Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

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