At a glimpse, Lennie appears as a huge brute, capable of great destruction. He
is huge and capable of great destruction, but he is in no way a brute. He might
be a bit mentally disabled, or he might just be very unintelligent. Whatever the
reason, Lennie has the mind of a child. His impulses take control of him, like
they would a child, and his enormous strength causes Lennie to hurt animals and
People. George- George is Lennie's hero, his protector and his friend. He is
hardened by the arduous task of keeping Lennie out of trouble while at the same
time making a living. George can be cruel to Lennie, and is most times, but he
has a decent heart and wants what is best for Lennie. Slim- Slim works with
George and Lennie. He has a strong, noble, and wise appearance. Slim's word was
law around the ranch. Always levelheaded, Slim always seemed to know the best
way to deal with a situation. John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, in
1902. He studied to become a marine biologist, but never got his degree. He
started writing and finished his first book in 1935. He won several awards
including the Nobel Prize for Literature. He died in 1968 leaving behind an
unattainable legacy. The book begins with Lennie and George on their way to a
new job on a ranch in California. They new the work would be temporary, but they
needed money badly. George informed Lennie to keep his mouth shut and his hands
to himself once they arrived. The boss's son, Curly, immediately disliked Lennie
because he was such a huge man. Lennie was a boxer and loved to pick fights with
bigger guys to prove his manhood. Curly's wife was a loose woman. She was often
flirty with the ranch hands, and this made Curly paranoid. One day, Curly got
upset with Lennie for smirking at him, so he picked a fight. Lennie didn't want
to fight Curly, and he especially did not want to hurt him. However, Lennie
ended up breaking several bones in Curly's hand. Lennie and George devised a
plan, a dream. They wanted to raise enough money to buy their own little piece
of land that they could farm and raise rabbits on (Lennie loved rabbits). George
began to think that it was a feasible idea. Lennie was giddy with excitement at
the idea of his own rabbits to raise. However, their plans were cut short. One
fateful day, Lennie was sitting in the barn mourning over a puppy he had
accidentally killed. Curly's wife sauntered in and began to talk to Lennie.
Lennie was captivated, for she was very beautiful. He became so excited that he
scared her. She began to scream. In order to keep her quiet, Lennie began to
cover her mouth and shake her. He shook her so hard that he killed her. When
George heard the news, he knew what had to be done. He found Lennie in some
woods before anyone else and shot him in the back of the head. The story is set
during the Great Depression. The geographical setting is just outside of
Soledad, California. The story line takes place over a period of a couple of
days. John Steinbeck's use of irony makes the story extremely interesting. One
example of this is the story's main character, Lennie. He is an ironic character
because he possesses twice the strength and size of a normal man but only half
of a normal man's intellect. Also, George was Lennie's guide and protector for
long while. The irony of this situation is that George ended up killing Lennie
after years of protecting him.