Of Mice and Men Chunk Packet Beckham Myers, Yellow Harkey 10-17-12 Chunk 1. . .p. 2 Chunk 2. . .p.

3 Chunk 4. . .p.4 Chunk 5. . .p.5

The Portrayal of Curley as Manipulative and Unfair (Chunk 1)

Steinbecks character Curley is represented throughout the novella as manipulative and unfair through the use of third person dialogue as a messaging system to the reader. After George and Lennie first meet Curley and are settling in to the bunkhouses, an old man tells them, Spose Curley jumps a big guy an licks him. Everbody says what a game guy Curley is. And spose he does the same thing and gets licked. Then everbody says the big guy oughtta pick on somebody his own size. . . (26). The situation outlined by the old man demonstrate Curleys use of manipulation, as Curley can get the following and admiration of others even if he is not particularly big or strong. Instead of obviously stating so, Steinbeck has his characters relay this important character trait to the reader by allowing the reader to view what the characters think and believe, giving the reader better understanding and insight. Steinbeck masterfully uses third person dialogue to demonstrate how Curley is manipulative, not just by saying so, in this well written novella.

John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men and Robert Burns To a Mouse (Chunk 2)
John Steinbeck alludes to the famous poem To a Mouse, written by Robert Burns, by referencing a line in the seventh stanza and borrowing Steinbecks title and the idea that the plans decided on by the protagonists do not always fall into place the way they were planned. In the seventh stanza and in the third line of that stanza, Burns writes, The best laid schemes o mice an men / Gang aft agley (39). George and Lennie, in Of Mice and Men, chase the dream of owning their own piece of land, and turning it into a ranch, where they would live out their days together. Steinbeck directly alludes to this poem as the reader understands that even the best of plans in concept and application sometimes fall apart, as in the case of George and Lennie, where the dream dies as George is forced to end Lennies life. Steinbeck represents his own characters as the mice an men that Burns references in his own poem, as to better develop his characters and to show that even the best schemes go awry.

The Purpose of the Dream of George and Lennie (Chunk 4)

As any human will, George and Lennie have a dream, or an ambition, which they decide to hold onto and strive for, as it will give their lives purpose and a goal, but more importantly, giving them what they never had, as itinerant workers, a home. After Candy and George find Curleys wife dead, Candy asks George if the dream would still happen, and George says to him, -I think we knowed from the very first . . . wed never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would. . . (94). George realizes, that with Lennie gone, the dream has lost all that it had stood for: a permanent home for the two constantly roaming but close farmhands. George and Lennie used the dream as a way to leave their seemingly impossibly lonely lives and when Lennie was shot, George gives up the dream, as it was Lennie who got him believing in it. The two itinerant laborers use their dream as a way to stay connected and hold onto reality, but as Lennie dies George loses the connection and hold that they both so often relied upon.

The Final Decision of George (Chunk 5)

George, in an attempt to spare his friend Lennie from pain, shoots him in the back of the head, which in the end, turned out to be a decision of kindness that only the bravest and best of friends could ever make. As the ranch hands, in pursuit of Lennie, have almost reached them, George says, No Lennie. I aint mad. I never been mad, an I aint now. . . and then, Steinbeck writes, The hand shook violently, but his [George] face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. . . (106). Before George ends Lennies life, he makes sure Lennie understands that he has always been loved and valued, so George can be confident that Lennie has died thinking of the dream he has always had, and knowing George was never mad at him. George knows that if Curley kills Lennie, it will be in a painful and gruesome way, so George wants to take mercy and spare Lennie the pain he will experience in return for the guilt that he will forever feel. George decides that he wants Lennie to die as painlessly as possible, and with the thoughts he cherishes on his mind, which results in George having to shoot Lennie himself, something a friend should never have to do.