Plot Outline: The events of Of Mice and Men begin with the two main characters, George and Lennie

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A Longer Short Form:

Of Mice and Men

Four main characters:

  1. George – Even though George is described as being short in stature, his strong personality more than makes up for his vertical ineptitude.  He is responsible for his friend Lennie’s safety as they travel to and finally work at the ranch.  George is filled with the desire to own his own piece of land and farm it with Lennie.  George continuously tells Lennie about his dream because Lennie, because of his retardation, has the ardent curiosity of a child.
  2. Lennie – Lennie is a big, slightly retarded, awkward man who is dependent on his close friend George for protection and guidance.  Lennie’s love of petting soft things and underestimation of his strength leads to disaster.
  3. Slim – Slim is the farm’s mule driver.  He is both an authority figure and a greatly respected man.  The farm hands, from time to time, ask him for advice and they eagerly await his answers.  He is quite impressed by the loyalty between George and Lennie because he thinks that no on in the world cares about anyone else.
  4. Curley – The respectable Boss’s son, he embodies all that his father is not: he is cruel and merciless towards the ranch-hands.  His wife who voices her dislike towards her husband, is known to be a flirt and, like an extremely protective husband, Curley becomes irate with jealousy.

Two minor characters:

  1. Candy – A farm hand who is known for his extremely old dog that is both blind in one eye and extremely pungent.  Candy refuses to kill his dog on the account that he has had his dog for too many years.  Candy is appeased when he is given a new puppy from Slim and allows Carlson to kill his old dog.  Candy becomes infatuated with the farm idea of George, just as Lennie did.
  2. Carlson – Another farm hand, Carlson is extremely fed up with Candy’s dog and incessantly tries to get Candy to kill it.  Finally, when Slim gives Candy a new puppy, Carlson is allowed to kill the old dog.
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Three main settings:

  1. The clearing – A serene partially non-wooded area in the California foothills that George and Lennie find refuge on the first night of their journey.  George tells Lennie that if, during their stay on the ranch, he gets into any trouble, to retreat to the clearing and hide behind a bush until George can meet him there.  This novel beings and ends in this setting.
  2. The Dream farm – George dreams of land that he and Lennie (and later Candy) will someday own and farm.  The land is only a few acres upon which ...

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