Of Mice and Men Chapter 1 questionsBy Angus Lau 9E (13)

Question 1: What impression do we have of Lennie in Chapter 1?

When George and Lennie first arrive at the bank of the serene, tranquil bank of the Salinas River, Steinbeck first announced their manifestation by sketchily revealing their attire. Both George and Lennie had denim trousers and coats with brass buttons as well as black shapeless hats with tight blanket rolls slung over their shoulders (Of Mice and Men, page 19). This may have provoked us in thinking that both beings were similar, even identical. However, Steinbeck distinct the two when he described George as small and quick, with restless eyes and sharp strong features (Of Mice and Men, page 19), indicating that he was vigilant, intellectual and the natural leader. On the other hand, Steinbeck describes Lennie as Georges antithetical, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, wide sloping shoulders and dragged his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. (Of Mice and Men, page 19) From this portrayal of Lennie, we could comprehend that Lennie was maladroit and slow-witted, yet from Steinbecks mention of Lennies bear like features, we could infer that even though Lennie would be brawny and would sporadically hurt others, he did not intend to do that. This goes back to when he caressed his mouse and puppy but adventitiously kills it.

Along with expounding Lennie as a bear, Steinbeck also expounded him as a horse on page 20 to illustrate his animal-like qualities. It said, he 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. This shows that Lennie doesnt contemplate the potential risks when he acts, as George says, I aint sure its good water, looks kind of scummy and Youd drink out of a gutter if you was thirsty. In addition, his obedience without thinking for himself and imitation from George also shows his animal-like qualities because animals always do what their master is told, like when George tells Lennie to jump into the river, Lennie does, even though he knows he cant swim.

Lennie is also displayed as childish, and it can be clearly depicted by his speech pattern. For example, when Lennie dabbed his big paw in the water and wiggled his finger so the water arose in little splashes; rings widened across the pool to the other side and came back again, he said, Look George. Look what I done. Another exemplar of that is when he said, Where we goin, George, I tried not to forget. Honest to God I did George and Tried and tried, but it didnt do no good. I remember about the rabbits, George. This shows that Lennie is very forgetful but like a child, he wants to please George and to prove his innocence. Lennnies childishness is also portrayed when he needs comfort and secureness from petting the dead mouse with his thumb, and hiding his face against his knees, thinking that when he cant see George, George will not be able to see him too. Lennie also repeats I aint gonna say nothin three times when George told him that it is vital that he didnt talk to the boss or else they would lose the job at the ranch.

Lennies imitation of George could be seen in page 24, George lay back on the sand and crossed his hands under his head, and Lennie imitated him, raising his head to see whether he were doing it right. This shows that Lennie trusts George fully and believes what he does is always the best for him, linking back to his childish manners and his animal-like qualities.

However, when people think that Lennie is injudicious, on page 31, it said, Lennie avoided the bait (George trying to give him a puppy). He had sensed his advantage. If you dont want me, you only jus got to say so, and Ill go off in the hills right there right up those hills and live by myself. An I wont get no mice stole from me. This proves that Lennie is actually quite astute because he knew that George would never leave him because they relied on each other.

Question 2: What does Soledad mean? How does it link to a) ranchmen and b) George and Lennie?

In the book Of Mice and Men, Soledad means loneliness, and it is an essential theme Steinbeck has rendered. To the ranchmen, loneliness is an old friend, an inevitable experience people of their kind are having due to the Great Depression, and like the book had said, Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. (Of Mice and Men page 15) They routinely drift off to ranches, working for a month, collect their money, and go on the road again, yearning that their drudgery would pay off as they attained their dream of luxuriating with a farm, not having to travel anymore. All the ranchmen could not trust nor rely on anyone as they dread that their friends will betray them and emulate their chance of work. However, even if some ranchmen did not have to traverse around the country to find work, there are also intimate relationships between them and the solitude in Soledad. Some of the best examples are Candy and Crooks.

Candy is the old handyman at the ranch who had his arm extirpated in a calamity while he was working at the ranch, thus becoming a swamper. He is agitated that the boss would declare him nugatory and demand him to leave the ranch, which reveals the utilitarian environment that Of Mice and Men is set in, where a person is discarded when they are redundant and do not bring benefits. Because of this utilitarian environment, Candys only companion is his dog, yet his dog, like him, had already no uses for the ranch and ergo, was shot dead by Carlson. On top of that, Candy was always excluded from the group, especially when they went in town on Sundays. Therefore, Candy thinks that the only way for him to abscond his loneliness is by succouring George and Lennie into fulfilling their dream.

Soledad is also linked with the stable buck, Crooks. The cause of his loneliness is straightforward he is a black man, and others discriminate, give him prejudicial treatment and embargo him from activities. Even when he was allowed into the bunkhouse at Christmas, he was abused and beaten up, yet he crooked back did no good to him.

On the other hand, Soledad means contrarily when it comes to George and Lennie, mainly because their common fear of loneliness, they have each other to watch their back, care for them, and as the book states, We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We dont have to sit in no bar room blowin in our jack jus because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us and I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you. In addition, it is the fact that they are together makes their American Dream diverse, as they would be sharing the farm and the virtuous life there, instead of being solitary.

Question 3: What Part does the American Dream play in the lives of a) iterant workers and b) George and Lennie?

Even though in both the iterant worker and George and Lennies perspective, the American Dream was a motivation to work harder, to proceed from one ranch to another, there are many disparities in their dreams.

The dream of the itinerant workers was to have a farm all by themselves, to have freedom and liberty, where they would not have to obey commands but work by self-determination. They would also have no trepidation over the meagre work opportunities ranches give and could select their preferred job.

Yet, George and Lennies dream plays a distinctive role in them. As their dream is to live the fatta the lan and 'we'll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we'll just say the hell with goin' to work, and we'll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an' listen to the rain comin' down on the roof..." (Of Mice and Men, page 14-15), the role of their American Dream is to impel both of them to toil on bucking barley so they could roll up a stake and buy their ten acres of land. Still, there are slight variations in George and Lennies dream. Georges dream is to have everything from vegetable patches to his own smoke house, while Lennies dream is solely to tend a lot of rabbits and be able to stroke them whenever he wants, and he doesnt genuinely mind if there were other things present. Nonetheless, it is revealed in the book that their dream was fantastical, idealistic and it forebodes that their dream may not come true.