Of Mice and Men - Chapter 5

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Chapter 5

Today's Lesson

You read Chapter 5 of Of Mice and Men

Today you will check your knowledge

You will need to read Chapter 6 for next week

Tell me about Chapter 5

This chapter is the real turning point in the novel, the moment to which all the previous discussion of hopes, dreams and friendship has been leading

 It is therefore telling that this chapter opens with Lennie stroking his puppy, which is now dead.
1a) What has happened, and how has Lennie responded? 

Lennie has accidentally killed his puppy – by being too rough with it. 

["Why do you got to get killed? You ain't so little as mice. I didn't bounce you hard." Page 42].

Lennie is afraid that if George finds out he will no longer let Lennie take care of the rabbits. 

["Now maybe George ain't gonna let me tend no rabbits, if he fin's out you got killed." Page 42] 

His first response is to cover up what he did, then he gets angry and throws the puppy. Later he regrets this and lays the puppy back in the hay.

1b) What is the role of this passage? What does it reveal about Lennie, and what coming events could it be foreshadowing? 

This passage shows that Lennie finds it difficult to control his emotions and he is afraid of the consequences of his actions. It could foreshadow Lennie losing control again and accidentally killing something/someone else (killing Curley’s wife).

Curley’s wife does not appear very often, but she plays a crucial role in events. She is also ultimately presented as quite a sympathetic, if flawed, character. 

2a) Why do you think Steinbeck never gives Curley’s wife a name?

[opinion]

Possible answers: because he wants to emphasize her position as an outsider, she's different from the other characters in the story / because this shows how the other characters see her.

2b) What is her position on the farm, and how do the other men view her? 

She does not have a real position other than being the boss’ daughter in law. The other men think she will only get them into trouble.

["Wha's the matter with me?" she cried. "Ain't I got a right to talk to nobody? Whatta they think I am, anyways? You're a nice guy. I don't know why I can't talk to you. I ain't doin' no harm to you."

"Well, George says you'll get us in a mess." Page 43]

2c) What was Curley’s wife’s dream, and what caused it to die? 

She wanted to become an actress, but her mother wouldn’t let her. Then she married Curley to get away from her mother, again stopping her from achieving her dream.

["I lived right in Salinas," she said. "Come there when I was a kid. Well, a show come through, an' I met one of the actors. He says I could go with that show. But my ol' lady wouldn't let me.” Page 43]

Steinbeck has used events throughout the novel to foreshadow what will happen in this interaction between Lennie and Curley’s wife.
What does the reader see that Curley’s wife cannot, and what events have led you to this conclusion?

She doesn’t see that Lennie can actually be dangerous when he loses control or feels trapped. 

For readers this has already become clear because they know how Lennie reacted to Curley and how he is treated by George. 

Curley’s wife also does not know that Lennie killed the mice and had to flee Weed because a girl accused him of assaulting her.

[Curley's wife laughed at him. "You're nuts," she said. "But you're a kinda nice fella. Jus' like a big baby. page 45]

She doesn’t see that Lennie can actually be dangerous when he loses control or feels trapped. 

For readers this has already become clear because they know how Lennie reacted to Curley and how he is treated by George. Curley’s wife also does not know that Lennie killed the mice and had to flee Weed because a girl accused him of assaulting her.

[Curley's wife laughed at him. "You're nuts," she said. "But you're a kinda nice fella. Jus' like a big baby. page 45]

Why does Lennie kill Curley’s wife?

Because he panics and he’s scared. 

He is worried that George will get mad at him and in his reaction, he only makes things worse. 

How does Lennie react to her death?

He realizes that he’s done “a bad thing”. He remembers that George told him to go hide when something bad would happen – so he leaves. 

How does Candy react to her death, what does he do, and why does he do this?

He does not immediately realize that she’s dead. When he does, he goes to get George because he realizes that Lennie is the one who killed her.

Explain the quote:
George: “All the time he [Lennie] done bad things but he never done one of ‘em mean.”

Even though Lennie does bad things, he doesn’t do them to be mean. 

It all happens by accident. 

Evaluation

You now know more about:

- Curley's wife

- Lennie

- Something that was foreshadowed in the book several times

Did this lesson help you understand chapter 5 better?

1. Yes
2. No
3. I'll still have to read it..

Homework

Read Chapter 6 of Of Mice and Men

Answer the questions about Chapter 6