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George and Lennie at Salinas River
George and Lennie are looking for a job at a ranch. This setting is a safe place for them in case if Lennie gets in trouble and needs to run away. This was the area that was the start of their dream and also the end. Also, this is the first time the readers see Lennie's attachment to soft things such as the dead mouse he found and it foreshadows Curley's wife's death. His attachment to soft things is prevalent throughout the rest of the book and leads to trouble. -
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Of Mice and Men
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Arrival at the Ranch
George and Lennie arrive at the ranch. They are welcomed by Candy, an 'old swamper'. They meet Curley for the first time. Curley is not too fond of Lennie because Lennie is big and he is not. He also gets mad at George for not allowing Lennie to talk for himself. Curley is not on good terms with George and Lennie from the beginning of the book which leads to problems later on. -
George and Lennie Meet Curley's Wife
When George and Lennie arrive on the ranch, they meet Curley's wife who was supposedly "looking" for Curley. Curley's wife is the only girl on the ranch and is very flirtatious as she props her body up against the doorway. George instantly knows that she'll cause trouble and so he tells Lennie to stay away from her. Curley's wife's flirtatiousness ends up in her death towards the end of the story. -
George Tells Slim Why They Left Weed
George tells Slim that in Weed that there was a girl who caused problems and forced them to run away. There was a girl in a red dress and when Lennie saw her, he felt her dress because it was soft. The girl began to scream, but Lennie grabbed on because he had no idea what to do. Lennie only let go when George hit him in the head with a fence picket. The girl then told everyone she had gotten raped and so everyone in Weed wanted to kill Lennie. This foreshadows the death of Curley's wife. -
Candy Allows Carlson to Shoot His Dog
Candy has always been used to having the company of his old dog. The stench of the dog has been bothering Carlson for a while and so he tells Candy that he wasn't doing his doing any good. Candy only allows Carlson to shoot his dog with the Luger after Slim doesn't disagree with Carlson's decision. This event foreshadows the death of Lennie who is killed by George in the same way. Carlson regrets letting a stranger killing his dog which influences George to kill Lennie rather than anyone else. -
Candy Asks to Join George and Lennie on Their Dream Farm
Candy overhears about George and Lennie's dream farm and asks to join them saying he will contribute to paying for it.George feels sympathy for Candy's loneliness and agrees to it. The dream farm is a symbol of the "American Dream" in which one hopes to have something to call their own. The rabbits on the farm are Lennie's dream. Candy's hopes of going to their dream farm and not being lonely later comes crashing down when he finds Curley's wife's dead body. -
Lennie Breaks Curley's Hand
Lennie and Candy had just been talking about the dream farm when Curley came in arguing with Slim. Lennie was smiling about the farm and Curley took it as if he were laughing at him. Curley begins to beat up Lennie and George told Lennie to act in defense. Lennie catches Curley's fist in his big hand which crushes Curley's hand. Lennie had no intention of hurting Curley though. This event was a result of Curley always picking fights with bigger guys as seen when they first met him. -
Lennie Meets With Crooks Part 2
She enters the room even though they told her not to. She hears about their plan and laughs at it, being an oppressor through her harsh comments. Crooks soon takes back wanting to join Lennie and George on their farm. -
Lennie Meets With Crooks Part 1
Lennie was looking for someone to talk to and came upon Crooks room. At first Crooks rejected him, but eventually he grew fond of Lennie and let him in. Lennie talked about George's and his plan to get a farm and Crooks says that dream is unreachable like trying to go to heaven. This foreshadows that Lennie and George will not attain their dream. Crooks soon asked to join them. After a while, Curley's wife comes "looking" for Curley and stumbles upon Crooks room and sees Lennie. -
Curley's Wife is Killed
Curley's wife sees Lennie in the barn and begins to flirt with him. Lennie knows he's not supposed to talk to her but he eventually forgets. He tells her that he likes soft things and so Curley's wife lets him touch her hair. He begins to pet harder and hold on to her hair until she screams. Lennie starts to panic and tells her to keep quiet while shaking her. He shakes her too hard which causes her neck to break thus killing her on accident. -
The Water Snake and the Heron
"A water snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting its periscope from side to side...a silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically." This event foreshadows Lennie's death. Like the water snake, Lennie does not know that he will be killed. -
Lennie is Killed
Lennie goes to the first setting, the area near the Salinas River, which is where George told him to go in case he got in trouble. George comes and Lennie is surprised that George isn't mad at him. Lennie tells George to tell him about their dream farm and George does. When Lennie is not facing George, George pulls Carlson's Luger to Lennie's head and kills him only when he hears footsteps of the other men. This was out of the strength of his love for Lennie -
Lennie is Killed Part 2
George kills him because he knew Curley wouldn't show mercy and he'd regret not being the one to kill like Candy did. The setting ironic because it was originally their safe place and it turned into the place where Lennie would get killed. -
Lennie Kills a Puppy
Lennie goes to the barn to play with the puppies. He accidentally kills a puppy and begins to panic that George wouldn't allow him to tend to rabbits on their dream farm. This event also foreshadows Curley's wife's death. The barn is symbolic of how Lennie can't function by himself. It is also ironic because the barn is meant to be a safe place for the animals but it ends up being the place where the puppy and Curley's wife are killed.
