Mice and Men

- Of Mice and Men – Chapter 2 questions

1. George and Lennie arrived at the ranch at ten o’clock in the morning local time due to there night in the wilderness. 2. Candy is the old handyman, aging and left with only one hand as the result of an accident, worries that the boss will soon declare him useless and demand that he leave the ranch. Of course, life on the ranch—especially Candy’s dog, once an impressive sheep herder but now toothless, foul-smelling, and brittle with age—supports Candy’s fears. Past accomplishments and current emotional ties matter little, as Carson makes clear when he insists that Candy let him put the dog out of its misery. In such a world, Candy’s dog serves as a harsh reminder of the fate that awaits anyone who outlives his usefulness. Like George, Candy clings to the idea of having the freedom to take up or set aside work as he chooses. 3. In his bindle, George possesses a few things for his day to day cleanliness really, a razor, bar of soap, his comb, his liniment, a bottle of pills and a leather wristband. I seems to me these are the things that George only possesses which back then was normal for a freelance worker 4. The boss of the ranch was annoyed at first with George and Lennie as they were supposed to be reporting for work duties earlier on that day. Once the pair told why they were late arriving, the boss seemed to calm a bit. 5. The boss is a stocky, well-dressed man in charge of the ranch, and Curley’s father. He is never named and appears only once, but seems to be a fair-minded man. Candy happily reports that the boss once delivered a gallon of whiskey to the ranch-hands on Christmas Day. 6. Crooks is a lively, sharp-witted, black stable-hand, who takes his name from his crooked back. Like most of the characters in the story, he admits that he is extremely lonely. When Lennie visits him in his room, his reaction reveals this fact. At first, he turns Lennie away, hoping to prove a point that if he, as a black man, is not allowed in white men’s houses, then whites are not allowed in his, but his desire for company ultimately wins out and he invites Lennie to sit with him. 7. See question 5! Talk about repeating the question! 8. The boss of the ranch seems suspicious at first of George as he seems to want to answer all the questions on behalf of Lennie. When he enquires more about their past, Goerge seems reluctant to let Lennie answer for himself which makes the boss more suspicious, but once George and Lennie settle their story out he seems to relax a bit. 9. George gets angry with Candy in this chapter as just as George and Lennie were discussing their problems at the previous ranch, Candy hobbled in. George presumed Candy heard everything the two men were saying, 10. Curley is the boss’s son; Curley wears high-heeled boots to distinguish himself from the field hands. Rumoured to be a champion prize-fighter, he is a confrontational, mean-spirited, and aggressive young man who seeks to compensate for his small stature by picking fights with larger men. Recently married, Curley is plagued with jealous suspicions and is extremely possessive of his flirtatious young wife 11. Curley tries to pick a quarrel with Lennie when Lennie hesitates to speak up. Curley is angry that Lennie doesn’t answer his questions directly, assuming maybe that Lennie is arrogant perhaps 12. George instantly gets on Lennie’s back about his altercation with Curley, telling him to end it straight way if Curley starts getting heavy with him. Take him out quickly to get the message across that he can’t mess about like theat with them. 13. Curleys wife is The only female character in the story, Curley’s wife is never given a name and is only mentioned in reference to her husband. The men on the farm refer to her as a “tramp,” a “tart,” and a “looloo.” Dressed in fancy, feathered red shoes, she represents the temptation of female sexuality in a male-dominated world. Steinbeck depicts Curley’s wife not as a villain, but rather as a victim. Like the ranch-hands, she is desperately lonely and has broken dreams of a better life. 14. George tells Lennie to have absolutely nothing to do with Curley’s wife. He re-iterates this constantly to get the message across to Lennie, especially after the incident with the female in Weed. 15. Slim seems to be a highly skilled mule driver and the acknowledged “prince” of the ranch, Slim is the only character who seems to be at peace with himself. The other characters often look to Slim for advice. For instance, only after Slim agrees that Candy should put his decrepit dog out of its misery does the old man agree to let Carlson shoot it Slim possesses a quiet competence that earns him the respect of everyone on the ranch. Like Curley, Slim stands as an authority figure. The men on the ranch look to him for advice, and, later, even Curley will deliver an uncharacteristic apology after wrongly accusing Slim of fooling around with his wife. Slim’s authority comes from his self-possession; he needs neither the approval nor the failure of others to confirm his stature. 16. Slim seems a quiet, insightful man, Slim alone seems to understand the nature of the bond between George and Lennie. He respects them for having their own future ranch plans and treats them with the respect any working man deserves. 17. Carlson wants Slim to kill Candy’s old dishevelled dog and replace him with one of the new pups that have been born. 18. Lennie gets really excited at the fact there are new-born pups, and the possibility of him taking one of the pups to raise on his own further adds to his excitement.