The first man stopped short in the clearing, and the follower nearly ran over him. He took off his h

1
The first man stopped short in the clearing,
and the follower nearly ran over him. He took off
his hat and wiped the sweat-band with his
forefinger and snapped the moisture off. His huge
companion dropped his blankets and flung himself
down and drank from the surface of the green
pool drank with long gulps, snorting into the
water like a horse. The small man stepped
nervously beside him.      "Lennie!" he said
sharply. "Lennie, for God' sakes don't drink so
much." Lennie continued to snort into the pool.
The small man leaned over and shook him by the
shoulder. "Lennie. You gonna be sick like you was
last night."      Lennie dipped his whole head
under, hat and all, and then he sat up on the
bank and his hat dripped down on his blue coat
and ran down his back. "That's good," he said.
"You drink some, George. You take a good big
drink." He smiled happily.
2
George unslung his bindle and dropped it gently
on the bank. "I ain't sure it's good water," he
said. "Looks kinda scummy." Lennie dabbled his
big paw in the water and wiggled his fingers so
the water arose in little splashes rings widened
across the pool to the other side and came back
again. Lennie watched them go. "Look, George.
Look what I done." George knelt beside the pool
and drank from his hand with quick scoops.
"Tastes all right," he admitted. "Don't really
seem to be running, though. You never oughta
drink water when it ain't running, Lennie," he
said hopelessly. "You'd drink out of a gutter if
you was thirsty." He threw a scoop of water into
his face and rubbed it about with his hand, under
his chin and around the back of his neck. Then he
replaced his hat, pushed himself back from the
river, drew up his knees and embraced them.
Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George
exactly. He pushed himself back, drew up his
knees, embraced them, looked over to George to
see whether he had it just right. He pulled his
hat down a little more over his eyes, the way
George's hat was.
3
Where? Why?
4
The adjective the first man he is the
leader The adverb drops his bindle gently
careful man The warning aint sure its good
water cautious, cares about L The exclamation
Lennie! followed by the adverb sharply bossy,
critical? but cos of Ls lack of understanding,
G has to treat him like a child. The
adverb hopelessly shows Georges despair
5
The noun follower shows he watches his friend
closely The verb imitated shows he copies
him The adverb exactly emphasises that he
wants to see he had it just right. His
urging You drink some, George shows he likes
George, wants to help, His actions nearly ran
over him show his clumsy and unobservant The
verbs dropped, flung show he does not have
Gs refined movements
6
The simile like a horse animal-like, simple,
primitive His actions dabbling his big paw
child-like pleasure, and the metaphor paw
again shows his closeness to animals Calling
George by name Look, George. Look what I done.
shows that he is attention-seeking like a little
child The warning like you was last night
doesnt listen or learn from experience,
7
This extract from the opening of the book
introduces the two main characters, establishing
their relationship. We first meet George, the
first man, the adjective is symbolic of his
part in the relationship he is the leader who
takes responsibility for both men and whom Lennie
follows in everything. We find out that he is a
careful man who drops his bindle gently onto
the ground, the adverb contrasting with the
clumsy behaviour of his companion. He is also a
cautious man who cares about his companion his
first words are an order, warning his companion
not to drink the water because he aint sure
its good water. The use of exclamation marks
and the adverb sharply might suggest that he is
bossy and critical, but as we get to know the two
men, we realise that because of Lennies lack of
understanding, George has to treat him like a
child. Even then, Lennie doesnt seem to listen,
which makes George despair we see this in the
writers choice of adverb, hopelessly when he
warns Lennie for the umpteenth time. comment
quote analyse
8
Lennie idolises George and copies him in every
way he looks up to him as a father figure. He
is described as the follower who watches his
friend closely and the verb imitated is
qualified by the adverb exactly emphasising
that he wants to check to see whether he had it
just right. He obviously likes George and wants
to help, urging him to drink the green water
You drink some, George. Unlike George, he is
clumsy and unobservant as he nearly ran over
him. He does not have the refined movements of
George as we see from the verbs used to describe
his movements dropped and flung. He is
described almost as if he is an animal. The
simile like a horse suggests that there is
something simple and almost primitive about him.
He also takes great pleasure in simple
activities, dabbling his big paw in the water,
begging for attention like a little child and
frequently calling George by name Look, George.
Look what I done. Again like a child, he doesnt
seem to listen, ignoring Georges pleas not to
drink the water, nor does he seem to learn from
experience, as George warns him that he will be
ill like you was last night. comment
quote analyse
9
Although these are two grown men, it is obvious
from the first pages that the relationship is
more like that of father and son, and that George
feels a duty of care for Lennie who seems unable
to cope on his own. He watches out for him
throughout the story, telling him what to do and
what not to do. Despite all the trouble Lennie
causes, like a father, George does not abandon
him, but stays with him to the bitter end.
10
CURLEY
11
At that moment a young man came into the bunk
house a thin young man with a brown face, with
brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair. He
wore a work glove on his left hand, and, like
the boss, he wore high-heeled boots. "Seen my old
man?" he asked. The swamper said, "He was here
jus' a minute ago, Curley. Went over to the cook
house, I think." "I'll try to catch him," said
Curley. His eyes passed over the new men and he
stopped. He glanced coldly at George and then at
Lennie. His arms gradually bent at the elbows and
his hands closed into fists. He stiffened and
went into a slight crouch. His glance was at once
calculating and pugnacious. Lennie squirmed under
the look and shifted his feet nervously. Curley
stepped gingerly close to him. "You the new guys
the old man was waitin' for?" "We just come in,"
said George. "Let the big guy talk." Lennie
twisted with embarrassment.
12
George said, "S'pose he don't want to
talk?" Curley lashed his body around. "By
Christ, he's gotta talk when he's spoke to. What
the hell are you gettin' into it for?" "We
travel together," said George coldly. "Oh, so
it's that way." George was tense, and
motionless. "Yeah, it's that way." Lennie was
looking helplessly to George for
instruction. "An' you won't let the big guy
talk, is that it?" "He can talk if he wants to
tell you anything." He nodded slightly to
Lennie. "We jus' come in," said Lennie
softly. Curley stared levelly at him. "Well,
nex' time you answer when you're spoke to." He
turned toward the door and walked out, and his
elbows were still bent out a little. George
watched him out, and then he turned back to the
swamper. "Say, what the hell's he got on his
shoulder? Lennie didn't do nothing to him."
13
The old man looked cautiously at the door to
make sure no one was listening. "That's the
boss's son," he said quietly. "Curley's pretty
handy. He done quite a bit in the ring. He's a
lightweight, and he's handy."
14
Where? Early on, the first meeting with Curley,
the bosss son and Lennies nemesis Why? tense,
potential for violence lurking
15
The adjective high-heeled boots (like the boss)
suggests an inferiority complex wanted to
appear important His body language arms
gradually bent at the elbows hands closed into
fists aggressive, fighting stance, suggests he
wants to fight Lennie The adjectives calculating
and pugnacious sums up his opponent shrewd,
cunning as well as belligerent The
verb/metaphor C lashed his body violent
reaction unpredictable? The adverb coldly unfri
endly, unwelcoming
16
By Christ! What the hell unwarranted violent
aggressive response speech G tense and
motionless suggests G is apprehensive, senses
trouble adjectives L squirmed shifted his feet
nervously uncomfortable, senses hostile
attitude verb, adverb L looking
helplessly vulnerable despite his size, a
victim adverb Cs pretty handy knows how to
fight adjectives C hates big guys all the time
picking scraps with big guys warns that there
could be trouble for L verb, verb phrase G that
Curley punk is gonna get hurt reminds us of Ls
strength warning
17
This extract comes from the early part of the
novella, after George and Lennie have arrived at
the ranch. It describes their first meeting with
Curley, the bosss son and Lennies nemesis. The
mood and atmosphere had been quite relaxed, with
Candy, the swamper, trying to make the men feel
welcome and allay their fears. However, as soon
as Curley walks into the bunkhouse the atmosphere
becomes tense, with the potential for violence
ever-present. Even Curleys appearance gives us
clues to his mood. The fact that he wore
high-heeled boots (like his father, the boss)
suggests an inferiority complex. This adjective
tells us that he wanted to appear important. He
also speaks in a commanding tone without any
preliminary niceties Seen my old man? is more
like a command than a question. His attitude is
intimidating, becoming more belligerent when he
sees the newcomers. His body language, as his
arms gradually bent at the elbows and hands
closed into fists, suggests an aggressive,
fighting stance, as if he is waiting, or looking
for, trouble. This is underlined by the
adjectives calculating and pugnacious which
suggest he wants to fight Lennie he sums up his
opponent, showing that he is shrewd and cunning,
as well as belligerent.
18
However, at the same time, he is cautious the
adverb gingerly suggests that he is in awe of
Lennies size. From this point, the tension
escalates. Curleys reactions are full of
aggression. When he turns, Steinbeck uses a
metaphor lashed his body suggests an
unnecessarily violent reaction. His speech too is
threatening the exclamations By Christ! What
the hell again show an unwarrantedly aggressive
response, and he raps out orders Nex time you
answer when youre spoken to, staring at
Lennie as he warns him. Curley has clearly been
incensed by Lennies silence and we sense an
impending fight. Tension is also created through
the reactions of the other characters. George is
described as tense and motionless, these
adjectives suggest he is apprehensive, sensing
trouble, but standing his ground. On the other
hand, Lennies discomfiture is plain to see
through his body language the verb squirmed
tells us that he is uncomfortable, whilst he
shifted his feet nervously, this adverb showing
us that although not understanding, he senses
Curleys hostile attitude. Another adverb,
helplessly reminds us that he is vulnerable
despite his size.
19
CURLEYS WIFE
20
Where? The first meeting with Curleys wife,
having been prepared already for a trouble-making
flirt Why? Introduces us to her character in
person seems to confirm expectations or does
it?
21
(No Transcript)
22
cuts off the rectangle of sunlight in the
doorway. sunshine and light seem to represent
harmony symbolic heavily made up, painted
fingernails and ostrich feathers suggesting
appearance is important to her, incongruous,
inappropriate attention-seeking? adverb,
detail red her lips, her fingernails and
mules. suggests attention-seeking flirtatious,
provocative danger, girl in Weed? repeated
adjective
23
voice nasal, brittle suggest someone shallow
and hints at her fragile nature
adjectives speaks playfully deliberately
flirting with the men, adverb looking
provocative attitude could mean that she is
looking for Curley, or that she wants the men to
look at her. double entendre
24
This is the first time we meet Curleys wife,
but Steinbeck has already built up a picture of
her as flirtatious, a tart and trouble, and
our expectations seem to be realised here. As
she arrives, she cuts off the rectangle of
sunlight in the doorway. This is symbolic
sunshine and light seem to represent harmony in
this book, as we have already seen at the pool,
where Lennie and George are happy so the reader
is immediately made wary of her and given a sense
of foreboding. Steinbeck gives the reader lots
of details about her appearance, suggesting that
it is important to her no detail is neglected,
from her carefully curled hair (in childlike
ringlets) to the painted fingernails and ostrich
feathers on her mules. Her appearance is
incongruous, contrasting with the coarse denims
and working boots of the hands we do not expect
someone living on a ranch to dress so
inappropriately. The fact that she is heavily
made up suggests that she is either inexperienced
or that she is not very pretty, an idea also
suggested by Steinbecks comparison of her
ringlets with sausages an unflattering image.
It also suggests that she has time on her hands
and is out to impress.
25
Another point to note is that she is wearing a
lot of red her lips, her fingernails and mules.
Red suggests that she is attention-seeking red
suggests danger, too and reminds us of the girl
in Weed. Steinbeck has made the reader aware of
Lennies love of soft, pretty things and that the
girl in Weed was wearing a red dress so he means
for us to sense trouble here. When she speaks,
she deliberately tries to draw them into the
conversation. The hands have interpreted this as
flirting, but we learn later - in the barn -
that it is her way of relieving her lonely
existence. Steinbecks describes her voice as
nasal, brittle these adjectives suggest
someone shallow and hints at her fragile nature
when Lennie later breaks her neck. She speaks
playfully this adverb indicates that she is
deliberately flirting with the men, and her
provocative attitude is shown towards the end of
this section when she uses double entendre
looking could mean that she is looking for her
husband, or that she wants the men to look at
her.
26
This is supported by her actions. She
deliberately attracts the mens attention by
adopting provocative poses she bridled a little
and she smiled archly and twitched her body.
The hands - including George interpret this
as flirting, and it is not until the end of the
book that we realise that she is desperately
lonely and seeking companionship in the only way
she knows. She doesnt love Curley he spends
little time with her and when he does, he
physically abuses her and breaks her only form of
escapism, her records. George, however, doesnt
understand this and his reaction, like that of
the other hands including Slim, is to try to
ignore her. Her overtures are met with a brusque
response and the audience, like the hands, for
the moment see her as trouble. It is only
later that Steinbeck will arouse our sympathy for
her.
27
Crooks room where? why? Men gone to town, left
the weakest characters on the ranch See another
side to Curleys wife Loneliness gt pity Abuse
gt disgust NB readers attitude gt what she says
and does
28
loneliness gt pity the girl Pity youth,
innocence? noun I aint giving you no
trouble defensive misunderstood? negative
sentence Think I like to..? bewildered why
will no one talk to her? questions I like to
talk to somebody once in a while lonely adverb
phrase Sure Ive got a husband Shows anger at
her lot Series of short sentences Swell guy,
aint he? feel sorry for her, married to an
unpleasant character sarcasm
29
stay in that two-by-four house doesnt think of
it as home demonstrative adjective that
contemptuous noun house embarrassed silence
Awright, cover him up if ya wanta pity men
wont talk to her, side with thuggish
Curley! noun phrase Baloney! more intelligent
than the men give her credit for exclamation coul
d put me in pitchers pity dreams crushed verb
phrase breathless with indignation everbody
out doin sompin pity her loneliness, deserted
by husband of two weeks adjective shows extreme
feeling pronoun emphasises rejection but
30
Abuse gt disgust flared up quick-tempered verb s
ullenness sulky, resentful attitude noun contemp
tuously shows no respect towards fellow
rejects adverb bindle bums bindle stiffs a
nigger an a dum-dum and a lousy ol
sheep abusive epithets
31
Overview different side to her personality
previously a tart, jailbait, rat-trap,
provocative, a flirt, shallow, etc Here she seems
almost innocent, misunderstood pity her
loneliness and her loveless marriage to
Curley But also cruel and abusive
32
where? why? This scene takes place when nearly
all the men have gone into Soledad on a Saturday
evening, leaving behind the rejects Crooks,
Candy, Lennie and Curleys wife. This is an
important scene because we see a different side
to Curleys wifes character, which goes some way
to explaining her behaviour.
33
At the start of the extract, the reader would
feel almost sorry for Curleys wife she seems
almost innocent I aint giving you no trouble,
she pleads defensively to be allowed to stay in
the negros room with the other rejects. She also
seems very bewildered and lonely, questioning the
men why she would not like to talk to somebody
ever once in a while, the adverb phrase
suggesting that she rarely gets to converse with
anyone except her husband who we already know to
be pugnacious, a totally unsympathetic character.
In fact, on the mention of her husband, she
flared up immediately. This verb suggests an
almost fiery anger towards him, and her quick
short sentences show that she is overcome with
anger. Her rhetorical, sarcastic question Swell
guy, aint he? shows her true feelings towards
Curley. Her then rapid burst of words and long
sentences suggests she cant control this burst
of frustration. We as readers feel sorry for the
girl trapped in a marriage to Curley and equally
that two-by-four house which is obviously not a
home to her.
34
We may also feel sorry for her because the other
characters seem to read her all wrong they seem
to think that she has it all, just because she is
the bosss sons wife. We can see this when they
tell her to go along to your house, the pronoun
showing that they see that house as belonging to
her. However, Curleys wife describes it as
that house, the repetition of the demonstrative
adjective makes the house seem like a negative
place, a place that definitely does not belong to
her. The characters even think she is satisfied
with her husband, whereas Curley is controlling,
checking up on her, he talks at her, rather than
to her, or leaves her on her own.
35
However, we also she that she can be devious
she obviously knows the answer to the question
What happened to Curleys han? before she asks
it. Her demanding tone of voice Who bust him?
makes us feel that her mask is coming off and
that maybe Curleys wife isnt just a pretty,
naïve girl. Her repetition of the word awright
shows a change in tone as she senses rejection by
the men. At first she responds by trying to
impress them with her boast that she could have
been in pitchers. Again we feel sorry for her
briefly, because here is another person whose
dreams remain unfulfilled we see her clinging to
an escape from the harsh reality of her life. It
is such an exciting prospect that she is
breathless with indignation, the adjective
showing her excitement.
36
But them our view towards her changes as she
abuses the men who were left behind, calling them
bindle bums and bindle stiffs. She describes
Crooks as a nigger, Lennie as a dum-dum and
Candy as a lousy ol sheep she doesnt even
think of them as men because she exclaims that
everbody went to town. But again our feelings
change because she admits she is likin it
because she is so lonely and unhappy with her
life. In conclusion, I think that reader would
mostly feel pity for Curley's wife as her speech
and body language makes her seem more innocent,
lonely and desperately unhappy than we have
realised before.
37
Discovery of Curleys wifes body Still by far
and away the most popular prose text, there was
plenty to say about the extract from Of Mice and
Men and candidates discussed the feelings of
George as well as commenting on Steinbecks use
of language, such as the image of Georges face
as tight as wood. There were also interesting
speculations about Georges motivation at the end
of the extract its always good to see
candidates putting forward their own theories
backed up by supporting evidence. One perceptive
candidate succinctly observed how pragmatism
takes over Georges emotions. Another noted how
it is at this point in the novel when dreams
meet reality and dreams do not last long in the
real world.
38
(a) George tries to act calmly at the start of
this extract as He put his hand over her
heart. This shows us that he wanted to be sure
she was dead before he did anything else he
wanted to remain calm. When George stood up he
knew what had happened. This is indicated by the
quote stood up slowly and stiffly, his face was
hard and tight as wood, and his eyes were hard.
This indicates that George knew that Lennie had
killed her, but he could also see that the dream
of buying the ranch had gone. George then had to
think what to do. He was unsure of what would
happen both to himself and Lennie. He hoped that
Lennie would be helped Maybe they'll lock im
up an be nice to im, but he knows that it
wont happen. This is supported by the quote
Thats right, Curley will. George is almost
more worried about Lennie than he is about
himself. Selects and discusses. C-
39
(b) You could argue to a great extent about the
way George takes this news. Is he panicking and
out of control? Or has he got it under control?
When Candy calls George to see Curleys wife
dead on the floor at first he cant believe it,
shown by the verb stared and question Whats
the matter with her? When he realises, the
exclamation Oh, Jesus Christ! shows he is very
shocked. The realisation of the inevitable comes
as a huge shock and his first reaction is to hide
his emotions the simile His face was as hard
and tight as wood. shows that he is still in
shock. He is only starting to understand. He
seems to berate himself for believing that they
could get away without any trouble. He speaks to
himself hopelessly and confesses I should of
knew. Finally he begins to get to grips with
what has just happened. George was a long time
in answering but his first comments are
tentative he is not very sure of himself seen by
the use of ellipsis and repetition Guesswe
gotta tell the guys.. I guess At the moment
George is not in full control of the situation
and is still trying to digest the news and tries
to reassure himself that, like previous times,
all will turn out well. Maybe theyll lock im
up an be nice to im.
40
As ever, he has Lennies best interests at
heart when he says We cant let im get away.
He doesnt say this so that Lennie could get
punished but he is worried what will happen to
Lennie if he is by himself. Throughout the whole
novel George was a good friend to Lennie and his
reaction here proves this Why the poor
bastardd starve. However, Candys description
of what Curley will do when he finds him seems to
bring him back to reality thats right, Curley
will, and he confesses that deep down he knowed
wed never do her. By now George has lost faith
and gives up on the dream, stating that he is
going to behave like all the other ranch hands
and start going to some lousy cat-house after
hes worked for a month. Towards the end of
this passage George finally realises what will
happen and comes up with a solution. He says I
aint gonna let em hurt Lennie. He has found
his love for Lennie again. So George tells Candy
what to do and he is back in control again and
thinking right. Very engaged, sustained and
thorough discussion. A-