John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men



The two main characters are George and Lennie. There is the unlikely relationship between them. Lennie, because of his mental immaturity, is reliant upon George. The another importanat is the fact how George relies on Lennie in unfriendly and lonely enviroment of the migrant labourer. This bond of trust and friendship is tragically highlighted in the closing lines of the novel.

Curley´s wife is also important character. She got married Curly to escape from her own loneliness. Further, his failure to satisfy her, leads her to find solance with other man. She cannot escape from the sexual image so she started to exploit it as a means of defence.

Crooks is the only black man in the novel. He shows the position of blacks in America at the time. He has own room in the barn. White men do not insult him deliberately but the term „nigger“ signals to us that black maen were degraded verbally and physically. As well as George and Lennie, Crooks has a dream of owning a ranch.

Candy wants to join George and Lennie to buy their own ranch. The section involving the shooting of Candy´s old rheumatic dog shows the sharpness of the enviroment. Despite the fact that Curley is privileged as the boss´ son and have wealth and power, compared with other ranch hand, he is a victim. He has entered into an unsuccessful marriage even though through outward shows his manliness.

Slim is an important character because, although he is one of the ranch hands, he remains detached from the other characters. He is sensitive to the special nature of George and Lennie´s friendship and he has positive influence on uneasy life on the ranch.