OF MICE AND MEN -

Themes
By themes, we refer to the ideas which the author is trying to explore with his/her readers. How did
you feel when you finished reading 'Of Mice and Men'? Were you sad or upset? If you can analyse
why you felt that way, then you will be part way towards understanding the important themes of the
novel.

Loneliness
Loneliness affects many of the characters, and Steinbeck seems to show that it is a natural and
inevitable result of the kind of life they are forced to lead.

The itinerant workers are caught in a trap of loneliness - they never stay in one place long enough
to form ___________________relationships. Even if such relationships existed, they would
probably be destroyed by the demands of the itinerant life.

Candy is lonely because he is old, and disabled. His only comfort is his old _____, which keeps
him company and reminds him of days when he was young and whole. He has no relatives, and
once his dog is killed is totally alone. He eagerly clutches at the idea of buying a farm with George
and Lennie, but of course this all comes to nothing. Candy's disappointment is expressed in the
bitter words he utters to the body of_________________, whom he blames for ruining his dream.

George is also caught in the trap of loneliness. Just as Candy has his dog for company, George
has Lennie (who is often described in animal-like terms). Continuing the parallel, George too is left
completely alone when __________is killed. The dream farm is his idea, and he says 'We'd belong
there ... no more runnin' around the country...'.

Another lonely character is Curley's wife. Newly married and in a strange place, she is
______________ by Curley to talk to anyone but him. To counter this, she constantly approaches
the ranch hands on the excuse of looking for Curley. The only result is that the men regard her as
a slut, and Curley becomes even more intensely __________. Finally, her loneliness leads to her
death as she makes the ' serious error of trying to overcome it by playing the tease with Lennie.

Curley himself is lonely. His new wife hates him as do all the ranch hands who despise him for his
cowardice. Perhaps he has married in an attempt to overcome his loneliness, but has blindly
chosen a wife totally inappropriate for the kind of life he leads. His feelings are all
_______________ into aggressive behaviour which further isolates his wife and leads to the
incident with Lennie where his hand is crushed.

Crooks is another who is isolated because he is different. He copes with it by keeping a

__________ between himself and the other hands. When he does allow himself to be drawn into
the dream of working on George and Lennie's dream farm, he ultimately realizes that as a black
man, he is even less likely to be able to realise his dream.
distance permanent channeled Lennie dog Curley's wife
forbidden jealous

Violence
The novel has many examples of a kind of needless violence. For example, early in the book
________ relates how the boss gave them whisky and allowed a fight to take place in the
bunkhouse.

Curley is the most obviously violent character, however, and whenever he appears there is a
feeling of ____________. He is described as ______________ when we first meet him, and
causes George to remark:'...what the hell's he got on his shoulder.'

Candy explains that Curley often picks on _____ guys ( a sure sign of trouble for Lennie). We are
prepared for Curley's later anger, which culminates at the end in his wish to: '... shoot him in the
guts.'

Carlson is another character associated with violence. He is unconcerned about killing Candy's
dog (and in fact _____________ cleans the gun in Candy's presence). He goads Curley,
threatening to '... kick your head off.' Later he is very keen to get his gun to join in the hunt for
Lennie. The last words in the book belong to Carlson, and it is little surprise that they reveal his
complete __________ to understand George's feelings about the death of Lennie.

Compared to the other characters, Lennie reveals an ___________ violence. He does not even
think to fight back when Curley attacks him, but when he does, it is with immense and
uncontrollable force. He has so little control over his own strength that he accidentally kills his
puppy, and then minutes later breaks the neck of Curley's wife. His actions on these occasions are
compared to those of an ____________, powerful but thoughtless. Ironically, Curley's wife is
attracted to him because of the violence/strength he had shown in _________ her husband's hand.

It is the __________ of violence to be used against Lennie that causes George to take the final
step of killing his friend.

Crushing Tension inability Candy unintentional big callously

pugnacious animal threat
Dreams
Dreams are one of the ways in which the characters combat the loneliness and hopelessness of
their existence.

The most obvious example is the dream ______, a dream shared at first only by George and
Lennie, but which later spreads to include Candy and Crooks.

Crooks reveals that it is the favourite dream of the itinerant ranch hands:'Seems like ever' guy got
land in his head.' It is a powerful dream, however, and even the ______ Crooks falls under its spell
for a short time. To Lennie, the dream is an _____________ to disappointment and loneliness, and
he often asks George to recite the description of the farm to him.

Curley's wife is another who has dreams, her fantasies of a part in the movies and a life of luxury.
Part of her ______________with her life is that it can never measure up to her dreams.

Significantly, none of the characters ever ___________ their dreams.

dissatisfaction realise Farm antidote cynical

Nature
Steinbeck shows the natural world to be beautiful and ______________, but threatened by the
actions of ________. There is an underlying tension between the natural world and the world of
men.

The beginning of the novel sets this pattern, as the creatures at the pool are disturbed by George
and Lennie's approach.

The ranch and its buildings, being created by men, are in contrast with the natural world. Notice
that the bunkhouse, for example, is quite bare and stark.

Even more unnatural is that Candy and Crooks are both ______________ or unnatural in
appearance.

Contrasted to these two characters is Lennie, who almost seems a part of the __________ world
as he is described in ______________ terms.

In fact, one of Lennie's dreams is to go and live by himself in a ________. Maybe this would be the
only way in which the natural world of Lennie would not come into ___________ with the world of
men.

Peaceful conflict deformed natural cave animal men