Candy's Dog

The character Candy has shown that he was a really nice person who has a dog. Candy's dog is very old and smelly. Candy has had his dog ever since it was a pup. I think that Candy built up a  very strong relationship with his dog and I also think that Candy sorta needs his dog to boost his morale. When Candy brought is dog in around the men the only problem was his smell. Candy was influenced by Carlson to kill his dog to put it out of it's so called "misery". Candy wanted to let his dog live but there was no one who shine the light on the bright side of keeping him alive. Carlson said that his dog was suffering because of his old age. I feel that his dog should have been killed because that dog should have been able to die on his own time. therefore I do not agree with candy's decision because in my opinion what they did to it was sort of animal abuse. I can't wait to keep reading this book!

Lennie: Lacking in Self Control?

        Lennie has very little self control over himself in difficult situations. He can usually keep his strength under control if George yells at him enough. When Curley was beating him up, Lennie tried so hard to keep his strength under control. He kept looking at George to help him. Lennie kept saying, "'Make 'um leave me alone, George."' (63). He said this so George would help him instead of resorting to violence. George didn't help him not hurt Curley, but he encouraged Lennie to fight back. He continuously said to Lennie, "'Get 'im Lennie"' (63). After listening to George, Lennie grabbed onto Curley's hand until he squeezed too hard and broke it. I personally think that Lennie didn't want to hurt Curley, but he listened to George. Lennie always listens what George says. If George didn't tell him to, Lennie wouldn't have hurt Curley. Curley promised not to get Lennie and George in trouble with his dad, their boss, but I think he lied. He probably is going to tell his dad, and Lennie and George will be fired. If they are fired, Lennie and George won't be able to achieve their dream, their own house and ranch.

Curley fries

Curley

In part 3 of OMAM Curley continues to pick fights to prove his superiority. First he questions Slim about his relations with his wife. When Slim gets tired of his interrogations he tells him to back off and leave him alone. "If you can't look after your God Damn wife, what do you expect me to do about it!.. you lay off of me!" Curley may pick on Lennie because of his mental disability but he won't pick on Slim as much unless its serious. This makes me suspicious because usually slim is mellow but around Curley his temper changes. When Curley hits Lennie, George encourages lennie to hit him back. When lennie is frightened by the fact of Curley being mad at him, he panics, so he squeezes Curleys fist so tight that he hurts it severely. Curley should learn his lesson and not mess withe people who don't want trouble.🍩😏😮

Candy- emotional side

During Part 3, we saw a more emotional side of Candy. After Candy succumbed to the peer pressure and decided to allow Carlson to shoot his dog, "Only Candy continued to stare at the ceiling." (49) He was so upset once his dog was shot. Eventually he opened up to the mistake he had made and said, "You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn't no good to himself or nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody'd shoot me." (60) I think Candy said this because he wanted George and Lennie to feel sorry for him, so they would let him come to the farm with them. I believe Candy wants to leave here because it will remind him too much of his sweet old dog and he is afraid of giving into the peer pressure again. I think his dog was his best friend and it was just a rash decision to let him go and he regrets it. Staying here will mock him of the mistake he made.

Comparisons with Lennie

Several times throughout Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck compares Lennie to a child. Many of Lennie's behaviors are childlike including his constant forgetfulness and his constant want to feel soft things like rabbits and fabrics. ''Slim had not moved. His calm eyes followed Lennie out the door. 'Jesus,' he said. 'He's 'jes like a kid ain't he" (43). I think that this is a great description of Lennie because his behaviors are childlike and he still retains childlike innocence. He often even has to be scolded like a child would be scolded. "George said,' You get right up 'an take this pup back to the nest. He's gotta sleep with his mother. You want to kill him? Just born last night an' you take him out of the nest. You take him back or I'll tell Slim not to let you have him.' Lennie held out his hand pleadingly. 'Give 'um to me, George. I'll take 'um back. i didn't mean no harm, george. honest I didn't. I jus' wanted to pet 'um a little"' (42 - 43) Lennie begs for his puppy back like a child who has just had a toy taken away. Not only is Lennie like a child, George is basically his parent figure. George is the one always trying to keep him out of trouble, and he's helping Lennie learn about the world, like a dad would teach his son.

Speaking Proudly of Lennie and Candy's Old Dog

In part three of OMAM, both George and Candy speak proudly of Lennie and the old sheep dog. We can see George speaking of Lennie in which he says, "'Jus' tell Lennie what to do an' he'll do it if it don't take no figuring. He can't think of nothing to do himself, but he sure can take orders'" (39). On page 44, Candy talks about why it is so hard for him to let go of the dog when he explains, "' Well--hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him.' He said proudly, "You wouldn't think it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen'" (44). There are a few similarities that I've noticed between these two situations. One is that George has been with Lennie for a long time and has become attached to Lennie in a love/hate relationship. This is like how Candy has had his dog ever since he was a puppy, and has become very attached to him, being used to his presence (and being nose-blind to his stench). A second similarity is how they are both proud of Lennie's and the dog's abilities. Lennie is very strong, and can take orders easily. But he struggles with doing problem solving and using common sense. The dog used to be a very useful sheep dog to help herd. But now that he's older, he doesn't really have any use (not physically nor smarts). And the third similarity that I noticed was how George is like Lennie's owner and Candy is his dog's owner. Lennie constantly follows George around (because he doesn't know how to think for himself, due to his intellectual disability), and the same goes for Candy and his dog.

Another thing I found was that Lennie is being talked about with an animal reference (from Ellie's blog example on OneNote) in a less direct way again. This just means that the first prompt is comparing the similarities between Lennie and a dog, and the pattern of Lennie/animal is continuing.

Lennie - Symbolism of the Characters (fight scene)

In part three of Of Mice and Men, Curley forces Lennie to fight because he was smiling from his memory of the ranch. Curley was yelling "'Come on, ya big bastard. Get up on your feet. No big son-of-a-bitch on gonna laugh at me. I'll show ya who's yella.' Lennie looked up helplessly at George, and then he got up an tried to retreat." (62-63)  Lennie is the kind of person who trys to stay out of trouble and not make George angry. He also heavily relies on George. When Lennie and Curley were fighting, "Lennie gave a cry of terror. Blood welled from his nose. 'George,' he cried.... Lennie's hands remained at his sides; he was too frightened to defend himself... Lennie covered his face with huge paws and bleated with terror. 'Make 'um stop, George.' Lennie took his hands away from his face and looked about for George, and Curley slashed at his eyes. The big face was covered with blood." (63) 

Lennie is so humble and cautious when it come to fights, he never touched Curley once. When Lennie got caught in the fight against Curley, George, Slim, Carlson, and Candy all watched it happen. The only difference that was happening in the fight was that George was rooting Lennie on. 

George was encouraging Lennie to fight back by yelling, "Get 'im Lennie!" (63) multiple times. When Lennie heard George telling him to fight him, Lennie felt he had no other choice so when Curley was swinging his fist at him he, "reached for it. The next minute Curley was flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed fist was lost in Lennie's big hand." (63) Lennie had broken Curley's wrist.

Lennie was scared. When Lennie let go of Curley's fist, Candy told Carlson to take Curley to the doctor. Slim was helping Curley feel better. The only ones supporting Lennie was George and Slim after he helped Curley. George was not mad after what happened. Lennie was pretty badly hurt, but no one went to support him other than George and Slim. This symbolizes how all of the characters are more loyal to Curley who started the fight for no reason, than for Lennie, a man who is just trying to assimilate to the community. 

P3: Candy's Dog

In Of Mice and Men in part three we learned a lot about what Candy's dog symbolizes. Once Carlson mentioned shooting Candy's dog it made Candy realize that he and his dog are growing old and not much help to anyone anymore, basically they are just a waste of space. Candy's dog symbolizes how useless Candy and his dog are at the ranch and how old they are getting. Candy lost his hand and has to be a swamper, and his dog, "got no teeth...all stiff with rheumatism" (Steinbeck 44). This means that Candy can't work hard anymore and his dog can barely move and eat. I think Carlson wanted to shoot Candy's dog because he smelled bad for one and he might have thought that getting rid of Candy's dog will get rid of Candy too. I think candy eventually agreed to shoot his dog because he realized he couldn't fight to save his dog. I think that later in the book Candy might get killed because his dog was. His dog was also symbolizing Candy's uselessness, so the people on the ranch might try to get rid of him like they did his dog.

The Predatory Nature of Man

     In part three of Of Mice and Men, there is substantial evidence to assume John Steinbeck is alluding to the predatory nature of humans, and how he feels it is immoral. The first example is a statement George makes about his life with Lennie in Weed while talking to Slim.  George states that he "'...used to have a hell of a lot of fun with 'im.  Used to play jokes on 'im 'cause he was too dumb to even know he had a joke played on him.  Why he'd do any damn thing I tol' him.  If I tol' him to walk over a cliff, over he'd go.  That wasn't so damn much fun after a while'" (Steinbeck 41).  Before this statement, George revealed how he resented always feeling less intelligent than others.  However, compared with  Lennie, who has a mental disability, George seems like a genius. He uses this to take advantage of Lennie and make himself seem more powerful.  Furthermore, this same attitude is also exhibited by Curley when his "eyes slipped past and lighted on Lennie; and Lennie was still smiling with delight at the memory of the ranch. Curley stepped over to Lennie like a terrier. 'What the hell you laughin' at?'… He  slashed at Lennie with his left, and then smashed down his nose with a right.  Lennie gave a cry of terror.  Blood welled from his nose" (Steinbeck 61)."  To compensate for his short stature, Curley felt he needed to show the other men at the ranch he was just as powerful as they were.  Curley took advantage of Lennie's kind, caring disposition and attacked him, assuming he would not fight back.  In this way, he exploited Lennie's friendly nature and stupidity to make himself seem more powerful.
     Throughout Of Mice and Men, but especially this chapter, Steinbeck demonstrates his opinion of the predatory nature of humans.  If people are treated as inferior to others, they have a desire to feel superior to someone else.  So, if they see someone they perceive to be weaker, such as Lennie, they will try to dominate that person.  Sometimes this mentality can be positive, compelling people to work harder and soar above their peers. However, it can also be negative, as this attitude can result in people sabotaging or harming each other to reach a goal.  The examples in section three reflect the negative aspects of our predatory nature, as Lennie is consistently exploited for his lack of intelligence and common sense to make others feel more powerful.  Therefore, I believe John Steinbeck used the story of Of Mice and Men to communicate his negative feelings about the predatory nature of man.

Lennie's Dependence on George

In part three of Of Mice and Men, Lennie is forced to stand up for himself during a fight. Lennie is a very shy person. He does not talk very much and when he does, he is usually punished by George. Lennie also relies heavily on George. Whenever they have to do or say something, Lennie waits for George to tell him what to do. Back in part two we see this occur when the boss orders Lennie to speak for himself, "'Listen, Small!'... 'What can you do?' In a panic Lennie looked at George for help," (22). Even in this scenario when the boss literally tells LENNIE (not George) to answer him, Lennie still counts on George to reply. We see this reliance again in the third part during the fight. When Curley beats Lennie up, he smacks his face and punches him, but Lennie still holds back, "Lennie gave a cry of terror. Blood welled from his nose. 'George.' he cried. 'make 'um let me alone, George,'" (63). In this moment where Lennie is being ripped to shreds by Curley, he is still too scared to stand up for himself.

This dependence on George may be an issue for Lennie later on. In most books, the good people have good things happen to them and the bad people have bad things happen to them. Lennie doesn't purposely freeze up and not say anything, yet he is constantly yelled at for it. I think one of the reasons Lennie gets so scared is because of George. George has a very quick temper and doesn't filter what he is going to say before he says it. Before the interview at the ranch, George tells Lennie, "You jus' stand there and don't say nothing. If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are, we won't get no job..." (6). I think the reason Lennie got freaked out at the interview was because George was going to get mad at him if he talked. 

Candy's dog

On part 3, in Mice of Men it showed a connection between Candy and his dog. It was an ordinary day for Candy, until Carlson mention how the dog would be better off dead. I feel like once Carlson said, "Why'n't you shoot him . . .That dog ain't no good to himself" (44-45). it gave Candy a big wake up call that he and the dog are growing very old. I could feel how empty Candy's thoughts were by the way he said, "'At last Candy said softley and hopelessly, "Awright-take 'im"'. (47) In a way I can relate because I have had to get one of my dogs put down a few years ago, which was a very emotional time in my life. Candy tried to change the subject by talking about a magazine, but Carlson would not drop it. I'm not sure why Carlton was so persistent to why he wanted the dog gone, besides the smell. If anyone in the comments can help me out on to why, then feel free!

Lennie: The Dangers of His Strength

Continuing on from my first blog, George and Lennie - Roles in the story and foreshadowing, I talked about how George was always looking out for Lennie, like that of a parent or guardian. Today, I'll be extending on that idea, but I'm going to be focusing on Lennie a little more.

We can recall in Part 2 that George warns Lennie not to look at Curley's wife or to fight with Curley himself. In Part 3, Curley, however, starts to antagonize Lennie, as he starts "... slugging him in the face" (63). Lennie is like a child; he is naive, as shown by his obvious attraction to Curley's wife, and he is intimidated easily: "Lennie's hands remained at his sides; he was too frightened to defend himself ... Lennie covered his face with huge paws and bleated with terror" (63). Like a child, he also lacks self-control: "The next minute Curley was flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed fist was lost in Lennie's big hand. George ran down the room. 'Leggo of him, Lennie. Let go.' But Lennie watched in terror the flopping little man whom he held. Blood ran down Lennie's face, one of his eyes was cut and closed" (63). Lennie couldn't control himself; he didn't want to hurt Curley, but out of fear, he went by his instincts and crushed the man. It's understandable; all of us have done things we regret in the midst of confusion. However, Lennie lacks self-control over his strength; he doesn't know his own strength and could possibly kill someone. If someone walks in on him doing something he's not supposed to be doing, such as playing with the young puppies, he could accidentally hurt out of fear.

The fight also reminded me of George's description of the incident in Weed, where Lennie kept on holding onto the girl's red dress. According to George, Lennie did this "'...'cause that's the only thing he can think to do... Lennie's so scared all he can think to do is jus' hold on'" (41). Here, Lennie could only think of holding onto Curley's hand, crushing it in the process. Each time he does something like out of fear, the situation just keeps getting worse and worse. If Lennie does this one more time, something drastic could happen, perhaps even resulting in a death.

Though Lennie is depicted as a childish "gentle giant", the fact he lacks self-control over his strength during a moment of fear is exceptionally dangerous. Being halfway through the book, something plot-changing is bound to happen soon --- maybe or maybe not involving Lennie.

~ Kate_ChromtheChrommander

Part 3 OPTIONAL prompts

1. On p. 39 George spoke “proudly” of Lennie for the first time ever while talking to Slim. Later, on p. 44 Candy spoke proudly of his old dog as well. How are these two situations alike?

2. Beyond the smell, why do you think Carlson suggested shooting the dog? What might the dog itself, or the shooting of the dog, symbolize? Why do you think Candy eventually agreed to it?

3. Any time an author uses repetition, it is usually meaningful. Steinbeck has used the word ‘deliberate’ five times (so far) throughout the novel. Find the word on pages 22, 28, 42, 51, and 55 and see if you can find the significance. He also uses the word “morosely” numerous times; evaluate its meaning. Finally, he refers to Lennie’s strength repeatedly; why?

4. We learned a LOT more detail about George & Lennie’s dream. But “when Candy spoke, they both jumped as though they had been caught doing something reprehensible…[and] George was on guard immediately.” WHY the panic??? And why do you think Candy wants “in” on the dream?

5. DO NOT SUMMARIZE “the fight scene”. Instead, analyze its significance! What characteristics were solidified about the many characters who were present during this calamity (Curley, George, Lennie, Carlson, Candy, Slim)? What similarities did you find between this fight and the situation in Weed?

6. Throughout part 3, Steinbeck infuses imagery using light and darkness. What is the effect on the reader? (mood) And what might it symbolize?

7. Have you begun to notice the language that Steinbeck uses to describe Slim? Without simply listing quotes about him, analyze Steinbeck’s word choice regarding Slim’s physical characteristics and actions.

Dream House and The Ranch

 I noticed throughout all of chapter three, George repeatedly says to different people, "'Me an' Lennie's rolling' up a stake,"' (53) as in they are going to stay at the ranch forever, and they will always be happy.

 Steinbeck could have done this for many different reasons. He could have wanted to set you up for the fight Curley and Lennie had in the end. You know this will not come out well. Curley will most likely not keep his promise, and tell his father to "can" George and Lennie, and they will be on the run again looking for another job.

 But then also toward the end of the book, George starts talking about their dream house as if they are going to go buy it right this moment. As soon as George see's Candy though, he gets out of this dream land. I think this house is a place George can go when times are rough and Candy ruined it when he said "'S'pose I went in with you guys. Tha's three hunderd an' fifty bucks I'd put in." (59). George says "' I gotta think about that. We was always gonna do it by ourselves"' (59).

George could have kept saying "'Me an' Lennie's rolling' up a stake,"' (53) because he wants to get out of this reality land of them owning a house and bunnies and everything. But this all changes when Candy says he can give them money now, and they will buy it.

 Lennie's always thinks they will get their dream house, and he will get to tend the bunnies if he is good. Even after his fight with Curley, he thinks they will get the house because he says "' I can still tend the rabbits, George?"' (65).

When Candy hears of this dream house Lennie and George are talking about, he takes it very seriously. Candy knows he will "get the can" soon, because he is growing old, and he has only one hand. He won't be able to do much work anymore, and the boss will kick him out. Candy even offers to pay for most of the house with all of his money, "...tha's three hunderd an' fifty bucks I'd put in."' (59), because I think he knows this is a great and maybe even his last opportunity. When his dog got shot, this kind of symbolizes how old he is, and how he will get kicked out of here soon.

I think all three of these characters are looking forward to a house they can use to get away from this ranch. This house can be their escape. In the end, will they all get their dream house and escape from the ranch? Or will they just run into trouble, and be right back where they started in the beginning of the book?

Soft side for Lennie?

     All throughout Of Mice and Men so far, we have seen that George always tries to protect Lennie. Unlike other people, George and Lennie travel together.  This surprised everyone, including Slim who said "Hardly none of the guys ever travel together. I hardly never seen two guys travel together" (39). George eventually explained that Lennie's Aunt Clara raised him, but she died.  George knew that Lennie was "too dumb" to take care of himself, so he took him in.  This shows that George has a sweet spot for Lennie.

     Another example of this would be in chapter one when George got mad at Lennie.  He started yelling at him, and said "God you're a lot of trouble...I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn't have you on my tail" (7).  Lennie didn't lie that, so he said that he could go off and live on his own in a cave.  Well, George knew that Lennie can't take care of himself, so he immediately apologized to Lennie and said "I was jus' foolin', Lennie.  'Cause I want you to stay with me"(13).

     I think that this is a really sweet moment between George and Lennie.  It showed that Lennie knew that George loved him, and he just wanted him to say it.  Lennie knew that George would have never liked the idea that he was living on his own, and he proved it.  It shows that their friendship is so close, they're almost like family.  They care for each other like brothers and that even if they don't show it on the outside, they know it in their hearts

Part 3 - Ideas

Curley

In part 2 of OMAM we are introduced to Curley a man of great authority who demeans many people. When he first meets Lennie he immediately lets him know that he is in charge. He tells him to speak himself instead of George talking for him. ''Let the big guy talk''(25)''. This also shows how he hates that Lennie is bigger than him. Curley is Thin, Brown face, Brown eyes, Wears work glove on left hand, and heeled boots (like the boss). He presents some physical and mental features like his dad, including his presence and his confidence. This what I learned about Curley in part 2 of OMAM.

Curley and Curley's Wife- Relationship to Others

     Curley's Wife is not considered as an important character in Of Mice and Men, because the author, John Steinbeck, doesn't even give Curley's Wife her own name. This shows how women were treated in the time period this novel was written, with less respect than men. Curley's wife was depicted as a very attractive woman who was attracted to more than one man. Curley's wife is married to Curley, but apparently she is attracted to Slim. George doesn't like Curly's Wife, because of this. He also tries to get Lennie to ignore Curley's Wife, but Lennie is not completely doing what George wants. 

     George also wants Lennie to ignore Curley's Wife, because he knows Curley, their bosses' son, doesn't like Lennie at all. Curley doesn't like him, because he has a problem with "big guys", like Lennie. Curley keeps getting upset with George, because he usually speaks for Lennie. If Curley makes Lennie speak he could say something he isn't supposed. I predict that Curley will pressure Lennie into speaking, then Lennie will say something wrong. If Lennie can't control himself, he could cost him his and George's job. 

George and Lennie- Relationship to Each Other

      George and Lennie are physically described as complete opposites by John Steinbeck in Of Mice and Men, George is "small and quick... with restless eyes, and strong sharp features" (2). Lennie is "a huge man, shapeless of the face, with large, pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders"(2). John Steinbeck described George and Lennie as physically complete opposites, because of how different they are in other aspects. Lennie is kind of shy on the other hand, George speaks up for himself and Lennie. 

      George and Lennie seem to be good friends, but George is more of a guardian figure to Lennie. He watches over Lennie to make sure he doesn't get in trouble. Lennie doesn't comprehend as fast as most do, so George constantly has to repeat himself. This frustrates George and it usually results in him yelling at Lennie. After Lennie repeatedly asking for ketchup, George screamed at him, "Well we ain't got any" (11). Even though George sometimes loses his temper with Lennie he is always trying to protect him. George always walks in front of him which is another way of protecting Lennie. Lennie can sometimes say things he isn't supposed to, so George usually speaks for the both of them. Everything George does is to help and look after Lennie.

Curly's Wife - The Meaning Behind her Mannerisms

In Part 2 of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck,  Curly's wife is described as having "full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up.  Her fingernails were red.  Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages.  She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers... she put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward" (Steinbeck 30).  Curly's wife assumed this position to appear more attractive and flirtatious, try to seduce George and Lennie.  I think this behavior as well as the character's name and physical description reflect the inferior status of women in the 1920s and 1930s.

Curly made the inappropriate joke to his coworkers of wearing a "glove fulla vaseline" to "keep a hand soft for his wife."  Most likely, Curly's wife had no choice to obey her husband and fulfill his wishes, as women were of inferior status.  This is exemplifies how Curly's wife was treated more as a possession by her husband.  This also explains why Curly's wife acted so seductively towards George and Lennie.  Presumably, Curly's wife resents her husband for treating her like a toy and flirts with other men on the ranch to make him jealous.  Curly's wife may also be seeking the attention and love that she does not receive from her husband.

There is also a reason for Curly's wife's extravagant makeup and revealing clothing.  Curly's wife uses her beauty to compensate for her lack of social status.  Even though she lives on a ranch, she dresses elaborately to seem desirable to other men.  However, this has the opposite effect of what she intended, because the other men at the ranch see her as "a tart."

Curly's wife's name is also proof of how poor people were treated in the 1920s and 1930s.  She is simply referred to as "Curly's wife" or even derogatory terms such as "bitch" and "tart."  This is representative of how low women were in social status.  Curly's wife was considered so insignificant that she was not called by her proper name.  Therefore, based on the mannerisms, physical description, and name of this character, Curly's wife reflects the poor treatment of women in the 1920s and 1930s.

What Character Stands Out

As I read the second part of Of Mice and Men I,  the reader, was introduced to many new characters that are really unique and different. The reader was introduced to Candy, Curly, Curly's Wife, Slim, Carlson, and Crooks. The character that stood out to me the most, besides George and Lennie, was Curly. Curly is the boss' son. Before Curly said that he was the boss' son the reader could already take a guess that they were related because Curly wore a lot of the same clothing as his father. Curly's physical features were sort of similar to George's. "[He was] a thin young man with a brown face, with brown eyes, and a head of tightly curled hair" (25) Curly demands a lot of respect from George and Lennie, but I think that Curly is intimidated by Lennie because he questions him the most. When Curly was first introduced Curly didn't seem to like George and Lennie that much whereas he "glanced coldly at George then Lennie" (25). George was talking for Lennie and Curly disapproved to he almost forced Lennie to talk but George figured out how to talk their way out of it. I predict that Curly will not be a helpful asset to George and Lennie moving forward in the book.

Discussing Curley's Wife

In this post, focusing on part 2 in Of Mice and Men, I will discuss Curley's wife. The first thing that I would like to mention is that she has no name. Steinbeck has already shown us how women were viewed back then. Because she has no name, she is viewed as unimportant to others. If she had a name, we would have known that people actually cared about who she was as a person, but no one even tries to give her name to call her by! She is also the only woman on the ranch, surrounded by men who are viewed as important, strong people who do hard labor all day long. Maybe she feels intimidated by them because of this, so she tries to make herself seem more important by showing off how pretty she is in attempts of getting the "important" men to like her. Here, it says that she, "...put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward" (31). This is proof that she knows she is pretty, and uses it to her advantage. We can tell her tricks work on Lennie when his, "...eyes moved down her body..." (31), and he, "...watched her, fascinated" (31). Something else I noticed about her is that after Slim told her he, "'...seen him goin' in your house'"(32), she, "...was suddenly apprehensive. ' 'Bye, boys,' she called into the bunkhouse, and she hurried away" (32). I'm thinking that she might be anxious because earlier, we saw how angry and fired up Curley was at Lennie, so maybe he gets that way with his wife. Even though this isn't apart of OMAM, I was thinking about how in Chains, Madam Lockton was beat by her husband, and how it might be similar to how Curley treats his wife in this story because this was a common problem back then and even today, especially when men are drunk. I think Curley's wife's role in the story is to give readers like us an idea of how women were viewed, and how they were compared to other people (stereotypes such as being weak, unimportant, and useless compared to men) in the 1930's.

Foreshadowing with Curley's Wife in Part 2

In Part 2 in Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck shows that Curley's Wife is a very big flirt and throws herself at basically every guy on the ranch. Steinbeck drops several subtle (and not-so-subtle) clues at the type of trouble that Curley's Wife will bring to George and Lennie later in the book. When she's in the barracks looking for Curley," She put her hands against her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward. 'You're the new fellas that just come, ain't ya?'" (31) During this scene, Curley's wife is literally throwing herself at the men, trying to flirt with them, even though she's married! A little later," Lennie's eyes moved down over her body, and though she did not seem to be looking at Lennie she bridled a little. She looked at her fingernails. 'Sometimes Curley's in here,' she explained. George said brusquely,' Well he ain't now.' 'If he ain't, I guess I better look somewhere else,' she said playfully." (31) Lennie is very obviously extremely smitten with Curley's wife while George doesn't care for her at all, even though Curley's wife is talking to him instead of Lennie. Lennie's strong attraction to her will probably end up getting him in a lot of trouble later with Curley.

Carlson - Who is He?

In part 2 of the book, we are introduced to "A powerful, big-stomached man" (35) named Carlson. Carlson is a man who seems confident, and determined in helping others. In part 2 he says he would help take care of Candy's dog. Carlson seems like he has a low and loud voice because in the book, "He chuckled at his joke" (35). When thinking of him, he seems like it would be loud and very deep. Carlson also seems like a little bit of a slob because he, "walks into the bunkhouse, his head still dripped with water from the scrubbing and dousing" (35).

Curley's Wife

During Part 2, we met Curley's wife. Curley's wife was described as, "having full, rouged lips and wide-spaces eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers... Her voice had a nasal, brittle quality." (31) She comes off as being very beautiful, but also very arrogant. I think they made her this way to show that Curley picked her just because of her looks and so he could use her. We learned about her when she came to George and Lennie asking if they had seen Curley. I think she was just trying to show off. I feel like she was in a way trying to show them how lucky Curley was and that George and Lennie should be jealous of him. I believe that Curley's wife is a decoy to put Lennie in a bad situation. Lennie, being very fascinated by her, could follow her or go along with whatever she says and does. I think Curley knows he can use his wife to get just about anything from Lennie.

P2 blog Curley's wife

Of the new characters that were introduced in part two, Curley's wife stands out the most. I think that Curley's wife stands out the most because she is described differently, doesn't have a name, and she is the only woman on the ranch. Curley's wife is described as "full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers...Her voice had a nasal, brittle quality" (Steinbeck 31). I think she is described as pretty and fancy, unlike the other characters, who wore blue jeans and a denim jacket. Also she stands out because she tries to attract the men's attention, unlike then men that just don't care. Curley's wife was only mentioned as Curley's wife instead using an actual name. I don't think we ever will learn her name throughout the book. Curley's wife also is the only woman on the ranch. That stands out a lot! Curley's wife stands out the most.

Foreshadowing about Candy's dog

"That dog of Candy's is so God damn old he can hardly walk. Stinks like hell too...Got no teeth, damn near blind, can't eat. Candy feeds him milk. He can't chew nothing else." (36)

     This is how Steinbeck describes Candy's dog.  It says that he cannot eat, and that Candy has to feed him milk.  Which, can sometimes cause pancreas cancer, or severe side effects, such as vomiting or diarrhea.  By the description of Candy's old dog, he kind of reminds me of my old dog.  Her name was Sophie, but we had to put down when I was in 2nd grade because she had really bad arthritis and hardly moved during the day.  

     In the end of section 2, it says specific phrases that foreshadow what will happen in the future.  It says "Why'n't you get Candy to shoot his old dog and give him one of the pups to raise up?" (36).  This is foreshadowing that the men will try to convince Candy to kill his dog, instead of waiting for him to die by himself. 

Curley's Wife

On part 2, Of Mice and Men many new characters were mentioned, but the one that stood out to me most was Curly's Wife. John Steinbeck described her by saying, "She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up, her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton dress and red mules. . ." (31). When Curly's wife showed up I noticed that again George and Lennie acted in completely opposite ways. When she walked in Lennie seemed head over heals for her, while George seemed annoyed that she was there. I predict that Lennie will tell George how much he likes Curly's wife, and Curly will overhear them.

Symbolism in Candy's Dog

In the very last paragraph of part two of Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses a dog to show symbolism. The dog belongs to Candy, an old rancher who absolutely adores it and has had it for forever. The dog though, is probably living its last couple days, "a drag-footed sheep dog, gray of muzzle, and with pale, blind old eyes. The dog struggled lamely to the side of the room and laid down... licking his grizzled, moth-eaten coat." Candy and that dog are like two peas in a pod. It follows him everywhere and they have both grown old together.

When Curley walks in after trying to intimidate George and Lennie, he even tries to intimidate the dog, "The dog raised his head, but when Curley jerked out, the grizzled head sank to the floor again." This dog symbolizes the despondence all the ranchers feel. The dog isn't even going to try to fight back against Curley. It also shows how dejected and sad bullying can make people feel. Curley attacks people just because they are big or, as Sophie said, if he thinks that his wife might find an interest in them.

Curley the Character

From the second part in the book, I noticed that Steinbeck made Curley a very intimidating character. We can see this, because when he first came in, you notice "...his hands closed into fists. He stiffened and went into a slight crouch" (25). And also, "Lennie squirmed under his look and shifted his feet nervously" (25). I also noticed Curley was a lot like George, as they both curse a lot at Lennie. Does Curley have to take care of someone like George does with Lennie? Or is he just angry all the time.

When Curley came in the bunkhouse, "He glanced coldly at George and then at Lennie. His arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists. He stiffened and went into a slight crouch. His glance was at once calculating and pugnacious (25). When he saw Lennie, he immediately buffed up, because later we learn that he doesn't like tall people and as Candy said "... He hates big guys" (26) and later, he takes in George, "Curley seemed really to see George for the first time. His eyes flashed over George, took in his height, measured his reach, looked at his trim middle" (37).

Maybe his buffing up has something to do with being the bosses son, or he wants to look better than others, but it could also be because of his wife. As Kate said in her post, Curley's wife is looking at George and Lennie, and Curley wants her for his own. He is taking in George and Lennie to see if she would, to simply put it, like them.

 Later, we see that Candy, explains who Curley is to George and Lennie. Afterwards, he says "'You won't tell Curley nothing I said?"' almost afraid. Candy is even intimidated by Curley, like Lennie is, and doesn't want any trouble. I think if anyone messes with Curley, they would most likely get fired, because he is the bosses son. 

George is also afraid of Curley, but not for his own safety, but Lennie's. He tells Lennie "Look, Lennie. You try to keep away from him, will you? Don't never speak to him. If he comes in here you move clear to the other side of the room" (29). And George also brings up Lennie' s safe place, "Hide in the brush by the river" (30). I think George is very scared of this Curley character, and thinks something bad is going to happen with him and Lennie. Like I said before, if Lennie gets in a fight with Curley by accident, then they could easily get fired.

Curley's Wife: Her Identity and the Reasons Behind Her Actions

Curley's wife is a hard character to track; she, at first, seems like a flirtatious woman with bad cheating habits, but I do believe that there's a reason behind all of her actions, no matter how big or small.

First, John Steinbeck introduces Curley's wife through Candy, as he says: "'Well --- she got the eye" (28) and that "'I think Curley's married . . . a tart'" (28). Right off the bat, you can see that Curley's wife isn't respected at all by the others in the ranch. He says that "'she's got the eye" (28), implying that she is not faithful to her husband and is on the look out for other men. 

Now, jumping to when Curley's wife appears at the entrance of the bunkhouse: "'Oh!' She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward. 'You're the new fellas that just come, ain't ya?'" (31). Here, she puts her body in a position that shows off her attractiveness. This movement shows that she most likely wants to seduce George or Lennie, but we have to look deeper. There must be a reason to why this happens. If Curley's wife isn't faithful to Curley, then it's obvious that her marriage to him was an unhappy one, or something similar to this. There are several factors to why it may have not been a happy one; perhaps she had to give up something special in order to marry Curley, maybe it had been a forced marriage, etc. In any case, we'll most likely see more to it in the story.

However, I also want to note that she doesn't even have a name, as all she is referred to as is "Curley's wife". This shows that where Curley's wife stands on the social platform, it's extremely low. She probably hates where she is and has zero self-esteem. I mean, how would you feel if you were so insignificant that you didn't even have a name? 

As for Curley's wife's physical appearance, it's obvious that she's very attractive and "purty". She, herself, knows this and shows it off to other men, as means to seduce them. John Steinbeck describes her as a woman with "…full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages" (31). In this paragraph, the fact that she paid so much attention to her beauty, such as her eyes being "heavily made up" and her fingernails being painted red, really stood out to me. At first, I thought that perhaps these were just means to further seduce men, but, going back to my point on her low rank on the social platform, I also think that for Curley's wife, her beauty can also be a way to compensate for her low rank. Her line of thinking could go along these lines: "Even if I'm nothing but a tool... at least I outrank any other woman in beauty." She wants to feel important, so she tries furthering her attractiveness, which is her only "talent"; the only thing that is special to her and only her. 

When Slim arrives at the bunkhouse, Curley's wife explains to him that, "'I'm tryin' to find Curley, Slim.' 'Well, you ain't tryin' very hard. I seen him goin' in your house.' She was suddenly apprehensive. ''Bye, boys,' she called into the bunkhouse, and she hurried away' (32). At this part, where she was nervous, I think this is because she thinks that Slim, Lennie, and George would think that finding Curley was not her real motive for coming to the bunkhouse. I think she came there to take a look at George and Lennie, and see what they're like.

Reading this part also added to my theory of why Curley's wife tries to seduce other men. I think that Curley's wife is, simply put, lonely. Think about it. Wherever there's a big/strong man, such as Lennie, Curley immediately acts with hostility because of his insecurity with his wife. This would drive away anyone who would want to interact with her, and there's no other woman on the ranch. I think that the reason why Curley's wife tries to seduce other men is because she's kind of left with no other option. She wants someone to accompany her; if friendship won't be able to last long enough, than perhaps "love" can.

Coming back to the part with an unhappy marriage, I think I can add this part in as well. From her actions, I don't believe that Curley's wife actually loves Curley. Perhaps she seduces men because she wants to find "true love" as well? 

There are so many mysteries surrounding Curley's wife. John Steinbeck might reveal more of her to us; about her relationship with Curley, her past, and her reasoning. 

~ Kate_ChromtheChrommander

Part 2 (optional prompts)

Part 2:

(REMEMBER: These questions are OPTIONAL; you can respond to them in a post, or just used them as direction for what to focus on while you read)

1. We meet several new characters. Choose one to discuss. What did we learn about them - - physically and their disposition? HOW did we learn about them? What do you think this character’s role in the story is?

2. Of the new characters that were introduced, does anyone stand out to you as different from the others? How so? What do you think Steinbeck’s rationale (thinking/planning) was here?

3. Steinbeck often reveals important information at the end of each section. Reread p 37 again closely. Analyze what is said about George and/or about Candy’s dog. What foreshadowing and/or symbolism is being addressed here?

Getting to know Lennie

In part one of OMAM the author explains to us how George and Lennie are complete opposites , which doesn't happen often. Lennie is very sensitive to what George says and thinks about him. He is a big man with a huge shapeless face. He has large, pale eyes and wide sloping shoulders. When he walks his feet drag and his arms hang instead of swing. He hides dead mice and his pocket to pet while him and George walk, this proves his sweet disposition but because he kills them it proves that he has a mental disability or even a physical one. He is illiterit which proves he did not get a good education. He imitates George which shows that he doesn't want to mess up and he is insecure. This is what I learned about Lennie in part one of OF Mice and Men.