Of Mice And Men

"Of Mice and Men"

The novel "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck is a tragically memorable novel as it takes you on a journey of two men in pursuit of their life long dream. George Milton and Lennie Small are the two main characters, George is a small man with very defined features, George looks after Lennie, he is almost like a father to him. Lennie is a very tall man with features I suppose you could say that have been smudged. He is very childlike in the way he acts and looks up to George and always asks has to have his permission first before he does something. The novel begins with George and Lennie on the road to find work on a ranch so they can make enough money for their dream to become a reality.

I believe that this story is memorable because of the character Lennie Small. His childlike antics and personality make you feel sympathetic towards him. All he wants to do is make enough money for him and George to get a little place of their own where he can "tend the rabbits". Lennie has a problem though, he likes to feel soft things but has a tendency to hold on too tight and finds it hard to let go. He looks towards George as someone he can depend on because he has always been there for him. However, he does not want to let George down or make him unhappy and feels ashamed when he does. I thought Lennie was a really interesting character as his personality is a real contrast to the way he looks.

When they arrive at the ranch George and Lennie go to see the boss. The boss isn't pleased that they have arrived late as he had to send out a team of workers two men down: "well I had to send out the grain teams short two buckers". The boss was questioning them and was suspicious of George because Lennie wasn't talking. He thought George was bullying Lennie into giving him his pay.

There are three memorable incidents in this novel one of them is the killing of the old man Candy's dog. Candy and his dog are like best friends because they haven't got anyone else there for them. So when Carlson suggested to Candy that his dog is getting old and that it would be better off if the dog was shot he is very hesitant although eventually he lets them shoot the dog he regrets not doing it himself. The relationship which Candy and his dog share is similar to the one shared by George and Lennie. I think the dog saved Candy from being completely lonely and I was not surprised when he decided to join with George and Lennie to become part of their dream.

Another event that sticks out is the fight between Lennie and Curley - Curley is the boss' son who seems to have a problem with big men - Curley comes into the bunkhouse to see if his wife is there although she is not. Lennie is giggling into himself and Curley sees this and takes the opportunity to start a fight. Curley starts to punch Lennie but Lennie won't retaliate to begin with until George tells him that its "okay". When Lennie realises that he has George's permission he fights back, he grabs hold of Curley's hand and starts to squeeze it. He squeezes it so hard that it starts to bleed and is very badly damaged. They make up a cover up story so that Lennie won't lose his job; they say that Curley got his hand caught in one of the machines.

One of the men on the ranch - Slim - has got a dog that has just had pups and Lennie got one of them off him and he's always playing with it and petting it, but one day he pets it too hard and kills it so when Curley's wife comes in to the barn and sees him putting hay over the pup although she doesn't know what it is she asks him what he's doing. He tells her nothing. Then they sit down and start talking to each other about their lives and what has happened to them.