Of Mice and Men :: essays research papers

The title of the book is Of Mice and Men. The author is John Steinbeck. It was published by the Penguin Group in New York, New York. The copyright date is 1965. Of Mice and Men is a novel about two men, one named George and one named Lennie. George somewhat takes care of Lennie. As the book opens they are walking along the bank of the Salinas River. They are one the way to a nearby ranch to sign on as barley bucks. Slow-minded Lennie had cost them their previous job. They are trying to earn money so they will be able to own their own ranch someday. Lennie has an obsession with petting small animals especially rabbits. George tells Lennie that he if he gets in any trouble he wont be able to tend the rabbits at the farm. George uses this as a bribe to keep Lennie out of trouble. Once they were hired, both George and Lennie went right to work. Later, as they waited for lunch to be served, Curley walked in, the ranch owner's son. He was there to look over the new men. After Curley had gone, Candy, the bunkhouse swamper, warned them about the young man. A former prizefighter, Curley tried to show how much of a man he was by picking on others. He was also an insecure husband, he became insanely jealous of anyone who even got near his wife. Seeming to sense that Curley would bring them trouble, Lennie now became agitated and nervous about the job, but with no money to fall back on, the pair was forced to continue working at the ranch in order to make enough money for their dream farm. On the third day at the ranch Lennie was in the farm playing with a puppy that Slim, another worker at the ranch, had given him. The rest of the men were in town. While he was in the barn Curley’s wife walked in. She began to show him how soft her hair was because he seemed to like the soft feel of the dog. He began to touch her hair and he couldn’t let go. She began to struggle and soon after she suffocated and died. After he realizd she was dead he panicked. He covered her body with some hay and then ran and hid in the brush like George had told him to do if he got in any trouble.