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Edition:	Penguin Books (Paperback)
Author:	John Steinbeck
Published:	January 2006
Pages:	128
ISBN 10:	0141023570
New:	$4.88 (28)
Used:	$3.73 (23)
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Of Mice and Men is a novella by John Steinbeck, first published in 1937, which tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced Anglo migrant ranch workers in California during the Great Depression (1929-1941). Its title is taken from Robert Burns' famous poem, To a Mouse, the quote being "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry." The original quote is "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley."

Book Summary

Two migrant workers in California during the Great Depression - George Milton, small, intelligent and cynical but caring, and Lennie Small, a huge and strong but mentally limited man, come to a ranch in Soledad, California to "work up a stake". Fleeing from their previous employment in Weed, where the impressively strong but childlike Lennie was run out of town along with George because Lennie, who loved to stroke soft things, tried to stroke a girl's dress, and she thought he was trying to rape her. Once they were out of Weed and safer they hoped to carry on with fulfilling their shared dream of finally settling down on their own piece of land.

At the ranch, the dream for a brief moment becomes startlingly possible - Candy, the aged, one-handed swamper offers to put in his few hundred dollars with Lennie and George so they can buy the house and land by the end of the month - before crashing down around them as the limited but volatile Lennie accidentally kills Curley's (the son of the ranch owner) attractive, young wife. Realizing he is doomed to a life of loneliness and despair like the rest of the migrant workers, and wanting to spare Lennie a slow, painful death at the hands of Curley, George shoots Lennie before the lynch mob can find him, but not before telling him about the dream one last time.

Chapter Summaries

Chapter One

The novel opens with the description of a riverbed in rural California, a beautiful, wooded area at the base of "golden foothill slopes." A path runs to the river, used by boys going swimming and riffraff coming down from the highway. Two men walk along the path. The first, George, is small, wiry, and sharp-featured, while his companion, Lennie, is large and awkward. They are both dressed in denim, farmhand attire.

As they reach a clearing, Lennie stops to drink from the river, and George warns him not to drink too much or he will get sick, as he did the night before. As their conversation continues, it becomes clear that the larger man has a mild mental disability, and that his companion looks out for his safety. George begins to complain about the bus driver that dropped them off a long way from their intended destination—a ranch on which they are due to begin work. Lennie interrupts him to ask where they are going. His companion impatiently reminds him of their movements over the past few days, and then notices that Lennie is holding a dead mouse. George takes it away from him. Lennie insists that he is not responsible for killing the mouse, that he just wanted to pet it, but George loses his temper and throws it across the stream. George warns Lennie that they are going to work on a ranch, and that he must behave himself when they meet the boss. George does not want any trouble of the kind they encountered in Weed, the last place they worked.

George decides that they will stay in the clearing for the night, and as they prepare their bean supper, Lennie crosses the stream and recovers the mouse, only to have George find him out immediately and take the mouse away again. Apparently, Lennie’s Aunt Clara used to give him mice to pet, but he tends to "break" small creatures unintentionally when he shows his affection for them, killing them because he doesn’t know his own strength. As the two men sit down to eat, Lennie asks for ketchup. This request launches George into a long speech about Lennie’s ungratefulness. George complains that he could get along much better if he didn’t have to care for Lennie. He uses the incident that got them chased out of Weed as a case in point. Lennie, a lover of soft things, stroked the fabric of a girl’s dress, and would not let go. The locals assumed he assaulted her, and ran them out of town.

After this tirade, George feels sorry for losing his temper and apologizes by telling Lennie’s favorite story, the plan for their future happiness. The life of a ranch-hand, according to George, is one of the loneliest in the world, and most men working on ranches have no one to look out for them. But he and Lennie have each other, and someday, as soon as they manage to save enough money, they will buy a farm together and, as Lennie puts it, "live off the fatta the lan’." They will grow their own food, raise livestock, and keep rabbits, which Lennie will tend. This familiar story cheers both of them up. As night falls, George tells Lennie that if he encounters any trouble while working at the ranch, he is to return to this clearing, hide in the bushes, and wait for George to come.

Chapter Two

Lennie and George arrive on the ranch. The boss is angry because the two men did not arrive in the morning as scheduled. The boss’s son was so angry he took it out on the black stable buck. The man who shows them around the ranch, Candy, is missing his right hand.

The boss arrives to register the men. George does all the talking, until the boss notices and directly addresses Lennie. George still does the talking. The boss asks George what his interest is in Lennie. The boss thinks George is taking money from Lennie’s pay because Lennie is simple. George says he is Lennie’s cousin. The boss says he will keep his eye on the two men.

George yells at Lennie for talking when he was not supposed to talk. He notices that an old man with a mangy old dog eavesdropping. The man says he wasn’t listening. George notices the dog is old, smelly, blind, and can barely walk.

Curley, the boss’s son, enters the bunk house. He takes an instant disliking to Lennie because of his size. Curley has a long history of picking fights with big men. Curley is a small guy, and his temper is worse lately. He is newly married and very cocky about his marriage. George thinks Curley is showing off for his new wife. The man tells George that Curley always wears a glove on his left hand filled with Vaseline so that he can keep that hand soft for his wife.

The swamper tells George Curley’s wife is pretty, but she has a wandering eye. She’s been seen giving Slim, the jerk-line skinner, the eye. She has also given another man, Carlson, the eye. The swamper thinks Curley married a tart.

George tells Lennie to steer clear of Curley because Curley is looking for trouble. Lennie promises to stay away from him. George tells Lennie that if Curley hits Lennie first, Lennie can fight back with all he has. He then reminds Lennie to hide in the brush by the river bank if there is any trouble.

Curley’s wife enters the bunk house. She is wearing quite a bit of make up and a fancy dress. She says she is looking for Curley. She flirts a little with Slim when he arrives in the bunk house, but hurries away when Slim tells her Curley was heading toward their house.

Lennie tells George that Curley’s wife is pretty. George warns Lennie to stay away from Curley’s wife because she is poison. George calls her jail bait.

Slim is the most respected man on the ranch. He is a hard worker and a leader among the men on the ranch. He is soft-spoken, but his word is taken as authority.

Slim’s dog had puppies last night. Carlson says Slim should give Candy, the swamper, one of the new puppies. Carlson suggests Slim get Candy to shoot his old dog. The old dog has no teeth, is nearly blind, and cannot chew.

Lennie asks George if he can have one of the puppies. George promises to ask Slim about the puppies later.

Curley enters the bunk house again looking for his wife. He leaves angry.

Chapter Three

While the other men are outside playing horseshoes, Slim and George are inside the bunkhouse talking about Lennie’s puppy. George thanks Slim profusely, but Slim says it really is not a big deal. George insists that it meant a great deal to both him and Lennie. George says Lennie is so excited he may try to sleep out with the puppies.

Slim talks about how happy he is with Lennie’s ability to do physical labor. George says Lennie cannot think for himself, but does an excellent job when he is told what to do.

Slim comments that it is strange that George and Lennie travel together. George asks what he means and gets defensive. George tells Slim he and Lennie grew up together in Auburn. Lennie’s Aunt Clara took Lennie in when he was a baby and raised him. George started looking after Lennie after his Aunt Clara died because Lennie was all alone.

George confesses that he used to be cruel to Lennie by playing jokes on him. Lennie was not aware George was playing jokes on him because Lennie is not smart. George also used to beat Lennie up, but despite Lennie’s physical advantage, he would never raise a hand to George. One day, George told Lennie to jump into the Sacramento River. Lennie jumped in and nearly drowned because he cannot swim. George saved him, and Lennie thanked him for saving him instead of being angry.

George talks about how he is alone with out Lennie while playing solitaire. He talks about other guys he has seen on ranches that do not have anyone. They get mean. He does not want to be like them.

George says Lennie is a nuisance, but he likes having him around. He says Lennie gets in trouble all the time because he is so dumb. He tells Slim about what happened in Weed. When Lennie gets scared, he freezes. Lennie was so afraid when the girl started screaming that he held on tighter. George had to hit him in the head with a picket fence in order to get him to let go. The girl told the police she was raped. A lynch mob was sent out for Lennie. George reassures Slim that Lennie never hurt the girl. He just wanted to touch her red dress.

Lennie tries to sneak the pup into the bunk house, but George makes him take the puppy back to his mother. George warns Lennie it could kill the pup.

Slim remarks Lennie is just like a kid. The only difference between Lennie and a kid is physical strength. George predicts Lennie will sleep in the barn with the puppies.

Candy, the swamper, enters the bunk house. He asks if they have whiskey because he is in pain. Carlson comes in and starts complaining about how badly Candy’s dog smells. Carlson tells Candy the dog is suffering and suggests Candy shoot the dog out of mercy. Candy says he can’t do it, and Carlson offers to do it himself. Carlson reminds Candy that he can have one of Slim’s puppies so he won’t be lonely. Slim agrees with Carlson. Candy finally agrees to let Carlson shoot the dog.

Crooks, the black stable buck, enters the bunk house. He tells Slim Lennie is out in the barn with the puppies.

The men talk about Curley’s wife again. They say she gives everyone the eye, even the black stable buck. She turns up every time the ranch hands are around because she can’t stay away from the guys. This makes Curley angry and looking for a fight.

Curley is looking for his wife again. Curley notices Slim is gone and asks where he is. George says Slim is in the barn fixing a split hoof. Curley storms off for the barn. The rest of the men go out to see if Curley and Slim fight. This leaves George, Lennie, and Candy in the bunk house.

George and Lennie talk about their dream again. George says he knows of a piece of land, but they have to save their money. He talks about the house, the orchard, and the animals they can raise. Candy speaks up and asks how much a place like that costs. George replies six hundred dollars and ask why Candy wants to know. Candy says that he isn’t much good around the ranch with only one hand. He has three hundred and fifty dollars and offers to go in with them.

Candy describes how he lost his hand. He knows he will be fired when he can longer swamp out the bunk house. He says they will do to him what they did to his dog. George eventually agrees to let Candy come in with them. They plan to leave in one month. They promise to keep the secret to themselves.

Candy says he should have shot his dog himself, not a stranger.

Slim and Curley enter the bunk house. Slim is sick of Curley’s accusations. The other men tell Curley to take care of his own wife. Curley picks a fight with Lennie. Lennie does not fight back until George tells him to get Curley. Lennie grabs Curley’s hand and squeezes hard. Lennie freezes again and George starts slapping Lennie until he lets go. Curley’s hand is broken. Slim tells Curley to say he got his hand caught in a machine, otherwise everyone will mock him. Curley promises not to tell.

Chapter Four

Crooks is the only black man on the ranch, and he lives in the harness room attached to the stable. He is the only ranch hand who does not live in the bunk house. His body is bent over to the left because he has a crooked spine.

Lennie enters Crooks’s room and is told to get out. Nobody on the ranch visits Crooks. The other men in the bunk house won’t let Crooks in to play cards because they say he stinks.

Lennie forgets his promise and starts to tell Crooks about the rabbits.

Crooks tells Lennie that when he was a child, he was the only black child for miles. His father would not let him play with the nearby white children, so he got used to being alone.

Crooks asks Lennie what would happen to him if George disappeared. Lennie becomes upset. He tells Lennie if it weren’t for George, he would be in the loony bin. Crooks talks about his loneliness.

Candy comes in the stable to talk to Lennie about the rabbits. Candy tells them they are kidding themselves. Crooks becomes interested when he realizes the men have money in the bank. He offers to come with them

Curley’s wife enters the stable, looking for Curley. She observes that all the weak ones were left behind. The other men went into town. She says the men will talk to her one on one, but get angry with her if other men are around. She says the men are scared.

Crooks tells her to leave, and she talks about being stuck in the house with no one to talk to. She asks what happened to Curley’s hand. She knows someone hurt him.

Candy tells her he’s had enough and she’s not wanted there. Before she leaves, she asks Lennie how he got the bruises on his face. Crooks tells her she has no right to be in his room. She threatens to get him lynched if he ever talks to her like that again. She tells Lennie she’s glad he hit Curley. She leaves.

Crooks tells the men he does not want to leave with them.

Chapter Five

Lennie is in the barn by himself, petting his puppy. He killed the puppy earlier by handling it roughly. He is afraid George will not let him tend the rabbits if he finds out about the puppy. Lennie buries the puppy under a mound of hay.

Curley’s wife enters the barn. She asks Lennie what is under the hay. He tells her the dog looked like it was going to bite him and he smacked it too hard.

Curley’s wife gets angry when Lennie tells her George told him not to talk to her. She doesn’t understand why the men treat her this way. She tells Lennie she could have been in the pictures. She was supposed to receive a letter from a man in Hollywood, but she never got the letter. She thinks her mother stole her letter and kept it from her. She says this is why she married Curley, who she claims she doesn’t like. She still dreams of being in Hollywood.

Lennie tells Curley’s wife he likes to pet soft things. She lets Lennie pet her hair until he starts to pet her too hard. She yells at him to let go, and Lennie panics. He holds one hand over her mouth and the other hand in her hair and shakes her until he breaks her neck. He covers her with hay just like the puppy. Lennie remembers George telling him to hide in the brush by the river bank if something bad happened.

Candy finds the body. He tells George. They fear Curley will kill Lennie brutally if he finds Lennie first. The other men are alerted of the murder. Curley vows to kill Lennie. George tells the men Lennie went south because they came from the north.

Carlson’s Luger is missing. Everyone thinks Lennie stole the gun. The men set off after Lennie.

Chapter Six

In the same riverbed where the novel began, it is a beautiful, serene late afternoon. A heron stands in a shaded green pool, eating water snakes that glide between its legs. Lennie comes stealing through the undergrowth and kneels by the water to drink. He is proud of himself for remembering to come here to wait for George, but soon has two unpleasant visions. His Aunt Clara appears "from out of Lennie’s head" and berates him, speaking in Lennie’s own voice, for not listening to George, for getting himself into trouble, and for causing so many problems for his only friend. Then a gigantic rabbit appears to him, also speaking in Lennie’s own voice, and tells him that George will probably beat him and abandon him. Just then, George appears. He is uncommonly quiet and listless. He does not berate Lennie. Even when Lennie himself insists on it, George’s tirade is unconvincing and scripted. He repeats his usual words of reproach without emotion. Lennie makes his usual offer to go away and live in a cave, and George tells him to stay, making Lennie feel comforted and hopeful.

Lennie asks him to tell the story of their farm, and George begins, talking about how most men drift along, without any companions, but he and Lennie have one another. The noises of men in the woods come closer, and George tells Lennie to take off his hat and look across the river while he describes their farm. He tells Lennie about the rabbits, and promises that nobody will ever be mean to him again. "Le’s do it now," Lennie says. "Le’s get that place now." George agrees. He raises Carlson’s gun, which he has removed from his jacket, and shoots Lennie in the back of the head. As Lennie falls to the ground and becomes still, George tosses the gun away and sits down on the riverbank.

The sound of the shot brings the lynch party running to the clearing. Carlson questions George, who lets them believe that he wrestled the gun from Lennie and shot him with it. Only Slim understands what really happened: "You hadda, George. I swear you hadda," he tells him. Slim leads George, who is numb with grief, away from the scene, while Carlson and Curley watch incredulously, wondering what is "eatin’ them two guys."

References

Wikipedia

Wikisummaries