Of Mice and Men - Characters - CCEA

• Summary: Of Mice and Men is a modernistnovella published in 1937 by John Steinbeck, and follows two itinerant farm workers in the wake of the Great Depression in America. Their dream of owning their own land and having a real home is made tragically impossible by a combination of their difficult circumstances and the people around them. The novella shows how trapped ordinary people were at this time, in a land where anything was supposed to be possible for those who worked hard enough.

• Title: Of Mice and Men is an allusion taken from a line of poetry by Robert Burns, a famous Scottish poet: “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men/ Gang aft agley”. The poem To a Mouse was written in 1785 as a sympathetic apology to a mouse whose nest Burns accidentally ruined while ploughing, and the line Steinbeck references in the title explains that even the best plans, whether made by a mouse or a man, often go wrong. This links to the precarious situation of the men in the novella despite their plans and dreams; it also fits with Lennie’s obsession with keeping a “soft” mouse to pet.

• Narrative perspective: Of Mice and Men is told from a third personomniscient narratornarrative perspective, where the story is related by a voice from outside the characters who can access everyone’s thoughts and feelings, and who describes the action without taking part.

• Setting: Salinas and Soledad, rural/farming areas of California, during the Great Depression of the early 1930s.

• Themes: Loneliness and friendship, dreams and ambitions, weakness and strength, power, protection, nature, masculinity and misogyny, the American Dream.

The main characters in Of Mice and Men are George and Lennie, as the novel revolves around their friendship.

Several of the secondary characters they come into contact with on the ranch are also important, particularly Curley’s wife, Candy and Crooks. These three characters demonstrate the harshness of life in the working class environment during the Great Depression for those who are perceived to be weak. Curley draws attention to the violence of the life lived by the men on the ranch, while Slim is a more understanding and admirable character, able to empathise with George in particular.

The other men on the ranch are The Boss, Carlson and Whit. Carlson and Whit are both workers on the ranch, Carlson being the character who kills Candy’s dog. Lennie’s Aunt Clara does not feature directly in the text but is referred to by George and Lennie and then seen by Lennie in his hallucinations after he kills Curley’s wife.

George is a protective man, who has been caring for his friend Lennie for a long time. The two men are not related but have been friends since they were children so, as well as enjoying his company, George also feels responsible for his welfare. George often talks to Lennie about their dream.

Due to Lennie’s mental disability, George has to take responsibility for him and finds this stressful and frustrating at times, due to Lennie getting into trouble. This results in outbursts of anger towards Lennie at certain points in the novel, although George regrets these quickly.

George recognises that his friendship with Lennie is special because men like George would not have had friendships due to moving around so much for work; it would have been very unusual for two men to travel around together due to work being scarce.

George is a small, quick-witted man; his intelligence contrasts with Lennie’s throughout the book; as does his size. George often has to think quickly in order to cover up for Lennie’s mistakes. Finally, he feels forced to shoot his best friend in order to protect him from Curley and the other men, who George believes would have tortured Lennie if they found him first.

Lennie is George’s friend and the two travel together. Lennie has a learning disability, making him dependent upon George to manage day to day life in the difficult environment in which they live and work.

Lennie is physically very big and strong, so his name is ironic. However, he cannot control himself, leading to escalating acts of accidental violence through the book. He is obsessed with stroking soft things, such as animal fur. This starts with mice, which he kills, then leads to his puppy, which he also kills, before the tragic death of Curley’s wife when he strokes her hair. He does not mean to cause harm but is not aware of his own physical power.

Lennie is very naive and sweet-natured; he always means well and is focused on simple pleasures, which his dream with George reminds the reader of. He lacks awareness of social conventions and so does not feel the same racism and prejudice against women that many of the other male characters feel. Lennie is happy to talk to Crooks and Curley’s wife, despite them being rejected by the other characters on the ranch.

Lennie only gets angry or aggressive when he feels that his friendship with George is threatened. For example, when Crooks suggests that George might abandon Lennie, Lennie reacts angrily, worried that Crooks is threatening violence against his friend.

Curley’s wife is the only significant female character in Of Mice and Men, and she is never given a name. This reflects how she is defined by her relationship to Curley rather than as an individual.

Curley’s wife is presented as a flirtatious and provocative character, often wearing make-up and dressing in a way that attracts attention from the men on the ranch. However, this behaviour also highlights her loneliness and desire for companionship, as she seeks interaction in an isolated and male-dominated environment.

She is often judged harshly by the other characters, particularly the men, who see her as trouble. This reflects the patriarchy of the society in which the novella is set, where women are marginalised and mistrusted.

Despite this, Curley’s wife reveals a more vulnerable side when she speaks about her past and her failed dreams of becoming a film star. She describes how she was promised opportunities that never materialised, leaving her trapped in an unhappy marriage.

Candy is an old ranchworker who has lost a hand in a work accident and now works as a swamper, or cleaner, on the ranch. He feels that as he is ageing he is useless and does not have any value as a person. This is reflected in the way that his dog is shot by Carlson.

Before his death, Candy’s dog is his only real companion. This leads to him asking to be involved in George and Lennie’s dream of owning their own farm; he is willing to give all of his savings to these men who he has just met so that he can feel a part of something.

Crooks is the only black man on the ranch and experiences a significant amount of racism and discrimination. He is lonely and isolated, making him resentful and bitter towards the other characters, as seen when he tries to torment Lennie about George abandoning him.

Crooks is briefly won over by Lennie’s friendliness and enjoys having someone to talk to, even feeling some hope that he could be involved in the dream of the farm. However, Curley’s wife reminds him of the prejudice against him, making him return to his protective shell and dismiss the idea of the dream altogether.

Curley is a very aggressive and violent character. He is the Boss’s son and takes advantage of the power that he has over the other men on the ranch to treat them cruelly and pick fights. He is physically small and so is resentful of bigger men; he picks a fight with Lennie specifically because of this. He chooses to fight Lennie instead of the other characters because he knows that Lennie is vulnerable, whereas the other men would fight back.

He wears high-heeled boots like the Boss, to show his status; his wife is also a status symbol for him as he knows the other men cannot marry since they could not provide for a family of their own. Despite marrying her, he does not seem to trust or even like her. In the novella, Curley and his wife are only ever seen together once she is dead, and he does not seem saddened by her death – only angry and vengeful because Lennie has ruined something that belonged to him.

Slim is the most respected character on the ranch, despite not actually being in charge (although he is in charge of one of the grain teams). He is good at his work, calm and thoughtful; all of the other men look up to him and value his opinions. Slim empathises with other characters, particularly George, whom he treats kindly after he shoots Lennie.

The Boss

The owner of the ranch. He is suspicious of George and Lennie’s unusual partnership when he meets them, but is ultimately only concerned with his business. He wears boots with a heel to show his status on the ranch. He is also Curley’s father, which partly explains Curley’s sense of power over the ranch workers.

Carlson

Another ranch worker. Carlson is generally friendly but also brash and insensitive. He complains about Candy’s dog and eventually insists on shooting it, never considering Candy’s feelings; he is likewise baffled at the end of the novel that George might be upset over Lennie’s death. He is unafraid of Curley and his threats, telling Curley directly that he will “kick [his] goddam head off” if he tries to harass him.

Whit

A young and impressionable worker on the ranch, who is excited to see a letter from a former co-worker on the ranch published in a magazine he is reading.

Aunt Clara

Lennie’s aunt who helped raise him in his youth. She does not actually feature in the novella, having died some time before it is set, but appears to Lennie as an hallucination, scolding him in the final chapter.