Of Mice and Men Chapter 2 questionsBy Angus Lau 9E (13)

Question 1: What do we learn in section 2 that give us a sense of foreboding?

In section 2, there are multitudinous traces that give us a sense of foreboding. The first is when Curley glanced coldly at George and Lennie. His arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists. He stiffened and went into a slight crouch. From these concatenations of descriptions, we could patently infer that Curley was going into his fight stance, as if ready to pounce on his prey, which was revealed to be Lennie, due to his vacancy and Curleys love to pick on big guys. Candy stated that Curleys justification for this action was because if he didnt win the fight physically, he would have earned his victory in morality, as the majority think people should pick on someone their own size. From the conversation with Lennie, we could extrapolate that Curley has intuited Lennies Achilles Heel, and would maybe want to fight Lennie in order to boost his status at the ranch.

On top of that, Curleys provoker to George and Lennie made George feel nauseated, as he replied Curley tensely and motionlessly when he teased George and Lennie about their special relationship. In addition, on page 48, it states Lennie aint handy, but this Curley punk is gonna get hurt if he messes around with Lennie, further foreboding that there might be a fight between Lennie and Curley.

Another trace of foreboding is when Candy states that Curleys wife got the eye and I seen her give Slim the eye. An I seen her give Carlson the eye, signifying that there is the possibility that the eye would be given to Lennie, and the incident that happened in Weed might reoccur. On top of that, Curleys wife had red fingernails and wore a cotton housedress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feather. Prevailingly, the colour red has been associated with peril, and by Lennie moving his eyes down her body and saying she was purty over and over; we could predict that if he was alone with Curleys wife, something catastrophic would happen. This could be associated to what happened in Weed, when he wanted to touch the womens red dress but ending up pursued by a mob.

Last but not least, the act of killing Candys old dog insinuates a crucial factor in foreboding what would happen next in Of Mice and Men. When Carlson suggests Whynt you get Candy to shoot his old dog and give him one of the pups to raise up got no teeth, damn near blind, cant eat, it shows the despondency of living in an utilitarian environment, where one is disposed of when he/she/it is fully exploited. On top of that, the fact that Candy regrets not shooting his dog meant that it forebodes that George might have to shoot Lennie, as suggested from if you get in any trouble, go there (the brush where George and Lennie slept near before going to the ranch) and hide till I come for you. Dont let nobody see you. However, this also means that even if George didnt want to shoot Lennie, Lennie would still be killed by the ranchmen, and it was better to be done by someone out of love.

Question 2: How is the theme of loneliness shown in Section 2?

There are two cardinal people that Steinbeck has used in Section 2 to show the theme of loneliness and they are Candy and Curleys wife.

In Of Mice and Men, apart from George and Lennie, Candy was the closest to having a companion, and as seen from I had him since he was a pup. God, he was a good sheep dog when he was younger, it is manifest that Candy has a vehement bond to his dog. Yet, as this story is set in a utilitarian environment, a person/animal/thing is instantaneously dismissed when no longer bringing benefits, Candys dog was shot since he could hardly walk, stinks like hell, got no teeth, damn near blind and couldnt eat. This caused Candy to be solitary because he has lost his only comrade, even though he acknowledged that it was the best decision for his dog. On top of that, Candy is also agitated that due to him only having one hand and could only complete plain sailing tasks, he might face the same fate as his dog. Another reason why Candy is desolate is because he has never been accepted in a group, as the typical itinerant worker only stays at a ranch for about a month. Ergo, Candy does not have enough time to create friendship with the workers, and the workers, fearing betrayal and more competition of jobs, usually evade making friends.

Even though Curleys wife may seem always coquettish as she goes around talking to the ranchmen, she actually has such a hollow heart and is so insignificant that Steinbeck has not given her a name, meaning her purpose (or the purpose of women in Of Mice and Men), was to provide entertainment and delectation for men. On top of that, it might advocate that because of her nugatory that she is Curleys property. Yet, the situation is quite ironic as she frequently finds him to avoid him. She did not have a person whom she could pour her secrets out, which caused her to find the ranchmen, and she is similar to them in many ways. For example, she also has a dream, even if it was being a movie star, and she was using her body to strive for it by sex, instead of bucking barley at a ranch to try and buy a few acres of land to farm and have freedom.

Consequently, Steinbeck has meritoriously communicated the theme of loneliness by describing two characters that seem juxtaposing yet are verily kindred.