Chapter 6

The Giant rabbit. Lennie imagines seeing his Aunt Clara, along with a giant rabbit, both which spoke in his voice.

In the end of the book, when Lennie is at the river after he has run away because he killed Curely’s wife, he has a vision of seeing his Aunt Clara, and a gigantic rabbit. Aunt Clara talked about how George would always do nice things for Lennie such as giving him more than half the pie, but Lennie never gave a thought about George. She also says how if it wasn’t for him, George could have a great life, and how Lennie wouldn’t be able to leave, instead he would stick around and “stew the b’Jesus outa George all the time”. Then the giant rabbit appeared, and talked about how Lennie would never be able to tend rabbits, he would forget about them and they would starve. The rabbit also told Lennie that George is sick of him, and he’s going to beat the hell out of him, and then leave him all alone.

I think Lennie had that vision because he knew he had done something really bad, but his childlike mind couldn’t understand the amount of trouble that he had gotten into. I also think that it is foreshadowing his death. These two things, his aunt and a rabbit, which meant so much to him, were taunting him, sort of giving him a recap of his life, and how he was no good.

I think they weren’t including the movie because they were a little bit random, and it would ruin the mood, of how George was running to find Lennie, and then he found him, calmed him down, and shot him. If Lennie suddenly starting having visions of things, it would not make the ending as suspenseful. Also, the story doesn’t quite have an insight of anyone’s mind, so if suddenly we are seeing what Lennie is thinking, that wouldn’t quite fit.

I think the story wasn’t the greatest or most interesting, but it wasn’t terrible either. It had very good descriptions of scenery, and people. And Steinbeck was good at setting the mood of the story. At the end, I was quite shocked with what had happened. I mean, I know that it wouldn’t be ‘everyone lives happily ever after’, with all the death and all, but I didn’t want a character that was so sweet and confused to die. In the end of the book, the only one who truly understands what George was going though was Slim, so he asked him to get a drink. I think if George truly still wanted to, he could possibly share the land with Slim, because he seems to be a smart person, who would be easy to get along with. In the movie, it shows George on a train, going away. I think he was possibly just trying to get away from where Lennie was, not wanting to think about the fact that he shot him, and that he wasn’t there anymore. And I did like after how it showed a flashback of George and Lennie together, having a good time. It made the mood a little bit lighter, knowing that Lennie wouldn’t be causing any more trouble.

Chapter 5

All by Myself - Celine Dion
When I was young
I never needed anyone
And making love was just for fun
Those days are gone
Livin' alone
I think of all the friends I've known
When I dial the telephone
Nobody's home

All by myself
Don't wanna be
All by myself
Anymore

Hard to be sure
Sometimes I feel so insecure
And loves so distant and obscure
Remains the cure

All by myself
Don't wanna be
All by myself
Anymore
All by myself
Don't wanna live
All by myself
Anymore

When I was young
I never needed anyone
Making love was just for fun
Those days are gone

All by myself
Don't wanna be
All by myself
Anymore
All by myself
Don't wanna live
Oh
Don't wanna live
By myself, by myself
Anymore
By myself
Anymore
Oh
All by myself
Don't wanna live
I never, never, never
Needed anyone

In chapter 5, we read more about how lonely Curley's wife was. About her past and how she was going to go to Hollywood. So when I heard this song, it reminded me of the loneliness in the story. About Curely's wife, and also how lonely Crooks was.
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Personally I don't think that anyone is to blame for the tragic events. But if you look at it, I guess you could find a reason for each person. Lennie is mentally disabled, and he likes to stroke soft things. So when Curely's wife said that he could touch her hair, he was happy, and he didn't want to stop even after she said to. He then freaked out when she started to scream, and he did the only thing he could think of, to hold on, which then leads to her breaking her neck. So it was kind of Lennie's fault but then again it wasn't because of his disabilities, he didn't know what he was doing. You could also say it was Curely's fault, or his wife's fault. Curely never paid attention to her, and she was therefore very lonely. This lead to her wanting to talk to other people, but he got mad when she did. But honestly, I don't think there is anyone to blame, it was just what was eventually going to happen. And, because this is a story, it had to have some ending, it seemed like something bad was going to happen to Curely's wife because she was always looking for companionship, and just seemed like she truly didn't belong.

Compared to the movie, chapter 5 is much the same. In the beginning of the chapter, you see that George is talking to the puppy more, which shows more emotion of how he was upset that it died. In the book, Curely's wife tells Lennie sooner not mess up her hair, and he is the one that says, "Oh, that's nice", where in the movie she was also saying that. Another difference in the book is that when Candy finds Curely's wife, he goes on about how upset he is that now they can't live their dream, and have their place of their own. One last difference I noticed was how Carlson says that his gun is missing and they think that Lennie stole it. In the movie, it doesn't quite explain where George got the gun that shot Lennie. But other than that, I thought the chapter was quite the same.

Chapter 4

I chose this picture because it not only represents being different, but also being alone. In the picture, there is only one yellow ducky, and the rest are all black so he is different. He is feeling alone because all the black ducks have their backs turned to him, and he wants to go with them, but they are ignoring him.
Both being different and loneliness are a big themes in this book. The prejudice in the story can be showed by these two themes. Many characters are effected by this including Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife.
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In chapter 4, it talks about Crooks, the Negro stable buck, and how racism affects him. In the chapter, he is sitting in his room and Lennie walks in. Only Slim or the boss go into his room, and he says this is because he is black. He then tells Lennie about how when he was younger, and how he used to play with the white kids, but his daddy wasn't happy about that. And how as he got older, he realized that racism had become a problem in his life. Steinbeck really describes how racism has affected Crook's life, and how lonely it has made him.

I think Steinbeck really wanted to get his message out, and tell people what it used to and still is like to be affected by racism and prejudice. He really tells us what it was like for Crooks, and I can really feel what he is going through, and I feel really bad for him. But in the film, the director decided to play down the racism probably because it is a real problem, and people don't like to see movies when one of the conflicts is actually taking place. Instead, people just want to ignore the fact, or pretend that it isn't that bad. But the fact is that it isn't pretty, and sometime you don't even realize you are being prejudice towards someone. Instead, Gary Sinise decided to play up the loneliness of Curley's wife. This is probably because people wouldn't feel as bad about themselves, and they get the intention that this problem can easily be fixed. Also, with society today, people would rather see a movie about a women who is all alone, and sad, where we feel really bad for her compared to a movie about racism. But if it was a movie about racism, and how people are truly hurting someone inside, this usually makes the audience uncomfortable.

Chapter 4 is pretty different in the book compared to the movie. First of all, in the movie, it does not show when Crooks is explaining to Lennie about how racism affected him as a child. In the film, Candy and Curely's wife come into Crook's room. Candy sits down, and joins their conversation. Candy and Lennie also tell Crooks about their dream. Crooks gets interested, and asks if he can help out. Later on, Curely's wife comes in. She starts to talk a little bit about her loneliness, and asks what happened to Curely's hand. But the guys just want her to leave, not wanting to cause any trouble. In the movie Curely's wife is talking to Lennie and George about this. In the book, later on when Crooks tells her to leave, she threatens him and tells him that she can easily get him fired.

She replied by saying "nobody would listen to you and you know it." This really made me see how they don't fit it, and that that is true. Nobody would listen to any of them. Steinbeck really shows how left out and how different they all are. At the end of the chapter when Candy and Lennie are leaving, Crooks tells him to just forget about being involved with their dream. This made me realize how lonely Crooks really is. He thinks that everyone hates him, and I don't think he has much to live for. Earlier on, Curely's wife said, "They left all the weak ones here." And this just made me think of how all of them there was like a meeting of the left out people, or who are being descriminated against.

Chapter 3

Crooks-

(Morgan Freeman) Crooks is the only black person on the ranch. He is the stable buck. He has a lean negro head, lined with pain, and eyes that are patient. In chapter three, he isn't mentioned that often, but I know he will be later on.

Whit-

(Christian Bale) Witt is another guy who is working on the ranch. When he is first introduced, he is described as a young laboring man with sloping shoulders, and he walked heavily on his heels, as though he carried the invisible grain bag. Christian Bale looks like a young hard worker.

Curely's Wife-

I thought Rachel McAdems would be a good fit for Curley's wife. She doesn't quite sound like his wife who has a "voice that has a nasal, brittle quality", but her looks seem to fit the wife's personality.

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In chapter three, I really got to understand the characters a little better. For example, Candy really truly cared about his dog, and when he died, he was really upset. And you can tell he doesn't have much to live for. So when he heard George and Lennie talking about them "living off the fat of the land", he was really interested. Curley seems to have a higher rank, being the boss's son. He also is constantly looking for his wife, and got upset easily when Lennie laughed at him. Also, Slim seems to be of high rank, for the other guys were saying that Curely wouldn't dare to blame Slim, and they don't truly know what he can do. Also, when Lennie ruined Curely's hand, Slim was the one to step in and tell Curely to not say anything. Both Crooks and Candy don't have a very high rank though. Crooks is the only African American, and therefore the other guys are partially raciest to him. And because Candy is old, and lost his hand, he is not really looked up to. He knows that he won't last long, and will be canned soon.

Chapters 1 & 2

Chapter One:

Steinbeck-

This is a picture of the author of Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck.

George-

(Justin Bartha) George is one of the main characters. He is described as small and quick and of dark face, with restless eyes, and sharp, strong features. He also has strong hands, slender arms, and a thin and bony nose.

Lennie-

(Jack Nicholson) Lennie is the second main character. He is a huge man, with a shapeless face, large pale eyes, and wide sloping shoulders. He travels around with George, and has a mental problem, with the mind of a small child.

The Setting-

The setting is described as a hillside bank, with one side of the river curving up to the Gabilan mountains, and on the valley side, it is lined with trees, willows and sycamores. There is also a path, worn in by people, there are also rabbits which would come out of the brush to sit on the sand in the evening.

I think John Steinbeck does a great job in describing the setting, and really lets me have a good felling of what it looks like. By describing so thoroughly, I think it was a good way to start the story. I thought the first chapter was a lot like the beginning of the movie, and it really let me compare the descriptions of what George and Lennie look like compared to what the actors look like. Also, although I thought describing the setting was a good way to start off the book, in the beginning of the movie, when George and Lennie are running away made the story seem very exciting. It also made me feel like I saw more of what the conflict was, and what had happened. But in the first chapter, you don’t quite get an understanding of the conflict just yet.

Chapter 2:

The Boss-

(James Cromwell) The boss is Curely's father. He is a little stocky man, and has a square steel buckle, high heeled boots, and spurs.

Candy-

Candy is often referred to as the old man, or old swamper. Only later on do we find out his name. He is described as tall, with stooped shoulders, wrists like round sticks, and has bristly white whiskers.

Candy's dog-

Candy's dog is described as a dragfooted sheepdog, with a grey muzzle, pale blind eyes and a grizzled moth-eaten coat.

Curely-

Curely is described as a thin young man, with a brown face and brown eye, and tightly curled hair.

Carlson-

Carlson was described as a powerful, big stomached man, with wet hair. The book doesn't describe him that much, so either he isn't that important, or we are going to find out more about him later.

Slim-

(James Gammon) Slim is big and tall, with long black damp hair. He has a "hatchet face which is ageless" and he looks and speaks with great authority and wisdom.

In the second chapter, many more characters were introduced. I really liked how Steinbeck would mostly describe the character before they actually spoke. He describes his characters very vividly. I noticed that in the book Candy is often referred to as the old man, or old swamper. It gives me the feeling that he isn’t all that important. From Steinbeck’s descriptions of the characters, I can really start to get the feeling of what they are truly like. For example, Curly is the mean guy, and his wife is quite a “tart”. Compared to the movie, it seems like Steinbeck describes Slim with much more authority. With the way Slim “moves with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen.”, and how there was “a quiet so profound that all stopped when he spoke.” So I’m quite excited to read more of the book and see how it compares to the movie.