english study questions (of mice of men)

The idea of loneliness is a key part of this book. Write two lines spoken by Crooks, including a page number, where he directly talks about his feelings of loneliness.

"A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin' books or thinkin' or stuff like that" (73). This quote really symbolizes the loneliness that Crooks experiences on a day to day basis. Crooks also says "S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go in the bunkhouse to play rummy 'cause you was black. How'd you like that? (72).

Why does Crooks have more items than most of the other men? Take a look at his belongings. Choose three specific items and explain what they show about this character.

3 specific items are the shotgun, magazine, and an alarm clock. The shotgun shows that crooks feels the need to be prepared for any danger he could be put in. The magazine shows that he is lonely and bored so he needs things to keep him occupied. Lastly, the alarm clock shows that he needs something to wake him up because no one would go near him at the ranch and hes always ready and on time.

Describe activities that show Lennie behaving as an animal.

Activities that show Lennie behaving as a animal is when Lennie drank the green pool water very messy "like a horse" (pg. 3).

Describe activities that show George acting as Lennie's parent/guardian.

An activity where George was acting like a parent or guardian is when George gets frustrated with Lennie and basically says that life would be easier for George without Lennie. This scene shows that George is saying that Lennie couldn't survive without George because he does so much for the both of them.

Why did Aunt Clara give Lennie a rubber mouse? Why didn't he like it?

Aunt Clara gave Lennie a rubber mouse because he kept accidentally killing the real mice. Lennie didnt like or appreciate the rubber mouse because he liked to pet soft things and the rubber mouse was not soft.

Why can't Candy and George still get the dream farm? Explain why George turns away from Candy in chapter 5.

Candy and George couldn't still get the dream farm because they realized how hard this task would be to come true, and especially without Lennie there he wouldn't want to do it without him. Couldn't live witt the guilt.

How much money does Candy have? Where did he get the money? Why is Candy so keen to join George and Lennie on their dream farm?

Candy has 250$ from losing one of his hands and 50$ for his paycheck. Candy wans to join Lennie and George on their dream farm because she also wants to have a place called home just like Lennie and George.

Carlson wants to put Candy's dog out of its misery. Candy wants the dog to remain alive. Who's right? Why? Also, symbolically connect the dog to Candy himself.

Carolsn is right because he doesn't want the dog to suffer which is the better because he doesn't want the dog to be miserable, unhappy and live in pain. Candy himself and the dog are symbolically connected because the dog and Candy are similar because they are both old in general. This is probably why Candy doesn't agree to kill the dog.

Why does Curley attack Lennie? Look closely at the scene. At what point does Lennie react/defend himself? What's the significance of this?

Curley attacks Lennie because he thought Lenie was laughing at him. Lennie just starts to react when George tells him to fight back. The significance is that Lennie only does things when George gives him the approval to do something, Lennie doesn't make his own decisions because he relies on George.

Why does Curley, the boss' son, automatically hate Lennie?

Curley automatically hates Lennie because Lennie is bid and tall; hes a boxer so he likes to start fights with big people just like Lennie.

Explain what happened to Curley's wife that led her to meet and quickly marry Curley.

Curley's wife decided to marry Curley so she could get out of her mothers home and the first guy she liked didn't end up writing her back.

"I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny." Who says this line? Discuss the power structure of the ranch. Which characters have power? Which don't? Where does Crooks rate in terms of power on the ranch?

Curleyss wife says this because of how awful Crooks could be treated. It was a time of racism so he was at a lower "class" and "power". The characters that have power are mostly the bosses of the ranch. Crooks would have the least power because of the color of his skin.

Physically describe Lennie and George. What's interesting about this contrast?

George and Lennie have a big interesting contrast based on their physical appearance and personalities because George is described as a small person is is independent, mature, and smart; as to where Lennie is described is bigger in size and not very mature. This is a interesting contrast because they are completely different form each other.

Why is George unhappy when he returns to the ranch? Is he right to be upset? Explain your answer.

George is unhappy when he returns to the ranch because he had always told Lennie to stay out of trouble and he was upset when he found out Lennie and Candy had told Crooks about their plan for their dream farm.

At what point did George decide he was going to have to kill Lennie? Look back over the end of ch. 5 for clues.

George most likely decided he was going to have to kill Lennie right when he saw Curley's wife's dead body because he asked Candy to wait to tell everyone so this is when George probably went to go get the gun.

Why do you suppose Curley chose his wife to marry? What's the irony of this decision?

I suppose Curley chose to marry his wife because of her looks rather than personality, this shows the readers the type of person he is. The irony is Curley cant tell her what to do.

What do you think will happen to George now?

I think George will now be sad and lonely because he wont have Lennie by his side. I also think he will keep doing these types of jobs.

Of the new characters in this chapter, which one do you like the best and why?

I would choose Candy because he seems like the nicest/chillest

Slim says, "You hadda, George...I swear you hadda." Is this true? What would have happened if George had waited another five minutes?

If george had waited another 5 minutes then Lennie would probably be tortured so George shot him ahead of time so he didn't have to go through all that pain.

List the reasons that Lennie gives to explain how the puppy is responsible for its own death. Are Lennie's arguments valid? Why or why not?

Lennie says that the puppy should have been able to handle it when he bounced the puppy because it wasn't "hard" and he also compares it to the mouse. Lennie's arguments aren't valid and it shows his immaturity he has because he hasn't owned up to his mistakes.

What happened to Lulu's puppies? How is this significant?

Lulus puppies were drowned and killed since they were not strong enough to live. This shows that they didn't care enough to help the puppies. This is significant because it shows that slim is inconsiderate. (idea of survival of fittest)

I know that you want to despise Curley's wife, but this chapter helps us to see her in a slightly different light, changing her from a static character to one who is more dynamic. Now that you know a bit of her background, how have your feelings about this character changed? Explain your answer.

Part of me feels a little bad for her because she has a few valid points but it doesn't make up for her awful racism she has towards Crooks but at the same time she does seem very lonely.

When all of the ranchers enter the barn, which one of them inspects Curley's wife's neck? What does this show us?

Slim inspects Curley's wife's neck first. This shows us that Curley is inconsiderate and doesn't actually care enough to go look at his wife himself; and it shows that Slim cares more for her life than Curley. Hes more considerate than Curley.

Lennie has just maimed the boss' son. What does Slim do to ensure that George and Lennie won't get fired?

Slim threatens Curley to make sure George and Lennie wont get fired.

What is Susy's place? What does the popularity of Susy's place show us?

Susys place is a place where men pick women. The popularity of susys place shows us that the men at this time were inconsiderate and didn't care about the women's feelings.

Look back at the first paragraph. In your own words, describe the setting. What is the narrator's tone? What mood is established? Write down one line from the opening paragraph and explain how it supports your conclusion about either the tone or mood.

The first paragraph of Of Mice and Men is describes as a very outdoor, naturalistic setting. The narrator says "On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees-..." (pg.1). This quote gives the reader a very descriptive, detailed view of their setting.

What is Carlson's problem with Candy's dog?

The problem with Candies dog was that it was old and smelled bad so they wanted to replace it with one of the puppies.

Now that you've finished the chapter, explain what the death of the puppy foreshadows. Also, the puppy can be seen as a symbol. How so?

The puppy foreshadowed Curley's wife's death and it could be seem like a symbol of the end of Georges dream farm. It could foreshadow the death of Lennie because hes clueless just like a puppy. Lennie is killing the dream of their dream farm.

How is the setting different in this chapter? How do your feelings change because of the difference?

The setting is different in this chapter because Crooks is treated so awful at the ranch and it makes readers more sad reading this part. Makes readers feel bad for Crooks.

What are the two card games that George half-heartedly plays during this chapter? Assign some symbolic significance to either or both of the card games in the chapter.

The two card games were called euchre and solitaire. I think the game solitaire symbolizes that George can get very lonely since he plays this game alone.

As Lennie is hiding in the brush waiting for George, he has two hallucinations. Describe the two separate hallucinations and explain how each are meaningful to Lennie and the reader.

The two hallucinations were Aunt Clara, and the rabbit. These were meaningful because Lennie's Aunt Clara wanted the best for Lennie and thats why she told George to look after him; and the rabbit was meaningful because Lennie had always wanted a rabbit.

Look carefully at the dialogue between George and Lennie right before the shooting. What's interesting about the way George is talking?

The way George is talking overall just seems very sad, and like he really didn't want to shoot his best friend but it was the best option he had. Talking in 2 dialogues, his lines have double meanings.

Other than the death of the puppy at the beginning of chapter 5, what clues have there been throughout the book that lead up to Lennie's killing of Curley's wife?

There have been clues such as the girl in the red dress and Lennie killing the mice. These clues could have been kind of foreshadowing Lennie's killing.

When talking to Slim about Lennie, George says, "Funny...I used to have a hell of a lot of fun with 'im. Used to play jokes on 'im 'cause he was too dumb to take care of 'imself. But he was too dumb even to know he had a joke played on him...Tell you what made me stop that. One day a bunch of guys was standin' around up on the Sacramento River. I was feelin' pretty smart. I turns to Lennie and says, 'Jump in.' An' he jumps. Couldn't swim a stroke. He damn near drowned before we could get him. An' he was so damn nice to me for pullin' him out. Clean forgot I told him to jump in. Well, I ain't done nothing like that no more."

This passage shows that Lennie is very clueless and innocent and that George cares for him and doesn't want to take advantage of his cluelessness and innocence which is why he can't play these jokes on Lennie anymore. This also shows that Slim is a person that George can open up to and someone he feels comfortable with to share these things with him.

The last guy who slept in George's bunk just up and "quit, the way a guy will." What does this show us about the lifestyle of the ranch men?

This shows that the lifestyle of the ranch men is not very motivational because they give up so quickly. Generally, most of them also don't have a goal they want to achieve or have a person to care about.

When Lennie runs away, he takes the dead puppy with him, saying, "I'll throw him away...It's bad enough like it is." What does this show us about his mental state?

This situation shows that he doesn't know how to make the best decisions for himself and he doesn't know what the best things are that he could do in these situations. Lennie is still in a kid mental state and not mature enough to realize how bad these situations are.

What's the name of the town where George and Lennie last worked? What happened that caused the two men to run away from this town?

Weed. Lennie touched a girls dress and made her uncomfortable which caused them to run away.

Despite the racial segregation of the time, Crooks asks to join Candy and Lennie on the dream farm. Later, he says he was "jus' foolin'. I wouldn' want to go no place like that." What causes his change of heart?

What causes his change of heart is when Curley's wife treated him so poorly and was very rude to him. His feelings were probably hurt and he wasn't being treated rightly. Shuts Crooks down.

What's interesting about the last paragraph?

Whats interesting about the last paragraph is that Carlson and Curey didn't seem to care that George had just lost his best friend. This again shows how inconsiderate they were.

George gets frustrated and yells at Lennie, saying, "...if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble." Why, do you suppose, George hasn't left Lennie? Does George really want to be rid of Lennie? Explain your answer.

When George says this quote, he says it out of frustration. He doesn't actually mean this because he really does care for Lennie and would never leave his side.

What was the boss' Christmas gift to the men? What did they do for fun that night? What's the significance of this?

Whiskey and they eventually got into a fight. The significance of this is that it shows how unprofessional and rough they are. (shows what their lifestyle is)

How are George and Lennie different from other ranch workers? Cite a line of text from the chapter that supports your statement. (Yes, this means I want you to write down the entire sentence from the chapter and include the page number citation.)

they stay productive and work as a team by each other's side where as to other ranch workers might be more negative. They also have a goal which is their "Dream farm"