My thoughts while reading Of Mice and Men:
I began reading Of Mice and Men because I had just finished another literary book that was very difficult to read and I wanted a bit of a break. From the very first page I found the book intriguing, and it didn't take much at all to get into. Steinbeck first pulls the reader in by establishing the fact that the two main characters, Lennie and George, are running from something. The two men seem to travel around the country from one job to the next because Lennie always messes something up and makes somebody mad. Lennie is not an intelligent man, and it seems as though he could possibly be mentally challenged. When I first began to figure this out, I automatically felt for Lennie because back when Of Mice and Men was first written not much was known about mental illnesses, and often times those who had them endured terrible things in order to be "cured". In the first couple chapters the men make it to the next ranch they are to work at, but before this George tells Lennie what to do just in case something goes wrong, "Lennie—if you jus' happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an' hide in the brush" (Steinbeck 15). The two men share an impeccable and loving bond throughout the novel, and they have each other's backs which also warmed my heart as I read.
Shortly after they made it to the ranch, the boys meet the boss' son, Curley. From the start Curley acts suspicious of Lennie. The suspicion eventually turns to hatred and Curley goes after Lennie, leaving Curley with a crushed hand, "Curley's fist was swinging when Lennie reached for it. The next minute Curley was flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed fist was in Lennie's big hand" (Steinbeck 63). As I read about the fight I instantly became worried about George and Lennie, I feared that they would be fired on the spot and be left with no money, and with no place to go. However, they lucked out due to Curley's shame in losing the battle. All of the men yelling at both Lennie and Curley during the fight frightened Lennie, and only made him squeeze harder onto Curley's hand. Lennie became panicked and was essentially unable to stop whatever he was doing. This was a flaw of Lennie's that was reviled during the brawl that would eventually come back and haunt him.
Curley's wife was no less of a trouble maker than he was. She liked to go around the worker's cabins or the barn all dolled up pretending to look for her husband. However, all of the men at the ranch were able to see right through her and knew she was just trying to be noticed and cause a ruckus. While reading about how she did this I became disgusted with how unfaithful she was to her husband, even if he was an intolerable man. George warned Lennie of the tricky woman, and told him that he wasn't allowed to talk to her. But, Curley's wife was able to sense that Lennie was not the smartest man, and therefore she decided to take advantage of him. This once again made me dislike her character because at this point in the novel I felt attached to Lennie, and felt as though I had to protect him too. One day when Lennie was out in the barn petting his puppy that had just died because he had been handling it too roughly, the scandalous woman waltzed in with a mission in mind. She began talking sweet to Lennie, she also expressed how she thought Lennie was a strange man for having an obsession with soft things. This however did not stop her for bragging to the man about how soft her hair was, or asking him to feel it. Lennie went haywire at the touch of the plush hair and he began to tug at it which the woman obviously did not care for. She began screaming and told Lennie to stop which only made him panic and tighten his grip, "[...]she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her then, and he was angry with her [...] and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck" (Steinbeck 91). As I read this I felt a mix of emotions, I was glad that Lennie was finally putting the woman back in her place, but once I realized that he had killed her I felt terrible. I mostly felt bad because I knew that Lennie meant no harm, but I also knew that he would soon face punishment.
QUESTIONS:
1. Why did George have to be the one that killed Lennie?
2. What happened to Lennie's parents? (why was his aunt the one that had to care for him)
3. Where did Lennie's obsession with soft things originate?
4. Why hadn't George done something more rash to Lennie before?
5. What inspired Steinbeck to write this book?
6. Why did Candy have reasonably a lot of money?
7. Where was George and Lennie's "dream house"?
I began reading Of Mice and Men because I had just finished another literary book that was very difficult to read and I wanted a bit of a break. From the very first page I found the book intriguing, and it didn't take much at all to get into. Steinbeck first pulls the reader in by establishing the fact that the two main characters, Lennie and George, are running from something. The two men seem to travel around the country from one job to the next because Lennie always messes something up and makes somebody mad. Lennie is not an intelligent man, and it seems as though he could possibly be mentally challenged. When I first began to figure this out, I automatically felt for Lennie because back when Of Mice and Men was first written not much was known about mental illnesses, and often times those who had them endured terrible things in order to be "cured". In the first couple chapters the men make it to the next ranch they are to work at, but before this George tells Lennie what to do just in case something goes wrong, "Lennie—if you jus' happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an' hide in the brush" (Steinbeck 15). The two men share an impeccable and loving bond throughout the novel, and they have each other's backs which also warmed my heart as I read.
Shortly after they made it to the ranch, the boys meet the boss' son, Curley. From the start Curley acts suspicious of Lennie. The suspicion eventually turns to hatred and Curley goes after Lennie, leaving Curley with a crushed hand, "Curley's fist was swinging when Lennie reached for it. The next minute Curley was flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed fist was in Lennie's big hand" (Steinbeck 63). As I read about the fight I instantly became worried about George and Lennie, I feared that they would be fired on the spot and be left with no money, and with no place to go. However, they lucked out due to Curley's shame in losing the battle. All of the men yelling at both Lennie and Curley during the fight frightened Lennie, and only made him squeeze harder onto Curley's hand. Lennie became panicked and was essentially unable to stop whatever he was doing. This was a flaw of Lennie's that was reviled during the brawl that would eventually come back and haunt him.
Curley's wife was no less of a trouble maker than he was. She liked to go around the worker's cabins or the barn all dolled up pretending to look for her husband. However, all of the men at the ranch were able to see right through her and knew she was just trying to be noticed and cause a ruckus. While reading about how she did this I became disgusted with how unfaithful she was to her husband, even if he was an intolerable man. George warned Lennie of the tricky woman, and told him that he wasn't allowed to talk to her. But, Curley's wife was able to sense that Lennie was not the smartest man, and therefore she decided to take advantage of him. This once again made me dislike her character because at this point in the novel I felt attached to Lennie, and felt as though I had to protect him too. One day when Lennie was out in the barn petting his puppy that had just died because he had been handling it too roughly, the scandalous woman waltzed in with a mission in mind. She began talking sweet to Lennie, she also expressed how she thought Lennie was a strange man for having an obsession with soft things. This however did not stop her for bragging to the man about how soft her hair was, or asking him to feel it. Lennie went haywire at the touch of the plush hair and he began to tug at it which the woman obviously did not care for. She began screaming and told Lennie to stop which only made him panic and tighten his grip, "[...]she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her then, and he was angry with her [...] and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck" (Steinbeck 91). As I read this I felt a mix of emotions, I was glad that Lennie was finally putting the woman back in her place, but once I realized that he had killed her I felt terrible. I mostly felt bad because I knew that Lennie meant no harm, but I also knew that he would soon face punishment.
QUESTIONS:
1. Why did George have to be the one that killed Lennie?
2. What happened to Lennie's parents? (why was his aunt the one that had to care for him)
3. Where did Lennie's obsession with soft things originate?
4. Why hadn't George done something more rash to Lennie before?
5. What inspired Steinbeck to write this book?
6. Why did Candy have reasonably a lot of money?
7. Where was George and Lennie's "dream house"?
