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– John Steinbeck• Background
• Born in 1902• Attended Stanford • Won Nobel Prize in
1962• Died in 1968
• Steinbeck’s Most Famous Works
• Grapes of Wrath • Of Mice and Men• The Pearl
• Background Information for Of Mice and Men
• During the late 1930s, California was struggling with the economic problems of the Great Depression
• Steinbeck wrote movingly about the struggles of migrant farm workers in his most famous works:– Of Mice and Men (1937),– The Grapes of Wrath
(1939).
• Overview for Of Mice and Men
• George is Lennie’s keeper, and Lennie imitates everything that George does.
• George promises Lennie that some day they will have their own farm and raise rabbits as well as other animals.
• Lennie causes George problems; he has a bad habit of hurting the very things he feels affection towards (like pet mice, which he pets too hard and kills)
• Setting of for Of Mice and Men
• Set in California's Salinas Valley, the story takes place on a large ranch during the Great Depression.
• Salinas Valley, was dominated by large collective farms, or "farm factories
• These farm factories employed hundreds of workers, many of whom were migrants.
• Small farms of a few hundred acres, such as the one Lennie and George dream about, were relatively scarce.
• Main Characters– George:
• The migrant ranch hand who takes care of Lennie.
• He is one of two main protagonists in the story.
• He is slender, small and quick, with a dark face, restless eyes, and sharp features.
• Taking care of Lennie shows George’s need for companionship, but also his high moral character and compassion because Lennie is such a burden and George is completely loyal to him.
• George dreams of owning a small farm of his own, but his dream is lost.
• Lennie • George’s mildly retarded traveling companion and the other main protagonist in the story.
• He is a huge man, with large, pale eyes, a shapeless face, and sloping shoulders.
• Lennie is frequently portrayed in animal terms and loves to pet soft things.
• He is large and possesses incredible physical strength, yet he has the mind of a child.
• Lennie also dreams of owning a farm with his friend George, but Lennie causes the ruin of their dream.
• Supporting Characters
– Candy:
– Curley:
• An old, crippled man who has lost his hand
• Swamper at the ranch
• Son of ranch owner• Formidable pugilist
(Boxer)
• Supporting Characters, Continued– Curley’s Wife:
– Crooks:
• Considered a tramp by most of the ranch men
• Doesn’t have a name
• Stable buck of the ranch
• Only Black man
• Supporting Characters, Continued– Carlson
– Slim
– Boss
• Large man who complains about Candy’s old dog
• Offers to put the dog down
• Ranch foreman• Wise man
• Suspects George and Lennie when they arrive late
• Fair man