Chapter 1&2 Questions:



1. A: Lennie: He acts like a small child, with simple wants and actions, but his intentions are good

B: George: He's protective of Lennie and has a short temper and big dreams

C: Curly: Forms grudges easily and has the power and basic deviousness to get rid of his enemies

D: Slim: Insightful character, full of good advice and knows his way around

E: Carlson: Minor character, basically friendly

F: Candy: An old man who's tired of working hard

G: Crooks: He's proud and been discriminated against all his life. He's rough and blunt, but deep down he just wants a friend.



2. Why does Lennie like puppies, mice and rabbits?

Lennie likes them because he enjoys petting them. He likes soft things.



3. A: George met Lennie while visiting Aunt Clara

B: George feels that Lennie is getting in his way of his dream lige so he often gets angry and frustrated with Lennie's forgetfulness. However, deep down he is protective of Lennie and truly is his friend.

C: George takes care of Lennie because he made a promise to Aunt Clara, and also because Lennie has no one else so nobody else will take care of him.



4. George and Lennie's farm started off just with George telling Lennie a bedtime story of sorts to placate him, and symbolized Lennie's eternal innocence in believing fairy tales and George's initial frustration at Lennie for holding him back, and at first was a sort of cruel joke at Lennie's expense. However, as time went on, George found it so tempting that he began to believe it himself and the meanings behind it evolved into something more. It became their goal; their pot of gold at the end of a long, trying rainbow and it really became their essential drive to keep going, though times were tough. It also showed how George spites the average guy who just travels around for nothing, and it helped him set himself apart from them, made him proud of himself. More than any of that, however, the farm exposed how George is vaguely jealous of Lennie in that he retained his child-like innocence and hope while it had diead in George, as it is apt to do in adults. The farm gave George a flicker of that old hope that maybe, just maybe, dreams can come ture. I don't know, maybe I'm searching too far into it, but of one thing I'm sure; the farm symbolized their hope for a better future and their pathway to freedom whilst the world stayed in shackles. It was faith.



Chapter 3&4 Questions

1. Why doesn't Candy want to kill his dog?
Because he loves his dog. He’s had him since he was a puppy and he’s experienced the bond between man and dog. It runs very deep.

Are Candy’s feelings understandable? Have you ever felt very attached to an old or sick animal that had to be put to sleep? Explain your feelings.
I’ve never had a pet put to sleep, but I have two dogs and I would HATE to see them killed. I completely understand Candy’s feelings.

Why does Candy say later on that he should have shot his dog himself and not let a stranger do it
It feels wrong for someone who doesn’t love the dog to be with it in its last moments.

2. Why did Curley pick on Lennie?
Because he is a small person and he doesn’t want people to assume they can push him around because of it.

Describe Curley’s main problem in your opinion.
He believes everyone that is big is also mean and he doesn’t accept that someone can be both big and kind.

Why didn’t Lennie fight back at first when Curley hit him?
George told him not to fight Curley and he is unswervingly obedient to George.

What happened to Curley as a result of picking on Lennie?
He had his hand crushed, and he also had his pride crushed because he had never been beaten before.

3. How does Crooks react to Lennie’s appearance at the door of his room?
He was both amazed someone came in and grateful for the company. Also, he was angry and vented his feelings about white people.

Crooks says people at the ranch don’t like him because...
Because he is black, thus lower in society, and a “cripple,” thus seen as not worthy of their presence.

Crooks invites Lennie to stay and talk with him because he has been lonely his entire life and he takes advantage of his chance to talk when it comes around.


Chapters 5 & 6

1. What things does Lennie do or say that show he is mentally retarded? List at least 3 specific acts or incidents.
He obviously forgets things very often and isn't good at figuring. He acts like a child when he should have passed childhood many years ago.

A. Is George’s treatment of Lennie fair?
Not when they started hanging together; then he treated him terribly. Now, however, he is as fair as he can be, under the circumstances.

B. Is George’s treatment of Lennie understandable? Explain.
I believe George did the best he could in that time period.

C. Could he have helped him more? How?
I think he did all he could for Lennie.

3. How do these characters treat Lennie and why? Give one incident for each that shows his/her treatment of Lennie.

A. Candy: He talks to Lennie because he is old and nobody else will listen to him (with the exception of Slim and George). Everyone else don't think much of an old person, but Lennie listens to him anyway.

B. Curley’s wife: She talks to him because he is the only person who will talk to her, and she doesn’t have to worry about being embarrassed.

C. Crooks: He talks to Lennie because he is lonely and has been alone for a long time, thus he jumps at a chance to socialize.

What do they all have in common? (Why do they all talk to him?)
The reason they all talk to him is for the same reason people write in diaries or talk to thier dog or a very small child... or just to themself. They do it because they have thoughts and feelings they want to get out (bottling things up is not healthy) and they won't have to worry about being judged or tattled on if they're talking to someone like Lennie.

4. Why does Lennie kill the puppy and later the girl?
He kills the puppy because it tried to bite him, and he killed the girl because he got scared.

5. Do you think Lennie had to be shot? What were some other alternatives? What would have happened to Lennie if George hadn’t shot him?
I don’t think it was the best thing to do. However, there weren’t any other alternatives; if George hadn’t killed Lennie, Curley would have made it painful for him.

6. How is the killing of Lennie similar to the killing of Candy’s dog? Why do you think George killed Lennie himself instead of letting the men do it?
I go more in-depth about the dog’s symbolism in the animal symbolism section. George did it because if Curley had got to him, he’d make it painful. Also, Lennie didn’t have time to be scared and didn’t see it coming.