Payton’s Reviews > Of Mice and Men > Status Update

Curley's wife gets panicked as Lennie gets somewhat carried away when he strokes her hair. One thing led to another, and Lennie snaps Curley's wife's neck. Candy finds Curley's wife dead and tells George. Eventually, all the other guys find out, and they start their witch hunt. Carlson exclaims that his luger is missing, but in the end, it is clear that George stole it. George is the one to kill Lennie in the brush.

Crooks protested again Curley's Wife's presence, and she put him in his place quickly, explaining that she could have him killed. Curley's Wife bothers them so more because she's chased out by the boys coming home. George is skeptical about Candy and Lennie telling Crooks about the farm. In the next chapter, Lennie kills another pup. As he mourns over it, Curley's Wife finds him and continues her flirting with him.

Lennie and Crooks continued to talk, Crooks speaking about his struggles with being lonely on the farm. Lennie hardly pays attention to him, pondering over George and the rabbits. Candy then finds them, and Crook allows him into his room, feigning anger. While Candy, Crooks, and Lennie talk about the land they are going to have, Curley's wife finds them. She asks about Curley, and they all lie to her.

Lennie eventually fights with Curley, who targets him specifically even though the arguments concern the entire ranch. Lennie allows Curley to hit him repeatedly until George reassures Lennie it is okay to fight back. Lennie grabs Curley's hand and crushes it in his grip. Slim makes him promise not to tell the ranch owner. While they take Curley into town, Lennie talks to the black stable boy.

George and Lennie return to discussing their dream of having a farm and caring for rabbits. George goes on about his image of the place, and it's abundantly clear he misses his old home. Perhaps he wishes that he had not met Lennie so that he could stay there. Candy, the old man, joins their conversation and says that he could put 350 dollars into the farm if Lennie and George would let him work there. They agreed.

Lennie learns of the puppies that Slim's dog recently birthed,and George promises to get him one. George tells Slim about their past, too. Carlson, another worker on the ranch, wants Candy, an old man working on the ranch, to take one of the puppies too.Candy has this old dog with no teeth and a foul smell. Carlson hates this old dog, and every time it's bought up, he asks Candy to shoot the old dog and get a new one

Lennie and George got introduced to Slim and Carlson. Slim is described as this magnificent, royal being, demonstrating the weight he holds to many people on the farm. They say that he is a prince. However, the first thing he says to George and Lennie contains a swear word and an indication of a strong accent. This juxtaposition shows that on the farm, people care less for education and more for skill. He has puppies

The boss's son, Curley, almost sizes Lennie up. He's small, but he has experience in the ring. The Old Man says that Curley likes to fight bigger guys (like Lennie) just to show that he could. George tells Lennie to stay far away from him to avoid starting trouble on the ranch. Curley has a wife, and she's been around with other guys on the ranch like Slim. She sees George and Lennie and gets flirty with them quick.

George and Lenni then met the boss, who was angry that had not made it in time to work the mornings. Lennie didn't say anything unless George nodded or gave a signal to show that he could speak to them. This was agreed upon beforehand. Curly then appears. He's the boss's son, and he's terribly suspicious of Lennie. George lies to them, saying things like Lennie is his cousin and he got kicked in the head by a horse.

George and Lennie finally reach the ranch they plan to work on. An old man shows them their beds, and the living conditions are not excellent. The Old Man, because George identified lice and bedbug repellent on his bed, says a blacksmith used to stay there. He emphasizes the blacksmith was happy and "just quit," which gives the vibe that the blacksmith did not "just quit." People on the ranch also appear to be racist