Chapter 1
Chapter one begins with the vivid description of a beautiful
natural setting along the Salinas River near Soledad, California. It
is Thursday afternoon. The small wooded area is abundant with life.
Small creatures scurry among the trees and plant life as the sun
begins to set. Suddenly the placid setting is interrupted by the
arrival of two men who are walking down a well-worn path. The two
men are George and Lennie. George is described as "small and
quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong
features." Lennie is George’s opposite--huge and shapeless.
As Lennie drinks from a pool, George warns his companion that the
water may not be safe. Lennie asks where they are going and George,
angry that he has forgotten, replies that they are going to a nearby
ranch to work.
George then sees Lennie has something in his pocket and angrily
tells Lennie to give it up. The object is a dead mouse that Lennie
had discovered along the trail. He had been petting the dead animal
in his pocket as they traveled. George throws the mouse into the
woods and scolds Lennie for handling the animal.
George then instructs Lennie on how to behave after their arrival
at the ranch house the following morning. He tells Lennie to keep
quiet and to let him do all the talking. He also warns Lennie not to
cause any trouble like he had in Weed, the town from which they have
come.
As George begins to prepare three cans of beans for dinner, he
tells Lennie to gather some wood for a fire. When Lennie returns,
George realizes that he has found the mouse and George again throws
it into the woods telling Lennie that it is not "fresh"
and should not be touched.
As the men are eating, Lennie complains of not having ketchup for
the beans. This causes George to erupt into hostility against
Lennie. George explains how much better off he would be without
Lennie and exclaims that he "never get[s] no peace". The
dejected Lennie foolishly offers to leave George and find a cave to
live in. George’s temper soon subsides and to soothe Lennie, he
tells the story of their future in which they will buy a farm and
"live off the fatta the lan’" together. Lennie
especially enjoys hearing of how it will be his job to tend the
rabbits.
After eating, George makes Lennie promise to remember their
location and to return there if he ever gets in trouble like he had
in the previous town. Despite being preoccupied with thoughts of
rabbits, Lennie swears to try and remember.
Chapter 2
George and Lennie arrive at the bunkhouse of the ranch the
following morning. They meet Candy, an old, one-handed man carrying
a broom. He tells them that the boss expected them the previous day.
George inspects his bunk and Lennie imitates him with his own bunk.
The boss soon arrives and he questions the two men about being a
day late. George explains that their bus driver had let them off in
the wrong place and they were thus forced to camp in the woods and
complete their journey that morning. The boss becomes suspicious of
Lennie’s silence as their conversation continues and George
informs him that Lennie is not very smart, but that he is strong and
a good worker. When explaining why the two men travel together,
George dishonestly tells the boss that he and Lennie are cousins.
Soon after the boss leaves, his son Curley enters the bunkhouse.
Curley, an ex-boxer, is described as a small and aggressive man who
attempts to make up for his small stature with a hostile attitude,
most often toward men who are larger than he is. He immediately
approaches Lennie and provokes him with very abrupt questions. The
nervous Lennie remains silent and George warns Curley not to tangle
with the much bigger Lennie. Curley leaves after warning Lennie to
speak when instructed to do so in the future.
Candy informs Lennie and George that Curley’s already rude
behavior has worsened since his marriage to a "tramp" who
flirts with the other workers of the ranch. The old man also tells
the two men that Curley is extremely over-protective of his new wife
and is jealous of ranch workers who encourage his wife’s
flirtations. Fearing future confrontation between Lennie and Curley,
George says to Lennie: "Don’t let him put you in—but—if
the son-of-a-bitch socks you—let ‘im have it." He also once
again tells Lennie to return to the riverbank if he ever gets into
serious trouble.
Curley’s trampy wife then enters the bunkhouse wearing clothes
and makeup clearly intended to attract attention from the new men.
She asks if Curley is there and after learning he is not, she
remains in the doorway to pose seductively for the men. George
notices Lennie staring at the woman and after she leaves he sternly
warns him not to and again reminds him about the riverbank.
As the ranch hands return for lunch, we are introduced to Slim
and Carlson. Slim is described as "prince of the ranch"
and he graciously introduces George and Lennie to the other men.
George immediately develops a respect for Slim and shares with him
the truth about his relationship with Lennie.
Another ranch hand named Carlson enters. After learning that
Slim’s dog has recently given birth to pups, he suggests that one
of the pups be given to Candy to replace his old, blind mutt which
stinks up the bunk house every night. George is quietly overcome
with excitement at the prospect of having one of the pups and George
promises to request a pup from Slim. He does.
Before the chapter ends, Curley once again goes to the bunk house
looking for his wife and again attempts to provoke the innocent
Lennie.
Chapter 3
Chapter three begins after work later that evening as Slim and
George enter the bunkhouse to play cards. Slim relates his amazement
at Lennie’s strength during the day’s work and they soon begin
discussing Lennie and George’s relationship. George explains that
he and Lennie grew up in the same small town and that when
Lennie’s Aunt Clara died George began looking after him. George
tells that he played jokes on Lennie at first but soon stopped
taking advantage of Lennie’s simple-mindedness when he learned
that Lennie would do anything he said even at the risk of hurting
himself. George also relates that Lennie helps him prevent the
loneliness and isolation which is common among ranch workers.
George also describes the trouble in Weed, the town they had
previously lived in. Lennie touched a girl’s red dress to feel
it’s softness just "like he wants to pet them pups all the
time." The girl screamed and being the big, dumb animal the he
is, Lennie panicked and ripped the dress. She accused him of rape
and George and Lennie escaped from the town and hid from an angry
mob of townsfolk.
Lennie walks into the bunk house foolishly trying to conceal one
of the puppies under his coat. George makes him return it to the
barn and warns him the he could kill it if he handles it too much.
Carlson enters and again complains about the stench of Candy’s
old dog. He asks Slim to give Candy one of the pups and repeatedly
offers to humanely dispose of the crippled dog with his pistol.
Whit, another ranch hand interjects with the news that a former hand
named Bill Turner had his letter published in a magazine. The letter
reads "…I think your magazine is the best dimes’ worth I
ever spent." Carlson again presses the old man about his dog.
Feeling the pressure, Candy reluctantly looks to Slim whose
"opinions were law" for a sign of support for his animal.
Finding none, he agrees to let Carlson kill his dog. After Carlson
leaves, the conversation fades as the men wait for the sound of the
gunshot. The shot comes and the men all look at Candy for his
reaction. Candy sadly turns in his bed and silently faces the wall.
Whit then begins telling George about the local whorehouse. George
decides to accompany the men on their next visit but says he will
not spend any of his money because he and Lennie are saving a stake
to one day buy a farm.
Curley enters looking for his wife. After learning she is not
present, he asks if the men have seen Slim. He suspects they may be
together. He learns Slim is in the barn and storms off toward it.
Several of the men follow hoping to see a fight.
George and Lennie, who remain behind, begin to discuss their
future farm. George describes to Lennie the sights, sounds, and
smells of the farm they hope to someday own and the description
interests Candy. The old man, we learn, has a three hundred dollars
saved up and rather than living out his days on the ranch, he asks
to join the George and Lennie in this farmland paradise. George
agrees and with Candy’s investment, which is half the cost of the
ranch George described, the dream becomes more tangible.
Curley and the other men return. No fight has occurred but
tempers are still high. Curley notices the smile on Lennie’s face
which still remains after George’s description of their dream
ranch. He thinks Lennie is mocking him. Curley instantly begins
striking Lennie. Lennie does not defend himself and is unsure what
to do. George yells, "Get ‘im , Lennie." Lennie
immediately catches Curley’s next blow in his giant hand and
crushes the smaller man’s fist. After he lets go, Slim convinces
Curley to tell the others his hand was caught in a machine. Even
after Curley’s promise not to tell his father about the fight,
George remains worried about he and Lennie’s jobs at the ranch.
George does his best, however, to comfort the shaken Lennie who
repeatedly asks if he will still be able to tend the rabbits on
their farm.
Chapter 4
It is now Saturday night and most of the ranch hands have gone to
town for the night. Crooks, a black stable hand who lives separately
from the other men, is applying liniment to his crippled back.
Lennie enters the doorway of the man’s small room in the barn
after playing with the puppies nearby. Crooks sternly explains that
his room is private and that black men and white men are not
supposed to socialize. Crooks quickly realizes that this concept is
too much for the simple-minded Lennie and invites him inside the
very disordered room.
The two men have a conversation in which both men seem to be
talking more to themselves than to each other. Crooks attempts to
explore George and Lennie’s relationship. He says: "George
can tell you screwy things, and it don't matter. It's just the
talking. It's just bein' with another guy." Crooks’
loneliness seems to make him jealous of George and Lennie’s
relationship. When George explains he and George’s plans to buy a
farm, Crooks is skeptical and explains that many ranch hands have
such dreams which very rarely come true. Crooks also taunts Lennie
by saying George would desert him and never return from town. He
soon realizes the extent of Lennie’s vulnerability and rescinds
his taunts.
Candy enters. Candy and Lennie tell Crooks more about the farm
they plan to buy. When Crooks learns that the men have much of the
money they need to buy the farm he tells them that he will work for
them without pay if they let him live there.
Curley’s wife enters the small room and insults the men by
saying, "They left all the weak ones here." She continues
to insult the men and complains about her life until Candy stands up
to her. He tells her to leave them alone. She rejects Candy’s
demand and begins verbally attacking Lennie but succeeds only in
confusing him. Crooks then tells her to leave his room. She responds
with "Listen, Nigger ...You know what I can do to you if you
open your trap". The humbled Crooks remains quiet and timidly
breaks eye contact with the woman.
They then hear the wagons arrive from town and Curley’s wife
exits the room. George discovers the three men in the room. He is
mad at Lennie for associating with the black man and tells him to
leave at once. He is also expresses his displeasure with Candy for
talking about their plan. As Candy leaves the room, Crooks tells him
he no longer wants any part in the plan.
Chapter 5
It is now Sunday afternoon and Lennie is alone in the barn with
his puppy. He has played with it too roughly and it is dead. He
realizes he has done wrong and fears that George will be angry with
him and foolishly suspects George may not let him tend the rabbits
on their farm. All he can think about is those freaking rabbits. He
decides against trying to hide his crime from George because he
remembers how George always seems to know when he does something
wrong.
Curley’s wife enters and Lennie hastily buries the puppy to
hide it from her. She tries to make conversation with Lennie but he
explains that he is not supposed to talk to her. She discovers the
dead puppy and reassures him that the puppy’s death is not the end
of the world. Despite Lennie’s objections, she continues to talk
to him. She tells Lennie of her loneliness and her dislike for her
husband. She tells of her dream to become a Hollywood actress.
Lennie then explains that he fears that George will not let him
tend the rabbits when he learns of the puppy’s death. She is
interested in Lennie’s preoccupation with rabbits and asks him to
explain his fascination with them. Lennie replies that he likes to
pet soft things. She finds the explanation peculiar but admits that
she enjoys touching her soft hair when she combs it. She invites
Lennie to feel her hair. He does. He begins stroking her hair so
hard that she becomes nervous and abruptly tells him to stop. She
tries to push him away from her. Lennie panics and grabs her. She
screams and Lennie covers her mouth, attempting to keep the noise of
the struggle from reaching George. His strength overpowers her. He
breaks her neck and kills her. After realizing what he has done, he
disappears from the barn.
Candy discovers the body and quickly finds George who concludes
that Lennie is responsible for the death. In spite of the
extraordinary events which have just unfolded, Candy is only
concerned with their plan about the farm and asks George if it is
still possible. Both men know it is not. George says he will spend
all of his money in a whorehouse and thus concedes that his destiny
is to lead the life of a lonely ranch hand. George retreats to the
bunk house and Candy leaves to tell the men of the tragedy but only
after cursing the body of Curley’s wife for the woman’s role in
helping ruin his plans.
Curley discovers the body and demands vengeance. He forms an
armed search party and says, "When you see ‘im, don’t give
‘im no chance. Shoot for his guts." George begs him not to
hurt Lennie but Curly wants blood. The men are told that Lennie has
stolen a pistol from the bunkhouse. Slim advises George not to let
Lennie be captured and caged like an animal. The men depart into the
woods to find and kill Lennie.
Chapter 6
It is now Sunday afternoon and Lennie has returned to the wooded
area near the Salinas River. Lennie sees a vision of his Aunt Clara
who admonishes Lennie for his actions and accuses him of ruining
George’s life. The spirit then fades leaving Lennie feeling
despondent and apprehensive about his future.
A giant, imaginary rabbit then appears. Unfortunately for Lennie
this is not a big fluffy, happy rabbit. This rabbit’s disposition
is much less pleasant than that of your average talking rabbit. The
rabbit tells Lennie he is not capable of tending the rabbits on a
farm and that he "ain’t fit to lick the boots of no
rabbit." The angry rabbit then tells Lennie that when George
finds out what happened, he might leave him or beat him with a
stick. Lennie covers his ears and cries out for George.
George appears through the bushes and quiets Lennie. Lennie
informs George of his crime, expecting him to erupt into another one
of his tirades. He does not. George calmly tells his friend that
everything would be OK.
Lennie asks George to tell him about their farm and he does until
being interrupted by the sounds of the search party which is quickly
nearing their location. He tells Lennie to look across the river and
try to picture the farm they would soon own. He raises a pistol
which he, not Lennie, had taken from the bunkhouse. He places the
pistol behind Lennie’s ear and pulls the trigger. Lennie’s body
falls to the ground.
The search party then arrives on the scene and George tells them
that he had taken the pistol from Lennie and killed him in
self-defense. Slim sympathetically says, "You hadda, George, I
swear you hadda" and offers to go with George to get a drink.
The book ends with Carlson’s statement, "Now what the hell ya
suppose is eatin’ them two guys."
