As the novel continues a dramatic story unveils as unrest appears at the ranch. Lennie takes the advice literally from George and ignores Curley this infuriates the volatile Curley and therefore causes the unrest, which they had tried so hard not to provoke amongst their fellow workmates. Although the unrest is not entirely due to Candy and his advice to his peers it still has an influence on the deterioration of the relationship between Curley and Lennie which does directly lead to the tragedy at the end of the novel.
Crooks (referred to as the nigger in the novel) is a cynical character who always looks at negative aspects of life, one of these being the dream of George, Lennie and Candy is to own their very own ranch- the typical American dream, one of the main themes of the novel. Crooks has suffered due to the colour of his skin and is often the scapegoat for any problems at the ranch. In the story there is one scene in particular, where Lennie and Crooks can relate this being when the two are left behind when the other men of the ranch were at the cathouse. In this conversation Crooks can tell Lennie of his problems and he knows that Lennie will not understand him, however this is a useful output for his frustrations.
Slim is George’s confidante; he is honest, well-meaning character who is there to offer support to both George and Lennie. Slim’s relationship to Lennie is nothing but kindness, which is shown when he gives a puppy to Lennie. However with ever-good character there is a flaw his being his necessity to go along on the manhunt for Lennie for the killing of Curley’s wife. All in all he does not mean to have an influence on Lennie, he does not mean to cause any harm nevertheless when he gives the puppy to Lennie this results in Lennie going into the barn, which leads to the death of Curley’s wife. It is a shame that Slim feels obliged to resort to the manhunt of Lennie but it is a reflection of his sense of his self-importance.
Curley’s wife is key in the role of influencing the life of Lennie. Her flirtatious, laissez-faire attitude and seemingly carefree existence to life is a front for her unhappy marriage to Curley. Her feelings of inadequacy are rife because her husband Curley has had several affairs during their short spell of marriage. She like Candy seeks attention, they both seek attention because they both feel alone, however the difference between the two is that Candy seeks companionship and Curley’s wife seeks acknowledgement of her womanly charms. She is sexual insecure.
In ‘Of mice and men’ Curley’s wife is constantly seeking the attention of the workers. Lennie is fascinated by the beautiful appearance of Curley’s wife and refuses to accept George’s opinion of her being a tart. At first this distant appreciation but as the novel progresses into its latter stages she lends herself onto the hapless Lennie after her failed attempts with the other gentlemen. After he kills the puppy given to him by Slim, he is distraught he is consoled by Curley’s wife who is showing genuine state of mind in this period of closeness between the two Lennie’s enthralment with Curley’s wife ends up with her accidentally killing of Curley’s wife. This is a result of her nature to flirt albeit inadvertently. This nature to please and constantly to put her on show, led to the attraction that Lennie felt about her and thus produced the smothering love, which he showed to Curley’s wife and the puppy. Curley’s wife was a strong influence over Lennie although she didn’t mean to.
Curley is the man who is most responsible for the story ‘Of mice and Men’ as he is one that leads to the manhunt of Lennie. He is vindictive, an evil character, he is the sheriff to George’s Robin Hood. Curley mistreats his wife, which in turn leads to her craving of sexual attention from the other men within two weeks of marriage. This relationship with men, one of them being Lennie, leads to her eventual death and subsequently Lennie’s death.