CHARACTER ANALYSIS

George

George is the second main character and one of the protagonist after Lennie in Of Mice and Men. When Lennie gets into trouble, He always helps him find a solution or get away, though Lennies size combined with his mental handicap caused problems frequently. He is also a planner, telling Lennie where he should go if there is trouble on the ranch. To make the dream which is owing a ten-acre farm becomes a reality, Hes competent to work hard. Unlike the other ranch hands that squander their money on women and drink, George refuses to spend a dime in vain, saving everything to make the dream happen. He wants to buy the farm so that he and Lennie can live there, free from problems and constraints caused by society. Sometimes George is portrayed as a short-tempered, for he gets frustrated with Lennies slowness. Several times George thinks about what he could do if Lennie were not around, but it was only momentary thoughts. Because of Georges concern so much about Lennie, he cant allow him to die brutally at the hands of Curley and the angry ranch hands. After painting the picture of the farm in Lennies mind one last time, he takes Carlsons pistol and mercifully shoots his friend, in a totally selfless act of kindness. It was a terribly difficult thing for George to do. In the ending, Steinbeck shows us the feeling lost and alone of George without his faithful companion and without a dream to keep him going. Proofs :

The first man sharp, strong features. (Ch.1 p.19) So you forgot thata crazy bastard! [shows his temper, impatient, bullies
Lennie] (Ch.1 p.21)

 Guys like us they dont belong no place & with us it aint like that.. that
give a damn about us [shows hes a thinker related when he compares their relationship to other lonely soul. By having their dream, make them different] (Ch.1 p.31-2)

Hes my cousin [indicated that he really cares for Lennie, lies for him
though hes in mad] (Ch.2 p.44)

You was pokin nosey. [show his protective yet defensive] (Ch.2 p.45) Hide till I come for you say that over. [hes such a protective, clever, and
able to sense danger] (Ch.2 p.52)

Lennie

Lennie is Georges friend and companion consistently, who is mentally dumb and always depend on George in difficult situations. His childlike innocence allows him to take an active role in George's dream of owning a farm. Lennie loves soft things and animals which he accidentally kills because of possesses incredible physical strength without realize or understand his own strength. George is the apple of Lennies eyes for his kind caretaker, almost like a god. According to Lennie, George is totally kind, faithful, and good. He tries hard to remember everything George tells him to do and obeys him implicitly without asking any questions. Even though Lennie didnt know how to swim, he jumped in a river one time when George jokingly told him to do so. He constantly dreams of raising soft rabbits to be his pets on the farm. He senses that there are problems on the ranch and with Curley and begs George to take him away to the farm. At the end of the story, when he and George talk by the stream, Lennie again senses trouble and begs George to get the farm quickly. When George pulls the trigger, Lennie is dreaming about the farm and the rabbits

Proofs :

Lennie, who had been.. imitated George exactly. [copies George} (Ch.1
p.20-1)

Lennie droned.. I aint gonna say nothin. [a childlike style, cannot

remember] (Ch.1 p.24)

Go on, George.. rabbit & it aint no lie. Were gonna do it. Gonna get a
little place an live on the fatta the lan, [Lennies dream] (Ch. 1 p.31 & Ch.4 p.101)

Lennie sat in the barn and looked at the little dead puppy.. & Lennie began
to cry.. tend no rabbits. [uncontrolled power/doesnt know his own strength. The first clue indicated the foreshadowing] (Ch.5 p.120 & p.121)

Crooks

Crooks (named for his crooked back, from being kicked by a horse ) is the old stable hand who works with the ranch horses. He lives by himself because he is the only black man on the ranch. Victim of racial prejudice and unequal treatment, as a result he is now suspicious of any kindness he receives. Though Crooks was born in California, he is still always made to feel like an outsider, even in his home state Maybe because of his color skin keeps him separate in this culture. Lennie shows up in his room uninvited and Crooks frightens him into thinking George isn't coming back. He continues until Lennie threatens to hurt him. Crooks is intrigued by Lennie's plan to own a farm until Curley's wife enters and breaks his spirit by saying disgusting comments that the black man right back into his "place" as inferior to a white woman. Crooks refuses to say the woman is wrong. Instead, he accepts the fact that he lives with ever-present racial discrimination. He deny what the other men, by saying he

had "forgotten himself" because theyd treated him so well. It seems Crooks defines his own notion of himself not based on what he believes hes worth, but on knowing that no matter how he feels, others around him will always value him as less. Proofs :

Fight at Xmas [seen as a lower] (Ch.2 p.41) The boss gives him hell when hes mad [shows he as a victim] (Ch2 p.41) The door opened quietly.. a lean negro head, lined with pain, the eye
patient. [Crooks description] (Ch.3 p.77)

I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it aint funny. [Curleys wife
uses societys prejudices to put Crooks down] (Ch.4 p.113)

Member what I said.. jus foolin. [mentally down by Curleys wife

humiliating words] (Ch.4 p.116)

Curleys wife

A pretty, lonely women who dreams of being a film star but but the man who was supposed to help her get in the movies failed her. We never learn her name. She is a coarse, vulgar woman who wears too much make-up and flirts with every ranch hand. She has married Curley only because she had no other offers. Characters in the novel refer to her as a tart and a tramp. Like all the characters on the ranch, other than Lennie and George, Curleys wife feels very lonely and isolated. It is her loneliness and her flirtatious ways that lead her to her death. She sits beside Lennie in the barn, even though he protests against it. Then she asks him to stroke her hair. It is a fatal mistake for her, because Lennie cannot be gentle. When she screams out of fear for his strength, Lennie panics. He covers her mouth and shakes her to be quiet; in the process he breaks her neck.

Proofs :

A girl was standing.. nasal, brittle quality [her full description] (Ch.2 p.53) Well, I a tart. [Candy has a lower opinion of her flirting] (Ch.2 p.49-50) Im glad you bust Curley up Id like to bust him myself. [disillusioned
with marriage] (Ch.4 p.114)

You bindle bums.. he could put me in pitchers. [her dream = film star]
(Ch.4 p.111)

I get so lonely.. howd you like not to talk to nobody. [indicated an

isolation] (Ch.5 p.122-3)

Curley

He is the confrontational, mean-spirited boss's son who picks on Lennie (until Lennie crushes his hand in a fight). He has been married a fortnight. Curley symbolizes the bullying of the weak by the privileged. To make up for his small size, he became an angry ex-boxer who is always ready to pick a fight. He is overly possessive of his wife and suspects that every man on the ranch desires her. Though he seems to love his wife, he is an immoral character, visiting brothels on Saturday nights. When Lennie accidentally kills Curleys wife, her husband shows no mercy. He quickly organizes a search party to look for Lennie and promises to kill him immediately. Ironically, George stands in the way of Curleys being able to get his revenge, for he mercifully kills Lennie to save him from Curleys wrath and a brutal death. Proofs :

He glanced coldly.. calculating and pugnacious. & Curley lashed.. getting

into it for? [act of aggressive] (Ch.2 p.46 & 47)

 Curleys like a lot of little guys.. he aint a big guy. [a fighter, a threat to
Lennie. To build a tension] (Ch.2 p.51)

Curleys burst into room.. seen my wife? he demanded. [feels insecure of

his wife and her status] (Ch.3 p.80)

Candy

An elderly man who has lost one hand in an accident on the ranch. After his only companion, a dog, which is not only old and crippled but also stinks and blind is dead, he latches on to George and Lennie's dream of owning their own farm and offers to donate his life saving to become a part of it in order to live his last days with a feeling of peace and belonging. He instinctively knows who has killed Curleys wife and what will happen to Lennie. As he realizes there will not be a farm without Lennie, His eyes are blinded with tears. He is left only with the reality of his lonely and isolated existence on the ranch. Candy from Of Mice and Men symbolizes the mass of men who cannot retire but are no longer able to work. Proofs :

At last.. and stared at the ceiling [very sad about his deaths dog but has no
power] (Ch.3 p.74)

I didnt hear nothing.. nor he dont ast no questions. [Willing to please, a

loner] (Ch.2 p.45)

What we gonna do now, George? [passive, looks for guidance, a follower]

(Ch.5 p.131)

Slim

Slim is a respected mule-driver. He is antithesis of Curley; Slim is a tall, thoughtful man, a natural leader, and an expert worker who everyone looks up to. As a result, he is treated with respect on the ranch. Steinbeck portrays him as a thinker, His ears heard more than was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought. He is quite surprised to see the loyalty and companionship of George and Lennie and comments, Aint many guys travel around together, I dont know why. May be everybody in the whole damn world is scared of each other. He is a good judge of people and quickly understands, that in spite of his size, Lennie aint mean. When Lennie crushes Curleys hand, it is Slim who convinces him not to tell anyone about his fight with Lennie. He is also the only one to understand why George has shot Lennie at the end of the novel and reassures him that he had to do it. He then insists upon taking George into town and buying him a drink. The proofs are in the italic, heres another :

You guys.. confidence without demanding it. [not a judgmental person and
good listener] (Ch.2 p.57)

Slim neither encourage.. receptive. [trustworthy person. Example : George

confide in him] (Ch.3 p.65)

Guys dont come into a colored guys room very much. Nobody been here
but Slim. [lack of prejudice] (Ch.4 p.107)

Slim came directly.. very close to him. [understand, protects George, and
respect him] (Ch.6 p.148)

Carlson - A ranch-hand, Carlson complains bitterly about Candys old, smelly dog. He convinces Candy to put the dog out of its misery. When Candy finally agrees, Carlson promises to execute the task without causing the animal any suffering. Later, George uses Carlsons gun to shoot Lennie.

The Boss - The stocky, well-dressed man in charge of the ranch, and Curleys 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.

Aunt Clara - Lennies aunt, who cared for him until her death, does not actually appear in the novel except at the end, as a vision chastising Lennie for causing trouble for George. By all accounts, she was a kind, patient woman who took good care of Lennie and gave him plenty of mice to pet.

Whit - A ranch-hand.