Of Mice and Men Character Revision

GEORGE Friend to Lennie, kind hearted – ‘I got you to look after me and you got me…’ Feels a sense of duty to Lennie; looking after him gives him a purpose Can be impatient with him – ‘I could live so easy if it wasn’t for you…’ He is a thinker – all around him he sees loneliness Good judge of character – knew Curley’s wife would be trouble Confides in Slim about his troubled past Hardworking but dreams of owning own ranch Often tells Lennie about their ‘dream’ Prepares for Lennie getting them into trouble - ‘hide in the brush’ Quick-witted and intelligent – knew Slim could be trusted / Curley’s wife would be trouble His sense of morality tells him Lennie must die for killing Curley’s wife He is a realist and understands the world At the end of the novel when he loses Lennie, he also lost his dream

LENNIE He is slow-witted but ‘a nice fella’ He is a child trapped in a man’s body – ‘ huge man, shapeless of face’ He has never learned to control his strength / power After his strength his innocence is his most striking feature Often described as animal like - he is described as like a terrier, a bear etc Can be cunning – plays on George’s feelings of guilt Instinctive – knows the ranch isn’t a nice place Relies heavily on George but is fiercely protective of him ‘Maybe he ain’t bright but I never seen such a worker’ His fault they left Weed and he loses George ‘every job I ever get’

SLIM Understands the bond between George and Lennie Shows natural dignity and leadership Has a natural authority – the men look up to him ‘his words was accepted on any subject, be it politics or love’ He is a good listener and ‘his ear heard more than was said to him’ He stands up to Curley when accused of having an affair with his wife ‘There was a gravity in his manner and all talk stopped when he spoke’ Steinbeck could use a character like him to show that in all aspects of society there is goodness.

CANDY Lost his arm in a ranch accident and is now reduced to ‘swamper’ Pathetic figure who passes his time taking orders from other people Stands up to people twice – Curley (when the others do) and Curley’s wife (in Crooks’ room) but this confidence is short-lived Only a little is needed to revitalise him – a ranch of his own, a dream to follow ‘ when they can me I wisht they’d shoot me’ Clings to George and Lennie’s dream as it’s his only hope of escape Death of his dog shows he is a human being Steinbeck shows sympathy for him – weak, old, down-trodden Characterised through his dog Unwillingly lets Carlson shoot his dog then realise his should have done it himself ‘ I oughtn’t to have let no stranger shoot my dog’ Calls Curley’s dead wife a ‘goddamn tramp’ because she has killed their dream ‘everybody knowed you’d mess things up’

CROOKS An example of Steinbeck’s compassion An illustration of the way in which loneliness can corrupt and destroy a man ‘I guy gets too lonely and he gets sick’ Double burden in their society – a cripple and a negro Curley’s wife crushes him when he stands up to her – he can’t win against a white person ‘you just know your place nigger’ His function is to prepare the reader for the destruction of George and Lennie’s dream – he knows it won’t come true ‘seems like every guy got land in his head’ His character looks for dignity and self respect in a world which gives him none ‘they say I stink, all you stink to me’ Intelligent – has books in his room – nobody gets to really know him because of his colour / disability

CURLEY Spoilt, restless and arrogant boss’s son Sees everyone as a potential opponent for a fight ‘no big son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me’ Keeps a ‘glove fulla vaseline’ for his wife but still visits the brothel with the men Obsessive over controlling his wife – spends most of his time looking for her Can be cunning and bordering on sadistic ‘shoot for his guts’ Picks a fight with Lennie because he thinks he’ll be a pushover Forced into lying about his damaged hand to save his reputation ‘He hates bug guys… kind of like he’s mad at them ‘cos he ain’t a big guy’ ‘His glance was calculating and pugnacious’ His hands automatically curl into fists when he’s talking to people

CURLEY’S WIFE Overdressed, flirtatious and attractive ‘she had full rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes heavily made up’ Attention-seeking – prefers negative attention to none at all Vain – asks Lennie to stroke her hair thus unwittingly causes her own death Catalyst for the violent scenes in the text ‘her voice had a nasal brittle quality’ Nobody to talk to, no social life, only woman on the ranch = lonely Trapped in a loveless marriage – husband visits prostitutes Married Curley to spite her mum – ‘He ain’t a nice person.’ Treated like an object - ‘Curley’s wife’- we never know her name Turns nasty when put in her place by Crooks and Candy ‘stuck with a nigger, a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep an’ likin’ it cos there ain’t nobody else’ Dreams of being a movie star ‘I tell ya, I coulda made somethin of myself’ Had she met the right man, she might have been different When she dies Steinbeck shows she wasn’t a totally evil person – ‘ She was very pretty and simple and her face was sweet and young’ Her tragedy lies in the fact we only find out about her just before she dies Aware of her sexuality – ‘she breathed strongly as though she had been running’

REMEMBER… When writing about a character you need to consider the themes of the text Does Steinbeck explore any of the themes through the characters ? Remember key quotes to support your ideas