1. Of Mice and Men

2. Describe the relationship between George and Lennie
Describe the relationship between George and Lennie. Have you ever known or befriended someone like Lennie. How do you think your high school classmates would treat Lennie?
Daily Journal /11/2014

3. Context Depression-era America – 1920’s and 30’s
Steinbeck had done this kind of work
Men struggling to take some part of the world for their own, but unable to.
Honesty, love, compassion, and romance.
Critics: Characters are one-dimensional. The moral of the story is more important than the story.

4. Character Discussion Who are the characters?
What are their physical traits and what role do they play in the novel?
Do you find the characters likable? Are the characters persons you would want to meet?
Discuss the ways the characters communicate with each other.

5. Discuss the ways the characters communicate with each other.
Are there similarities or differences between how the women of “The Joy Luck Club” communicate?
Discuss the difference between the representation of women in these two novels.

6. This is a very structured, well-written novella
This is a very structured, well-written novella. Steinbeck carefully considered all the elements of this book.
Discuss foreshadowing in the novella.

7. Of Mice and Men feels like an allegory, with each character possessing a specific trait that represents something or some group in society. So, is the book just a lecture about how mean people are to each other?
Describe the kinds of meanness the characters show.
Are all of these wrongs (racism, sexism, discrimination) treated as equally evil? Or are the characters real, individual people, rather than being merely types/symbols?

8. The setting here is very specific
The setting here is very specific. Do the events of the story only apply to this particular place and time, or can the novel be thought of as universally applying to humans everywhere?

9. Why does George have to give up the idea of the dream farm once Lennie kills Curley's wife? Was the farm ever a real possibility?
How are the deaths of Candy's dog and Lennie related? Why do the two have to die? Is it fair to draw a comparison between these two events? Are Candy's dog's death and Lennie's death just different degrees of the same kind of thing?
Does any character escape prejudice? Is any character not prejudiced? Given everyone's interaction with each other, how does prejudice actually operate in the novel? Is prejudice just a code word covering for some larger human failing and tendency towards suspicion and isolation?
Does George have the right to kill Lennie? Legally? What about ethically? How does Steinbeck's treatment of Lennie's murder affect the way the reader interprets the event? What does George's action suggest about justice—within the play and in the world as a whole?
The natural world is often described as beautiful and peaceful in the book, though it's tempered with all sorts of awful occurrences. What role does the natural world actually play in the novel?
How are the notions of power and shifts in power important here? Who has power and why? Are there different types of power?
What is Steinbeck saying about dreams? Is the book's take-home message inherently pessimistic one? Should we all just give up and stop dreaming?

10. (Page 1) Why does Steinbeck describe the setting with such detail?
What is the relationship between George and Lennie?
Describe how their "voices" differ.
(Page 5) What observations can you make about Lennie based on his attachment to the dead mouse?
(Page 7) What do you think could have happened in Weed to make George and Lennie leave?
(Page 9) Steinbeck compares Lennie to a terrier - What does this comparison say about Lennie?
What does it say about the view of handicapped people during the 1930s?
How have views on the handicapped changed/stayed the same today?
(Page 11) George complains about having to take care of Lennie. Why might George keep Lennie around?
Chapter Two (Page 20) What can we assume about the boss from Candy's description of him?
Candy claims he is a nice man - What evidence do we have for/against this statement?
Is Candy a reliable source of information? Why/why not?
(Page 22) Why might the boss jump to the conclusion that George is taking advantage of Lennie?
Why doesn't George simply tell the boss the truth about Lennie instead of claiming to be his cousin?
(Page 25) Why is Curly hostile towards Lennie?
Is Curly's attitude justified? Why/why not?
(Page 31) Lennie thinks Curly's wife is "purty" - Should the sexual attraction of a handicapped person differ from that of a non-handicapped person? Why/why not?
(Page 33) Slim is described as a talented, good looking, well respected man on the ranch. Does this give him reason to flirt with Curly's wife? Why does he seem to get away with it?
Chapter Three (part I) (Page 39) Why does George put himself down when talking to Slim?
(Page 40) What is the correlation between smarts and niceness?
(Page 41) Does George trust Slim? Why?
Do you believe George? Could Lennie have potentially raped the woman in Weed?
What are Carlson's reasons for shooting the dog verses Candy's reasons for not wanting to shoot the dog?
How are Candy and his dog similar?
Who is being literally silenced? Who is being metaphorically silenced? How? By who?
What effect does the personification of silence have on this scene?
What does this say about how Whit thinks/feels about work?
What does this say about George and Lennie and how they feel about their work?
Chapter 3 (part II) (Page 51) Why does Curly's wife spend so much time around the men? What is she looking for?
Do you think she will find whatever she is looking for from any of the men on the ranch?
Who is most likely to fall for Curly's wife?
(Page 52) Susy's whore house is a seemingly normal place for the men to visit. How might the same type of place be seen today? Is this acceptable? Why/why not?
Why do minor characters, even Susy the prostitute, and the dog Lulu, have names, but not Curley’s wife?
(Page 56) George and Lennie's dream of owning their own land is becoming a reality. Lennie is obviously very excited - he has been waiting for his rabbits for a long time. How might George honestly feel about his dream actually being in reach?
(Page 58) When George and Lennie are talking about their dream, Lennie reacts violently to the hypothetical idea of the cat hurting the baby rabbits. What do we learn about Lennie through his reaction?
(Page 59) We discussed the parallels between Candy and his dog and now Candy sees this parallel himself and wants to join George and Lennie on their potential land. Why does Candy want to join George and Lennie - who he just met - so badly?
How does George feel about letting Candy in on his dream?
Why does George decide to let him in on it?
(Page 61) We have seen George lie before. Why does he choose to keep the dream and Candy's involvement from the other ranch hands?
Why does he choose to keep it from Slim who we have seen him confide in before?
(Page 62) Carlson suggests Curly's wife has no place outside of the house. What does this say about his opinion on women? What does this say about the 1930's opinion on women?
Has this opinion changed since the 1930s? How so? How is is similar?
(Page 64) Who has the most power and influence on this ranch?
(Page 65) Respond to Lennie's reaction to the fight.
Would Lennie have fought back if George had not told him to?

11. Summary
Review: 'Of Mice and Men'
Quotes
Questions for Study & Discussion
Books & Editions
Of Mice and Men is a famous (and controversial) novel by John Steinbeck. Here are a few questions for study and discussion.  Questions for Study & DiscussionWhat is important about the title? What is the famous reference? Was the title misleading?
What are the conflicts in Of Mice and Men? What types of conflict (physical, moral, intellectual, or emotional)?
How does John Steinbeck reveal character in Of Mice and Men?
What are some themes in the story? How do they relate to the plot and characters?
What are some symbols in Of Mice and Men? How do they relate to the plot and characters?
Are George and Lenny consistent in their actions? Are they fully developed characters? How? Why?
Discuss some of the symbols in Of Mice and Men.
What is the central/primary purpose of the story? Is the purpose important or meaningful?
Why is the novel so controversial? Do you think the book should be censored or banned?
How essential is the setting to the story? Could the story have taken place anywhere else?
What is the role of women in the text?
Would you recommend this novel to a friend?
Does the story end the way you expected? How? Why?