Rachel Falb

Rachel Falb

Of Mice and Men 

John Steinbeck

Historical Fiction

Just Right

Just finished

1) At the end of the book, there are some very surprising twists and it happens very fast. The chaos starts when most of the men go and play a round of cards without Lennie. Lennie is sitting in the barn with his dead puppy that Slim had just recently given him. He's upset that he died and he thinks George will be mad and won't let him tend the rabbits because he can't even take care of his puppy. Suddenly, Curley's wife comes into the barn where he is. They're alone in the barn and he starts to tell her about the dead puppy and how George will be mad and won't let him take care of the rabbits. She asks why he cares so much about the rabbits and Lennie tells her about how he likes to pet nice things, like the fur of the rabbits. Curley's wife lets him feel her hair because she claims it is so soft. Lennie runs her fingers through her hair. Eventually she tells him to stop so he doesn't mess it up. He doesn't stop so she gets upset with him. Lennie than panics and grasps her hair and won't let go so she starts to scream. Lennie puts her hand over her mouth and nose so he won't get in trouble because he knows George will get mad. She starts to scream and he continues to panic and yells at her not to. He shakes her and her body flops like a fish and then went limp because Lennie broke her neck and killed her. He knows he'll get in trouble and knows to go to the "safe place", which is at the river in the bushes.

 2) We have just recently finished the book and I found it very enjoyable for many reasons. One reason is that John Steinbeck used a lot of foreshadowing. I mostly saw it when George made Lennie repeat over and over again, "Hide in the brush if there is any trouble." This then helped me to think about what is most likely going to happen and made it more interesting. Not only does Steinbeck use writing techniques that make the book interesting, like foreshadowing, but he also made it intriguing by the variation of characters personalities. No two characters were alike in this book. Often times when I am reading, I get characters mixed up because they are alike or are not prominent. But while I was reading Of Mice and Men, I never got two characters mixed up because of there different personalities.  For instance, George is small, fast, and has a lot of wisdom, but Lennie is big, childish, and needs other people to support him. I also really enjoyed this book because it was so suspenseful. Although there were many places that Steinbeck used foreshadowing, there were so many twists and turns like when Curley's wife comes into the barn. I knew that something would happen because of foreshadowing, when George tells him to stay away from her because she is trouble but I did not expect that Lennie would kill her by breaking her neck. These are ways that Steinbeck really hooked me onto the book.

3) A major theme that I have seen appear is family. This theme has mostly appeared in two places, with Lennie and George and between Candy and his dog. There is also a sense of family between all of the men living in the bunkhouse. Lennie and George are like a family because they need each other. Lennie needs George in his life because he guides him wrong to right and keeps him out of trouble. He also relies on him for jobs and providing food for him. George needs Lennie because he is the only person that he has in his life. They argue, and George often wishes he didn't have Lennie to drag around and take care of, but all families have small problems. In the end, you know they need each other like a real family. Another place where I see the theme of family is between Candy and his dog because they have had each other ever since the dog was just a puppy. They have both grown old together and love each other. Even though he is just a dog, we know that Candy is very attached to him. When they go to kill the dog because they think he is to old and must be in pain, Candy is not that the same. Now that his dog is dead, it’s almost as if he is losing a part of himself and that he will soon die as well. The last place that I see this theme in this book is with everybody who lives in the bunkhouse. They are like one big family; they live together and look out for each other. When Carlson is outside killing the dog, Slim offers him one of his new pups. This really shows that even though the other men in the bunk house didn't love his dog as much as he did, he comforts him the best way he can because he cares about him as if he were his family. These are places that I have seen the theme of family appear throughout this novel.

4) My favorite character of the book is George. He is my favorite because of how wise he is when he is dealing with Lennie. When Lennie wants to hear him talk about how they are going to own land again, he doesn't get frustrated that he has already told him many times. He knows that Lennie often acts like a child and can't survive by himself, so he takes the responsibility after Lennie's only family dies, his aunt. Another reason why George is my favorite character is because of how he is not selfish. George could be living the American dream with a family, his own land, and have freedom that nobody can take, but instead he is being loyal to Lennie's aunt and is looking after him. This is unselfish because he could be living a much better life, free of any worry that Lennie will somehow mess up and they will have to switch jobs again. This is why George is my favorite character in this novel.

5) My least favorite character of the book is Curley. He is very mean to Lennie the first day he arrives at the ranch. He is not confident in himself because he thinks that to be superior, he must be bigger and stronger than everyone else and that is why he fights Lennie. I also don't like him because he is very harsh around the men. My first impression of him was that he is trying to be tougher because when he is talking to George and Lennie and he sees how big Lennie is, he tries to look bigger. He bends his elbows to look broader and stiffens. Another reason why I don't like Curley is because of the way he treats his wife. He doesn't seem to treat her with respect and never seems to know where she is. These are some reasons why Curley is one of my least favorite characters in this novel. 

6) The ending of the book was a major surprise to me, and most likely to other readers. This is because throughout the entire novel, Steinbeck does a lot of foreshadowing to make the readers believe that George, Lennie, and anyone else with the money would join them on their American dream. This is because Lennie was always talking about how he would take care of the rabbits and George told him multiple times about how he plans on living his American dream. I predicted that George and Lennie would work, receive their money and then leave to buy land and that would be the end. Instead, George ends up having to kill his only family, Lennie. He then ends up leaving the ranch with Slim to start their new beginning. Steinbeck led up to this because in the beginning of the book when George and Lennie are at the river, George tells Lennie many times that if he ever gets in trouble he should come back to here. I thought that Lennie would get in trouble and he would go to the river and hide in the bush like he is told and George would then come and they would leave together. This is how I predicted the book would end but then found out that my predictions were wrong.