OF MICE AND MEN

ÇAĞLA
ÇİNKILINÇ
10C 74
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
John Steinbeck (1902-1968), born in Salinas, California,
came from a family of moderate means. He worked his
way through college at Stanford University but never
graduated. In 1925 he went to New York, where he tried
for a few years to establish himself as a freelance writer,
but he failed and returned to California. After publishing
some novels and short stories, Steinbeck first became
widely known with Tortilla Flat (1935), a series of
humorous stories about Monterey paisanos.
Among his later works should be mentioned East of
Eden (1952), The Winter of Our Discontent(1961), and
Travels with Charley (1962), a travelogue in which
Steinbeck wrote about his impressions during a three-
month tour in a truck that led him through forty
American states. He died in New York City in 1968.
BACKGROUND: THE AMERICAN
DREAM
American dream is the ideal that the government
should protect each person’s opportunity to pursue
their own idea of happiness.
In our lives, the things which is hard is unattainable
and this dream is hard and attractive to let it occur.
BACKGROUND: THE GREAT
DEPRESSION
Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place
mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the USA.
In a short period of time, world output and standards of living dropped precipitously.
As much as one-fourth of the labour force in industrialized countries was unable to
find work in the early 1930s so this depression had a negative impact on human
beings. While conditions began to improve by the mid-1930s, total recovery was not
accomplished until the end of the decade. After the Great Depression, there were a
large number of unemployed workers seeking jobs.
BACKGROUND: THE DUST
BOWL
Dust bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and
agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s; severe drought
and a failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent the aeolian processes
caused the phenomenon.
The massive dust storms forced farmers out of the business. They,t he farmers, lost
their livelihoods and their homes. Deflation from the Depression aggravated the
plight of Dust Bowl farmers. Prices for the crops they were able to grow fell below
subsistence levels. The efficiency of the soil decreased.
 CHARACTER ANALYSIS:GEORGE

George is…

➢ Protective: George is protective of Lennie and tries to look after him. When he kills Lennie, he is
trying to protect him from Curley and the other men.
➢ Resentful:George is resentful of Lennie because he knows that if it weren't for Lennie he would
be able to do the things he wants and dreams of in life like buying and running a hotel or
playing pool a lot. But due to Lennie, George is unable to do these things and it causes him to
resent Lennie over time.
➢ Impatient:Since the death of Lennie's Aunt Clara, George took it upon himself to take
responsibility of him and his special needs by finding him jobs, feeding him, and making sure
he is safe.
➢ Compassionate: If Curley had gotten Lennie first, Lennie would suffer a lot so George took
Lennie’s life. Because of George’s compassion, Lennie is free from all worry and pain.
➢ Responsible: Since the death of Lennie's Aunt Clara, George took it upon himself to take
responsibility of him and his special needs by finding him jobs, feeding him, and making sure
he is safe.
 CHARACTER ANALYSIS: LENNIE
Naive
Innocent
Lennie is kind and
innocent and so does
not understand other
characters’ cruelty
and anger properly.
Forgetful
Lennie is very slow to
understand what's going on and
can't remember anything for very
long. But, with George's tutoring,
Lennie is starting to be able to
learn better.
Cheerful
“Tha’s good, “he said. “You drink
some, George. You take a good
big drink. “He smiled happily.
Large and strong
Trustful
Lennie completely depends
upon George, his friend and
traveling companion, for
guidance and protection.
Defensless
He cannot avoid the dangers
presented by Curley,
Curley’s wife, or the world at
large.
Childish
He is a childlike character, having a Loyal
man's body but the mind of a child,
Gentle
as Slim observes, 'He's jes' like a
kid'.
 GEORGE AND LENNIE
I think they are kind of a puzzle. They complete each other. Lennie got someone to look after him
and this person is George who tried to find someone to care about and undeniably, this someone
is Lennie. Lennie would not be able to live and survive outside of an institution if George weren’t
there to ensure his safety. Undoubtedly, George has come to like Lennie and feels a sense of duty
and responsibility towards him. Lennie needs George, but it is equally true that George needs
Lennie as well. George was also a harsh, mean and derogatory to Lennie, however, it is also very
evident that George never left Lennie despite his life would have mean much easier without him.
Lennie is George's hardship, but George loves him regardless. Since the death of Lennie's Aunt
Clara, George took it upon himself to take responsibility of him and his special needs by finding
him jobs, feeding him, and making sure he is safe. Their mutual dependence on one another is
what keeps George and Lennie together. Lennie stays with George because he has no other
option. His only family, his aunt, has passed away, and he has the mind of a very young child.
Dear Diary,
Day by day, I feel like I am ageing and I am
dying slowly. I am useless in this world and I
don’t have a value as a person.This is reflected in
the way that my dog is shot by Carlson. Before my
dog’s death, my dog is my only real companion. I
have my dog, who is also old and crippled, to keep
me company. My dog is my only friend and it’s death
really made me sad. I have nothing left to be proud
of.
I am asking to be involved in George and Lennie’s
dream of owning their own farm; I am willing to give
all of my savings to these men who I have just met so
that I can feel a part of something. Of course I will die
soon but I want to feel that I am a part of this society
before I die. My dreams are the only things that ranch
workers hold on to and look forward to. Despite the
fact that I am afraid of losing my job because of my
physical impairment, I am still hopeful I will be able to
have my own stake in the future. In the ranch, I am
not useful because of my physical condition.
 Monologue

I’m gonna get that guy. He is so strong. If I want feel bigger than I am,then I
should pick fights with big men like Lennie.Yes, he is my victim. Oh, also Lennie is
vulnerable, whereas the other men would fight back so my work is easy to do.
Who the hell is he to laugh at me; this is my ranch because of Carlson saying he
would kick my head in.When I started out by punching Lennie’s face,but then he
crushed every one in my hand. I will kill this big man. By the way, I am angry
because my wife doesn’t obey my rules. I don’t trully love her and I will get my
revenge on Lennie. Of course, I am the son of the ranch boss so I can do whatever
I want. I will prove myself on the ranch among other bigger and better men. Oh,
everyone is scared of me anyway when I move into a fighting pose. I will get my
revenge. I will smash him and show who is the strongest. Everyone will see who I
am.
 SUMMARY
They have found a little place to camp which is tree covered and not that far from the ranch that they
are supposed to work at the next day. George, being the decision maker, decides that they will camp
there tonight to relax before they start the intensive labor work tomorrow. They meet an old man
who informs them that the boss is mad that they had not arrived last night and he had to send a team
out with two men short. This old man has one hand cut off and has the permanent job of sweeping
the grounds. He also has an extremely old dog that has lost his teeth and smells horrible.Curley’s wife
asks where Curley is. Eventually, Lennie expresses his worry of Curley getting him in trouble and
George just tells him to steer clearof both Curley and his wife. Lennie and George leave the
bunkhouse to go eat lunch with the rest of their co-workers. George and Slim are sitting at the card
table talking. Slim had just given one of his new puppies to Lennie who is having the time of his life
petting his puppy in the barn. Slim and George start talking about Lennie and how he is the hardest
worker Slim had ever seen and how he is such a nice guy. After some more bunkhouse conversation
Slim walks over to the barn to tell Lennie that he should stop petting his puppy and to put tar on a
horse’s split hove.
Curley enters the bunkhouse again looking for his forever lost wife and then is
informed that Slim is in the barn and he quickly jumps to conclusion that Slim is with
his wife. Lennie comes back to the bunkhouse and tells George that Curley’s wife was
not in the barn. Everyone comes back and starts making fun of Curley because he
accused Slim of messing around with his wife. Curley being irritated decides to fight
Lennie. He punches several times before George tells Lennie to fight back. However,
Lennie ends up breaking Curley’s fist because he would not let go. Candy and Crooks
go into town to blow some of their money off.The buck hand is an African American.
He has crooked back so they call him Crooks. Crooks at first does not want Lennie to
come into his little shack that is separated from the bunkhouse, but then seems to
like Lennie’s company. All Lennie talks about is tending rabbits which makes Crooks
think Lennie is crazy. Then Crooks plays a mean game on Lennie by telling Lennie
that George is notcoming back from town. Lennie gets mad, but Crooks just says he
is kidding. Then Candy comes in and talks to Lennie about how him, George and
Lennie are all leaving the ranch and buying a place . Crooks starts believing they could
actually do it however, then the boys come home and George asks Lennie to get out
of the African American home.
REFERENCES
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1962/steinbeck/biographical/
https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-the-american-dream-quotes-and-history-
3306009
https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Depression/Economic-impact
http://ofmiceandmenmjr.weebly.com/chapter-summaries.html