- Loneliness
Most chararcters have isolation and loneliness, for example George is always playing solitaire which is a one-player game, and also he becomes lonely after the killing of Lennie. Crooks is isolate being the inly black character as he is not allowed and is not welcome with the other ranch hands to play cards, so he has a lot of books in his room as that is his only form of entertainment. Candy is also lonely, especially after they shoot his dog as his dog was his companionship. Curley's wife is also lonely because she is always trying to seek attention and conversation, but no-body wants to talk to her.
- Dreams
George and Lennie have the main dream - the american dream of having their own plot of land, and Candy becomes a part of their dream. Curley's wife has a dream of becoming a movie star. But the main point is that these dreams never came true, especially the american dream which reflects 1930s America.
- Violence and Death
There is a lot of violence in the book - Curley is always trying to pick fights and there's the fight with Lennie. Lennis is strong, but he uses violence unintentionally or when George tells him to because she is not aware of his own strength. Carlson - shoots Candy's dog and there's a quote where he says to Curley that he will kick his head, cant remember the exact quote but i think its just before Curley's and Lennie's fight. Death - death of the mice and puppys that Lennie accidentally kills, the death of Candy's dog, and then of course the death of Curley's wife and Lennie.
- Authority
The Boss has authoirty 'The boss was expectin you last night'
Curley wears high-heeled points to gain status and authoirty
Silm is presented to have a lot of authority as people listen to him, advice from him and look up to him. There is also George who has authority over Lennie as he acts like a parental figure.
-Animals
Lennie is portrayed as animals throughout the novella - bear, ''master'', etc