Of Mice and Menby
John Steinbeck
• Born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California.
• Attended Stanford, but did not graduate from there.
• 1936 Of Mice and Men published. Setting is Soledad, California
• 1939 published The Grapes of Wrath, which won a Pulitzer Prize.
• Died on December 20, 1968, as one of the most honored writers of his time.
•All of his novels deal with a personal experience.•He advocated the need for humans and nature to be in partnership.•His characters are the outcasts of society: poor, demented, uneducated and rebellious.
Of Mice and Men The Novel and Characters
“The economic upheavals of the 1930’s produced a rootlessness in Americans who found themselves without possessions or hope. Of Mice and Men, is, in part, an examination of this peculiarly American kind of Alienation.”
George MiltonSmall
Sharp-witted
Ranch hand
Takes care of Lennie
Large man with a slow mind.
Short attention span
Does not understand the outcomes of his actions.
Wise
Well-respected ranch hand whose word is law
Ranch hand
Exact opposite of Slim
Coarse and insensitive
Unable to understand the feelings of others
Ranch hand
Old
Lost a hand in an accident
Only companion is an old dog
Got his name because of his crooked, hunchback body
Proud and independent Negro
An outcast at the ranch
bitter against racial discrimination
Accepted by Lennie and Candy
Small, evil son of the boss
Wears a glove on one hand
Vicious bully who picks on people smaller than him
Tries to intimidate men bigger than him
Bitter wife of Curley
Attempts to seduce the ranch hands
Is called a tart by the ranch hands
Symbolism = most important literary element in the story
The American Dream: George and Lennie, Candy, andCrooksLoneliness: Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s WifeInnocence: Lennie
Discrimination: Lennie, Curley’s Wife, Crooks, CandyFriendship: George, Lennie, and Candy