Of Mice and Men By Terry Ryan and Beth Ashelford

The Daily Routine The daily process seems to start with George and Lennie waking up, and going to breakfast, and then to work. After work, they would either play horseshoes, and almost every day George will have to tell Lennie the story, as this is something that intrigues him. All of these things seem to be part of the repetitive process. The effects on a person of life being cyclical could make things very boring and repetitive, and the reason it is cyclical, is because they’re going nowhere, and this is representative of average life at this time, after the great depression. The reason it is representative of the time, is because there is little money, high crime rates, unemployment and it was basically every man for himself. It could make the person affected want to find something new, and start afresh, and we realise this George says “I could go get a job…” which shows he is bored with what he is stuck with, and this is because the repetition of having to always tend Lennie, and get him out of trouble.

Lennie killing things During the book you discover that Lennie has killed different things. This is one of the cyclical events in the book. Firstly you find out that Lennie has killed a small mouse in chapter one when George and Lennie are in the brush. Lennie openly admits that he likes to pet nice things. “I’d pet ‘em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead – because they were little” Secondly you find out that Lennie touched a woman’s dress back in Weed, the woman thought that this was assault and made this out to be worse than they actually were. This forced Lennie and George out of Weed; this is also the reason for why they are on the ranch. Thirdly he kills a puppy that Slim gave him. ‘Lennie said breathlessly, “He’s brown an’ white jus’ like I wanted.”’ However this puppy ends up dead too. This shows that Lennie kills things happens in cycles, starting with touching a girl’s dress, then moving onto a small mouse, then progressing onto a puppy and finally killing a grown woman.

Lennie killing things continued Lennie doesn’t know when to stop or when to say no. When he was playing with the puppy, the puppy made out like he was about to bite him and Lennie made out to smack him, but he actually did, as Lennie is a large man the force killed the dog. Next Lennie kills Curley’s wife. She made Lennie jump and when he gets surprised he gets scared and doesn’t know what to do. ‘She jerked her head sideways and Lennie’s fingers closed on her hair and hung on.’ Lennie is a slow character in OMAM and doesn’t know what to do in awkward situations, so he continues doing what he thinks is right. However, what he thinks is right may not always be right.

Lennie and George getting into Trouble Lennie and George both get into trouble before the book began and at the end of the book. Both of these times are to do with Lennie. The first time was in Weed when Lennie touch a woman’s dress and was accused of being more than that. “Well, that girl rabbits in an’ tells the law she been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie. ”This is the reason why George and Lennie end up on the ranch as they were driven out of Weed. The second time was when Lennie killed Curley’s wife, this was because she panicked and Lennie didn’t really realise that he would kill her. This ended when Lennie ran away into the brush to wait for George but George saved himself and Lennie from any more trouble but shooting Lennie. This in a way set them both free from trouble. Lennie can not be accused of anything else and George wont have to look after Lennie any more so he can live his life without the distraction of Lennie.

The Killing of Dumb Creatures The two useless and dumb creatures are Candy’s ageing dog and Lennie. They are both similar in ways. To start with, Lennie has to be fed by George, and the dog by Candy. The reason Lennie has to be fed is because he one to look after himself, and the dog has passed its day, and now has no teeth so is unable to work. When Candy’s dog was killed, Candy said “I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.”, and this is the reason George chooses to kill Lennie himself, and he is glad he done it; this shows that George cares for Lennie he wont put him through the hassle of being shot in the gut by Curley. The dog now has no quality of life, as it cannot eat, cannot walk and lets off massive smells, and Lennie is similar, he cannot eat himself, cannot work himself, and cannot interact with other people without the help of George.

The Structure of the Novel The structure of the novel is another cyclical event that happens in the book. The start of the book starts in the brush; this is outside the ranch and is the first time you meet George and Lennie. You are in the brush at the end of the book; however this is where George shoots Lennie. This is shown by the description of the brush at the start and finish. Both chapters say that the sun had left. In the start: “Only the tops of the Gabilan mountains flamed with the light of the sun that had gone from the valley.” In the end chapter: “Already the sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan mountains” John Steinbeck has repeated the location of the brush because everyman like George and Lennie are travelling to find work wherever they can. This shows that their lives were daily cycles going through the same things other every day and every time they are looking for work. This also shows that men didn’t settle down and always moved around, and nature is the only thing that doesn’t change. This in a way means that nature is the home of the travellers as they camp out waiting for work and they travel through it to get to work.

Could the Ending Be Predicted? In a way, the ending could have been predicted, as George repeats “ … I want you to come here an’ hide right in the brush”, which indicates something is going to happen for Lennie having to come to the brush, and we would realise it is to do with Curley’s wife, as George keeps saying to Lennie that she’s “trouble” and Lennie should stay away, and we know Lennie doesn’t keep to what George asks of him.