OF MICE AND MEN

SUMMARY NOTES
CHAPTER 1
The chapter begins with an introduction to George and Lennie
who are walking single file next to the Salinas River to the
town of Soledad where their new job awaits them. They had to
run away from their last job in the town of Weed because
Lennie got into some trouble by touching a girl’s dress. In this
chapter we learn that Lennie is mentally disabled. He likes to
imitate George; he can’t remember most things that he has
been told, except the story about the rabbits; and he loves to
pet soft things like mice--even if they are dead. George looks
after Lennie, but he gets irritated with Lennie at times. He tells
Lennie how much easier his life would be without Lennie but
then seems to feel guilty for saying so and changes his tone to
tell Lennie that he doesn’t really mean it. George and Lennie
are walking through the brush beside the river to get to their
new job because the bus driver dropped them off too early--
miles away from their final destination. They decide that
instead of getting to the ranch that evening like they were
supposed to, they will rest for the night and get there in the
morning. Before they eat their dinner and go to sleep that
night, Lennie asks George to tell him about the rabbits. George
tells Lennie all about their dream to own their own ranch and
“live of the fatta the lan.’” And Lennie gets to tend the rabbits
on that ranch.

CHAPTER 2
George and Lennie reach the ranch and inspect the bunk house
where they will be staying. There they meet Candy, the old
swamper, who is missing his right hand and who is constantly
followed by his old sheep dog. From Candy they learn about the
previous tenant, the boss; the boss’s son, Curley; Curley’s wife;
and the stable buck, Crooks. While in the bunk house our
protagonists also meet the boss, Curley, Curley’s wife, Slim,
and Carlson. When the boss meets George and Lennie, he
thinks they are up to something because George doesn’t let
Lennie talk. George talks his way out of it by making up an
excuse for Lennie’s mental deficiency and praising his ability to
work. In this chapter we learn that Curley is a mean little guy
who was a boxer and who is recently married. He doesn’t like
Lennie right away, supposedly because Lennie is bigger than
Curley. Curley’s wife is pretty and she is also a flirt. She shows
this when she visits the bunkhouse with the excuse of
searching for Curley. George has a bad feeling about both
Curley and his wife, and he tells Lennie to avoid them as much
as possible. When the other ranchers return from the fields for
dinner, Slim and Carlson enter the bunkhouse and introduce
themselves. Slim’s dog just had a litter of puppies the night
before. Carlson suggests that Slim give one of his puppies to
Candy so that they can get rid of the old dog who smells and
has many health problems. During this discussion, Lennie gets
excited and before going to dinner asks George to ask Slim for
one of his pups. George and Lennie are supposed to join Slim’s
team after dinner to return to the field and buck barley.

CHAPTER 3
It is early evening and everyone is returning to the bunkhouse
for the night. George and Slim develop a friendship. George
tells Slim why he and Lennie travel around together and about
Lennie’s mental deficiency. He explains that Lennie is strong
but not mean; he doesn’t even know his own strength. George
even explains that he used to play jokes on Lennie but that he
stopped because the last time Lennie almost drowned. And
George confides in Slim about what really happened in Weed to
force them to leave their last job. Slim gives Lennie one of his
pups. It has to stay in the barn with its mom until it gets
bigger, but Lennie tries to sneak it out. Carlson complains for
a long while about the stink produced by Candy’s dog and
finally convinces Candy to allow him to shoot the dog. Though
Candy protests, he cannot find anyone to back him up, so he
reluctantly gives in. Once the shooting finally happens, Candy
is despondent and the rest of the men try to continue playing
cards and carry on normally. A little while later, Slim leaves
the room to fix his horse’s shoe. Curley comes into the bunk
house looking for his wife and suspiciously suspects Slim of
being with her since he isn’t in the room. He runs off to the
barn to confront Slim and the rest of the ranchers--except
Lennie, George, and Candy-follow to see if there will be fight.
While the bunkhouse is virtually empty, George again tells
Lennie about the dream of owning a farm. When Candy hears
this, he gets excited and asks if he can be a part of it. He even
offers to contribute $350.00 which makes it possible for their
dream to become a reality. Everyone returns to the bunkhouse
including Curley. He is still confronting Slim, and Carlson makes
fun of him. He knows he can’t win in a fight against Slim or
Carlson, so he immediately picks on Lennie who he believes is
laughing at him. Lennie does not fight back while Curley beats
him

CHAPTER 4
It is Saturday night, and Crooks is all alone in his room.
Because everyone but Lennie and Candy went to town, Lennie
is bored and walks into the barn to see the puppies. Crooks
acts irritated, but eventually strikes up a conversation with
Lennie. During the conversation, Lennie tells Crooks about the
dream of owning a farm. Crooks doesn’t believe that it will ever
happen. He starts to question the relationship between George
and Lennie. During this conversation, Crooks asks Lennie what
he would do if George got hurt. Lennie gets very angry at the
thought of George being harmed. Seeing this and afraid that he
might get hurt by Lennie, Crooks tells him that George is fine.
A little later, Candy shows up to talk to Lennie about the
rabbits. Crooks again says that he has seen many men with the
same dream, and he says that they will not be able to buy the
farm because George is in town spending their money. But
Candy tells Crooks that their money is in the bank. Crooks
eventually buys into the dream and asks if he can join. He says
that he would work hard and for no pay. While the three are
talking, Curley's wifeshows up saying she is looking for Curley.
After Candy and Crooks make it clear that she shouldn’t be
there, she complains that no one will talk to her. She says that
she is bored and that Curley doesn’t spend time with her. She
says that when Curley does speak to her, he talks only about
fighting. Then, she remembers that Curley’s hand was
smashed. She asks the three what happened to it. Candy tells
her that Curley got it caught in a machine. She then looks at
Lennie and says that he was the machine. Candy asks her
many times to leave. He says that she will get them fired if she
doesn’t leave. Then Candy tells her that they need the money
because they are going to buy a ranch. She laughs at them and
their dream. Because they ask her to leave vehemently, she
attacks Crooks. She tells Crooks that she could get him
lynched. She finally leaves when she hears the men coming
back from town.. George shows up and finds out that Candy
had told Crooks about the dream. Because George shows his
distaste in having a black man involved in their dreams, Crooks
tells them to forget about his offer to help.
CHAPTER 5+6
The chapter begins with the men outside playing horseshoes
and Lennie sitting alone inside the barn. He is stroking his dead
puppy. He is angry at the puppy, yelling at it for biting him.
Lennie is worred that George will not let him tend the rabbits.
He buries it in the hay, but later he picks it up and strokes it
again. Then he throws it out of frustration. Curley's Wifecomes
in and asks Lennie about the animal. Lennie tells her that
George does not want him talking to her. But she goes on
talking to him. She tells him about her life before Curley and
about how she could have been an actress. Lennie tells
Curley’s wife that he likes to pet soft things. She tells him to
feel her hair. When he strokes her hair, she gets angry that he
is messing it up. Lennie becomes scared and holds on more
tightly as he had done to the girl’s dress in Weed. Curley’s wife
starts to yell, and Lennie covers her mouth and tells her not to
get him in trouble. She gets scared and resists even more,
which causes Lennie to accidentally kill her. He realizes that
she is dead, so he picks up the dead pup and leaves to hide in
the brush. Candy comes into the barn to talk to Lennie and
finds Curley’s wife. He goes out and gets George, who asks him
to give him a couple of minutes so the other men don’t think he
was involved. George goes to the bunkhouse. Once Curley sees
his dead wife, he says he will shoot Lennie in the guts. Carlson
goes to get his Luger, but on his return, he says that Lennie
must have stolen it. George tells Slim and the others that
Lennie probably went south. George realizes that his dream is
over. And he realizes that he must reach Lennie first. Before
George finds Lennie, we see Lennie talking to an imaginary
Aunt Clara. She yells at Lennie for always getting George into
trouble. She disappears and then a giant rabbit yells at Lennie.
George finds Lennie and tells him about owning the ranch. As
Lennie is looking across the water and listening to the story,
George pulls out Carlson’s Luger and shoots Lennie in the back
of the head.