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Chapter summaries in Of Mice and Men and key quotations (Chapter 2 (Candy,…
Chapter summaries in Of Mice and Men and key quotations
Chapter 1
Sets the scene and introduces the two main characters
Chapter 6 is also set in the location of Chapter 1
This makes the novel cynical
Main themes are introduced in this chapter
Loneliness and dreams
Lennie
"dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws"
"Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water"
"Lennie droned to himself softly"
This chapter just includes George and Lennie
George
"God a'mighty"
"First chance I get I'll give you a pup"
"The hell with what I says"
Chapter 2
Description of the bunkhouse shows the Spartan conditions
Minimal possessions
Characters enter as if coming on stage
All the main characters enter in the chapter
Irony - Just as Curley's wife enters for the first time, George reminds Lennie to go to the clearing
Candy
"tall, stoop-shouldered old man"
"I ain't got the poop no more"
"I had 'im ever since he was a pup"
Only companion
described through his dog
"drag-footed sheep dog, gray of muzzle, and with pale, blind old eyes."
Crooks
"God damn nigger"
"Stable buck"
Curley
"head of tightly curled hair"
tension - spring
"His arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists"
"His glance was at one calculating and pugnacious"
Said by Candy
Curley's wife
"Curley's married a tart"
Said by Candy
"She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up"
Fake - has to contort to society's expectations of a woman
"Nobody can blame a person for lookin'"
Lennie
"Lennie don't know no rules"
Said by George
unable to hide his emotions
"Lennie's eyes moved down over her body"
Childlike
"I never meant no harm George. Honest I never."
George
"George said brusquely"
"Look at me, you crazy bastard"
"George said shortly"
Chapter 3
George tells Slim about the events in Weed
Fight between Lennie and Curley foreshadows that Lennie has a strength that can't be controlled
Lennie
"He wore his blue denim coat over his shoulder like a cape"
"I'll break their God damn necks"
foreboding the breaking of Curley's wife's neck
Lennie referring to breaking the cat's necks
George
George spat on the floor disgustedly"
"You ain't done nothing wrong"
Curley
"flopping like a fish"
bears catch fish, Lennie caught Curley
"Curley's rage exploded"
"Curley was balanced and poised"
Candy
"He scratched the stump of his wrist nervously"
"Candy lay rigidly on his bed staring at the cieling"
"They give me two hundred an' fifty dollars 'cause I lost my hand"
Curley's wife
promiscuous
"She ain't concealin' nothing"
Whit says this
Crooks
"a lean negro head, lined with pain, the eyes patient"
Chapter 4
Lennie, Candy and Curley's wife enter Crooks' room
Crooks confides in Lennie about the dream
Curley's wife appears at that exact moment as if Steinbeck is reinforcing who will ruin their chances
Crooks
"Crook's pressed forward some kind of private victory"
"Crooks was a proud, aloof man"
"You got no rights coming in a coloured man's room"
ironic because Crooks has no rights
Candy
"Candy came in, but he was still embarrassed"
"Candy rubbed his cheek angrily"
Rubs his cheek and stump when he's nervous
"Candy leaned against the wall"
Permanent character or hard working
Curley's wife
"Maybe you just better go along an' roll your hoop"
Childish
Candy says this to her
"I could get you strung up on a tree so easy"
Vindictive - will use the power her status gives her
"They left all the weak ones here"
ironic because she's a weak one"
Lennie
"Lennie smiled helplessly in an attempt to make friends"
"Lennie watched her, fascinated"
Unable to hide his emotions
"Lennie looked up guiltily"
Chapter 5
Lennie breaks Curley's wife's neck
She tells Lennie about her hopes and dreams of being in the movies"
Candy realises that Curley's wife's death is the end of their dream
Candy
"he stopped, and his body stiffened"
"he rubbed his bristly whiskers with his wrist stump"
"he looked about helplessly, and he rubbed his beard"
Curley's wife
"I get awful lonely"
"her body flopped like a fish
"I coulda made somethin' of myself"
Lennie
"He pawed up the hay until it partly covered her"
Dogs cover up their waste - Curley's wife is Lennie's waste
Blames the puppy for dying
"Why do you got to get killed?"
"Lennie's fingers closed on her hair and hung on"
Hangs on to things when he's scared
George
"his face was as hard and tight as wood"
"I ain't gonna let 'em hurt Lennie"
father figure
Truly knows Lennie
"Lennie never done it meanness"
Chapter 6
George shoots Lennie
In the back of the head - same as Candy's dog and with the same gun
Beginning of chapter, Lennie has 'visions' of Aunt Clara and a giant rabbit who tell him off
Steinbeck's way of showing us the workings of Lennie's mind
George
Lennie