OF MICE AND MEN

DECONSTRUCTING THE TEXT

~MS CARROLL’S YEAR 12 ENGLISH CLASS~

George:

•A migrant worker who travels from farm to farm for work during the Depression.

•Cares for Lennie, his childhood friend who is mentally disabled

Lennie:

•A large mentally disabled man.

•Obsesses over touching soft things such as hair and fur

•Dreams of having a farm with George and raising rabbits

Candy:

•An old, crippled man who has lost his hand

•Swamper at the ranch

Curley:

•Son of ranch owner

•Formidable

Curley’s Wife:

•Considered a tramp by most of the ranch men

•Doesn’t have a name

Crooks:

•Stable buck of the ranch

•Only Black man

Carlson:

•Large man who complains about Candy’s old dog

•Offers to put the dog down

Slim:

•Ranch foreman

•Wise man

Boss:

•Suspects George and Lennie when they arrive late

•Fair man

• The Dream (reality versus illusion)• Injustice (discrimination, inequality and

violence)• Loneliness (despair and hope)• Mateship (a sense of friendship among the

poor, marginalised workers)• Gender (male-dominant)

The Dream

The theme of the Dream is the central focus of the novel and is essential to the invited reading of the novel

In the economically depressed 1930s, the ‘dream’ seems a hopeless illusion for the rural poor (reality versus illusion)

Steinbeck’s comments on the nature of humankind is part of the essential discussion for the Dream representation (materialism/selfishness/abuse of power are all aspects of human nature criticised by the author)

GEORGE

• The dream for George is the dream of freedom – freedom to pursue a simple life with Lennie and own their own piece of land

• George’s dream is a reflection of the American dream – he works hard in a land of opportunity so therefore he should be able to expect to get ahead in a just and fair society

***Each of the outcast/victim characters has a dream – the fulfilment of that dream is made impossible by the nature of society and the nature of human beings***LENNIE

• Lennie’s simple dream was repeated so often that it became ‘real’ for him.

• His dream became reality by repetition.

CURLEY’S WIFE

• She imagines she could have achieved fame in Hollywood but in terms of the novel this is “in her dreams”

RANCH WORKERS

• Their fellow ranch workers are even further away from anything associated with the term “The American Dream’

InjusticeOn the ranch, the attitudes and values of the ‘normal’ men was that ‘different’ men should not be accepted

TYPES OF INJUSTICE IN THE NOVEL:•Racial discrimination – Crooks is the only black man in the novel. Because of his colour, he must live by himself in a small room in the barn. •Disabled – Lennie is treated poorly because he is mentally ill (Crooks and Candy are also treated differently because they are crippled)•Upper class Vs Lower class – Curley’s wife thinks she is upper class; the boss on the ranch treats his workers as lower-class scum•Age – Candy’s age (and the fact he lost his hand in a farming accident) sees him left behind to do housework (sweeping etc) while the men go to work•Gender – Curley’s wife is the only female on the ranch and is treated with disrespect by the males (including her husband)

Curley is the most obviously violent character. Whenever he appears there is a feeling of tension. He is intolerant of race, impairments, women etc

Carlson also thrives on violence – shown by the pleasure he gained from killing Candy’s dog with a gun.

Compared to the other characters, Lennie reveals an unintentional violence. He does not even think to fight back when Curley attacks him, but when he does, it is with immense and uncontrollable force.

Lennie has so little control over his own strength that he accidentally kills his puppy, and then minutes later snuffs out the life of Curley's wife.

With injustice, comes violence in the novel.

John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men, is a story in which a dominating idea of inescapable loneliness prevails.

Dreams are one of the ways in which the characters combat the loneliness and hopelessness of their existence.

Loneliness

Lennie

Lennie's loneliness stems from the fact that he is both mentally retarded and very big and strong. His retardation sometimes causes others at the ranch to shun him, even to the point of thinking he is "cuckoo." Since Lennie cannot think as quickly as the other men, he is often set aside and isolated from them.

The chief cause of Crook's loneliness centres on the fact that he is black. Most of the men constantly put down Crooks and use him as a scapegoat, even to the point of calling him a ‘nigger’. Crooks becomes so accustomed to this constant isolation, that he is suspicious of any man who suddenly tries to make friends with him.

Crooks

Curley’s Wife

Curley's wife is perhaps the loneliest person of all on the ranch. Since she is the only woman on the ranch, she is set apart from the others. Curley, her own husband, ignores her. He does not regard his wife as a person needing love and companionship, but rather as an object which can be put aside, pushed around.

There is a sense of friendship among the poor, marginalised workers – it is one of the only things going for them

The relationship between Lennie and George develops throughout – Lennie couldn’t live without George, and George devotes himself to Lennie (almost like the devotion of a mother as Lennie is like a child)

The shooting of Lennie is the most painful action George has ever had to undertake but also the kindest. Life in prison, an asylum or suffering a brutal death at the hands of Curley was not something George was going to allow to happen to his best friend. He lets Lennie die believing in their dream.

Mateship

Gender

Gender – male dominant• A man’s world• Attitudes towards women in 1930s was disrespectful etc• No room for meaningful relationships (only Curley seems to be in a relationship but it’s certainly not meaningful• Macho males (some of the men on the ranch have to dominate over the other men to prove their male worth

THESE ARE JUST A FEW GAPS…Curley’s wife – the only female in the novel. She is left nameless, possibly to highlight the status of women in rural 1930s.

We never find out how Lennie’s death affects George (does he stay on the ranch?) You might reveal the conversation between George and Slim at the end of the novel.

Curley’s reaction to his wife’s death? Did he even love her?

Crooks’ past on the ranch (where did he come from etc). Maybe he’s writing a letter to a friend describing his life on the ranch and how he’s being treated.

Was Lennie born retarded or maybe he was in an accident of some sort?

We never find out about Lennie’s mother…why did the Aunt Clara have to look after him?

Consider re-telling one of the scenes/incidents in the novel from someone else’s point of view (e.g. Crooks, Curley or Curley’s wife)

GAPS – spoken assessment

Steinbeck positions the reader through…

Characterisation

Binary opposition (George and Lennie)

Foregrounding/privileging of events and responses

Use of symbols

Emotive language, emotive description

Gaps

** All of the above assist in the development of themes and representations

Connection between mice and men:both subject to fate. Context of title gives biggest clue of tragedy/pessimism for the dream

Hands as a motif: A man was judged by his hands on the ranch - if their hands could not

work, they were useless.  The strong are admired and are useful.  * Candy's hand was cut off, so he can’t do much 

* Curley's hand is in a glove, rumored to be kept soft for his wife.  *Curley also loses the use of a hand in the fight with Lennie * Lennie kills a mouse, his pup, and Curley's wife with his bare hands.  *Slim's hands are talented; he can drive the mules and flick flies with the whip. *George takes matters "into his own hands" when Lennie runs off. 

Foreshadowing:o - Dead mice in first chapter signals possible

human tragedy, given the novel’s titleo - Horses stamp feet/rattle chains which symbolises

tension in the air or foreshadows danger – e.g. Curley’s wife

Metaphors:o - Candy’s dog (this scene is a metaphor for what

George must do to Lennie)o - Dead mouse and puppy (a metaphor for what

will happen to George and Lennie's dream: it will be destroyed).

The title….

Taken from a line of poetry – the Scots Poet Robbie Burns wrote:

“The best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley”

Meaning: “the best laid schemes of mice and men often go wrong.”