Novel Summary
Two field workers, George and Lennie, are on their way to another part of California in Soledad. They hope to one day attain their shared dream of settling down on their own piece of land. Lennie's part of the dream is merely to take care of rabbits on the farm. This dream is one of Lennie's favorite stories, which George constantly retells. They are running from their last job in Weed, California, where they were run out of town after Lennie's love of touching things resulted in an accusation of attempted rape when he touched a young woman's dress, and would not let go. the ranch where there new job is appears menacing and dangerous, especially when the pair are confronted by Curley, the boss's son, leaving the gentle Lennie potentially vulnerable. Curley's flirtatious wife, to whom Lennie is instantly attracted, poses a problem as well. In sharp contrast to these two characters, the pair also meets Slim, whose dog has recently had a litter of puppies. Slim gives a puppy to Lennie. In spite of the potential problems on the ranch, their dream leaps towards reality when Candy, the aged, one-handed ranch hand, offers to pitch in with George and Lennie so that they can buy a farm at the end of the month in return for permission to live with them on it. The trio are excited, but their joy is overshadowed when Curley attacks Lennie. In response, Lennie, urged on by George, catches Curley's fist and crushes it. Soon, George feels more relaxed, since the dream seems just within their grasp, to the point where he even leaves Lennie behind on the ranch while he goes into town with the other ranch hands. Lennie wanders into the stable, and chats with Crooks, the stable buck, who is isolated from the other workers because he is black. Candy finds them and they discuss their plans for the farm with Crooks, who asks them if he can hoe a garden patch on the farm. Curley's wife then flirts with the men, especially Lennie. However, her mean side is shown when she makes fun of them and makes fun of Crooks because of his race. Lennie accidentally kills his puppy while stroking it. Curley's wife enters the barn and tries to speak to Lennie, admitting that she dreamed of becoming a movie star but that dream was crushed, which is the the reason she flirts with the men on the ranch. After finding out that Lennie loves stroking soft things, she offers to let him stroke her hair, but panics and begins to scream when she feels his strength. Lennie becomes frightened and unintentionally breaks her neck. When the other ranch hands find the corpse, George realizes that their dream is at an end. George goes to find Lennie, hoping he will be at the meeting place they made at the start of the novel in case Lennie got into trouble. George finds Lennie at the meeting place. The two sit together and George retells the story of the future together that they will have, knowing it is something they will never share. He then shoots Lennie in the back of the head, so that his death will be painless and happy. Curley, Slim, and Carlson find George seconds after the shooting. Only Slim realizes that George killed Lennie out of love, and leads him away.
Characters
Lennie - A large childlike migrant worker. Due to his mild mental disability, Lennie depends on George, for guidance and protection. The two men share a dream of a farm that they will own together, a dream that Lennie believes in with his whole heart. Gentle and kind, Lennie does not understand his own strength. His love of petting soft things, such as small animals, dresses, and people’s hair, leads to disaster.
George - A small, quick-witted man who travels with, and cares for, Lennie. Although he always speaks of how much better his life would be without his caretaking responsibilities, George is devoted to Lennie. George’s behavior is motivated by the desire to protect Lennie and, eventually, deliver them both to the farm of their dreams. Though George is the source of the often-told story of life on their future farm, it is Lennie’s childlike faith that enables George to actually believe in their dream.
Candy - An aging ranch handyman, Candy lost his hand in an accident and worries about his future on the ranch. Fearing that his age is making him useless, he takes on George’s description of the farm he and Lennie will have, offering his life’s savings if he can join George and Lennie in owning the land. The fate of Candy’s ancient dog, which Carlson shoots in the back of the head in an alleged act of mercy, foreshadows Lennie’s death.
Curley’s wife - The only female character in the story, Curley’s wife is never given a name and is only mentioned in reference to her husband. The men on the farm refer to her as a “tramp,” a “tart,” and a “looloo.” Dressed in fancy, feathered red shoes, she represents the temptation in a male-dominated world. Like the ranch-hands, she is lonely and has crushed dreams of a better life.
Crooks - Crooks is the black stable-hand. Proud, bitter, and caustically funny, he is isolated from the other men because of the color of his skin. Crooks becomes fond of Lennie, and he asks Lennie if he can go with them and hoe in the garden.
Curley - The boss’s son; rumored to be a champion prizefighter, he is a confrontational and aggressive young man who seeks to compensate for his small stature by picking fights with larger men. Recently married, Curley is overcome with jealous suspicions and is extremely possessive of his flirtatious young wife.
Slim - A skilled mule driver. Slim is the only character who seems to be at peace with himself. The other characters often look to Slim for advice. A quiet, insightful man, Slim alone understands the nature of the bond between George and Lennie, and comforts George at the book’s tragic ending.
George - A small, quick-witted man who travels with, and cares for, Lennie. Although he always speaks of how much better his life would be without his caretaking responsibilities, George is devoted to Lennie. George’s behavior is motivated by the desire to protect Lennie and, eventually, deliver them both to the farm of their dreams. Though George is the source of the often-told story of life on their future farm, it is Lennie’s childlike faith that enables George to actually believe in their dream.
Candy - An aging ranch handyman, Candy lost his hand in an accident and worries about his future on the ranch. Fearing that his age is making him useless, he takes on George’s description of the farm he and Lennie will have, offering his life’s savings if he can join George and Lennie in owning the land. The fate of Candy’s ancient dog, which Carlson shoots in the back of the head in an alleged act of mercy, foreshadows Lennie’s death.
Curley’s wife - The only female character in the story, Curley’s wife is never given a name and is only mentioned in reference to her husband. The men on the farm refer to her as a “tramp,” a “tart,” and a “looloo.” Dressed in fancy, feathered red shoes, she represents the temptation in a male-dominated world. Like the ranch-hands, she is lonely and has crushed dreams of a better life.
Crooks - Crooks is the black stable-hand. Proud, bitter, and caustically funny, he is isolated from the other men because of the color of his skin. Crooks becomes fond of Lennie, and he asks Lennie if he can go with them and hoe in the garden.
Curley - The boss’s son; rumored to be a champion prizefighter, he is a confrontational and aggressive young man who seeks to compensate for his small stature by picking fights with larger men. Recently married, Curley is overcome with jealous suspicions and is extremely possessive of his flirtatious young wife.
Slim - A skilled mule driver. Slim is the only character who seems to be at peace with himself. The other characters often look to Slim for advice. A quiet, insightful man, Slim alone understands the nature of the bond between George and Lennie, and comforts George at the book’s tragic ending.
The title
John Steinbeck takes the title of this novel from the poem "To a Mouse [on turning her up in her nest with the plough]," written by Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1785.
In the poem, the speaker has accidentally turned up a mouse's nest with his plough. He pauses for a little bit and thinks about how men and animals might seem different, but in the end they're all mortal. No matter how different "thinking men" and "unthinking animals" seem, everybody suffers and dies in the end:
"But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane [alone]
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley, [often go awry]
An' lea'e us nought [leave us nothing] but grief an' pain,
For promised joy.
But there is one difference. Mice and men might both die, but only the men are aware of it. In the last verse of the poem, Burns's speaker says that the mouse is "blest":
Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But, och! I backward cast my e'e [eye]
On prospects drear! [dreary]
An' forward, tho' I canna [cannot] see
I guess an' fear!"
In other words, the mouse can't think about the past or the future. It seems like Steinbeck is thinking of Lennie as the mouse, and George as the man who turns up its nest: life messes them both up, but at least Lennie doesn't have to remember any of it. Whatever happens to Lennie is over. He doesn't regret anything and he doesn't anticipate anything—not even his death. But not George. George will have to live with what he's done for the rest of his life.
In the poem, the speaker has accidentally turned up a mouse's nest with his plough. He pauses for a little bit and thinks about how men and animals might seem different, but in the end they're all mortal. No matter how different "thinking men" and "unthinking animals" seem, everybody suffers and dies in the end:
"But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane [alone]
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley, [often go awry]
An' lea'e us nought [leave us nothing] but grief an' pain,
For promised joy.
But there is one difference. Mice and men might both die, but only the men are aware of it. In the last verse of the poem, Burns's speaker says that the mouse is "blest":
Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But, och! I backward cast my e'e [eye]
On prospects drear! [dreary]
An' forward, tho' I canna [cannot] see
I guess an' fear!"
In other words, the mouse can't think about the past or the future. It seems like Steinbeck is thinking of Lennie as the mouse, and George as the man who turns up its nest: life messes them both up, but at least Lennie doesn't have to remember any of it. Whatever happens to Lennie is over. He doesn't regret anything and he doesn't anticipate anything—not even his death. But not George. George will have to live with what he's done for the rest of his life.
Morals
- Does anyone have the right to kill Lennie?- George might have thought he was doing the right thing, giving Lennie a more peaceful death than what Curley sure would have done to him, but was killing Lennie the only solution? You would think that George and Lennie could go run off and get away. However, Lennie does not know his own strength and could have very well accidently killed again, which means Lennie and George would have had to live in isolation if they ran off. However, Lennie, although having a mental disability, is still human. That is where the problem comes in. Even though Lennie killed Curley's wife by accident, do the other men or George have the right to kill Lennie, a human being?
- Prejudice - There are many cases of prejudice in this novel: sexism, racism, and ableism. Curley's wife (who isn't even given a name) is looked at as a thing and not a person. The men (and Curley's wife) are cruel to Crooks. George doesn't want Lennie to talk when they first get there so their employer doesn't know that Curley is mentally disabled, and therefore think that he is unable to do work. Prejudice is not right however occurred a lot back they, and is still not absent in today's society. No one has the right to make fun of or judge someone based on their skin color, gender, appearance, ability (mental and physical), ect.