of mice n men

 Point of View / Narrator 

Characterisation 

Language 

Setting

 Imagery, 

Motif and Symbolism: Lennie's Downfall
Chekov's gun:foreshadowing:  hide here in the brush.
curley's wife means trouble. 

The killing of candy's dog: symbolisms

“He’s a nice fella,” said Slim. “Guy don’t need no sense to be a nice fella. Seems to me sometimes it jus’ works the other way around. Take a real smart guy and he ain’t hardly ever a nice fella.” George stacked the scattered cards and began to lay out his solitaire hand. The shoes thudded on the ground outside. At the windows the light of the evening still made the window squares bright. “I ain’t got no people,” George said. “I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain’t no good. They don’t have no fun. After a long time they get mean. They get wantin’ to fight all the time.” 

George said, “I seen a guy in Weed that had an Airedale could herd sheep. Learned it from the other dogs.” (was trying to justify and throw a red herring, doesn't want to face this particular conflict.) 
Carlson was not to be put off. “Look, Candy. This ol’ dog jus’ suffers hisself all the time. If you was to take him out and shoot him right in the back of the head—” he leaned over and pointed, “—right there, why he’d never know what hit him.”

Candy looked about unhappily. “No,” he said softly. “No, I couldn’t do that. I had ‘im too long.”“He don’t have no fun,” Carlson insisted. “And he stinks to beat hell. Tell you what. I’ll shoot him for you. Then it won’t be you that does it.”Candy threw his legs off his bunk. He scratched the white stubble whiskers on his cheek nervously. “I’m so used to him,” he said softly. “I had him from a pup.”
“Well, you ain’t bein’ kind to him keepin’ him alive,” said Carlson.

George chuckled, “I bet Lennie’s right out there in the barn with his pup. (Take note of Lennie's absence) He won’t want to come in here no more now he’s got a pup.” Slim said, “Candy, you can have any one of them pups you want.” Candy did not answer. The silence fell on the room again. It came out of the night and invaded the room. George said, “Anybody like to play a little euchre?” “I’ll play out a few with you,” said Whit. They took places opposite each other at the table under the light, but George did not shuffle the cards. He rippled the edge of the deck nervously, and the little snapping noise drew the eyes of all the men in the room, so that he stopped doing it. 

Whit broke out, “What the hell’s takin’ him so long? Lay out some cards, why don’t you? We ain’t going to get no euchre played this way.”

George brought the cards together tightly and studied the backs of them. The silence was in the room again. 

euchre: a social game. before then, when Lennie was in George's mind, he played solitaire. Now Lennie is out. Candy's dog is about to get shot, and he prepares to lay out euchre, but stalls and only does so when the dog is dead.
Dog: burden but still man's best friend: (Lennie)

A shot sounded in the distance. The men looked quickly at the old man. Every head turned toward him. For a moment he continued to stare at the ceiling. Then he rolled slowly over and faced the wall and lay silent. George shuffled the cards noisily and dealt them. Whit drew a scoring board to him and set the pegs to start.  

when Lennie comes back: Almost automatically George shuffled the cards and laid out his solitaire hand. He used a deliberate, thoughtful slowness.

How it build up

Following up to schizophrenia 

Already know that it's Hard to live with and for others to understand what he is. 

Disorganized thinking, Recurring delusions rabbits. Breaking conventional social communication. His own world roped off. 

His own world that matters. Tunnel vision.

I'm going to have rabbits 

I think it's called the Diathesis stress model

Combination of Biological and genetical vulnerabilities -diathesis

(Lennie is genetically a dumdum)

And stressors: loss of his dream/reality

these both contributes as a tipping point to the onset of schizophrenia, triggers abusive hallucinations that berate him 

representing, again 

The Theme of broken dreams

 (American dream) 

By Basically saying aaa lose George's trust

Which is the End of the world for Lennie .

Sublevel of Plotline, it's literally the end his dreams as George kills

Searching for the Themes
[the main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work, which may be stated directly or indirectly]

 How do you relate these themes to the story?

 1. The American Dream 

a. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness 

b. Is the ‘American Dream’ an illusion?

 2. Loneliness and Companionship 

3. Privilege and Powerlessness

Who is the real antagonist in Of Mice and Men? Support your argument with textual evidences from the novella.  

Characterisation and conflict. 4pm moodle Turnitin 2 nov

Steinback's novella "Of Mice and Men" captures the travels of two protagonists; George and Lennie who are struggling to realise and to live out their dreams. The conflict becomes apparent when the duo lives every day in uncertainty due to trammels of Lennie's mental handicap, which acts as a foil to the plot. Initial struggles of financial hardship and generally staying out of trouble are, albeit difficult, still manageable, as they find work in a ranch and exercise only necessary expenditure. Unfortunately for them, the ranch unveiled greater conflicts. By examining the text regarding the points of change and conflict faced by the protagonists, it can be determined that their hardships stem from three major sources; the economical strain prevalent at the time, Lennie's predictability of getting into serious misunderstandings, and Curley's oppression. Overlooking the abstractness of the financial depression, this essay explores the layers in which Curley is deemed to be the real, tangible antagonist of the story. In the following paragraphs, we follow the significant parts of the story that outline the main characterisations of Curley, mostly the ones prone to generate conflict with the protagonists. We will also uncover how his character as the real antagonist unfolds in the plot, concurrently detailing his key actions that shape the story and the consequences that ultimately follow them in the order of circumstance.

It is ascertained from multiple references in the story that Curley's propagation of conflict towards the ranch hands, in general, may stem from constant insecurities in his marital relationship while also being self-conscious and oversensitive concerning his small stature and the implications it may have on his masculinity. The introduction of Curley as illustrated by the swamper Candy indicates that Curley incessantly asserts dominance to cover up his perceived insecurity. This is evident as Curley makes it a point to tell people about his vaseline filled glove "to keep his hand soft for his wife", hereby elucidating his public attempt at establishing sexual prowess. Also, he ventures successfully into professional lightweight fighting, even getting into the finals of the Golden Gloves, probably to attain an intimidating identity, signifying his desire to be taken seriously. As Candy disclosed, Curley hates big guys and is always scrappy because he isn't big himself, driving him to pick fights with those whose build he can never attain, like Lennie. Furthermore, it is observed that although Curley's volatile character provides the drive for the turning points in the story and is himself a central character to the conflict, his disagreeable antagonistic character stays singular and doesn't develop throughout the story. Hence, Curley can be categorised as the conventional antagonist, as he makes it clear that he is at odds with the protagonists George and (especially) Lennie as he tries harder and harder over the course of the novel to make himself seem socially and sexually dominant, to the extent where he perfectly matches the traits of a bully, strong-arming the weak; primarily Lennie, his wife, and Candy. 

 The love and trust between George and Lennie, as well as their intimacy forged with fierce loyalty and companionship, lies in stark contrast to Curley's lack of empathic intelligence and selfish distrust concerning his wife and the ranch hands. As Curley's wife puts it, he "spends all his time sayin’ what he’s gonna do to guys he don’t like, and he don’t like nobody."  While Curley's wife craves attention, Curley's jealousy causes everyone on the ranch to steer clear from conversing much with her. This shouldn't be the case, but Curley reinforces this mindset by acting the way he does, which propels the ranch hands to accept the reality of Curley's selfish and one-sided equation of how to live life, where women should stay home alone in order to be faithful to their husbands. We see consequences to the manifestation of such treatment when Curley's wife tells Lennie in secret about her loneliness and misery because the ranch hands are apprehensive to talk to her and treats her with caution due of the potential threat of incurring Curley's wrath. Regrettably, this source of anxiety amongst the ranch hands is understandable, as Curley is the boss's son after all, and he could get any one of them "canned" if he desires. Thus, Curley's wife is, as mentioned by George: the worst jail-bait that's set on a trigger, as she lies and manipulates men to spend time with her while the shadow of Curley lurks behind, poised to bite at anyone foolish enough to trespass what he considers to be his property. This clear rift of misunderstandings and the conflicting weight of values drive Curley to the brink of paranoia as he strives to be an "accountable man to his wife", thus making it hard for George and Lennie to work at an ease of mind with Curley's wife on the loose.

When Curley glanced coldly at Lennie, "stiffened and went into a slight crouch" during his first encounter, he marks him down just because he is a big guy. George notices this and warns Lennie to stay away from Curley because: "Curley was kinda feelin’ you out. He figures he’s got you scared and he’s gonna take a sock at you the first chance he gets.” And Curley does, because as Candy said, Curley doesn't give anyone a chance, especially if he deems the 'someone' unworthy of respect. When Curley was provoked by Carlson and Candy after a quarrel with Slim, his hackles rose, but he didn't physically retaliate, even when Carlson challenged him and uttered an outright insult. It is interesting to note that once Curley's eyes slip on past and "lighted" on Lennie who was smiling benignly, he launches into an attack, as his jealousy of Lennie's size lights fury in his eyes and blinds him to any kind of understanding he should have towards Lennie. Curley viciously punches at a flummoxed and retreating Lennie, the aggression of his assault in contrast to Lennie's muted passiveness undeniably indicates character difference and how Curley actively stirs the air thick with conflict, metaphorically "slugging Lennie in the face" without mercy from their first encounter. Curley's extreme violence was intentionally exerted to not just establish dominance, but also to crush the totality of his 'recognised opponent'. Although his first blow was already enough, causing Lennie to recoil in terror, Curly continued his flurry of attacks until George orders Lennie to stop him. Lennie does so and closes his hand on Curley's in fear and panic, immediately causing Curley to "flop like a fish on a line". Having his hand and ego crushed when in the act of "lickin" Lennie can be seen as the ultimate reversal of perceived dominance and downfall of Curley's status. If Curley's character stays consistent, he will undoubtedly thirst for revenge to regain his antagonistic amour propre. This scenario highlights that the temperaments of both men are uncontrollable, but while Curly predates, and seems to like hurting people, Lennie doesn't at all. In this way, Curley is the mirror opposite of Lennie. 

We know from the beginning that Curley's wife represented Curley's milestone of sorts in his masculinity, as he is "cockier’n ever since he got married.", observed Candy. Hence, the discovery of her death threw him down the status totem pole, losing him yet another aspect of manliness because of Lennie. This triggers an increasing need to regain ego, by retaliating against Lennie to prove his control over the ideal of manhood. He ran out of the barn in a rage, without touching his wife's body or even covering it. Here we see that his wife’s death elicited no great attention nor mourning, and he only gets his gun to set out for a hunt. “I'll go, I'll shoot this big bastard myself, even if I only had one arm,” he says. This eagerness to track down Lennie and the reference to his broken hand seemingly divulged his true motive: to claim vengeance for the humiliation that has been wrought upon him. "I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot him in the guts." he said. Curley has set his mind to mutilate and destroy, and this forced George's hand to kill Lennie because he had no other choice of mercy.

Regarding the manner in which he strikes those he looks down upon, Curley seems to represent an incorporeal antagonist; the oppressive timeline when roving ranch workers live in a state of lonely isolation and are strictly kept in the proximity of fear. He stays an adversary against the protagonists throughout the story and his preoccupation with hampering George and Lennie by proving his point of masculinity comes across as him being an illogically mean and unreasonable bully. Curley's bullying prompted George to fear for Lennie and to forbid him from angering Curley. Lennie then accidentally kills Curley's screaming wife in a panic because he didn't want George to know that he disobeyed him. This in turn confirms George's fears. In this manner, all of Curley's prime actions build-up to Lennie's death with great consistency, outlining him as the antagonistic embodiment of the superior class of landowners, as his very presence and decisions corner the protagonists to give up their dreams of owning their own land.

 

Steinbeck's novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ revolves around two protagonists George and Lennie; who are struggling to live out their dreams of buying a plot of land. By examining the text regarding the points of change and conflict faced by the protagonists, it can be determined that their hardships stem from three sources; the economical strain prevalent at the time, the trammels of Lennie's mental handicap, and Curley's widespread oppression of hostility. According to The Oxford Compact English Dictionary, an antagonist is ‘an open opponent or enemy’, derived from the word antagōnizesthai, meaning ‘to make hostile and struggle with’. Overlooking the abstractness of the financial depression and Lennie's condition, this essay explores the macro-viewpoint in which Curley is deemed to be the real, tangible antagonist of the story. In the following paragraphs, we ascertain that Curley is the open opponent that makes life difficult for the ranch-hands, his wife, and of course, the protagonists. 

Curley's propagation of conflict towards the ranch-hands may stem from his self- consciousness and oversensitivity concerning his small stature, which he thinks may have unfavourable implications on his masculinity. The introduction of Curley as illustrated by the odd-jobs man Candy indicates that Curley incessantly asserts dominance to redeem his perceived insecurity. For one, Curley makes it a point to tell people about his vaseline filled glove ‘to keep his hand soft for his wife’, hereby elucidating his public attempt at establishing sexual prowess. Also, as Candy disclosed, Curley hates big guys and is always scrappy because he isn't big himself, which drives him to pick fights with those whose build he can never attain, like Lennie. This could be why Curley ventures into professional lightweight fighting, signifying his desire to be taken seriously by becoming an intimidating fighter. It is observed that Curley's disagreeable antagonistic character isn’t dynamic and doesn't develop throughout the story. Hence, Curley can be categorised as the consistently conventional antagonist, as he makes it clear throughout the plot that he  actively craves social and sexual dominance over his ranch-hands to the extent where he matches the traits of an annoying bully, making it hard for the ranch-hands to work at an ease of mind.

The love and trust between George and Lennie, as well as their intimacy forged with fierce loyalty and companionship, lies in stark contrast to Curley's insecure marital relationship as he displays a lack of empathic intelligence and selfish distrust with his wife. As Curley's wife puts it, he ‘spends all his time sayin’ what he’s gonna do to guys he don’t like, and he don’t like nobody.’ This paints him as a selfish braggart to her as he only talks about himself, and makes him a nuisance to the ranch-hands as he gets under their skin during his many searches for his wife. Curley’s insecurity stretches to the point where he accuses an innocent Slim of committing adultery with his wife, causing Slim to retort, ‘You lay offa me’ as he's ‘getting Goddamn sick of it’. While Curley's wife yearns for attention, Curley's guarded jealousy causes the ranch-hands to steer clear from her, generating an atmosphere full of tension whenever she tries to have conversations with them. Quoting Curley’s wife, we see that when she ‘just let two of the guys get together, they won’t talk’, because: ‘every one of you’s scared the rest is goin’ to get something on you.’ This happens when Curley propels the ranch-hands to accept his selfish and one-sided reality on how to live life, where women should stay home alone in order to be faithful to their husbands. We see consequences to the manifestation of such treatment when Curley's wife tells Lennie in secret about her loneliness and misery because the ranch-hands are apprehensive to talk to her and treats her with caution due of the potential threat of incurring Curley's wrath. Regrettably, this source of anxiety amongst the ranch-hands is understandable, as Curley holds power as the boss's son after all and he could get any one of them ‘canned’ if he desires. Thus, Curley's wife is unjustly labelled by George as ‘the worst jail-bait set on a trigger’, given the idea that she manipulates men to spend time with her while Curley lurks behind, poised to strike. On the whole, the conflicting weight of values between Curley and his wife drives Curley to the brink of paranoia as he harasses the ranch-hands in his endeavours to be an "accountable man to his wife". On the other end, Curley’s wife suffers great distress in her loneliness enforced by Curley. 

During his first encounter with the protagonists, Curley exuded unreasonable animosity by glancing coldly at them as he ‘stiffened and went into a slight crouch’. George notices this and warns Lennie to stay away from Curley because: ‘Curley figures he’s got you scared and he’s gonna take a sock at you the first chance he gets.’ And Curley does, as Candy said: Curley doesn't give anyone a chance, especially if he deems him weaker or unworthy of respect. When Curley was provoked by Carlson and Candy after a quarrel with Slim, his hackles rose, but he didn't physically retaliate, even when Carlson challenged him with an outright insult. It is interesting to note that once Curley's eyes slip on past and ‘lighted’ on Lennie, he launches into an attack, his jealousy of Lennie's size and his thirst to prove he isn't a coward lighting fury in his eyes and blinding him to any kind of understanding he should have towards Lennie. Curley viciously punches at a flummoxed and retreating victim, the aggression of his assault stark in contrast to Lennie's character of muted fear and passiveness. Curley illuminates his domineering character by intentionally exerting extreme violence to crush the totality of his “opponent”. Although his first blow sufficed, causing Lennie to recoil in terror, Curley continued his merciless attacks until George orders Lennie to stop him. Lennie does so and closes his hand on Curley's in panic, causing Curley to ‘flop like a fish on a line’. This scenario highlights that whereas the temperaments of both men are uncontrollable, Curly predates and likes hurting people while Lennie doesn't at all. In this way, Curley's motives are the mirror opposites of moral goodness, represented by Lennie's innocence. Also, having his hand and ego crushed when in the act of ‘lickin’ Lennie can be seen as the ultimate reversal of perceived dominance and downfall of Curley's status. Hence, Curley's character thirsts for revenge to regain his antagonistic amour propre, foreshadowing utter discord. 

We know from the beginning that Curley's wife represented Curley's milestone of sorts in his masculinity, as he is ‘cockier’n ever since he got married’, observed Candy. Hence, the discovery of her death threw him down the status totem pole, losing him yet another aspect of manliness because of Lennie. This triggers an increasing need to regain his ego, proving control over his ideal of manhood. He ran out of the barn in a rage, without touching his wife's body or even covering it. Here we see that his wife’s death elicited no great attention nor mourning, as he only gets his gun to set out for a hunt. This may be seen as an accentuation of his selfish nature, that his wife is but a possession and a means for him to gain leverage in status as a man. ‘I'm gonna shoot guts outa that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand,’ he says. This eagerness to track down Lennie and the reference to his broken hand seemingly divulged his true motive: to claim vengeance for the humiliation that has been wrought upon him. ‘I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot him in the guts’. Curley has set his mind to mutilate and destroy, and this forced George's hand to kill Lennie as he had no other choice of mercy, effectively ruining the plans that George, Lennie and Candy had collectively set for a better future. 

Regarding how he strikes those he looks down upon, Curley seems to represent an incorporeal antagonist; the oppressive timeline when roving ranch-hands live in a state of lonely isolation and are strictly kept in the proximity of fear. He remains an adversary to the protagonists throughout the story and his preoccupation with hampering the ranch- hands by proving his point of masculinity comes across as him being an illogically mean and unreasonable bully. His bullying is a primary cause of constant irritation and distress to the ranch-hands and his wife, also prompting George to fear for Lennie and to forbid him from angering Curley. Lennie then accidentally kills Curley's screaming wife in a panic since he didn't want George to know that he disobeyed him, confirming George's fears. In this manner, all of Curley's prime actions build-up to his wife's death, Lennie's death, and general unrest in the ranch. This outlines him as an antagonistic embodiment of the superior class, the unfeeling boss, as his very presence and decisions cornered the protagonists to give up their dreams of owning their own plot of land, resulted in the eternal death of his wife's potential, and established a distasteful, condescending master- servant role regarding his ranch-hands.