Of mice and men is a good book that you would want to read at once. The setting is in California in the early 1930's. The two men the picture are Lennie (left) and George (right).

Lennie is a tall, heavy-weight, friendly person who suffers from retardation. He is always friendly; but he can sometimes he just can't help himself. When he gets scared he doesn't know what to do and that's what keeps getting him in trouble.
George is Lennie's companion and he cares for Geor

ge and makes sure he stays out of trouble. He came with Lennie out of Weeds (a town where they grew up) and brought him here.


Slim has worked at the farm for a very long time and is one of the best workers. He is on the same team as Lennie and George, and he's been kind to them; he gave Lennie one of his pups.

Curley's wife is usually walking around the farm flirting with the workers because she's bored and Curley has to work. She's a peril to Lennie because he thinks she's "pretty". And the last time that happened they had to move from Weeds.

Summary of the book:

The book is about two main characters George and Lennie who go to work at a farm. Lennie suffers from retardation so he tend to get into trouble; while he is really sweet and his intentions are to not hurt anybody. George looks out for him and is his companion. They come

from Weeds, which is a town in California and Lennie got into trouble there so thats why they came here. They have to watch out that nothing happens. But Curley, the farmers son isn't too happy with Lennie. He is a lightweight and he doesn't like heavyweights.

Of Mice and Men worksheets:

Chapters 1 and 2:

1. a. Lennie: Lennie is a mentally retarded person. He is tall and heavy-weight.

b. George: He takes care of Lennie and is small and short, unlike Lennie.

c. Curley: He is the boss's son and is overprotective over his wife.

d. Slim: He is a worker at the farm, and has an ageless face, and talks to George and Lennie.

e. Carlson: He also works on the farm, he eventually shoots Candy's dog.

f. Candy: The swamper, and has an old dog that he loves, his left hand is cut of in an accident.

g. Crooks: He is the blacksmith, he has a lame back, and people are racist to him because he's African-American.

2. Lennie likes little puppies, mice, and rabbits because they are nice to pet, small, and soft. They are also innocent; just like him.

3. a. Aunt Clara introduced Lennie and George to each other in Weeds years ago.

b. George feels responsible for Lennie, but he does feel like he is missing out on some things in life because he has to take care of Lennie all the time.

c. George feels responsible for him after his aunt Clara died. He knows that Lennie is mentally retarded.

4. The dream that George and Lennie share is that once, when they have enough money they are gonna by a house. They will not have to work for anyone, and have some rabbits, and cows and chickens, etc.. And when it's winter, they will just stop working and sit all day inside with a wood stove to keep them warm.

5. Lennie felt a girl's skirt, but then wouldn't let go so the girl panicked and she told the others that he had tried to rape her so all the men in Weeds wanted to kill him.

Chapters 3 and 4:

1. Why doesn’t Candy want to kill his dog? Because he thinks it’s inhumane, he doesn’t need a new one, and he likes his dog; he’s an old companion.

Are Candy’s feelings understandable? Have you ever felt very attached to an old sick animal that had to be put to sleep? Explain your feelings: Yes, when my dog had to be put to sleep I also wanted him to stay and after that I felt sad.

Why does Candy say later that he should have shot the dog himself and not let a stranger do it? I think because it’s a better way to say a final goodbye, also more personal.

2. Why did Curley pick on Lennie? Because he’s lightweight and he’s jealous of heavy weights, and Lennie is a heavyweight. It’s a way to release some of his anger.

Describe Curley’s main problem in your opinion. He is overprotective of his wife and so as a result is mean to most of the workers because he’s insecure. He is also cocky and stuck-up.

Why didn’t Lennie fight back at first when Curley hit him? He didn’t hit Curley back because he didn’t want to be in trouble. He still wanted to fend for the rabbits when they got their dream house.

What happened as a result of picking on Lennie? Lennie got scared and held onto Curley’s hand so hard that it broke in 3 places.

3. How does Crooks react to Lennie’s appearance at the door of his room? He wants him to go because most people look down on his because he’s cripple and he’s Afro-American.

Crooks says people at the ranch don’t like him because he’s Afro-American and he’s cripple.

Crooks invites Lennie to stay and talk with him because he almost never has someone to talk to and Lennie will probably get upset.

Chapter 5 and 6

1. What does Lennie do or say that show he is mentally retarded? List at least 3 specific acts or incidents. He talks and articulates strange, he carries around dead mice and he wants to be around puppies and other cute fluffy animals all the time.

2.a. Is George’s treatment of Lennie fair? Explain. Yes, he treats him fair, and repeats things for Lennie without losing his temper.

b. Is George’s treatment of Lennie understandable? Explain. Yes, I would have done the same. He is treating him well.

c. Could he have helped him more? How? Yes, by being a bit more strict and not leaving Lennie alone as much.

3. How do these characters treat Lennie and why? Give one incident for each that shows his/her treatment of Lennie.

a. Curley’s wife: She thinks that he’s crazy and she tells him that she thinks that he’s a big baby in the barn when they are talking.

b. Crooks: He talks to him because he listens to him and isn’t racist, when Lennie came to his door suddenly.

What do they all have in common? (Why do they all talk to him?) They think that he’s dumb, but he’s also nice; and that’s why they talk to him.

4. Why does Lennie kill the pup and then later the girl? He thought that the puppy was going to bite him so he slapped it’s face and broke its neck. And the girl started panicking so he pushed he and again accidentally broke her neck.

5. Do you think that Lennie had to be shot? What were some other alternatives? What would have happened to Lennie of George hadn’t shot him? I think that he shouldn’t have been shot and just put into a hospital or with his family. But probably if the other guys got to him before George he would have been shot too, but maybe more brutally.

6. How is killing Lennie similar to the killing of Candy’s dog? Why do you think George killed Lennie himself instead of letting the men do it? He didn’t want strangers to kill Lennie. He wanted a proper final goodbye. Otherwise he would be like Candy and feel like he should have shot him himself.

Examples of Symbolism in Of Mice and Men

1. Candy's dog symbolizes Lennie in a way. They both have it coming. They mean no harm but they die anyways. Candy's dog symbolizes that unfair death.

2. Curley's wife symbolizes trouble, temptation. She doesn't know that Lennie is retarded. But she does know that she isn't supossed to flirt with the workers.

3. The dead mouse at the beginning of the book symbolizes old habits. Lennie, no matter how old he is will always like something shiny, or soft that he can pet. It shows how soft he is and that he never means to do anything harmful.

4. The pistol with which Lennie was shot symbolizes both justice and injustice. Injustice because Lennie gets killed which he doesn't deserve. But at the same time, it's justice that he's now peaceful and his friend killed him instead of Curley or a stranger. Also George can now be more free and doesn't have to watch out for Lennie all the time.

5. George and Lennie's dream symbolizes hope and innocence. It's what they were working for. That dream is what they felt set them apart from all the other workers. They had something to live for, determination.

6. The fields on which they work on symbolizes hard work, and endurance, and that they have a goal that they want to reach in life. They work hard; not earning too much money, so that they can do something. Some people earn money for their families, or they are just waiting for the weekend. But they all live for something. For Lennie and George it is the dream farm with the rabbits.

Animal Imagery

Page: 2 Quotation: "... rabbits hurried noiselessly for cover..."

Effect: This is foreshadowing something is going to happen; animals sense things before humans do.

Page: 3 Quotation: "... snorting into the water like a horse..."

Effect: This introduces Lennie as a character that has no manners and doesn't think about something before he does it.

Page: 3 Quotation: "... dabbled his big paw..."

Effect: Lennie has big hands and seems clumsy, unsteady, because he is linked to a dog.

Page: 6 Quotation: "... mouse and threw it across the pool."

Effect: George threw the mouse across the pool because Lennie needs to try to grow up and get real. Even though his mental retardation is probably permanent.

Page: 9 Quotation: "... like a terrier who doesn't want to bring a ball to his master..."

Effect: Lennie is like a terrier, he does things if he gets rewarded. In his case it's getting to tend the rabbits.

Page: 13 Quotation: "... trouble with mice is you always kill 'em."

Effect: Lennie doesn't know his own strength but this excerpt makes him look even more mentally handicapped.

Page: 13 Quotation: "Somebody'd shoot you for a coyote..."

Effect: This makes Lennie seem more like an animal than a human. This changes the image I had for him slightly.

Page: 14 Quotation: "An' have rabbits. Go on George."

Effect: Lennie is so innocent, he gets excited about rabbits. This shows that he would never do a bad thing on purpose.

Page: 16 Quotation: "Let's have different color rabbits, George... red, blue and green rabbits."

Effect: Lennie is really gullible, he'll believe just about anything you tell him.

Page: 22 Quotation: "As strong as a bull."

Effect: Lennie is really strong, but he just isn't aware of it.

1. The foreshadowing in this story is when Carlson shoots Candy's dog. To me this is foreshadowing of Lennie getting shot.

2. There is irony when we know that something bad is going to happen to Lennie and that he is probably going to get killed. But Lennie doesn't know because he thinks that as long as he goes to the place where George told him to go he will be safe. Another ironic thing in this book is when Lennie crushed Curley's hand. I totally didn't expect that from Lennie. He is always trying to be nice and is scared of Curley.

3. One example of alliteration is on page 28 "buck barley" and there is another one on page 57 "smoked salmon".

4. One example of symbolism is the dead mice, they stand for comfort and the feeling of being safe. But George throws the dead mice away and he also pushes Lennie out of his comfort zone. Another example of symbolism is the dream, it symbolises hope and determination.

5. Page: 22 Quotation: "As strong as a bull."

Page: 9 Quotation: "... like a terrier who doesn't want to bring a ball to his master...

6. An example of how the use of 'tone' affects the scene is on page 57:
"Tell about the house, George," Lennie begged." The fact that he is he is begging makes it seem so much more desperate.

7. This story is written from 3rd person. I think that if it was to be from another perspective it should be 3rd person omnicient. Because this story in 1st or 2nd person doesn't make sense.

8. Its important that you know that this book is in the 1900's in the time of the Great Depression because then you understand why they need a job so badly and how their dream was inspired.

9. I liked how they added the way they said things in the novel, in makes you feel like they are really in California. It was written old-fashioned.

10. This novel discusses the theme by showing different kinds of examples of 'decisions, actions, and consquences'. They show it with Lennie crushing Curleys hand, Carlson shooting Candy's dog, George shooting Lennie, etc.
All of these examples enhance the theme so that you can see it in different ways. Mostly these actions are negative, Curley's hand is broken in 3 places, Candy's dog is dead, and Lennie also dies.