Of Mice and Men Notes
Of Mice and Men NotesOf Mice and Men
John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men , examines two men who search for companionship and sense of belonging. The story starts with two men, Lennie and George. The two run in fear after Lennie creates trouble at a past ranch, trying to feel a woman’s dress. Lennie loves soft things, yet tends to stroke them too hard. They make their way to another ranch. Upon arrival, Lennie and George immediately start work. Unfortunately, a man named Curley creates trouble for the working crew, always looking for his “tart” wife. Curley attacks Lennie and Lennie ends up crushing his hand. Throughout the entire play, George and Lennie have a special place in their mind that they’re going to get, once they raise enough funds, that has rabbits and can be considered a place of their own. Lennie has a puppy in the barn and loves to pet it, but ends up killing it. At the same time, Curley’s wife invites him to stroke her hair. She tries to push him away, but he becomes scared and twists her neck accidentally. The men of the ranch come after Lennie, but he is down by the river where George told him to go. George misleads the rest of the team and goes to find Lennie. In order to protect Lennie from the harsh killing of Curley, he kills him first with a stolen gun.
The protagonist in Of Mice and Men is George. An intelligent, aspiring man, he longs to leave Lennie and live a normal life. The majority of George’s energy is spent looking after George and working towards his dream of owning his own land. There are multiple antagonists, however, each adding their own conflict to the story. Curley is the most obvious antagonist, angry and temperamental when it comes to his wife. His presence forces confrontation throughout the novel. Curley’s wife is also an antagonist, being inviting to the men of the ranch and eventually causing the devastating climax at the end. Lennie, although innocent of cruel intentions, is also an antagonist. He ignorance and helplessness puts strain on George and hinders him time after time to achieving his dream. The main conflict present throughout the novel is loneliness. Lennie and George travel together, unable to become independent of each other, enjoying the companionship. Curley’s wife creates trouble when trying to talk to people because she is lonely. Crooks and Candy, somewhat minor characters in the play, consider themselves lonely and abandoned by society. There were many moments of crisis throughout the play. The very beginning of the story starts out with Lennie and George running, hiding in the ditches from men and dogs. They’re out of work because of Lennie once again and must spend the night by the river without very much food and no transportation. The second major crisis is the fight between Curley and Lennie, when Lennie crushes Curley’s hand once George allows Lennie to “get him.” These moments are events that lead up to and set in motion the climax. It begins with Lennie in the barn petting the puppy. He ends up stroking it too hard and killing it. Curley’s wife unfortunately comes in and invites Lennie to stroke her hair, as it was soft like the puppy. Lennie scares her and she begins to scream. Afraid of getting in trouble, Lennie holds her too hard and accidentally snaps her neck. Once there is a climax, there must be another event that counteracts a denouncement. In order to protect Lennie from the harsh killing of Curley, George realizes that he must kill Lennie. This is the last act of true companionship and, at the same time, releases George from further bondage of Lennie, therefore solving the play’s basic problems.
Of Mice and Men doesn’t exactly have a Judeo-Christian attitude because George ends up killing Lennie. Christian beliefs do not agree with killing any other human being, but in this case it shows compassion and mercy for Lennie, so it really has a confusing position. An additional reason I would not say it has a Judeo-Christian view is the fact that religion is not demonstrated or mention throughout the play. There is no mention of heaven directly, however, when George hopes Lennie goes to a place where there is lots of rabbits, it can be construed as a place similar to heaven. Although I believe that the use of profane words throughout the play is a expression of art, many other viewers would consider them as another reason.