Of Mice and Men 
John Steinbeck

(11/27/21-11/28/21)

JN:

     Through a forest on a beaten path, George Milton, a small and quick man, and Lennie Small, a larger (ironic) and less intelligent man, walked along a pathway. Lenny went to the nearby pond and began drinking from it until George pulled him out. After reprimanding him, Lenny asked where they were going, making George explain the situation again (Lenny's forgotten multiple times). George told him that they were headed to a ranch to find work since Lenny got them kicked out of the last work for groping a woman’s bum, even though George only did it to feel the dress (not a great excuse). This immediately put them on the run and now they had to find new work. After that explanation, George found out that Lenny had a dead mouse in his pocket that he had been rubbing while they walked (that’s disgusting on many levels). George let him keep it for now and they continued walking until nighttime neared. 

     After George pondered aloud about the stable life he would’ve had without  Lenny, he suggested they get supplies to prepare for a dinner consisting of beans (limited supplies). Lenny was sent to retrieve wood but only brought back a twig, George threw away his mouse. Feeling ashamed, George said he’d get him another mouse, but not a live one since Lenny had a history of crushing them while petting them. As the beans cooked, Lenny asked for ketchup one too many times, and George exploded, berating Lenny about how his stupidity got them into this situation in the first place and again how his life would be without having Lenny as a burden. George then went to lie down, and Lenny came over and apologized for asking. After Lenny offered to leave George alone and live elsewhere, they made up because George knew he couldn’t leave Lenny like that. They told a story to each other that they often told, one about gaining enough money to buy a house and live in it together. Lenny would get his rabbits and George would get his peace and quiet. George also promised to get him a dog so that he could have something large enough to pet without killing it. Promptly, they went to bed and George made Lenny repeat back to him that he wouldn’t say anything while George got them a job the following day and if they got in trouble to return to a specified bush. 

     In the morning, an old swamped (essentially a general assistant) named Candy gave them a tour of the ranch. Candy told them that they had been expecting them the night before and the boss was angry about them arriving late, saying that he would take out his anger on the only black man on the ranch (obviously racism was still a huge issue at this point). The black man didn’t give in to the beating and overall seemed like a nice guy and read a lot, according to Candy. After talking about how the boss was pretty nice except for when he got angry, the boss walked in and Candy walked out. George apologized for being late and talked to the boss about his history and promoted Lenny's work ethic. Naturally, George doing all the talking made the boss suspicious, but George put to rest most of these suspicions by saying that George looked after Lenny and that they were cousins, the latter being a lie. The boss warned George not to undergo any funny business and told them to find Slim for their first job. 

     G and Lenny found Candy outside with an elderly sheepdog when a young man named Curley approached them. Curley immediately noticed that Lenny wasn’t talking so he tried to pressure him into it and George had to defend him. After Curley left, George learned from Candy that he was the boss’s son and liked to pick fights with big guys since it was a win-win scenario for him; either he beats the big guy or the big guy gets punished for beating on the little guy. The conversation soon arrived at Curley's wife, which Candy explained was flirtatiously promiscuous. After Candy left, George explained to Lenny that under no circumstance should he talk or try to fight Curley. Neither of them liked their situation but they knew they had to get through it (all for the dream). As they talked, Curley's wife approached them and began flirting until Slim came from behind her. After she left, George told Lenny again that under no circumstance should Lenny even look at her (which makes sense given Lenny's history). 

     S, a handsome, confident man who worked as a jerk skinner (leading a pack of mules) came to George and Lenny and asked them if they were bucking barley (throwing barley on a truck). George said yes and after some talking, told Slim about how he and Lenny watched out for each other, which Slim found admirable. Just then, a burly man named Carlson joined the conversation and Slim made the appropriate introductions. Slim and Carlson spoke of a litter of new pups that Slim's dog produced and what they planned to do with them. In the background, a triangle began ringing which meant dinner, so they all made their way there. Lenny got a moment to talk to George and asked him if George could ask Slim for one of those pups and George promised he would try. 

     Much later, George and Slim walked into the bunks together, George thanking Slim profusely for giving one of his pups to Lenny. Slim replied he would have drowned most of them anyway, but George repeated his thanks, saying how much it meant to Lenny. Slim commented on Lenny's strength and work ethic, and George explained how when they were younger, he used to play pranks on Lenny since he would do whatever he said. However, these pranks didn’t prove much fun as Lenny never knew he was pranked. After George told Lenny to jump into the water without knowing how to swim, and he did, George stopped the pranks, respecting  Lenny's unrelenting loyalty. George also confided in Slim about Lenny's previous incident that led to a rape allegation being placed against him. They stopped talking as Lenny entered the bunkhouse. Seemingly happy, he sat in his bed and George immediately noticed something was off: there was a puppy in Lenny's lap. Since the puppy was a newborn and still needed its mother's protection and nurturing, George made Lenny return it.

     C came in with his elderly dog behind him, and Carlson followed soon after. Candy's dog began to smell and Carlson convinced Candy to put the dog down, as it had little quality of life and suffered constantly. Just then, a man named Whit came in to show Slim how a man that used to work there wrote a letter in a magazine. Afterward, Whit and George played euchre (a very fun card game that resembles a bridge but the rounds go by much quicker), and Candy stared at the ceiling as Carlson brought the dog outside to do the deed. In consolation, Slim offered one of his pups to Calrson. As they waited for the sound of the gunshot, the stable buck (a black man who worked in the stables) named Crooks came in to tell Slim that the tar for one of his mule’s broken feet was ready, so he left. After the gunshot was heard, Whit invited George to join them on a trip to the bar the following day. Lenny and Carlson both returned from their respective duties, and Carlson asked if Curley had been to the bunks yet, as he was searching for his wife (he and his wife strangely constantly searched for each other). And speaking of the devil, Curley stormed in and immediately suspected Slim of being with his wife before storming out. Wanting to see action, Carlson and Whit followed him out. 

     With just George, Lenny, and C left inside, George began to ask Lenny to figure out if he had seen Curley's wife, and Lenny denied ever seeing her. (Pleasant moment ahead) Lenny then asked George to recite the property they planned to buy. George talked all about it and from the way he described it, George himself began to lose himself in the wonder of their dream. His description was so enticing that Candy spoke up and asked where this property was. At first, George defensively refused to say anything. Then, Candy offered to pay for half of it ($350 of $600) and give his share. Knowing that he was old, he would soon be canned since his hand had been injured, and he just wanted to own something and work on it. George knew that he and Lenny could make $100 over the next month and with Candy's proposal, suddenly the dream started to look like a reality. Hoping that he’d be able to haggle and buy the property for $450, he made Candy and Lenny swear to secrecy as they saved up. 

     Shortly after, Curley came back with an angered Slim, who couldn’t believe Curley would accuse him of being with his wife. Carlson and Candy joined in on berating Curley, and in a moment of uncertainty and shame, Curley caught sight of Lenny smiling to himself, still thinking about the dream. Using this as a way to fight, Curley began punching Lenny left and right as Lenny defended himself, knowing he couldn’t fight. Eventually, George told him to fight back and Lenny did, grabbing Curley's hand (and that was it. That was the whole fight). He held Curley's hand in his grip, crushing it until George came and made him release. Panicked, Lenny apologized for fighting but George calmed him down, saying that it was his fault for telling Lenny to fight in the first place. Slim settled all their worries about Curley telling his dad by holding how Curley struck first against him. 

     (Now to Crooks) Crooks slept in the harness room near the stables on a bale of hay and some rugs. Over the years, he had collected a good amount of possessions and made sure that his room was tidy and clean. Since it was Saturday night, George and the rest of them went into town to have some fun, leaving Crooks alone. Looking up to his doorway, he surprisingly saw Lenny standing there smiling. Lenny had just wanted to see his pup since Slim ordered him not to pet them for some time and saw light coming from Cr’s room. His initial reaction was to tell Lenny to leave but after discovering that Lenny wasn’t a threat, a racist, or mean, invited him to sit down. When Lenny asked why he slept in here, Crooks admitted that the rest of them wouldn’t want a black man sleeping with them because he stunk. Crooks asked him why he didn’t go with them into town, and Lenny replied that George didn’t want him to cause trouble so they went without him. Then Lenny, still entranced by the dream, began to tell Crooks about how he would take care of the rabbits and would own his land with Candy and George. Crooks knew of hundreds of guys who had the same fantasy and told this to Lenny, but Lenny remained rock solid in his conviction that they would achieve it. 

     Crooks suddenly realized that even though Lenny wasn’t the smartest, he still acted as someone to talk to so Crooks began to draw a hypothetical about what would happen if Lenny was alone. If this would happen, Lenny would be in a similar situation as Crooks, lonely and an outcast. Despite his best intentions, Lenny couldn’t get past not having George by his side. Suddenly, Candy came by, looking for Lenny, and when he found him, told him about how they would be able to make money off of the rabbits. Realizing the possibility of this coming true, Crooks began to get interested in it and offered to join them and work, but before Candy could answer, Curley's wife showed up and asked if they had seen Curley. A lengthy argument followed that consisted of Curley's wife’s racist remarks and threats against Crooks. Candy told her to leave them alone, and eventually, she finally did. At this time, George came back and found Candy and Lenny, scorning them for talking openly about the plan. As they left, Crooks told Candy that he was just kidding about joining them (which hopefully changes before the end). 

     Now Sunday afternoon, Lenny sat in a barn, mourning the death of his puppy, who he rubbed too hard and killed, while everyone else played horseshoe outside. He tried to come up with ways that he could get rid of the puppy or some way where he could still tend to the rabbits without crushing them. While he did this, Curley's wife entered the barn and approached Lenny. He knew that George told him not to talk to her and told her this multiple times, but she kept coming, insisting she only wanted to talk because she was lonely. As before, Lenny began to talk about the puppy he killed and how he wouldn’t be able to tend to the rabbits. Curley's wife asked why rabbits interested him, and Lenny told of a time when he was young and he got to pet rabbits at a fair and loved the way they felt. Seeing his fascination with touching soft things, Curley's wife offered her hair for Lenny to touch and he accepted, gradually touching it harder. Curley's wife told him not to mess it up and when he didn’t listen, began screaming at him to stop. This panicked Lenny and he held his hand over her mouth to get her to stop and when she didn’t, began to shake her. Lenny shook her too much though and broke her neck, killing her instantly (and I thought the puppies would be the worst thing that happened). After setting her down on some hay, he knew he did a bad thing and was in trouble, so he went to the bush that George told him to go to. 

     Sometime later, Candy came into the barn and saw Curley's wife lying there. He alerted George and they both knew exactly what happened. A disaster unfolded in front of them, as not only would their dream be on hold, George knew that he would have to bring Lenny in and hope he simply faced jail time. To avoid suspicion, he left and had Candy tell everyone else so that George wouldn’t be at the scene of the crime. Shortly thereafter, a group formed of an angered and murderous Curley, Carlson, Slim, and George. While Slim and George knew that Lenny hadn’t done it out of malice, they still couldn’t let him go free. 

     (Back to Lenny) Waiting in the bush, Lenny looked over the river and muttered to himself about how he didn’t forget where to go. Suddenly, his aunt manifested in front of him and began berating him about how he betrayed George and how George would do much better without him, a remark that Lenny agreed with. Then, a large rabbit replaced his aunt and told Lenny that he could never take care of rabbits and that he would forget to take care of them. The rabbit said that George would also beat him, but Lenny yelled back that he still wouldn’t leave. Then the rabbit left, and George came into view. He consoled Lenny and told him that he wouldn’t leave him. Lenny explained that he didn’t do anything bad and offered to live in a cave, but George told him to stay. George then told him about the dream, about how they were different because they had each other, and how they would get a little place and live happily. While Lenny happily listened to this, George slowly raised a gun to the back of Lenny's head. Lenny and George went on about how Lenny would tend to the rabbits and how they were going to the place now, and George pulled the trigger. Behind him, Curley, Carlson, and Slim showed up, and Slim consoled George as they walked away. (Wow. What a heartbreaking tragedy. All I can say is that I know where that Key and Peele sketch about the Hype Man came from).