orthe
c
anof
feri
stoassur
eCandythathewi
l
lki
l
lthedogmer
cif
ull
yandqui
ckl
y.WhenSl
i
m,
thestor
y’smosttr
ustedsour
ceofwi
sdom,agr
ees,heonl
yconf
irmsthatthei
r
wor
ldi
sonethatof
fer
stheweakanddi
sempower
edl
i
ttl
ehopeofpr
otec
tion.

Sec
tion4

FromL enni
etal
kingtoCr
ook
sinthehar
nessr
oomtoaf
terCur
ley’swi
fe
threateni
ngCrooks

Summar
y
Thenex
tev
eni
ng,Satur
day,Cr
ook
ssi
tsonhi
sbunki
nthehar
nessr
oom.Thebl
ack
stabl
e-handhasac
rook
edbac
k—thesour
ceofhi
sni
ckname—andi
sdesc
ribedasa
“pr
oud,al
oofman”whospendsmuc
hofhi
sti
mer
eadi
ng.L
enni
e,whohasbeeni
nthe
bar
ntendi
ngtohi
spuppy,appear
sinthedoor
way,l
ook
ingf
orc
ompany.Cr
ook
stel
l
s
hi
mtogoaway,sayi
ngthati
fhe,asabl
ackman,i
snotal
l
owedi
nthewhi
te
quar
ter
s,th
enwhi
temenar
enotal
l
owedihi
n s.L
enni
edoesnotunder
stand.He
i
nnoc
entl
yrepor
tsthatev
eryoneel
sehasgonei
ntotownandthathesawCr
ook
s’s
l
i
ghtonandthoughthec
oul
dcomei
nandk
eephi
mcompany.Fi
nal
l
y,despi
tehi
msel
f,
Cr
ook
syi
el
dstoL
enni
e’s“di
sar
mingsmi
l
e”andi
nvi
teshi
min.

J
ustl
i
keheav
en.Ev
er’bodywantsal
i
ttl
epi
eceofl
an’.Ir
eadpl
entyofbook
sout
her
e.Nobodynev
ergetstoheav
en,andnobodygetsnol
and.

Soonenough,L
enni
efor
getshi
spr
omi
setok
eepthef
armasec
retandbegi
nsto
babbl
echeer
ful
l
yaboutthepl
acethatheandGeor
gewi
l
lbuysomeday.Cr
ook
sdoes
notbel
i
evehi
m,assumi
ngthatthef
antasyi
spar
tofL
enni
e’smentaldi
sabi
l
ity.He
tel
l
sLenni
eabouthi
sownl
i
fe,r
ecounti
nghi
sear
lydaysonac
hic
kenf
armwhenwhi
te
c
hil
drenv
isi
tedandpl
ayedwi
thhi
m.Sti
l
l,hesays,hef
eltk
eenl
yal
oneev
enthen.Hi
s
f
ami
l
ywastheonl
ybl
ackf
ami
l
yformi
l
es,andhi
sfatherc
onstantl
ywar
nedhi
m
agai
nstk
eepi
ngc
ompanywi
ththei
rwhi
tenei
ghbor
s.Thei
mpor
tanc
eofthi
s
i
nstr
ucti
onesc
apedCr
ook
sasac
hil
d,buthesaysthathehasc
ometounder
stand
i
tper
fec
tly.Now,astheonl
ybl
ackmanonther
anc
h,her
esentstheunf
airsoc
ial
nor
msthatr
equi
rehi
mtosl
eepal
onei
nthestabl
e.Feel
i
ngweakandv
ulner
abl
e
hi
msel
f,Cr
ook
scr
uel
l
ysuggeststhatGeor
gemi
ghtnev
err
etur
nfr
omtown.He
enj
oystor
tur
ingL
enni
e,unti
lLenni
ebec
omesangr
yandthr
eatensCr
ook
s,demandi
ng
tok
now“Whohur
tGeor
ge?”Cr
ook
shasti
l
ybac
ksdown,pr
omi
si
ngthatGeor
gewi
l
l
c
omebac
k,andbegi
nstotal
kabouthi
schi
l
dhoodagai
n,whi
chr
etur
nsL
enni
etohi
s
dr
eamsofowni
ngthef
arm.Cr
ook
sbi
tter
lysaysthatev
eryr
anc
h-handhasthe
samedr
eam.Headdsthathehasseenc
ountl
essmengoonaboutthesamepi
eceof
l
and,butnothi
ngev
erc
omesofi
t.Al
i
ttl
epi
eceofl
and,Cr
ook
scl
ai
ms,i
sashar
dto
f
indasheav
en.

Candyev
entual
l
yjoi
nsthem,enter
ingCr
ook
s’sr
oomf
orthef
irstti
mei
nal
lofthe
year
stheyhav
ewor
kedtogether
.Bothmenar
eunc
omf
ortabl
eatf
irstbutCandyi
s
r
espec
tfulandCr
ook
spl
easedtohav
emor
ecompany.Candytal
kstoL
enni
eabout
r
aisi
ngr
abbi
tsonthef
arm.Hehasbeenbusyc
alc
ulati
ngnumber
sandthi
nkshe
k
nowshowthef
armc
anmak
esomemoneywi
thr
abbi
ts.Cr
ook
sconti
nuestobel
i
ttl
e
thei
rdr
eamunti
lCandyi
nsi
ststhattheyal
readyhav
ethel
andpi
ckedoutand
near
lyal
lthemoneythey’l
lneedtobuyi
t.Thi
snewspi
questhebl
ackman’s
i
nter
est.Shyl
y,Cr
ook
ssuggeststhatmaybetheyc
oul
dtak
ehi
mal
ongwi
ththem.
ButCur
ley’swi
feappear
sandi
nter
ruptsthemen’sdaydr
eami
ng.

Cur
ley’swi
feask
saboutherhusband,thensaysshek
nowsthatthemenwenttoa
br
othel
,cr
uel
l
yobser
vingthat“theyl
eftal
ltheweakonesher
e.”Cr
ook
sandCandy
tel
lhertogoaway,buti
nsteadshestar
tstal
ki
ngaboutherl
onel
i
nessandher
unhappymar
riage.Candyi
nsi
ststhatshel
eav
eandsayspr
oudl
ythatev
eni
fshe
gotthemf
ired,theyc
oul
dgoof
fandbuythei
rownpl
acetol
i
ve.Cur
ley’swi
fe
l
aughsathi
m,thenbi
tter
lyc
ompl
ai
nsaboutherl
i
fewi
thCur
ley.Shesumsupher
si
tuati
on,admi
tti
ngthatshef
eel
spatheti
ctowantc
ompanysodesper
atel
ythat
shei
swi
l
li
ngtotal
ktothel
i
kesofCr
ook
s,Candy,andL
enni
e.Sheask
swhat
happenedtoherhusband’shand,anddoesnotbel
i
evethemenwhentheyi
nsi
st
thathegoti
tcaughti
namac
hine.SheteasesL
enni
eaboutthebr
uisesonhi
sfac
e,
deduc
ingthathegoti
njur
edi
nthesc
uff
lewi
thCur
ley.

Fedup,Cr
ook
sinsi
ststhatshel
eav
ebef
orehetel
l
sthebossaboutherwi
ckedways,
andsher
espondsbyask
ingi
fhek
nowswhatshec
andotohi
mifhesaysanythi
ng.
Thei
mpl
i
cati
oni
scl
earthatshec
oul
deasi
l
yhav
ehi
mlync
hed,andhec
ower
s.Candy
saysthathehear
sthemenc
omi
ngbac
k,whi
chf
inal
l
ymak
esherl
eav
e,butnot
bef
oreshetel
l
sLenni
ethatshei
sgl
adhebeatherhusband.Geor
geappear
s,and
c
riti
ci
zesCandyf
ortal
ki
ngaboutthei
rfar
minf
rontofotherpeopl
e.Asthewhi
te
menl
eav
eCr
ook
s,hec
hangeshi
smi
ndaboutgoi
ngtothef
armwi
ththem,c
all
i
ngout,
“Iwoul
dn’wanttogonopl
acel
i
kethat.
”

Anal
ysi
s

Thi
ssec
tioni
ntr
oduc
esthec
har
acterofCr
ook
s,whohaspr
evi
ousl
yonl
ymadea
br
iefappear
anc
e.L
iketheothermeni
nthenov
ell
a,Cr
ook
sisal
onel
yfi
gur
e.L
ike
Candy,aphysi
caldi
sabi
l
itysetshi
mapar
tfr
omtheotherwor
ker
s,andmak
eshi
m
wor
rythathewi
l
lsoonwearouthi
susef
ulnessonther
anc
h.Cr
ook
s’si
sol
ati
oni
s
c
ompoundedbythef
actthat,asabl
ackman,hei
srel
egatedtosl
eepi
nar
oomi
n
thestabl
es;hei
snotal
l
owedi
nthewhi
ter
anc
h-hands’quar
ter
sandnoti
nvi
tedto
pl
ayc
ardsorv
isi
tbr
othel
swi
ththem.Hef
eel
sthi
sisol
ati
onk
eenl
yandhasan
under
standabl
ybi
tterr
eac
tiontoi
t.

“We’dj
ustgotoher
,”Geor
gesai
d.“Wewoul
dn’tasknobodyi
fwecoul
d.J
us’
say,‘We’l
lgotoher
,’an’wewoul
d.J
us’mi
l
kthecowandsl
i
ngsomegr
ainto
thechi
ckensan’gotoher
.”

Near
lyal
lofthec
har
acter
si OfMi
n  ceandMen 
aredi
sempower
edi
nsomeway.
Whetherbec
auseofaphysi
calormentalhandi
cap,age,c
lass,r
ace,orgender
,al
most
ev
eryonef
indshi
m-orh
ersel
foutsi
dethestr
uctur
esofsoc
ialpower
,andeac
h
suf
fer
sgr
eatl
yasar
esul
t.I
nfl
exi
bl
erul
esdi
ctatethatol
dmenar
esentawayf
rom
ther
anc
hwhentheyar
enol
ongerusef
ulandbl
ackwor
ker
sar
eref
usedentr
anc
eto
thebunk
house.Whi
l
ethewor
lddesc
ribedi
nthebookof
fer
snopr
otec
tionf
orthe
suf
fer
ing,ther
ear
esmal
lcomf
orts.L
enni
eandGeor
ge’sstor
yisonesuc
hrepr
iev
e.
Thepowerofthei
rvi
si
onofasi
mpl
eli
feonani
dyl
l
icl
i
ttl
efar
mrestsi
nitsabi
l
ityto
soothetheaf
fli
cted.I
ntheopeni
ngc
hapter
,thi
svi
si
onac
tsl
i
keasal
vef
orL
enni
e
andGeor
geaf
terthei
rtumul
tuousdepar
tur
efr
omWeed;now,i
trousesCandyout
ofmour
ningf
orhi
sdog.Assoonasthel
onel
yol
dmanov
erhear
sGeor
geandL
enni
e
di
scussi
ngthei
rpl
ans,heseemspi
ti
ful
l
yeagertoj
oini
nthi
spar
adi
se.Tal
ki
ngabout
i
tagai
nal
somanagestoc
almandc
omf
ortL
enni
eaf
terhi
supsetti
ngr
un-i
nwi
th
Cur
ley.Despi
tethef
actthatwi
thCandy’shel
pthepossi
bi
li
tyofpur
chasi
ngthe
f
armgr
owsmor
erealf
orGeor
geandL
enni
ethanev
erbef
ore,i
tisc
learthattr
agi
c
ev
entswi
l
linter
vene.Geor
ge’sstor
ywi
l
lpr
ovetobeonl
yatempor
aryesc
apef
rom
thewor
ld’str
oubl
es,notac
ure.

Stei
nbec
kadv
anc
esthenar
rati
vetowar
dthei
nev
itabl
etr
agedythr
oughmany
i
nstanc
esoff
oreshadowi
ngi
nthi
ssec
tion.Thestor
yofL
enni
e’sbehav
iori
nWeed
andhi
spe
rfor
manc
einthef
ightwi
thCur
leyestabl
i
shhi
stendenc
ytoex
ertgr
eat
str
engthwhenc
onf
usedandf
rightened.Combi
nedwi
thGeor
ge’sear
li
erobser
vati
on
thatL
enn
iek
eptac
cidental
l
yki
l
li
ngmi
cewhi
l
epetti
ngthem,theseev
entsheav
il
y
anti
ci
pateL
enni
e’sdeadl
yinter
acti
onwi
thCur
ley’swi
fei
nthebook
’sc
li
mac
tic
sc
ene.Fur
ther
mor
e,themethodbywhi
chCar
lsonk
il
lsCandy’sdog,wi
thapai
nl
ess
shottoth
ebac
kofthehead,sadl
ymi
rror
sthewayGeor
gewi
l
lchoosetomur
der
hi
sdear
estf
riend.I
tisn
ocoi
nci
denc
ethatsoonaf
terGeor
gec
onf
idesi
nSl
i
mthat
hehask
nownL
enni
esi
ncec
hil
dhood,Candypatheti
cal
l
ysaysthathec
oul
dnev
erk
il
l
hi
sdog,si
ncehehas“hadhi
msi
ncehewasapup.
”Mostsi
gni
fi
canti
sCandy’s
qui
etc
ommenttoGeor
gethathewi
sheshehadshothi
sol
ddoghi
msel
fandnot
al
l
owedastr
angertodoi
t,adi
sti
nctf
oreshadowi
ngofthedec
isi
onGeor
gewi
l
l
mak
etok
il
lLenni
ehi
msel
fratherthanl
ethi
mbek
il
ledbyCur
leyandtheother
s.

Sec
tion4

FromL enni
etal
kingtoCr
ook
sinthehar
nessr
oomtoaf
terCur
ley’swi
fe
threateni
ngCrooks

Summar
y

Thenex
tev
eni
ng,Satur
day,Cr
ook
ssi
tsonhi
sbunki
nthehar
nessr
oom.Thebl
ack
stabl
e-handhasac
rook
edbac
k—thesour
ceofhi
sni
ckname—andi
sdesc
ribedasa
“pr
oud,al
oofman”whospendsmuc
hofhi
sti
mer
eadi
ng.L
enni
e,whohasbeeni
nthe
bar
ntendi
ngtohi
spuppy,appear
sinthedoor
way,l
ook
ingf
orc
ompany.Cr
ook
stel
l
s
hi
mtogoaway,sayi
ngthati
fhe,asabl
ackman,i
snotal
l
owedi
nthewhi
te
quar
ter
s,th
enwhi
temenar
enotal
l
owedihi
n s.L
enni
edoesnotunder
stand.He
i
nnoc
entl
yrepor
tsthatev
eryoneel
sehasgonei
ntotownandthathesawCr
ook
s’s
l
i
ghtonandthoughthec
oul
dcomei
nandk
eephi
mcompany.Fi
nal
l
y,despi
tehi
msel
f,
Cr
ook
syi
el
dstoL
enni
e’s“di
sar
mingsmi
l
e”andi
nvi
teshi
min.

J
ustl
i
keheav
en.Ev
er’bodywantsal
i
ttl
epi
eceofl
an’.Ir
eadpl
entyofbook
sout
her
e.Nobodynev
ergetstoheav
en,andnobodygetsnol
and.

Soonenough,L
enni
efor
getshi
spr
omi
setok
eepthef
armasec
retandbegi
nsto
babbl
echeer
ful
l
yaboutthepl
acethatheandGeor
gewi
l
lbuysomeday.Cr
ook
sdoes
notbel
i
evehi
m,assumi
ngthatthef
antasyi
spar
tofL
enni
e’smentaldi
sabi
l
ity.He
tel
l
sLenni
eabouthi
sownl
i
fe,r
ecounti
nghi
sear
lydaysonac
hic
kenf
armwhenwhi
te
c
hil
drenv
isi
tedandpl
ayedwi
thhi
m.Sti
l
l,hesays,hef
eltk
eenl
yal
oneev
enthen.Hi
s
f
ami
l
ywastheonl
ybl
ackf
ami
l
yformi
l
es,andhi
sfatherc
onstantl
ywar
nedhi
m
agai
nstk
eepi
ngc
ompanywi
ththei
rwhi
tenei
ghbor
s.Thei
mpor
tanc
eofthi
s
i
nstr
ucti
onesc
apedCr
ook
sasac
hil
d,buthesaysthathehasc
ometounder
stand
i
tper
fec
tly.Now,astheonl
ybl
ackmanonther
anc
h,her
esentstheunf
airsoc
ial
nor
msthatr
equi
rehi
mtosl
eepal
onei
nthestabl
e.Feel
i
ngweakandv
ulner
abl
e
hi
msel
f,Cr
ook
scr
uel
l
ysuggeststhatGeor
gemi
ghtnev
err
etur
nfr
omtown.He
enj
oystor
tur
ingL
enni
e,unti
lLenni
ebec
omesangr
yandthr
eatensCr
ook
s,demandi
ng
tok
now“Whohur
tGeor
ge?”Cr
ook
shasti
l
ybac
ksdown,pr
omi
si
ngthatGeor
gewi
l
l
c
omebac
k,andbegi
nstotal
kabouthi
schi
l
dhoodagai
n,whi
chr
etur
nsL
enni
etohi
s
dr
eamsofowni
ngthef
arm.Cr
ook
sbi
tter
lysaysthatev
eryr
anc
h-handhasthe
samedr
eam.Headdsthathehasseenc
ountl
essmengoonaboutthesamepi
eceof
l
and,butnothi
ngev
erc
omesofi
t.Al
i
ttl
epi
eceofl
and,Cr
ook
scl
ai
ms,i
sashar
dto
f
indasheav
en.

Candyev
entual
l
yjoi
nsthem,enter
ingCr
ook
s’sr
oomf
orthef
irstti
mei
nal
lofthe
year
stheyhav
ewor
kedtogether
.Bothmenar
eunc
omf
ortabl
eatf
irstbutCandyi
s
r
espec
tfulandCr
ook
spl
easedtohav
emor
ecompany.Candytal
kstoL
enni
eabout
r
aisi
ngr
abbi
tsonthef
arm.Hehasbeenbusyc
alc
ulati
ngnumber
sandthi
nkshe
k
nowshowthef
armc
anmak
esomemoneywi
thr
abbi
ts.Cr
ook
sconti
nuestobel
i
ttl
e
thei
rdr
eamunti
lCandyi
nsi
ststhattheyal
readyhav
ethel
andpi
ckedoutand
near
lyal
lthemoneythey’l
lneedtobuyi
t.Thi
snewspi
questhebl
ackman’s
i
nter
est.Shyl
y,Cr
ook
ssuggeststhatmaybetheyc
oul
dtak
ehi
mal
ongwi
ththem.
ButCur
ley’swi
feappear
sandi
nter
ruptsthemen’sdaydr
eami
ng.

Cur
ley’swi
feask
saboutherhusband,thensaysshek
nowsthatthemenwenttoa
br
othel
,cr
uel
l
yobser
vingthat“theyl
eftal
ltheweakonesher
e.”Cr
ook
sandCandy
tel
lhertogoaway,buti
nsteadshestar
tstal
ki
ngaboutherl
onel
i
nessandher
unhappymar
riage.Candyi
nsi
ststhatshel
eav
eandsayspr
oudl
ythatev
eni
fshe
gotthemf
ired,theyc
oul
dgoof
fandbuythei
rownpl
acetol
i
ve.Cur
ley’swi
fe
l
aughsathi
m,thenbi
tter
lyc
ompl
ai
nsaboutherl
i
fewi
thCur
ley.Shesumsupher
si
tuati
on,admi
tti
ngthatshef
eel
spatheti
ctowantc
ompanysodesper
atel
ythat
shei
swi
l
li
ngtotal
ktothel
i
kesofCr
ook
s,Candy,andL
enni
e.Sheask
swhat
happenedtoherhusband’shand,anddoesnotbel
i
evethemenwhentheyi
nsi
st
thathegoti
tcaughti
namac
hine.SheteasesL
enni
eaboutthebr
uisesonhi
sfac
e,
deduc
ingthathegoti
njur
edi
nthesc
uff
lewi
thCur
ley.
Fedup,Cr
ook
sinsi
ststhatshel
eav
ebef
orehetel
l
sthebossaboutherwi
ckedways,
andsher
espondsbyask
ingi
fhek
nowswhatshec
andotohi
mifhesaysanythi
ng.
Thei
mpl
i
cati
oni
scl
earthatshec
oul
deasi
l
yhav
ehi
mlync
hed,andhec
ower
s.Candy
saysthathehear
sthemenc
omi
ngbac
k,whi
chf
inal
l
ymak
esherl
eav
e,butnot
bef
oreshetel
l
sLenni
ethatshei
sgl
adhebeatherhusband.Geor
geappear
s,and
c
riti
ci
zesCandyf
ortal
ki
ngaboutthei
rfar
minf
rontofotherpeopl
e.Asthewhi
te
menl
eav
eCr
ook
s,hec
hangeshi
smi
ndaboutgoi
ngtothef
armwi
ththem,c
all
i
ngout,
“Iwoul
dn’wanttogonopl
acel
i
kethat.
”

Anal
ysi
s

Thi
ssec
tioni
ntr
oduc
esthec
har
acterofCr
ook
s,whohaspr
evi
ousl
yonl
ymadea
br
iefappear
anc
e.L
iketheothermeni
nthenov
ell
a,Cr
ook
sisal
onel
yfi
gur
e.L
ike
Candy,aphysi
caldi
sabi
l
itysetshi
mapar
tfr
omtheotherwor
ker
s,andmak
eshi
m
wor
rythathewi
l
lsoonwearouthi
susef
ulnessonther
anc
h.Cr
ook
s’si
sol
ati
oni
s
c
ompoundedbythef
actthat,asabl
ackman,hei
srel
egatedtosl
eepi
nar
oomi
n
thestabl
es;hei
snotal
l
owedi
nthewhi
ter
anc
h-hands’quar
ter
sandnoti
nvi
tedto
pl
ayc
ardsorv
isi
tbr
othel
swi
ththem.Hef
eel
sthi
sisol
ati
onk
eenl
yandhasan
under
standabl
ybi
tterr
eac
tiontoi
t.

Thec
har
acterofCr
ook
sisanauthor
ialac
hiev
ementonsev
erall
evel
s.Fi
rst,Cr
ook
s
br
oadensthesoc
ialsi
gni
fi
canc
eofthestor
ybyof
fer
ingr
aceasanotherc
ontex
tby
whi
chtounder
standStei
nbec
k’sc
entr
althesi
s.Ther
eaderhasal
readywi
tnessed
howthewor
ldc
onspi
restoc
rushmenwhoar
edebi
l
itatedbyphysi
calormental
i
nfi
rmi
ti
es.Wi
thCr
ook
s,thesameunj
ust,pr
edator
yrul
eshol
dtr
uef
orpeopl
ebased
onthec
olorofthei
rsk
in.Cr
ook
s’sr
acei
stheonl
yweaponCur
ley’swi
feneedsto
r
enderhi
mcompl
etel
ypower
less.Whenshesuggeststhatshec
oul
dhav
ehi
m
l
ync
hed,hec
anmountnodef
ense.Thesec
ondpoi
nttonoteaboutCr
ook
s’s
c
har
acteri
sthathei
slessofaneasi
l
ycategor
izedtypethanthec
har
acter
sthat
sur
roundh
im.L
enni
emi
ghtbeabi
ttooi
nnoc
entandCur
leyabi
ttooantagoni
sti
cfor
ther
eade
rtobel
i
evei
nthemasr
eal
,compl
exhumanbei
ngs.

Cr
ook
s,ontheotherhand,ex
hibi
tsanambi
val
enc
ethatmak
eshi
moneofthemor
e
c
ompl
i
cate
dandbel
i
evabl
yhumanc
har
acter
sinthenov
ell
a.Hei
sabl
etoc
ondemn
L
enni
e’stal
kofthef
armasf
ool
i
shness,butbec
omesseduc
edbyi
tnonethel
ess.
Fur
ther
mor
e,bi
tterash
eisabouthi
sex
clusi
onf
romtheothermen,Cr
ook
sfeel
s
gr
atef
ulf
orL
enni
e’sc
ompany.WhenCandy,too,enter
sCr
ook
s’sr
oom,i
tis
“di
ffi
cul
tforCr
ook
stoc
onc
ealhi
spl
easur
ewi
thanger
.”Yet,asmuc
hashec
rav
es
c
ompani
onshi
p,hec
annothel
phi
msel
ffr
oml
ashi
ngoutatL
enni
ewi
thunk
ind
suggesti
onsthatGeor
gehasbeenhur
tandwi
l
lnotr
etur
n.

Cr
ook
s’sbehav
iorser
vestof
urtherther
eader
’sunder
standi
ngofthepr
edator
y
natur
eofth
eranc
h-hands’wor
ld.Notonl
ywi
l
lthestr
ongattac
ktheweakbutthe
weakwi
l
lattac
ktheweak
er.I
nabetterwor
ld,Cr
ook
s,L
enni
e,andev
enCur
ley’swi
fe
mi
ghthav
efor
medanal
l
ianc
e,wher
einthev
ari
ousattr
ibutesf
orwhi
chsoc
iety
puni
shesthem—bei
ngbl
ack
,bei
ngmental
l
ydi
sabl
ed,andbei
ngf
emal
e,
r
espec
tiv
ely—woul
dbr
ingthemtogether
.Onther
anc
h,howev
er,theyar
epi
tted
agai
nstoneanother
.Cr
ook
sber
atesL
enni
eunti
lLenni
ethr
eatenstodohi
mphysi
cal
har
m;Cr
ook
sac
cusesCur
ley’swi
feofbei
ngatr
amp;andshe,i
ntur
n,thr
eatensto
hav
ehi
mlync
hed.Asshestandsi
nthedoor
waytoCr
ook
s’sr
ooml
ook
ingov
erat
themen,shedr
awsattenti
ontothei
rweak
nesses.Der
idi
ngthemas“ani
ggeran’
adum-dumandal
ousyol
’sheep,
”shev
ici
ousl
ybutac
cur
atel
ylaysbar
ethe
per
cepti
onsbywhi
chtheyar
eostr
aci
zedbysoc
iety.L
ikeCr
ook
s,Cur
ley’swi
fe
di
spl
aysahear
tbr
eak
ingv
ulner
abi
l
ityi
nthi
ssc
ene,r
eadi
l
yandshamel
essl
y
c
onf
essi
ngherl
onel
i
nessandherunhappymar
riage.Butbec
auseshei
saspatheti
c
asthemenwhosi
tbef
oreher
,sheseek
soutthesour
cesofthei
rweak
nessand
attac
ksthem.

Sec
tion5

FromLenni
estroki
nghi
sdeadpuppyi
nthebar
ntoCur
leyl
eadi
ngamobofmento
fi
ndandk i
l
lLenni
e

Summar
y

I
tisSundayaf
ter
noonandL
enni
eisal
onei
nthebar
n,si
tti
ngi
nthehayandstr
oki
ng
thedeadbodyofhi
spuppy.Hetal
kstohi
msel
f,ask
ingtheani
malwhyi
tdi
ed:“You
ai
n’tsol
i
ttl
easmi
ce.Idi
dn’tbounc
eyouhar
d.”Wor
ryi
ngthatGeor
gewi
l
lbe
angr
yandwi
l
lnotl
ethi
mrai
sether
abbi
tsonthei
rfar
m,hestar
tstobur
yiti
nthe
hay.Hedec
idestotel
lGeor
gethathef
oundi
tdeadbutthenr
eal
i
zesthatGeor
ge
wi
l
lseethr
oughthi
sli
e.Fr
ustr
ated,hec
ursesthedogf
ordyi
ngandhur
lsi
tac
ross
ther
oom.Soon,though,L
enni
eretr
iev
esthepuppy,str
okesi
tagai
n,andr
easons
thatper
hapsGeor
gewon’tc
are,si
ncethepuppymeantnothi
ngtoGeor
ge.

Ashetal
kstohi
msel
f,Cur
ley’swi
feenter
sandsi
tsbesi
dehi
m.Hehasti
l
yhi
des
thepuppyandtel
l
sherthatGeor
geor
der
edhi
mnottospeaktoher
.Sher
eassur
es
hi
mthati
tissaf
eforhi
mtotal
ktoher
,poi
nti
ngoutthattheothermenar
e
oc
cupi
edwi
thahor
seshoetour
namentoutsi
deandwi
l
lnoti
nter
ruptthem.She
di
scov
ersthepuppyandc
onsol
eshi
mabouti
tsdeath,dec
lar
ingthat“thewhol
e
c
ountr
yisf
ull
amutts.
”Shethenc
ompl
ai
nsaboutherl
onel
i
nessandthec
old
tr
eatmentshegetsf
romther
anc
h-hands.Shetel
l
sLenni
eaboutherdr
eamsof
l
i
vingadi
ffer
entl
i
fe.Sher
eveal
sthathermotherdeni
edhertheoppor
tuni
tytoj
oin
atr
avel
i
ngshowwhenshewasf
ifteenandthen,year
slater
,atal
entsc
outspotted
herandpr
omi
sedtotak
ehertoHol
l
ywoodtobec
omeamov
iestar
.Whennothi
ng
c
ameofi
t,shedec
idedtomar
ryCur
ley,whomshedi
sl
ik
es.

L
enni
econti
nuestotal
kabouthi
srabbi
ts,andsheask
shi
mwhyhel
i
kesani
mal
sso
muc
h.L
enni
erepl
i
esthathel
i
kestotouc
hsof
tthi
ngswi
thhi
sfi
nger
s.Sheadmi
ts
thatshel
i
kesthesamethi
ng,andof
fer
stol
ethi
mstr
okeherhai
r.Shewar
nshi
m
notto“mussi
t,
”buthequi
ckl
ybec
omesex
citedandhol
dsontooti
ght,
f
righteni
ngher
.Whenshec
riesout,L
enni
epani
csandc
lampshi
sstr
onghandsov
er
hermouthtosi
l
enc
eher
.Themor
eshestr
uggl
es,theti
ghterhi
sgr
ipbec
omes,and
heshak
esherunti
lherbodygoesl
i
mp.L
enni
ehasbr
okenhernec
k.

Thebar
ngoessti
l
lasL
enni
ereal
i
zeswhathehasdone.Hetr
iestobur
yCur
ley’s
wi
fei
nthehay,wor
ryi
ngc
hief
lythatGeor
gewi
l
lbeangr
ywi
thhi
m.Tak
ingthe
puppy’sbodywi
thhi
m,hef
leestowar
dthemeeti
ngpl
acethatGeor
gedesi
gnates
atthebook
’sopeni
ng—thec
lear
ingi
nthewoods.Candyc
omesl
ook
ingf
orL
enni
e
andf
indsthebody.Hec
all
sGeor
ge,whor
eal
i
zesi
mmedi
atel
ywhathashappened.
Geor
geex
pressesthehopethatmaybeL
enni
ewi
l
ljustbel
ock
edupandsti
l
lbe
tr
eatedwel
l
,butCandytel
l
shi
mthatCur
leyi
ssur
etohav
eLenni
elync
hed.Candy
ask
sGeor
gei
fthetwoofthemc
ansti
l
lbuythef
arm,butseesf
romGeor
ge’sf
ace
thatthei
deai
snowi
mpossi
bl
e.Geor
gesaysqui
etl
ythathethi
nkshek
newal
lal
ong
thati
twoul
dnev
erhappen,butbec
auseL
enni
eli
kedthei
deasomuc
h,hehad
star
tedtobel
i
evei
thi
msel
f.

Geor
gewor
riesthattheothermenwi
l
lthi
nkthathehadsomethi
ngtodowi
ththe
deathofCur
ley’swi
fe,sohei
nstr
uctsCandyhowtoi
nfor
mthem.Geor
gewi
l
l
pr
etendthathehasnotseenthebodyandac
tsur
pri
sedwhenCandydel
i
ver
sthe
news.Geor
geex
its,andCandyc
ursesCur
ley’swi
fef
ordestr
oyi
ngthei
rdr
eamofa
f
arm.Af
teraf
ewmoments,hi
seyesf
ulloftear
s,hegoestoal
ertther
estofthe
r
anc
h.Ac
rowdsoongather
s.Geor
gec
omesi
nlast,wi
thhi
scoatbuttonedup.Cur
ley
deman
dsthattheyf
indL
enni
eandk
il
lhi
m.Car
lsonr
epor
tsthathi
sguni
smi
ssi
ng,
andassumesthatL
enni
emusthav
etak
eni
t.Cur
leyor
der
sthemtof
etc
hCr
ook
s’s
shotgun,andthemobse
tsof
faf
terL
enni
e.

Anal
ysi
s

Thesc
enei
nthebar
nbegi
nsomi
nousl
y,wi
thL
enni
ehol
dinghi
spuppy,nowdead,and
str
oki
ngi
tinthesamewayhestr
okedthedeadmouseatthebegi
nni
ngofthewor
k.
Al
lsenseofopti
mismf
orthef
armorthef
reedomthemenwoul
dhav
eoni
t
di
ssol
vesn
owthatL
enni
e’sunwi
tti
ngl
ydanger
ousnatur
ehasr
easser
tedi
tsel
f.
WhenCur
ley’swi
feappear
sandi
nsi
stsontal
ki
ngwi
thL
enni
e,ther
eadersenses
thatsomethi
ngtr
agi
cisabouttoensue.

Per
hapsthemostsi
gni
fi
cantdev
elopmenti
nthi
schapteri
sStei
nbec
k’sdepi
cti
on
ofCur
ley’swi
fe.Bef
orethi
sepi
sode,ther
eadermi
ghtdi
smi
ssheraseasi
l
yas
Geor
gedoes.Sheshowsher
sel
ftobeaf
li
rt,ac
onsc
ioustemptr
ess,anda
mani
pul
ator
.Howev
er,i
nthef
inalmomentsbef
oreherdeath,Stei
nbec
kpr
esentshi
s
sol
efemal
echar
actersympatheti
cal
l
y.Herl
onel
i
nessbec
omesthef
ocusofthi
s
sc
ene,assheadmi
tsthatshetoohasani
deaofpar
adi
sethatc
irc
umstanc
eshav
e
deni
edher
.Herdr
eamofbei
ngamov
iestari
snotunl
i
keGeor
ge’sf
antasyofthe
f
arm;bothar
edesper
atel
yhel
dvi
ewsofthewayl
i
feshoul
dbe,whi
chhav
elong
per
sisteddespi
tethei
rconf
li
ctwi
thr
eal
i
ty.

Cur
ley’swi
feseemstosense,l
i
keCr
ook
s(whonotesear
li
erthatL
enni
eisagood
mantotal
kto)
,thatbec
auseL
enni
edoesn’tunder
standthi
ngs,aper
sonc
ansay
al
mostanythi
ngtohi
m.Shec
onf
essesherunhappi
nessi
nhermar
riage,herl
onel
y
l
i
fe,andherbr
okendr
eamsi
n“apassi
onofc
ommuni
cati
on.
”Unf
ortunatel
y,she
f
ail
stoseethedangeri
nLenni
e,andherattempttoc
onsol
ehi
mforthel
ossofhi
s
puppybyl
etti
nghi
mstr
okeherhai
rleadstohertr
agi
cdeath.Onemi
ghttak
eissue
wi
thStei
nbec
k’sdesc
ripti
onofherc
orpse,f
oronl
yinherdeathdoeshegr
anther
anysembl
anc
eofv
irtue.Onc
eshel
i
esl
i
fel
essonthehay,Stei
nbec
kwr
itesthatal
l
themar
ksofanunhappyl
i
fehav
edi
sappear
edf
romherf
ace,l
eav
ingherl
ook
ing
“pr
ettyandsi
mpl
e...sweetandyoung.
”Thestor
yhasspentc
onsi
der
abl
eti
me
mal
i
gni
ngwomen,andmuc
hhasbeenmadeofthei
rtr
oubl
esomeandseduc
tiv
e
natur
es.I
tisdi
stur
bing,then,thatStei
nbec
kseemstosubtl
yimpl
ythattheonl
y
wayf
orawomantoov
erc
omethatnatur
eandr
estor
eherl
osti
nnoc
enc
eisthr
ough
death.

L
enni
e’sf
li
ghtf
romthebar
nshi
ftsthef
ocusofthenar
rati
vetoGeor
ge.As
Geor
ger
eal
i
zeswhatL
enni
ehasdone,thepai
nfulmi
ssi
onthathemustunder
tak
e
bec
omesc
leartohi
m.Her
e,asi
ntheear
li
ersc
enewi
thCandy’sdog,Sl
i
mbec
omes
thev
oic
eofr
eason,poi
nti
ngoutthatthebestopti
onf
orL
enni
enowi
sforhi
mtobe
k
il
led.Geor
geunder
standsthathehasac
hoi
ce:ei
therhec
anwatc
hhi
sfr
iendbe
mur
der
edbyCur
ley’sl
ync
hmoborhec
andothedeedhi
msel
f.Wi
ththi
sreal
i
zati
on,
thei
deaofthef
armandthegoodl
i
fei
trepr
esentsdi
sappear
s.Candyc
li
ngsto
thati
deal
i
zedhope,ask
ingGeor
gei
ftheyc
ansti
l
lbuythef
arm,butGeor
ge’s
r
esponsei
samongthemosti
nsi
ghtf
ulandr
eal
i
sti
cresponsesi
nthenov
ell
a.Ther
eis
nor
oomf
ordr
eami
ngi
nsuc
hadi
ffi
cul
tandi
nhospi
tabl
ewor
ld.

Sec
tion6
Fr
omL
enni
e’sar
riv
alatther
iver
bedtotheendofthestor
y

Summar
y

I
nthesamer
iver
bedwher
ethestor
ybegan,i
tisabeauti
ful
,ser
enel
ateaf
ter
noon
.
Aher
onstandsi
nashadedgr
eenpool
,eati
ngwatersnak
esthatgl
i
debetweeni
ts
l
egs.L
enni
ecomessteal
i
ngthr
oughtheunder
growthandk
neel
sbythewaterto
dr
ink
.Hei
spr
oudofhi
msel
fforr
emember
ingtoc
omeher
etowai
tforGeor
ge,but
soonhastwounpl
easantv
isi
ons.Hi
sAuntCl
araappear
s“f
romoutofL
enni
e’s
head”andber
ateshi
m,speak
ingi
nLenni
e’sownv
oic
e,f
ornotl
i
steni
ngtoGeor
ge,
f
orgetti
nghi
msel
fintotr
oubl
e,andf
orc
ausi
ngsomanypr
obl
emsf
orhi
sonl
yfr
ien
d.
Thenagi
ganti
crabbi
tappear
stohi
m,al
sospeak
ingi
nLenni
e’sownv
oic
e,andtel
l
s
hi
mthatGeor
gewi
l
lpr
obabl
ybeathi
mandabandonhi
m.J
ustthen,Geor
geappear
s.
Hei
sunc
ommonl
yqui
etandl
i
stl
ess.Hedoesnotber
ateL
enni
e.Ev
enwhenL
enni
e
hi
msel
finsi
stsoni
t,Geor
ge’sti
radei
sunc
onv
inc
ingandsc
ripted.Her
epeatshi
s
usualwor
dsofr
epr
oac
hwi
thoutemoti
on.L
enni
emak
eshi
susualof
fertogoaway
andl
i
vei
nac
ave,andGeor
getel
l
shi
mtostay,mak
ingL
enni
efeelc
omf
ortedand
hopef
ul.

L
enni
eask
shi
mtotel
lthestor
yofthei
rfar
m,andGeor
gebegi
ns,tal
ki
ngabouthow
mostmendr
iftal
ong,wi
thoutanyc
ompani
ons,butheandL
enni
ehav
eoneanother
.
Thenoi
sesofmeni
nthewoodsc
omec
loser
,andGeor
getel
l
sLenni
etotak
eof
fhi
s
hatandl
ookac
rossther
iverwhi
l
ehedesc
ribesthei
rfar
m.Hetel
l
sLenni
eaboutthe
r
abbi
ts,andpr
omi
sesthatnobodywi
l
lev
erbemeantohi
magai
n.“L
e’sdoi
tnow,
”
L
enni
esays.“L
e’sgetthatpl
acenow.
”Geor
geagr
ees.Her
aisesCar
lson’sgun,
whi
chhehasr
emov
edf
romhi
sjac
ket,andshootsL
enni
einthebac
kofthehead.As
L
enni
efal
l
stothegr
oundandbec
omessti
l
l,Geor
getossesthegunawayandsi
ts
downonther
iver
bank
.

Thesoundoftheshotbr
ingsthel
ync
hpar
tyr
unni
ngtothec
lear
ing.Car
lson
questi
onsGeor
ge,whol
etsthembel
i
evethathewr
estl
edthegunf
romL
enni
eand
shothi
mwi
thi
t.Onl
ySl
i
munder
standswhatr
eal
l
yhappened:“Youhadda,Geor
ge.I
swearyouhadda,
”hetel
l
shi
m.Sl
i
mleadsGeor
ge,whoi
snumbwi
thgr
ief
,awayf
rom
thesc
ene,whi
l
eCar
lsonandCur
leywatc
hinc
redul
ousl
y,wonder
ingwhati
s“eati
n’
themtwoguys.
”

Anal
ysi
s

Onc
eagai
n,thesc
eneopensonthec
lear
ingi
nthewoods,wi
thther
iver
bedandi
ts
sur
roundi
ngsdesc
ribedasbeauti
fulandi
dyl
l
ictowar
dtheendofaday.Manydetai
l
s
ar
erepeatedf
romthebook
’sopeni
ngpassages,suc
hasthequal
i
tyofthesunl
i
ght,
thedi
stantmountai
ns,andthewatersnak
eswi
ththei
rheadsl
i
ke“per
isc
opes.
”
Thi
sti
me,howev
er,ev
enthenatur
albeautyi
smar
redbythesuf
fer
ingofi
nnoc
ents.
Stei
nbec
kvi
vi
dlydesc
ribesal
argeher
onbendi
ngtosnatc
hanunsuspec
tingsnak
e
outofthewater
,thenwai
ti
ngasanotherswi
msi
nitsdi
rec
tion.Deathc
omes
qui
ckl
y,sur
ely,andtotheunawar
e.WhenL
enni
eappear
s,thef
atethatawai
tshi
mis
obv
ious.

Thef
inalsc
enebetweenGeor
geandL
enni
eissuf
fusedwi
thsadness,ev
enthough
L
enni
eretai
nshi
sbl
i
ssf
uli
gnor
anc
eunti
ltheend.Tor
eassur
eLenni
e,Geor
gef
orc
es
hi
msel
fth
roughthei
rhabi
tuali
nter
acti
ononel
astti
me.Hec
lai
msthathei
sangr
y,
thenassur
eshi
mthatal
li
sfor
giv
enandr
eci
testhestor
yofthei
rfar
m.ForGeor
ge,
thi
sfi
naldesc
ripti
onofl
i
fewi
thL
enni
e,ofthef
armandthec
hangesi
twoul
dhav
e
br
oughtabout,i
sasur
renderofhi
sdr
eams.Thev
isi
onofthef
armr
ecedes,and
Geor
ger
eal
i
zesthatal
lofhi
stal
kandpl
anshav
eamountedtonothi
ng.Hei
sex
actl
y
thek
indofmanhetr
iedtoc
onv
inc
ehi
msel
fhewasnot,j
ustoneamongal
egi
onof
mi
grantwor
ker
swhowi
l
lnev
erbeabl
etoaf
for
dmor
ethantheoc
casi
onal
pr
osti
tuteandshotofl
i
quor
.Wi
thoutL
enni
e,Geor
ger
eli
nqui
sheshi
shopef
ora
di
ffer
entl
i
fe.L
enni
ewastheonl
ythi
ngthatdi
sti
ngui
shedhi
sli
fef
romthel
i
vesof
othermenandgav
ehi
maspec
ialsenseofpur
pose.Wi
thL
enni
egone,thesehopes
c
annotbesu
stai
ned.Thegr
imnoteonwhi
chthestor
ycl
osessuggeststhatdr
eams
hav
enopl
acei
nawor
ldf
il
ledwi
thsuc
hinj
usti
ceandadv
ersi
ty.

Theothermenwhoc
omeonthesc
eneseeonl
ythebodyofahal
f-wi
twhok
il
leda
womananddeser
vedtodi
e.Onl
ySl
i
m,thewi
sestandmostc
ontentmanonthe
r
anc
h,under
standsGeor
ge’spr
ofoundl
ossandk
nowsthatGeor
geneedstobe
c
onsol
ed.Car
lsonandCur
leywatc
hSl
i
mleadGeor
geawayf
romther
iver
bank
;thei
r
c
ompl
etepuz
zlementi
srootedmor
eini
gnor
anc
ethani
nhear
tlessness.Car
lsonand
Cur
leyr
epr
esentthehar
shc
ondi
ti
onsofadi
sti
nctl
yrealwor
ld,awor
ldi
nwhi
chthe
weakwi
l
lal
waysbev
anqui
shedbythestr
ongandi
nwhi
chther
are,del
i
catebond
betweenf
riendsi
snotappr
opr
iatel
ymour
nedbec
ausei
tisnotunder
stood.

I
mpor
tantQuotati
onsEx
plai
ned
1.
Guyslik
eus,thatwor konr anches,arethel onel
iestguysintheworl
d.Theygotno
fami
ly.Theydon’tbel ongnopl ace....Wi thusitain’tlik
ethat.Wegotaf utur
e.
Wegotsomebodytotal ktothatgi vesadamnaboutus.Wedon’thav etositi
nno
barroomblowin’i nourjackj us’becausewegotnopl aceelsetogo.I
fthemother
guysgetsinjailtheycanr otf orallanybodygi v
esadamn.Butnotus.
Towar
dth
eendofSec
tion 
1,bef
oreGeor
geandL
enni
ereac
hther
anc
h,theyc
amp
f
ortheni
ghti
nabeauti
fulc
lear
ingandGeor
geassur
esL
enni
eofthei
rspec
ial
r
elati
onshi
p.I
nthi
spassage,Geor
geex
plai
nsthei
rfr
iendshi
p,whi
chf
ormsthehear
t
ofthewor
k.IOfMi
n  ceandMen,
 
Stei
nbec
kideal
i
zesmal
efr
iendshi
ps,suggesti
ng
thattheyar
ethemostdi
gni
fi
edandsati
sfyi
ngwaytoov
erc
omethel
onel
i
nessthat
per
vadesthewor
ld.

Asasel
f-de
clar
ed“watc
hdog”ofsoc
iety,Stei
nbec
ksetouttoex
poseand
c
hroni
cl
ethec
irc
umstanc
esthatc
ausehumansuf
fer
ing.Her
e,Geor
ger
elatesthat
l
onel
i
nessi
sresponsi
bl
eformuc
hofthatsuf
fer
ing,atheor
ysuppor
tedbymanyof
thesec
ondar
ychar
acter
s.L
ateri
nthenar
rati
ve,Candy,Cr
ook
s,andCur
ley’swi
fe
al
lgi
vemov
ingspeec
hesaboutthei
rlonel
i
nessanddi
sappoi
ntmentsi
nli
fe.Human
bei
ngs,thebooksuggests,ar
eatthei
rbestwhentheyhav
esomeoneel
setol
ookto
f
orgui
dan
ceandpr
otec
tion.Geor
ger
emi
ndsL
enni
ethattheyar
eex
tremel
yluc
kyto
hav
eeac
hothersi
ncemostmendonotenj
oythi
scomf
ort,espec
ial
l
ymenl
i
ke
Geor
geandL
enni
e,whoex
istonthemar
ginsofsoc
iety.Thei
rbondi
smadetoseem
espec
ial
l
yrar
eandpr
eci
oussi
ncethemaj
ori
tyofthewor
lddoesnotunder
standor
appr
eci
atei
t.

Attheend,whenL
enni
eac
cidental
l
yki
l
lsCur
ley’swi
fe,Candydoesnotr
egi
sterth
e
tr
agedyofL
enni
e’si
mpendi
ngdeath.I
nstead,heask
sifheandGeor
gec
ansti
l
l
pur
chasethef
armwi
thoutL
enni
e.I
nthi
senv
ironment,i
nwhi
chhumanl
i
fei
sutter
ly
di
sposabl
e,onl
ySl
i
mrec
ogni
zesthatthel
ossofsuc
habeauti
fulandpower
ful
f
riendshi
pshoul
dbemour
ned.

2.
“S’posetheywasacar ni
valoraci
rcuscometotown,orabal lgame,oranydamn
thi
ng.”OldCandynoddedinappreci
ati
onoftheidea.“We’dj ustgotoher ,
”
Georgesai
d.“Wewouldn’tasknobodyi fwecould.Jus’say,‘We’l lgotoher,
’
an’wewould.Jus’mi l
kthecowandsl i
ngsomegr ai
ntothechickensan’gotoher.”

I
nthemi
ddl
eofSec
tion 
3,Geor
gedesc
ribesthei
rvi
si
onofthef
armtoCandy.At
f
irst,whe
nCandyov
erhear
sGeor
geandL
enni
edi
scussi
ngthef
armtheyi
ntendto
buy,Geor
gei
sguar
ded,tel
l
ingtheol
dmantomi
ndhi
sownbusi
ness.Howev
er,as
soonasCan
dyof
fer
suphi
sli
fesav
ingsf
oradownpaymentonthepr
oper
ty,
Geor
ge’sv
isi
onofthef
armbec
omesev
enmor
ereal
.

Desc
ribedi
nrusti
cbutl
yri
call
anguage,thef
armi
sthef
uelthatk
eepsthemen
goi
ng.L
ifei
shar
dforthemenonther
anc
handyi
el
dsf
ewr
ewar
ds,butGeor
ge,
L
enni
e,andn
owCandygoonbec
ausetheybel
i
evethatonedaytheywi
l
lownthei
r
ownpl
ace.Theappealofthi
sdr
eamr
estsi
nthef
reedomi
tsymbol
i
zes,i
tsesc
ape
f
romthebac
kbr
eak
ingwor
kandspi
ri
t-br
eak
ingwi
l
lofother
s.I
tpr
ovi
desc
omf
ort
f
rompsyc
hol
ogi
calandev
enphysi
caltur
moi
l
,mostobv
iousl
yforL
enni
e.Fori
nstanc
e,
af
terCur
leybeatshi
m,L
enni
eretur
nstothei
deaoftendi
nghi
srabbi
tstosoothe
hi
spai
n.Underthei
rcur
rentc
irc
umstanc
es,themenmusttoi
ltosati
sfytheboss
orhi
sson,Cur
ley,buttheydr
eamofati
mewhenthei
rwor
kwi
l
lbeeasyand
deter
minedbythemsel
vesonl
y.Geor
ge’swor
dsdesc
ribeati
mel
ess,typi
cal
l
y
Amer
icandr
eamofl
i
ber
ty,sel
f-r
eli
anc
e,andtheabi
l
itytopur
suehappi
ness.

3.
Aguysetsal oneouthereatnight,maybereadi
n’book sorthink
in’orstuf fl
ike
that.Sometimeshegetsthinki
n’,an’hegotnothi ngtotellhi
mwhat’ssoan’
whatain’tso.Maybei fheseessomethin’,hedon’tk nowwhetheri t’srightor
not.Hecan’ttur ntosomeotherguyandasthi mifheseesi ttoo.Hecan’ttel l
.
Hegotnothingtomeasur eby.Iseenthi
ngsouthere.Iwasn’tdr unk.Idon’tk now
i
fIwasasl eep.I
fsomeguywaswi thme,hecoul
dtellmeIwasasl eep,an’theni t
wouldbeallri
ght.ButIjus’don’tk now.

Cr
ook
sspeak
sthesewor
dstoL
enni
einSec
tion 
4,ontheni
ghtthatL
enni
evi
si
ts
Cr
ook
sinhi
sroom.Theol
dstabl
e-handadmi
tstothev
eryl
onel
i
nessthatGeor
ge
desc
ribesi
ntheopeni
ngpagesofthenov
ell
a.Asabl
ackmanwi
thaphysi
calhandi
cap,
Cr
ook
sisf
orc
edtol
i
veontheper
ipher
yofr
anc
hli
fe.Hei
snotev
enal
l
owedtoenter
thewhi
temen’sbunk
house,orj
ointhemi
nagameofc
ards.Hi
sresentment
typi
cal
l
ycomesoutthr
oughhi
sbi
tter
,causti
cwi
t,buti
nthi
spassagehedi
spl
aysa
sad,touc
hingv
ulner
abi
l
ity.Cr
ook
s’sdesi
ref
oraf
riendbywhomto“measur
e”
thi
ngsec
hoesGeor
ge’sear
li
erdesc
ripti
onofthel
i
feofami
grantwor
ker
.Bec
ause
thesemenf
eelsuc
hlonel
i
ness,i
tisnotsur
pri
si
ngthatthepr
omi
seofaf
armof
thei
rownandal
i
fef
il
ledwi
thstr
ong,br
other
lybondshol
dssuc
hal
l
ure.

4.
Iseenhundr
edsofmencomebyonther
oadan’onther
anches,wi
ththei
rbi
ndl
es
ontheirbackan’thatsamedamnthi ngintheirheads...everydamnoneof
’em’sgotal i
ttl
epieceoflandinhi
shead.An’nev eraGoddamnoneof’emev er
getsit.Justl
ikeheaven.Ev
er’bodywantsal i
ttl
epieceoflan’.Ireadpl
entyof
booksouthere.Nobodynevergetstoheaven,andnobodygetsnoland.

I
nthi
spassagef
romSec
tion 
4,af
terL
enni
eshar
eswi
thCr
ook
shi
spl
antobuya
f
armwi
thGeor
geandr
aiser
abbi
ts,Cr
ook
str
iestodef
lateL
enni
e’shopes.He
r
elatesth
at“hundr
eds”ofmenhav
epassedthr
oughther
anc
h,al
lofthemwi
th
dr
eamssi
mil
artoL
enni
e’s.Notoneofthem,heemphasi
zeswi
thbi
tter
ness,ev
er
managestomak
ethatdr
eamc
ometr
ue.Cr
ook
sinj
ectsthesc
enewi
thasenseof
r
eal
i
ty,r
emi
ndi
ngther
eader
,ifnotthec
hil
dli
keL
enni
e,thatthedr
eamofaf
armi
s,
af
teral
l
,onl
yadr
eam.Thi
smomentestabl
i
shesCr
ook
s’sc
har
acter
,showi
nghowa
l
i
feti
meofl
onel
i
nessandoppr
essi
onc
anmani
festasc
ruel
ty.I
tal
sof
urther
s
Stei
nbec
k’sdi
stur
bingobser
vati
onthatthosewhohav
estr
engthandpoweri
nthe
wor
ldar
enottheonl
yonesr
esponsi
bl
eforoppr
essi
on.AsCr
ook
sshows,ev
enthose
whoar
eoppr
essedseekoutandattac
kthosewhoar
eev
enweak
erthanthey.

5.
Awatersnakegli
dedsmoothl yupthepool,twisti
ngitsper i
scopeheadf romsi deto
si
de;anditswamthel engthofthepoolandcametothel egsofamoti onlessheron
thatstoodintheshal
lows.Asi l
entheadandbeakl anceddownandpl uckedi toutby
thehead,andthebeakswallowedthelittl
esnakewhileitstailwav
edf rantical
ly.

Ther
ichi
mager
ywi
thwhi
chStei
nbec
kbegi
nsSec
tion 
6,thepower
fulc
onc
lusi
on,
ev
okesth
enov
ell
a’sdomi
nantthemes.Af
terk
il
li
ngCur
ley’swi
fe,L
enni
eretur
nsto
thec
lear
ingthatheandGeor
gedesi
gnate,atthebegi
nni
ngofthebook
,asa
meeti
ngpl
aceshoul
dtheybesepar
atedorr
uni
ntotr
oubl
e.Her
eStei
nbec
k
desc
ribesmuc
hofthenatur
alspl
endorasr
eveal
edi
ntheopeni
ngpagesofthewor
k.
Thei
magesofthev
all
eyandmountai
ns,thec
li
mbi
ngsun,andtheshadedpool
suggestan
atur
alpar
adi
se,l
i
ketheGar
denofEden.Ther
eader
’ssenseofr
etur
n
toapar
adi
seofsec
uri
tyandc
omf
orti
sfur
ther
edbythek
nowl
edgethatGeor
ge
andL
enni
ehav
ecl
ai
medthi
sspac
easasaf
ehav
en,apl
acetowhi
chtheyc
anr
etur
n
i
nti
mesoftr
oubl
e.

Thi
spar
adi
se,howev
er,i
slost.Thesnak
esl
i
dingthr
oughthewaterr
ecal
l
sthe
c
onc
lusi
onofthestor
yofEden,i
nwhi
chthef
orc
esofev
ilappear
edasasnak
eand
c
ausedhumani
ty’sf
allf
romgr
ace.Stei
nbec
kisamasteratsymbol
i
sm,andher
ehe
sk
il
lf
ull
yempl
oysboththesnak
eandher
ontoemphasi
zethepr
edator
ynatur
eof
thewor
ldandtof
oreshadowL
enni
e’si
mmi
nentdeath.Thesnak
ethatgl
i
des
thr
oughth
ewater
swi
thouthar
matthebegi
nni
ngofthestor
yisnow
unsuspec
tingl
ysnatc
hedf
romthewor
ldofthel
i
ving.Soon,L
enni
e’sl
i
fewi
l
lbe
tak
enf
romhi
m,andhewi
l
lbej
ustasunsuspec
tingasthesnak
ewhenthef
inalbl
ow
i
sdel
i
ver
ed.
StudyQuesti
ons&EssayTopi
cs
StudyQuesti
ons

1.
Di
scussther
elati
onshi
pbetweenGeor
geandL
enni
e.

Thef
riendshi
pthatGeor
geandL
enni
eshar
efor
msthec
oreofthenov
ell
a,and
al
thoughStei
nbec
kideal
i
zesandper
hapsex
agger
atesi
t,henev
erquesti
onsi
ts
si
ncer
ity.Fr
omL
enni
e’sper
spec
tiv
e,Geor
gei
sthemosti
mpor
tantper
soni
nhi
sli
fe,
hi
sguar
dianandonl
yfr
iend.Ev
eryti
mehedoesanythi
ngthathek
nowsi
swr
ong,hi
s
f
irstthoughti
sofGeor
ge’sdi
sappr
oval
.Hedoesn’tdef
endhi
msel
ffr
omCur
ley
bec
auseofGeor
ge’sster
ninstr
ucti
onf
orhi
mtostayoutoftr
oubl
e,andwhenhe
mi
stak
enl
yki
l
lshi
spuppyandthenCur
ley’swi
fe,hi
sonl
ythoughti
showtoquel
l
Geor
ge’sanger
.Hehasac
hil
dli
kef
aiththatGeor
gewi
l
lal
waysbether
eforhi
m,a
f
aiththatseemsj
usti
fi
ed,gi
venthei
rlonghi
stor
ytogether
.

Geor
ge,ontheotherhand,thi
nksofL
enni
easac
onstantsour
ceoff
rustr
ati
on.He
hasassumedr
esponsi
bi
li
tyf
orL
enni
e’swel
far
eandhas,sev
eralti
mes,beenf
orc
ed
tor
unbec
auseoftr
oubl
eLenni
ehasi
nadv
ertentl
ycaused.L
ifewi
thL
enni
eisnot
easy.Howe
ver
,despi
teGeor
ge’sf
requentboutsofangerandf
rustr
ati
on,andhi
s
l
ongspeec
hesabouthowmuc
heasi
erl
i
fewoul
dbewi
thoutL
enni
e,Geor
gei
scl
ear
ly
dev
otedtohi
sfr
iend.Hef
leesf
romtowntotownnottoesc
apethetr
oubl
eLenni
e
hasc
aused,buttopr
otec
tLenni
efr
omi
tsc
onsequenc
es.Themenar
eunc
ommonl
y
uni
tedbythei
rshar
eddr
eamofabetterl
i
feonaf
armwher
etheyc
an“l
i
veof
fthe
f
attathel
an’,
”asL
enni
eputsi
t.Geor
gear
tic
ulatesthi
svi
si
onbyr
epeatedl
y
tel
l
ingthe“stor
y”ofthef
utur
efar
mtohi
scompani
on.L
enni
ebel
i
eves
unquesti
oni
ngl
yinthei
rdr
eam,andhi
sfai
thenabl
esthehar
dened,c
yni
calGeor
geto
i
magi
nethepossi
bi
li
tyofthi
sdr
eambec
omi
ngr
eal
i
ty.I
nfac
t,Geor
ge’sbel
i
efi
nit
dependsu
ponL
enni
e,f
orassoonasL
enni
edi
es,Geor
ge’shopef
orabr
ighter
f
utur
edi
sappear
s.
2.
Di
scussthewaysi
nwhi
chc
har
acter
scommuni
catewi
thoneanotheri
nthestor
y.

Stei
nbec
k’sc
har
acter
srar
elyc
ommuni
catei
nastr
aightf
orwar
dfashi
on,of
ten
r
elyi
ngongestur
estoc
onv
eymeani
ng.Forex
ampl
e,Geor
gedoesnottel
lLenni
ehe
l
oveshi
m,buti
nsteadspi
nsi
mpr
obabl
estor
iesaboutr
abbi
tfar
mstok
eephi
sfr
ien
d
happy.Cur
ley’swi
fec
annotex
presshowbor
edshei
sinhermar
riage,soshehi
des
f
romCur
leywhenev
erpossi
bl
eandf
li
rtswi
thmanyoftheothermenshemeets.
Candyc
annotadmi
ttoasenti
mentalattac
hmenttohi
sagi
ngdog,sohemak
es
ex
cusesorc
hangesthesubj
ectwhentheothermenaskhi
mtoputthedogoutof
i
tsmi
ser
y.Thec
har
acter
sletthei
rstr
ongestf
eel
i
ngsr
emai
nunstatedthr
oughout
thewor
k.

Theef
fec
tsofthi
swi
despr
eadr
eti
cenc
ear
etr
agi
c.Twi
ce,Stei
nbec
knotesthe
c
li
mateoff
earthatper
vadesthebook
.(Sl
i
mthi
nks,“Maybeev
erybodyi
nthewhol
e
wor
ldi
ssc
aredofeac
hother
,”athoughtCur
ley’swi
fel
aterec
hoes.
)Bec
ause
Geor
gedoesnottr
ytor
easonwi
thCur
ley,heassumeshehastok
il
lLenni
einthe
stor
y’sf
inalmoments.Bec
auseCur
ley’swi
fec
annotbar
eherl
onel
ysoultothe
menar
oun
dher
,themenper
sisti
nbel
i
evi
ngshei
smer
elya“l
ousytar
t.”Geor
ge
nev
ergi
vesv
oic
etohi
slov
eforL
enni
e,soCar
lsonc
annotunder
standwhyGeor
ge
seemsdi
str
aughtaf
terpul
l
ingthetr
igger
.Stei
nbec
kdepi
ctsaser
iesof
hear
tbr
eak
ingmi
si
nter
pretati
ons,eac
hther
esul
tofthec
har
acter
s’c
ommon
ter
rorofsayi
ngwhatthey’r
ethi
nki
ng.

3.
Di
scussther
oleoff
oreshadowi
ngi
nthewor
k.

OfMi
ceandMen 
i
sanex
tremel
ystr
uctur
edwor
kinwhi
cheac
hdetai
lanti
ci
patesa
pl
otdev
elopmentthatf
oll
ows.Al
mostev
erysc
enepoi
ntstowar
dthei
nev
itabl
e
tr
agi
cendi
ng.I
nthef
irstsc
ene,wel
ear
nthatL
enni
eli
kestostr
okemi
ceandother
sof
tcr
eatur
es,buthasatendenc
ytok
il
lthemac
cidental
l
y.Thi
sfor
eshadowsthe
deathofhi
spuppyandthedeathofCur
ley’swi
fe.Fur
ther
mor
e,whenGeor
ge
r
ecountsth
atL
enni
eonc
egr
abbedawoman’sdr
essandwoul
dnotl
etgo,the
r
eaderanti
ci
patesthatsi
mil
artr
oubl
ewi
l
lar
iseatther
anc
h,espec
ial
l
yonc
e
Cur
ley’sf
li
rtati
ouswi
feappear
sonthesc
ene.Fi
nal
l
y,L
enni
e’spani
ckedbutbr
utal
squeez
ingofCur
ley’shandanti
ci
patesthef
orc
ewi
thwhi
chhegr
absCur
ley’swi
fe
bythethr
oat,uni
ntenti
onal
l
ybr
eak
inghernec
k.

Theev
entssur
roundi
ngCandy’sdog,meanwhi
l
e,par
all
elL
enni
e’sf
ate.Candyi
s
dev
otedtotheani
mal
,justasGeor
gei
sdev
otedtoL
enni
e,yettheol
dmanmust
l
i
vethr
oughthedeathofhi
scompani
on,whoi
sshoti
nthebac
kofthehead,j
ustas
L
enni
eisk
il
ledattheendofthebook
.WhenCandyv
oic
esr
egr
etthatheshoul
dhav
e
shothi
sowndogr
atherthanal
l
owCar
lsontodoi
t,hi
swor
dsc
lear
lyf
oreshadow
thedi
ffi
cul
tdec
isi
onthatGeor
gemak
estoshootL
enni
eratherthanl
eav
ethedeed
toCur
ley’sl
ync
hmob.Thec
ompar
isonbetweenthetwo“gentl
eani
mal
s”i
s
obv
ious;bothar
evi
cti
msofapl
otc
aref
ull
ydesi
gnedf
ortr
agedy.

SuggestedEssayTopi
cs

1.Di
scussthebook
’sv
iewofr
elati
onshi
psbetweenmen.

2.Anal
yzeStei
nbec
k’spor
trayalofCur
ley’swi
feasthel
onef
emal
eontheal
l
-
mal
eranc
h.

3.Payi
ngattenti
ontothel
ongdesc
ripti
vepassagesatthebegi
nni
ngofeac
h
sec
tion,di
scussthewaysi
nwhi
chthenov
ell
aissi
mil
artoatheatr
icalpl
ay.Dothese
si
mil
ari
ti
esstr
engthenorweak
enthewor
k?How?

4.Di
scussGeor
ge’sac
tionsattheendofthestor
y.Howc
anwej
usti
fywhathe
doestoL
enni
e?Howc
anwec
ondemni
t?

5.Di
scussStei
nbec
k’sdesc
ripti
onsofthenatur
alwor
ld.Whatr
oledoesnatur
e
pl
ayi
nthenov
ell
a’ssymbol
i
sm?

6.Anal
yzethec
har
acter
sofSl
i
m,Cr
ook
s,andCur
ley.Whatr
oledoeseac
hchar
acter
pl
ay?