FREE ESSAY ON OF MICE AND MEN SUMMARY

OF MICE AND MEN SUMMARY

Summary
John Steinbeck wrote the book Of Mice & Men in 1937 during the Great Depression. The book
is about the lives of two men who travel from job to job working on ranches and farms.
These two main characters are George Milton and Lennie Small. George is a short, slight
man and Lennie is a large, mildly retarded man. George looks out for Lennie and in return
George gets companionship and protection from Lennie. The other characters in the book
(all on a ranch near Soledad) are Candy, a "swamper" or handyman, Crooks, a black stable
buck, Slim, the jerkline skinner, Curley, the boss's son, and Curley's new young wife. 
Of Mice & Men starts out with George and Lennie walking from the bus stop to the ranch
where they have a new job. On their way to the ranch George instructs Lennie on how to
act with their new boss so they don't lose this job, like they lost their previous one.
They decide to camp next to a pool of water. They discuss how they are going to spend the
money they earn to buy land and start their own farm. They sit by the fire and talk about
this dream. George tells Lennie to come back to this camp place if he gets into trouble
like he did in the last town. They make their beds next to the fire and go to sleep. 
The next morning George and Lennie walk the rest of the way to the ranch. They get
settled into the bunkhouse and make friends with Candy, who gave them their bed
assignments. The boss's son, Curley, comes in looking for his wife and harasses Lennie,
even though George tries to answer all Curley's questions. According to Candy, "Curley's
like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big
guys. Kind of like he's mad at 'em because he ain't a big guy."(49) George and Lennie
also meet Curley's wife. "She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made
up. Her fingernails were red."(57) George and Lennie work that afternoon on the ranch and
Slim, the jerkline skinner who handles the draft animals at the ranch, is impressed with
how strong Lennie is and how much barley he can buck compared to other men. 
Candy hears George and Lennie talking about the place they are going to get and wants to
go in with them. George agrees to let him, because Candy has almost enough money saved
up. They all start to believe they can really obtain their dream. 
Curley enters the bunkhouse looking for his wife. He suspects she is with Slim and when
he finds she is not, the men give Curley a bad time about his wife. Curley catches Lennie
smiling, and thinks Lennie is laughing at him. He attacks Lennie but Lennie tries to
retreat and just stands there and takes it as Curley hits him. Finally George yells "Get
him, Lennie," (111) so Lennie grabs Curley's hand and doesn't let go. When Lennie finally
lets go of Curley's hand it is crushed. To save Lennie, Slim threatens Curley and he
agrees to tell everyone that he caught his hand in a piece of machinery to save face. 
Slim's dog had puppies and Slim gives Lennie a puppy that Lennie can't leave alone.
Lennie is always out in the barn petting his puppy and one time he goes into Crook's
room, which is off the barn. Crooks is the old black "stable buck." Crooks tells Lennie
no one is allowed in his room, but Lennie doesn't understand and comes in and talks to
Crooks anyway. Candy comes into the barn looking for Lennie and finds Lennie with Crooks.
Lennie and Candy talk about their plans and Crooks asks if he can work for them. Crooks
wants in on the dream too.
Later, when Lennie is playing in the barn with his puppy again, the puppy nips at Lennie,
so he slaps and kills it by accident. Lennie worries that he will never get to tend the
rabbits, as George has been promising. He lays the puppy down and covers him up with hay
but then he wants to feel the soft puppy again, so he uncovers it and begins to stroke
it. Curley's wife comes in to the barn and startles Lennie. He quickly covers it up
again, hoping that she won't notice the dead puppy, but it's too late. She comforts
Lennie by telling him that the dog was only a mutt and not to worry. Lennie feels much
better and decides that he can talk to her. Lennie tells her about his obsession with
soft things and she tells him how insane she was for marrying Curley. She lets Lennie
feel her hair, but Lennie gets out of control and she starts to scream. He tries to tell
her to stop but she doesn't listen. He covers her mouth and shakes her so violently that
it breaks her neck. Lennie lays her down and covers her with hay. He runs through the
woods to the hiding place. Candy discovers Curley's wife and gets George. George goes
into the bunkhouse and gets Carlson's Lugar pistol while Candy tells the men what he's
found. The men form search parties and go after Lennie. They are planning to kill Lennie
when they find him.
While Lennie is waiting for George, he starts to hear his Aunt Clara telling him that he
has ruined George's life and a big rabbit telling him that he will never get to tend the
rabbits. George hears him and finds Lennie mumbling about the rabbits. George tells
Lennie that it is going to be all right. Lennie wants George to tell him about their
plans the way he has done one hundred times before. George tells Lennie to look across
the river so he can see the little place they're going to get. George hears the mob
coming and he distracts Lennie so he won't hear the men coming. George starts to tell
Lennie about their place as he pulls out the gun and aims it at Lennie's head. He raises
the gun and shoots Lennie in the back of the head because he knows that the mob of men
will torture Lennie. The mob of men hear the shot and come running. They congratulate
George for killing Lennie. Both George and Slim feel bad, but they both know it was
better for Lennie. The others don't even realize what is bothering them.