of mice and men
...ngs of Lennie. It immediately jeopardises George and Lennie’s dream, as nobody trusts them. The boss is very cautious regarding the new workers because of bad experiences in the past. When Curley enters the bunkhouse there is tension from Curley’s point of view. Because he is the boss’s son he thinks that he can get away with anything and thinks that he is better than everybody else. He is naturally aggressive. ‘His arms gradually bent at the elbows and hands closed into fists he glances coldly at George and Lennie which makes Lennie feel a little nervous. Curley demands that Lennie talks. When Lennie finally talks Curley shouts at him. Candy warns them about Curley. He tells them that Curley likes to pick fights with bigger men just to see if he can win. First impressions on the ranch aren’t good and put George and Lennie’s dream in danger of ever coming true. When George tells Slim about what happened at Weed, Slim begins to understand a bit more why George and Lennie always travel round together. ‘I hardly never seen two guys travel together’ When George and Lennie were in Weed Lennie saw a girl. Because Lennie is childlike he liked to feel the girls dress as it was made out of velvet. The girl got the wrong idea and thought that Lennie was trying to rape or attack her; therefore George and Lennie were driven out of Weed. I think that Slim realises that it wasn’t all Lennie’s fault and he can’t help feeling sorry for him. Slim remarks ‘maybe ever’ body in the whole damn world is scared of each other’ Because of this incident I don’t think that you are entirely sure that another incident like this could happen again and therefore the tension rises. The first actual act of violence concerns Candy and his old dog. Candy and his dog have been together for a very long time but some of the other workers are getting annoyed with the dog because it stinks out the bunkhouse and just looks very old. Candy doesn’t want his dog to be shot as he has had him for a large part of his life. The men try to persuade Candy that he doesn’t need his dog no more and that it would put him out of his misery. Curley even says ‘the way I’d shoot him, he wouldn’t feel nothing’. Eventually after some persuasion the men persuade Candy to let Curley kill his old dog. Curley takes the dog outside and tension rises as the men wait for the gunshot. Candy turns over on his bed and leaves the other men talking. Almost immediately after this incident Curley decides to pick a fight with Lennie. The anger had been rising inside Curley since the day George and Lennie got there. Curley comes into the bunkhouse angry because he can’t find his wife. He targets Lennie because he thinks that Lennie won’t do anything if Curley hits him. Lennie begins to laugh at Curley ‘then Curley’s rage exploded. “Come on, ya big bastard…I’ll show you who’s yellow. Next Curley begins to violently attack Lennie but Lennie doesn’t retaliate he just takes it. All the men in the bunkhouse are telling him to fight back but he doesn’t listen until George tells him to. Lennie grabs Curley’s hand and doesn’t let go. He crushes it and all the men are telling him to let go but he won’t listen. Finally he lets go after breaking nearly every bone in Curley’s hand. The other men tell Curley to keep quiet about what happened. Once again George and Lennie’s dream is in danger because if Curley decides to say something to his dad than George and Lennie will be sacked and they won’t be able to afford the house. In the next scene, Crooks, the stable buck, tells Lennie about how no one wants him because he is black. He is very bitter towards Lennie at first. ‘Don’t come into a place where you’re not wanted’ Lennie doesn’t understand why blacks are treated differently to whites. Eventually Crooks warms to Lennie and Lennie tells him all about their dream. Crooks doesn’t believe that it could happen. ‘Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody never gets no land. It’s Justin their head’ Crooks is very jealous over r the other men but what he says seems to be very true. Crooks has seen many men come and go all with the same idea but none of them has ever achieved it. Then Crooks begins to tease Lennie by asking him what he would do if George never came back. Lennie gets very angry and tension rises as Lennie could explode at any moment. He calms down though but I think what Crooks said really got to him. Once again Lennie and Georges dream is in danger, as nobody believes it could happen. The dream is doomed when Lennie kills the puppy. He starts to panic and tries to cover it with straw. It reminds him of when he killed the mouse and knows that if George finds out he won’t be allowed to tend the rabbits. ‘I done a bad thing. I done another bad thing’ Lennie knows that what he did was wrong but can’t tell George. Next Curley’s wife comes into the barn and discovers the pup straight away. Lennie also knows that he shouldn’t be talking to her but she is too nice to him. They start talking about smooth things and Lennie begins to feel her hair. Once again Lennie begins to panic again and he can’t let go. Curley’s wife also begins to panic and starts trying to get Lennie of her hair but she can’t because of all the struggling and because Lennie is so strong he snaps her neck, instantly killing her. Lennie tries to wake her up but knows she is dead. ‘I didn’t know you’d get killed so easily’. Lennie is sorry for what he did and in a way you’...