What is the plot of of mice and men?
In 1991, Art Spiegelman released “Maus,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel which uses cartoon mice and cats to detail the story of his parents’ imprisonment ... Classics like John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” have been challenged on ...
Who is Lennie in ' of mice and men '?
Lennie Small: A mentally disabled, but gigantic and physically strong man who travels with George and is his constant companion. He dreams of "living off the fatta' the lan'" and being able to tend to rabbits. His love for soft things is a weakness, mostly because he does not know his own strength, and eventually becomes his undoing.
What happened in the beginning of mice and men?
Of Mice and Men Chapter 1 Summary. The story begins with George Milton and Lennie Small traveling together along the Salinas River in California to find work. Later, George finds him petting a dead mouse in his pocket, and when George throws it into the bushes, Lennie cries. Lennie likes to pet soft things.
Who is George in ' of mice and men '?
George Milton is one of the protagonists in Of Mice and Men. A small, wiry, and wily hustler who’s quick on his feet and sharp to boot, George travels around the countryside with his childhood companion, Lennie, looking for work on ranches and migrant farms across California. George has cared for Lennie for years, and though he has increasingly come to see his lumbering, simple-minded companion as a burden, he finds himself incapable of abandoning Lennie and leaving him exposed to the ...
What is the beginning Of Mice and Men?
There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys coming down from the ranches to swim in the deep pool, and beaten hard by tramps who come wearily down from the highway in the evening to jungle-up near water.
Where does the novel Of Mice and Men begin and end?
-George was sort of "taking care" of Lennie when he did it. Why does the book begin and end at the pond? -The pond was a peaceful place in the beginning (heron), but at the end it was not calm (heron eating snake).
Why does Of Mice and Men begin and end at the same place?
The structure of Of Mice and Men is cyclical – there is a sense of things happening in a certain order and being repeated. This is reflected in the way that the book starts and ends in the same place - the brush by the Salinas River.
Where does Of Mice and Men take place?
Salinas, CaliforniaJohn Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two migrant ranch workers in Salinas, California. Published in 1937 and set during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Of Mice and Men explores the themes of loneliness and isolation.
Where does the story of Mice and Men take place?
Of Mice and Men. The bulk of Of Mice and Men takes place on a ranch to the south of Soledad, California. The exact date is not specified in the novella, but its events place the story against the backdrop of the Great Depression. During the 1930s, the farms and ranches around Soledad were a major destination for agricultural workers turned homeless ...
What does Lennie spend most of his time in the barn where the horses live?
Lennie spends much of his time in the barn where the horses live, suggesting that Lennie is animal-like in his strength and innocence. However, this setting also serves to point out that the horses’ living conditions are no worse—and perhaps better—than those of the men. By presenting the ranch as a stark, inhuman environment, ...
Who are the two main characters in the movie of Mice and Men?
Lennie and George. The story centers around two characters: Lennie Small and George Milton. Even if you've never read Of Mice and Men before, or seen one of the many film adaptations, you've probably been exposed to George and Lennie-type characters at some point.
Where does the poem "To a Mouse" come from?
It comes from a poem by Robert Burns called To a Mouse. The poem contains the following lines: 'The best laid plans of mice and men. Often go awry, And leave us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy!'. Clearly, the best laid plans of the men in the story, Lennie and George, have gone completely awry.
What does Lennie ask George to describe?
They like to talk about what it will be like to own their own farm, and Lennie frequently asks George to describe the rabbits. Though George can get annoyed with Lennie at times, it's hard to resist Lennie's innocent heart and pure intentions, and George seems to enjoy indulging this fantasy with Lennie.
Where does Lennie run away from George?
Lennie runs away to his and George's designated safe spot (because when you're traveling with Lennie, you've got to have contingency plans), while Curley rounds up a lynch mob of men at the ranch to go after Lennie.
What is the bond between George and Lennie?
He seems to immediately notice that the bond between George and Lennie is rare and special. His dog has recently had puppies, and he offers to give one to Lennie. Raise your hand if you think that sounds like a good idea. Lenny and George share a close bond that is recognized by others.
Why did Lennie and the band leave Weed?
We discover that the two had to flee their last gig up in Weed, California (yes, that's a real place) because Lennie, in his desire to touch a lady's soft dress, was accused of attempted rape. For those keeping track, that's the second time that Lennie's love of touching soft things has gone awry.
Where did Lennie and George live?
Lennie and George are two such workers. Steinbeck set a lot of his novels in this part of California, to the point that some people refer to the region as Steinbeck country. Certain areas of California have been the setting in many Steinbeck novels.
Why won't George let Lennie tend the rabbits?
When Lennie shows her the dead puppy, she tells him it was just a mutt and no one will care, but Lennie explains that George won't let him tend the rabbits because he did a bad thing again. Curley's wife tells Lennie of her life and her missed opportunity to travel with the show that came through her hometown.
What happens when Lennie throws the dead puppy across the barn?
Lennie becomes so angry that he hurls the dead puppy across the barn. Shortly after having thrown the puppy, Lennie picks it up again, stroking it and deciding that maybe George won't care. Curley's wife enters the barn and asks Lennie what he has. Lennie repeats George's instructions that he is not to talk to her.
Why does Candy tell Lennie to let Lennie go?
Candy says they need to let Lennie get away because Curley will lynch him, but George realizes how hopeless escape would be . He tells Candy to give him a minute to go to the bunkhouse before telling the other men; then George will come along as though he had not already seen Curley's wife.
What happens when Lennie realizes she is dead?
When Lennie realizes that she is dead, he panics and paws the hay to partially cover her.
What page number is the first chapter of "Of Mice and Men"?
However, in the Penguin edition, the first chapter begins on the first page and ends on page 16.
What is the story of George and Lennie?
Steinbeck's novel tells the story of the small and quick George and the enormous and slow Lennie, an unlikely pair who have formed a close bond working as laborers in California's dusty vegetable fields.
What is George's plan for Lennie?
As a makeshift family, George looks out for Lennie, a strong, hard worker who cannot fully take care of himself due to a mental disability. They form a plan together to escape from poverty and claim a piece of land for themselves.
Overview
Plot
Two migrant field workers in California on their plantation during the Great Depression—George Milton, an intelligent but uneducated man, and Lennie Small, a bulky, strong man but mentally disabled—are in Soledad on their way to another part of California. They hope to one day attain the dream of settling down on their own piece of land. Lennie's part of the dream is merely to tend and pet rabbits on the farm, as he loves touching soft animals, although he always accidentally ki…
Characters
• George Milton: A quick-witted man who is Lennie's guardian and best friend. His friendship with Lennie helps sustain his dream of a better future. He was bound in teasing Lennie since he was young. He is described by Steinbeck in the novel as "small and quick", every part of him being "defined", with small strong hands on slender arms. He has a dark face and "restless eyes" and "sharp, strong features" including a "thin, bony nose".
Themes
In every bit of honest writing in the world there is a base theme. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love. There are shorter means, many of them. There is writing promoting social change, writing punishing injustice, writing in celebration of heroism, but always that base theme. Try to understand each other.— John Steinbeck in his 1938 journal entry
Development
Of Mice and Men was Steinbeck's first attempt at writing in the form of novel-play termed a "play-novelette" by one critic. Structured in three acts of two chapters each, it is intended to be both a novella and a script for a play. It is only 30,000 words in length. Steinbeck wanted to write a novel that could be played from its lines, or a play that could be read like a novel.
Steinbeck originally titled it Something That Happened (referring to the events of the book as "so…
Reception
Attaining the greatest positive response of any of his works up to that time, Steinbeck's novella was chosen as a Book of the Month Club selection before it was published. Praise for the work came from many notable critics, including Maxine Garrard (Enquirer-Sun), Christopher Morley, and Harry Thornton Moore (New Republic). New York Times critic Ralph Thompson described the novella as a "grand little book, for all its ultimate melodrama." In the UK, it was listed at number 5…
Adaptations
As a "playable novel", it was performed by the Theater Union of San Francisco as written. This version opened on May 21, 1937 – less than three months after the novel's publication – and ran for about two months.
To create a Broadway production, Steinbeck adapted and slightly revised his original text and this version, produced by Sam H. Harris and directed by Georg…
External links
• Of Mice and Men at Faded Page (Canada)
• Photos of the first edition of Of Mice and Men
• 1953 Best Plays radio adaptation of play version at Internet Archive