Mice and Men
... boss is a fair man. The boss comes in after George and Lennie finish making their beds. He notices that George always answers for Lennie when he questions the men about reporting late for work,. When he hears Lennie talk, the man realizes Lennie is retarded. He asks George if he is traveling with Lennie just to take advantage of his traveling companion. George lies to the boss, saying that Lennie is his cousin who was kicked in the head by a horse when he was younger. When the boss leaves, George gets mad at Lennie for talking because now the boss is suspicious. George tells Lennie to keep his mouth shut and let him do all of the talking. After the boss leaves, Candy comes back in the bunhouse. George accuses Candy of listening in on their conversation. Candy says, “I didn’t hear nothing you guys was sayin”. I ain’t interested in nothing you was sayin’. A guy on a ranch don’t never listen nor he don’t ask no questions.” The boss’s son Curley barges into the bunkhouse. When Curley sees the size of Lennie, he goes into a boxer’s stance and tells Lennie to talk to him.He tries to pick a fight with Lennie, but Lennie won’t move a muscle. Then Curly leaves the bunkhouse. Candy tells the George and Lennie that Curley was a boxer and that he tries to pick fights with every man he meets, especially those who are bigger than him. Since Curley is the boss’s son, he knows he won’t get of gett fired. Candy also tells them about Curley’s new, who has started hanging around the bunkhouse and flirting with most of the ranch hands. After Candy leaves, the two of them talk about Curley. George tells Lennie that Curley is the type who is always looking for trouble. George advises Lennie to keep away from him. Lennie is afraid that Curley will hurt him, and George tells him to keep his mouth shut and go to the other side of the room whenever Curley is around. Then he reminds Lennie of their agreement that if Lennie ever gets into trouble. George tells him that he is to go hide in the brush down by the river where they had camped the night before and wait there until he arrives. Then their conversation is interrupted again when they realize someone has come into the room. It is Curley’s wife who enters the bunkhouse looking for her husband. Even though her visit is short, it is enough for Lennie to decide she is beautiful and for George to decide that she is a troublesome tramp. When Slim, the ranch authority and sage, comes into the bunkhouse, he interviews the new men as did the boss and his son, but with a gentle and friendly manner. He also introduces them to Carlson, a powerful, big-stomached ranch hand. Carlson asks Slim about his dog and her puppies and suggests giving Candy one to replace his smelly, old dog. Anticipating Lennie’s request, George agrees to ask Slim if Lennie can also have one of the puppies, a brown and white one. The chapter ends when Curley comes back into the bunkhouse looking for trouble and also for his wife. “Ya know, Lennie,” George tells him, “I’m scared I’m gonna tangle with that bastard myself. I hate his guts. Jesus Christ!” Later that same Friday, Slim and George return to the bunkhouse. Outside the other men play horseshoes, while inside Slim and George discuss Lennie. According to George, he and Lennie were born in the same town. George knew Lennie’s Aunt Clara who had raised Lennie from infancy. When she died, George became his caregiver. George denies that Lennie is dumb, saying instead that he is simple. He confesses that he played tricks on Lennie in the past but stopped when he realized Lennie’s loyalty was so strong that he would do anything George required. George also tells Slim why he and Lennie left their last job in Weed. Lennie had seen a girl’s dress that he thought was pretty, so he reached out to touch it. When he did, the girl began to scream. Lennie panicked, gripped the dress, and wouldn’t let go until George hit him in the head with a fence picket. When the girl reported that she had been raped, Lennie was in danger of being lynched, so the two men fled. When Lennie comes in, hiding a newborn pup that Slim has given him, George demands that he give it back to its mother. He explains that Lennie will kill the pup if it isn’t returned to its mother. Slim commends George for his efforts and agrees that Lennie is a “nice fella,” a good-hearted person who “ain’t mean,” a childlike man. Candy and his lame dog come in, followed by Carlson, a ranch hand. After complaining about the smell of the old dog, Carlson suggests shooting it to put it out of its misery. Candy refuses, saying that the dog has been his companion for many years. Carlson presses the issue and will not be put off by Candy’s remonstrances. They are interrupted by Whit, another ranch hand, who shows them a western magazine and a letter to the editor written by a man who had worked on the ranch three months before. When conversation turns back to Candy’s dog, and Slim agrees with Carlson that the dog is no good to anyone, Candy yields to the pressure. Carlson, his gun in his pocket, leads the dog out of the bunk while Candy lies staring at the ceiling. The silence that follows is uncomfortable for all. After the shot has sounded, Crooks, the stable buck, comes to the bunkhouse for Slim. The two of them leave to go to the barn to mend a mule’s foot with hot tar. During a card game with Whit, George is invited to go to Susie’s place, one of the local whorehouses. When Curley comes looking for his wife, he hints that he is going to confront Slim about her whereabouts. The men in the bunkhouse follow him to the barn to watch the match. George and Lennie are left in the room. Candy, forgotten, remains on his bunk facing the wall. In this private moment, Lennie again prods George to tell him again of their dream home. Lennie becomes fixated on tending the rabbits. As George describes the ten-acre farm, Candy is drawn into their dream. To become a partner in their dream, he offers to give George $350 of the $600 George says he would need to buy the farm. George agrees. All three are excited at the now realistic prospect of getting the farm. Obviously irritated, Slim returns to the bunkhouse followed closely by an apologetic Curley. Carlson verbally attacks Curley, calling him “yella as a frog belly.” Even Candy adds an insult, mentioning Curley’s gloved hand, “Glove fulla vaseline.” When Curley turns his glare to Lennie, Lennie is still smiling at the idea of the farm and the rabbits. Curley, however, thinks Lennie is laughing at the insults directed at him. Curley attacks Lennie, bringing blood from his nose. Then Curley attacks his stomach and cuts off his wind. Lennie cries out and tries to escape. It is only when George has directed him to fight back that Lennie makes a move at Curley. As Curley swings to hit Lennie again, Lennie catches Curley’s fist in his own big hand and crushes it. He brings Curley to the floor “flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed fist was lost in Lennie’s big hand.” When George finally gets Lennie to release Curley, his hand is mutilated. Lennie is miserable, insisting that he didn’t want to hurt anybody, and George is afraid that the boss will fire him and Lennie. Slim convinces Curley not to rat on Lennie, telling him to say he got his hand stuck in a machine. If not, he and the men will tell what really happened and everyone will laugh at Curley. Lennie’s only concern is that George won’t let him tend the rabbits on their dream ranch because of what he did to Curley. George reassures him that he didn’t do anything wrong. Chapter 4 takes place on the following Saturday night. It is set in the tidy room of Crooks, the Negro stable buck, who tends to the horses and mends the leather items used with the animals. His room, a shed built against the wall of the barn, is decorated in much the same way as the bunkhouse, except he keeps in his room his leather working tools and medicines. His room also contains more personal items, including books. He has a dictionary and a copy of the California civil code. Crooks is himself crooked, bent to the left by a crooked spine. Steinbeck describes him as a “proud, aloof man,” who keeps his distance and demands that the others on the ranch keep theirs. Crooks is sitting on his bed rubbing medicine onto his back when Lennie appears at his doorway, smiling. He explains that he has come into the barn to look at his puppy. He says that the others have gone into town and that he has gotten lonely. Though Crooks is at first reluctant to have one of the white farm hands in his room, he eventually yields. Crooks decides aloud that Lennie is completely crazy and that Lennie often doesn’t understand and can’t remember what George talks about. He recognizes, too, the need of one man to have the company of another, even if it is just someone to talk to, who can’t understand completely. Enjoying his intellectual superiority over Lennie, Crooks begins to taunt him, telling him to imagine that George never came back, and asking Lennie what he’d do. Lennie, not understanding, thinks that someone has hurt George and becomes angry. Crooks calms him and explains that he was just trying to make Lennie see how lonely things are for the only black man on the ranch. He cries to Lennie, telling him that books are not enough; reading doesn’t take the place of the companionship he is denied simply because of his color. Lennie remains oblivious to Crooks’s point and returns, instead, to the dream of the two men to buy their farm. Crooks is scornful, saying that he’s seen hundreds of men come along with the same dream. When Candy enters the barn looking for Lennie, Crooks calls him into his room. Candy, a little embarrassed, enters and comments that this is the first time he’s ever been in Crooks’s room even though they have both been there for a long time. Sufficiently recovered, and prompted by Lennie, Candy returns to his original topic, the rabbits they will have on their farm. Crooks interrupts to add that their dream is an impossible one that he has seen shattered every time. Candy defends their dream, telling Crooks that they already have the needed money in the bank. Crooks becomes drawn into the potential of this dream-about-to-become-a-reality, and he offers to work for free if they will just let him in on it. At this moment, Curley’s wife enters. Lennie stares at her, fascinated by her beauty. Curley and Crooks scowl at her, and then each, in turn, encourages her to leave. She resists, arguing that she too should have someone she can talk to. Candy flares and stands up, insisting that she leave. He declares he is not afraid of her trying to get them fired, because they have a farm of their own to go to. She laughs, saying that she’s seen lots of men with that dream. Candy returns her derisive laugh and declares that the men will not talk to her. Curley’s wife then turns her attention to Lennie, asking him where the bruises on his face came from. Candy becomes angry and threatens to tell George on her. Crooks stands up with Candy and tells Curley’s wife that she has no business there and he insists that she leave his room. Curley’s wife turns on him, scornful, and reminds him that she can easily have him hanged. It is enough to crush Crooks and he submits completely. Candy returns the threat, saying that they would reveal that she had set him up. She retaliates, saying that nobody would believe them. Candy concedes that she is right. Candy is finally successful in getting her to leave by telling her that he hears the men returning from town. When she slips out, Crooks asks the others to go. Candy speaks up, saying that Curley’s wife has no business speaking to him that way. Crooks, though, remains in his completely submissive state. George, coming into the barn looking for Lennie, is hailed into Crooks’s room. He openly objects to Lennie being in Crooks’s room. When Candy begins to tell George about the figuring he’s been doing about their farm, George stops him, reminding him that he was to tell no one. George orders the two men out of Crooks’s room. As the three men are leaving, Crooks, having bee...