Of Mice and Men Plot Structure

Rising Action

Falling Action

Of Mice and Men Plot Structure

Curley's wife lets Lennie stroke her hair. "'Feel right aroun' there an' see how soft it is'" (99).

Candy finds Curley's wife's dead body and shows it to George. "'What's the matter with her?" he asked. He stepped closer, and then he echoed Candy's words" (102).

Rising Action

Falling Action

Curley began to fight Lennie, but Lennie wouldn't fight back until George finally told him to fight back. "Get him, Lennie. Don't let him do it"'(69). Lennie grabbed Curley's fist and broke many of the bones in his hand.

Curley's wife finds the dead puppy that Lennie had hidden. "'Why, he's dead," she cried" (95).

George and Candy realize Lennie killed her, but George decided that they need to show the rest of the workers. "'Guess... we gotta tell the...guys"' (104).

Rising Action

Candy joined George and Lennie in their quest to buy a ranch. "'Don't tell nobody about it. Jus' us three an' nobody else"' (67).

Climax

Rising Action

Lennie accidentally kills the puppy that Slim gave to him. "Lennie said softly to the puppy, "Why do you got to get killed'" (93).

Rising Action

Falling Action

George

Carlson shot Candy's dog because it was only going to suffer more. He shot him in the back of the head, so it would be quick and painless."'He won't even feel it"' (53).

Once Lennie began to stroke Curley's wife's hair he became entranced with the softness of it. Lennie begins to stroke it too hard, which upsets Curley's wife and causes her to yell. Lennie, fearing that George will find out and won't let him tend the rabbits anymore, covers her mouth and begins to struggle with her. The more Curley's wife yelled the angrier Lennie became. "'Don't you go yellin'," he said, and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck" (100). This is the climax of the story because it was the point where everything began to change. As soon as Lennie killed Curley's wife their dream of buying their own ranch seems not likely to ever happen. This is also the event that causes the story to end how it did.

The rest of the guys at the ranch send out a search party to look and most likely kill Lennie. "'Don't shoot 'im?" Curley cried. "He got Carlson's Luger. 'Course we'll shoot 'im"' (107).

George is a small, short-tempered migrant worker. He is the best friend and traveling companion of Lennie and is always looking after him.

Rising Action

Curley's wife was messing with Lennie because she knew he was the one who got into a fight with Curley. "O.K., Machine. I'll talk to you later'" (88).

Rising Action

Falling Action

Rising Action

Lennie

George finds Lennie at the pool of water that he told him to go to if he ever got in trouble. "George came quietly out of the brush..." (113).

Lennie and George met Curley who immediately did not like Lennie."'He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys"' (29).

George and Lennie arrive at the bunk house. Once they arrive they meet with the boss who is already suspicious of Lennie and George's relationship.

Lennie is a very large man who is gentle, but tends to hurt things unintentionally. He is the best friend and traveling companion of George.

Resolution

Setting

They're at a ranch in Salinas, California.

Rising Action

Curley

Falling Action

Curley is a very small and feisty man who has a tendency to get into fights, especially with those who are bigger. He is the son of the boss.

After much contemplation and struggle with the gun behind Lennie's head, George finally pulled the trigger. The bullet almost immediately killed Lennie. I think that this was an act of kindness because George did it so that Lennie would be in the least amount of pain possible. George didn't want someone else to do it because they wouldn't have made it so Lennie was in a comfortable situation and not scared when he died. He also probably wanted to do it because he could make sure that Lennie was killed in a way where he wouldn't feel anything.George knew that Lennie's life was just going to get more miserable if he let him live. He knew that Lennie would be better off dying peacefully than having to go through the punishments he would've recieved if he was kept alive.

George and Lennie arrive in Salinas, California, but the bus driver who took them left them 10 miles from their destination. "'...damn near four miles, that's what it was! Didn't wanta stop at the ranch gate, that's what"' (4).

George begins to talk about the ranch they're planning to get with Lennie. As they are talking George is struggling to hold up Carlson's gun at the back of Lennie's head. "George raised the gun and his hands shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again" (116).

Conflict

Aunt Clara

Why Do Some Want it Banned?

Why Do We Still Read This Novella?

What Does This Novella Reveal About the Life of a Migrant Worker?

Aunt Clara is Lennie's aunt who appears in a hallucination of Lennie's.

George and Lennie are trying to buy a small ranch of their own, but are struggling with getting the money. "'Someday-we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little hous and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pig and-"..." (15).

Curley's Wife

Curley's wife is a very lonely and sad woman who just wants company. She is thought to be a tart and does not like her husband.

Candy

Some people want to ban this book because of the profanity and the intense situations that occur during this book. There is a large amount of profanity used in this book especially when someone who is considered to be in a higher social class talks to those in the lower social classes. This is shown when Curley's wife is being racist towards Crooks and disrespectufl to Candy and Lennie. The other reason people give for banning this book is the intense situatuion, like the one at the end of the book when George shoots Lennie. People think that this isn't something to show to children because of how grotesque the thought of shooting your best friend is.

This novella reaveals how tough and lonely the lives of migrant workers were. These workers are constanly moving from ranch to ranch, trying to make the little money they get from working there. They are also always in the fear of getting fired or even worse, hurt. An example of this is Candy, who lost his hand, because once he isn't able to work anymore he will just be fired without grievance. Another struggle they went through was lonliness because they are always moving from place to place and traveling alone.

Candy is a kind, old man who isn't afraid to stand up for himself. He is tired of being a migrant worker.

We still read this novella today because it provides a important insight on how life was for many during the Great Depression. The Great Depression is a very important part of our country's history because it changed many things in our country. This novella mainly focuses on the people that became migrant workers during the Great Depression. The main characters in this book, Lennie and George, are both migrant workers. This book shows how the migrant workers were treated and how tough life was for them. This book also shows the discrimination that blacks and migrant workers faced during this time period. An example of the discrimination they faced was when the bus driver wouldn't drive them to the ranch.

Carlson

Carlson is a big, stubborn migrant worker. He is not afraid to speak his mind and is willing to do the dirty work others aren't.

Crooks

Slim

The Boss

Crooks is a black man with a crooked spine who works as a stable buck at the ranch. He can be a bully at times, but it stems from his loneliness.

Slim is a tall man who acts as the leader of the migrant workers at the ranch. He is very friendly and welcoming to the other workers.

He is the owner of the ranch and doesn't trust George. He can be a very nice person on certain occasions.