Of Mice and Men

By lukky.

  • George and Lennie camp at the Salinas River

    A few miles south of Soledad, George and Lennie stop at the Salinas River. Lennie, exhausted from their journey, dips his head in the green river and takes large gulps of the water like a horse. George then scolds Lennie for drinking the green water. Later on, George finds that Lennie has been stroking a dead mouse, so George angrily throws it away. George then tells Lennie that after all their hard work, they will buy a farm of their own where Lennie can pet as many bunnies as he wants to.
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    'Of Mice and Men' story Timespan

  • 1) George and Lennie report to the ranch

    The next day, the men report to the nearby ranch. George, fearing how the boss will react to Lennie, insists that he’ll do all the talking. He lies, explaining that they travel together because they are cousins and that a horse kicked Lennie in the head when he was a child. They are hired. They meet Candy, an old “swamper,” or handyman, with a missing hand and an ancient dog, and Curley, the boss’s mean son. Curley is newly married, possessive of his flirtatious wife, and very suspicious.

  • 2) George and Lennie meet Curley's wife and Slim

    Once George and Lennie are alone in the bunkhouse, Curley’s wife appears and flirts with them. Lennie thinks she is “purty,” but George, sensing the trouble that could come from tangling with this woman and her husband, warns Lennie to stay away from her. Soon, the ranch-hands return from the fields for lunch, and George and Lennie meet Slim, the skilled mule driver who wields great authority on the ranch. Slim comments on the rarity of friendship like that between George and Lennie.

  • 1) George confesses to Slim about why him and Lennie are there

    George confesses to Slim that he and Lennie are not actually cousins, but have been friends since childhood. He says how Lennie has gotten them into trouble. For instance they were foreced to flee theiy last job because Lennie was touching a girl's dress and was accused of rape. Slim agrees to give Lennie one of his puppiers, and Carlson badgers Candy to kill his old dog. When Slim agrees with Carlson, Candy gives up. Before Carlson leaves, he promises to do the job painlessly.

  • 2) Candy joins in on George and Lennie's idea to purchase land

    Slim goes to the barn to do some work, and Curley, who is maniacally searching for his wife, heads to the barn to accost Slim. Candy overhears George and Lennie discussing their plans to buy land, and offers his life’s savings if they will let him live there too. The three make a pact to let no one else know of their plan.

  • 3) Lennie breaks Curley's hand

    Curley, searching for an easy target for his anger, finds Lennie and picks a fight with him. Lennie crushes Curley’s hand in the altercation. Slim warns Curley that if he tries to get George and Lennie fired, he will be the laughingstock of the farm.

  • 4) Later that night, Lennie talks to Crooks, then Curley's wife joins in

    Later that night, most of the men go to the local brothel. Lennie is left with Crooks, the lonely, black stable-hand, and Candy. Curley’s wife flirts with them, refusing to leave until the other men come home. She notices the cuts on Lennie’s face and suspects that he, and not a piece of machinery as Curley claimed, is responsible for hurting her husband. This thought amuses her.

  • 1) Lennie accidentally kills his puppy and Curley's wife

    Lennie accidentally kills his puppy in the barn. Curley’s wife enters and consoles him. She admits that life with Curley is a disappointment, and wishes that she had followed her dream of becoming a movie star. Lennie tells her that he loves petting soft things, and she offers to let him feel her hair. When he grabs too tightly, she cries out. In his attempt to silence her, he accidentally breaks her neck.

  • 2) George talks to Lennie about what he did

    Lennie flees back to a pool of the Salinas River that George had designated as a meeting place should either of them get into trouble. As the men back at the ranch discover what has happened and gather together a lynch party, George joins Lennie. Much to Lennie’s surprise, George is not mad at him for doing “a bad thing.”

  • 3) George kills Lennie

    George begins to tell Lennie the story of the farm they will have together. As he describes the rabbits that Lennie will tend, the sound of the approaching lynch party grows louder. George shoots his friend in the back of the head. When the other men arrive, George lets them believe that Lennie had the gun, and George wrestled it away from him and shot him. Only Slim understands what has really happened, that George has killed his friend out of mercy.