Of Mice and Men (Slim & Lennie)

Slim
1. Slim symbolises hope within the brutal society as he is one of the few that understands friendship and relationships with other people.This is shown through his interaction with George. Steinbeck uses the description of Slim to make him appear like he has a natural authority within the ranch without violence showing that there is hope for the future. He is Steinbecks mouth piece fo.r a omniscient character
2. Key quotes
  1. 'God-like'
  2. 'Prince of the ranch'
  3. 'His authority was so great his word would be taken on any subject'
  4. 'I can tell a mean guy from a mile off'
  5. 'A guy got to sometimes'
  6. 'Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of eachother'
  7. "good lookin"
3. Context
  1. At the beginning of the 1930s more than 15 million people were unemployed.
  2. The stock market crash of October 29, 1929 provided a dramatic end to an era of unprecedented, and unprecedentedly lopsided, prosperity.
  3. In 1929 millions of dollars was wiped out in an event known as the wall street crash, This led to the economic depression AKA the great depression that included poverty and unemployment.
  4. The troubles of the drought led to dead harvests and dry land, this led to workers moving in order to find jobs, and California was known as ' the land of plenty' - This relates to characters as ' why they just quit like any man would '
4. Theme of Friendship
  1. Slim came directly to George and sat down beside him, sat very close to him. "Never you mind," said Slim. "A guy got to sometimes."
    1. Slim and George had a close relationship as this was the first time George could be friends with an indervidual that can comprehend what he was saying unlike Lennie. Tack on another role for Slim: priest. He's essentially absolving George of the sin of murder here, saying that it was the right—i.e., the just—thing to do.
5. Theme of Justice
  1. Slim sighed. "Well, I guess we got to get him…"
    1. Crushing a man's hand under extreme provocation is one thing; killing a woman is another. Even Slim admits that Lennie has to be brought to some sort of justice—but not the justice that Curley wants, because that's no justice at all.
6. Relationships
  1. George
    1. I think that Slim serves as a priest- like character for George. The manner in which Steinbeck describes Slim is laudatory, something that allows the reader to see Slim the same way that George sees him.
  2. Curley's wife
    1. Slim does flirt with Curley’s wife, but not in a serious way. He seems to be on to her games. He is talented and well-respected. Physically, he is tall and has long, black hair and an ageless face. He moves “with a majesty achieved only by royalty and master craftsmen”
Lennie
1. Lennie symbolises the weak and how society had no time to understand how to help people like Lennie Small. He is a child-like figure which makes the reader feel empathy for him due to the tragic end showing how the toxic society led to Lennies unfortunate death.
2. Key quotes
  1. I was only foolin', George. I don't want no ketchup. I wouldn't eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me." "If it was here, you could have some."
  2. "If you don' want me I can g off in the hills an' find a cave. I can go away any time."
  3. Lennie cried out suddenly—"I don' like this place, George. This ain't no good place. I wanna get outa here."
  4. Lennie stared helplessly at his hands. "I forgot, George."
  5. "I’d pet ‘em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead—because they was so little. I wish’t we’d get the rabbits pretty soon, George. They ain’t so little."
3. Context
  1. In the 1930’s, the mentally disabled were seen as inferior to regular people by society. Most were put in asylums, institutions that supposedly helped cure mental illness, however these asylums seemed to do the complete opposite.
  2. Lennie is unaware of current events such as The Great Depression and therefore is not prepared for any eventualities.
4. Theme of friendship
  1. 'Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they're poundin' their tail on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to."
    1. It's hard out there for a ranchhand. Steinbeck seems to be saying that the loneliness is even worse than the poverty: like Lennie and George, you can bear a lot more if you have a friend.
  2. "I was only foolin', George. I don't want no ketchup. I wouldn't eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me." "If it was here, you could have some." "But I wouldn't eat none, George. I'd leave it all for you. You could cover your beans with it and I wouldn't touch none of it."
    1. Lennie may not be able to look out for George, but he does what he can for his friend—like give him all the imaginary ketchup.
5. Theme of Innocence
  1. Lennie cried out suddenly—"I don' like this place, George. This ain't no good place. I wanna get outa here."
    1. Lennie may not be book-smart but he has a kind of gut-instinct that makes him sensitive to bad vibes on the ranch. Too bad George, who's a relative genius compared to Lennie, doesn't listen.
6. Rlationships
  1. George
    1. Theirs is a symbiotic relationship. The two men are forced together by common necessity rather than genuine emotional attachment. Lennie, of course, depends entirely upon his long-time comrade, and the very thought of George abandoning him sends the childlike giant into a state of panic. It is evident from the start that Lennie could not possibly function in the harsh world that they inhabit without George, who holds his companion's work card and always does the talking for him.
  2. Crooks
    1. He only really meets Crooks once and after talking to each other for a bit, Crooks realises that Lennie is not very smart and uses him to talk about things he wouldn't usually talk about because he doesn't get company very often. He pretends that he does not really enjoy Lennie's presence although he is actually very happy because he is the only person who does not treat him like a lower person because he is black. Crooks does not exactly like Lennie but he enjoys the presence of being able to talk to someone and the fact that hes very nice.

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Of Mice and Men (Slim & Lennie)

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	Created by Lucy Andrews over 8 years ago