Chapter 3 Analysis

1. What does George and Slim’s conversation at the beginning of the chapter reveal about each of them?
About their attitude towards “meanness”? About their relationship?

2. Is Lennie justified in his actions with Curley? Do these actions change the reader’s impression of
Lennie? Of George? Why or why not?

3. Examine the animal imagery used to describe the fight and assess the overall effect. Use the table
below to document specific words, phrases, or imagery.
Lennie Curley

How are Lennie and Curley ultimately portrayed?

4. Analyze the continued significance of Candy’s dog. When considering this developing motif, how might
the reader logically draw a parallel between the swamper’s relationship with his dog and the
relationship between George and Lennie?

5. How does the rabbit symbolism compare to previous mentions of rabbits in the novel? How do they
begin to assume a somewhat darker significance?

6. Does the author successfully maintain the sympathy for Lennie previously established? Why or why
not? Why would the author be trying to create sympathy for Lennie?

The author maintains sympathy for Lennie by making Candy hate him and putting a feud between the two of
them for seemingly no reason. Because by putting Lennie and Candy in a feud then they can’t get the money
for George and Lennies dream farm.