Of Mice And Men Summary

The setting of the story is Soledad, California in the early 20th Century. It takes place near the Salinas River, in the bunkhouse, in the barn and in crooks room.

NEAR THE RIVER

Near the Salinas river is where George reminds Lennie of their dream. This the location that the exposition of the story takes place in and where readers can understand George and Lennie's background. It is also where the Climax takes place when George shoots Lennie. THE BUNK HOUSE

The bunkhouse is where Candy decides to join George and Lennie in getting the farm. It is also where the fight between Lennie and Curley takes place. Due to the enclosure of the bunk house and the secrecy provided by it these two events, which are a big part of the rising action, would

This ends up getting him into trouble for doing "a bad thing". He ends up getting himself and Lennie chased when he touches a woman's dress while it was on her. He also accidentally kills animals like mice and even a puppy because he is so strong and likes to pet those animals. Finally, when he touches Curley's wife's hair he ends up accidentally killing her too.

BONDS OF FRIENDSHIP

George and Lennie have a very strong friendship. George takes care of Lennie and takes him where he goes. He tries to keep Lennie from getting into trouble, but when he does, George helps him out. When Lennie gets chased for touching the woman's dress, George helps him get away. When Lennie kills Curley's wife

BURDENS OF FRIENDS

Sometimes friends can be a burden, George is encumbered by Lennie in Of Mice and Men. Lennie's mental issues can sometimes get in the way and are why they cannot get enough money to afford land of their own. Lennie gets them into trouble constantly, for example, getting them chased when Lennie touched a woman's dress.

GIVING IN TO PRESSURE

Lennie gives in to pressure from Curley's wife. He is told by George not to talk to Curley's wife but she ends up pressuring him into talking to her. She also pressures him to touch her hair which he then does and he accidentally kills her

CONTROL OVER

George is able to kill Lennie though because he is close to him and Lennie trusts him enough to look away from him, allowing George to shoot Lennie in the back of the head, killing him. We can see how the Luger is a symbol for how something that cannot usually do a lot of damage to someone, can do more damage with trust. RABBITS

The thought of being able to tend the rabbits is what keeps Lennie motivated to not get into trouble. Whenever he does something that he thinks is bad he asks if he still gets to tend the rabbits, because that is what he hopes he can do. The rabbits are a symbol for how motivation is found in hopes.

CANDY'S DOG

Candy's dog is old and seemingly useless. Carlson kills the dog because he thinks that it is useless and smells bad. When the dog dies Candy becomes very sad because he love his dog, the dog was actually useful in keeping Candy happy and being with him. Candy's dog is a symbol of how some things may seem useless but they are not.

The point of view of the story of Mice and Men is third person Omniscient. This means that the story is told from the view of an outsider with access to everything in the story. This allows readers to understand the book more thoroughly and gives us an understanding of everything important to the story without any bits or pieces