Transcript Literature Review - ESM School District

Literature Review
Of Mice and Men
A novel by John Steinbeck
Setting
• 1930’s in California - Great Depression
• The story occurs over a period of 4 days in four specific
locations:
- in the brush next to the Salinas River
- a bunkhouse on the ranch
- the stable hand's room on the ranch
- the main barn on the ranch
Characters
George Milton is characterized as...
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a migrant farmworker
a small, quick, hard working, good man
Lennie’s protector and care giver
gettting easily frustrated with Lennie
a person who hopes to have a Dream Farm with Lennie, but
loses that hope once Lennie dies
• a character who mercifully kills his best friend
Characters
Lennie Small is characterized as...
• a large, childlike migrant worker with a mild
mental disability
• a character who completely depends upon
George, his friend and traveling companion, for
guidance and protection.
• a child who wholeheartedly believes in the
Dream Farm
• not understanding his own strength.
• someone who loves petting soft things, such as
small animals, dresses, and people’s hair,
• a character who unintentionally, kills Curley’s
Wife
Characters
Candy is characterized as...
• an aging ranch handyman
• having lost his hand in an accident and worries about his
future on the ranch.
• someone who provides hope for the Dream Farm; he
offers his life’s savings so he can join George and
Lennie in owning the land
• someone who struggles with the fate of his ancient dog
(Carlson shoots the suffering dog in the back of the head
in an alleged act of mercy; this foreshadows the manner
of Lennie’s death.)
• a character who struggles with the fact that he didn’t
shoot his own dog.
Characters
Curley is characterized as...
• the boss’s son
• a pugnacious boxer who is confrontational and mean-spirited
• a character who seeks to compensate for his small physical
nature by picking fights with larger men.
• a man consumed with jealous suspicions and is extremely
possessive of his flirtatious young wife.
Characters
Curley’s Wife is characterized as...
• a possession; she is never given a name and is
only referred to in reference to her husband
• a potential problem who is feared by the ranchhands
• as attention seeking, as she dresses in fancy,
feathered red shoes
• a desperately lonely girl who simply wants to be
noticed and have some meaningful
companionship
• a character who has broken dreams of a better
life.
Conflicts
• Man vs. Man
- Curley against Lennie
- Curley’s Wife against Lennie
- George against Lennie
- Carlson against Candy’s Dog
• Man vs. Self
- George against himself
- Candy against himself
Foreshadowing
• Carlson shoots Candy’s Dog in order to put it out of its
misery. This event foreshadows Lennie’s death. George uses
Carlson’s gun to mercifully shoot Lennie.
• The fact that Candy greatly regrets not killing his dog/his best
friend foreshadows the fact that George will be the one to
ultimately take the life of Lennie at the close of the novel.
Symbolism
• The Rabbits
- A symbol of Lennie’s future, simple and
perfect life on the Dream Farm
- They also represent the death of the Dream
Farm. The gigantic rabbit that scolds Lennie at
the end of the story suggests that Lennie realizes
deep down that he'll never have his dream.
• The Dream Farm
- A symbol for George and Lennie’s perfect,
free, and happy life.
Themes
• Dreams
- Without dreams and goals, life is an endless stream of days
that have little connection or meaning.
• Loneliness...Companionship
- Humans crave contact with each other to give life
meaning.
• Moral Responsibility
- Mankind should be responsible and helpful to others who
are less fortunate.