1. Identify one (or more) metaphor(s) or recurring events in the text  mice  dogs  rabbits  Silence vs. noise / light vs. darkness  dreams / aspirations  George’s anger  Physical and verbal abuse  George’s qualities and vices (compassion, repentance, care, anger, pride)

2. Collect evidence Choice: dreams / aspirations George: “I could get along so easy (…)” (7) George: “God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy” (11)  rage  shame Lennie: “I could go off in the hills there” (12)  retaliation George: “Guys like us, that work on ranches (...) With us it ain’t like that. We got a future.” (14f.)  reconciliation with Lennie “those Western magazines ranch men love to read and scoff at and secretly believe.” (17)  description of the bunkhouse George: “I’m mad at this here Curley bastard. I hoped we was gonna get a little stake together—maybe a hundred dollars.” (30) Lennie: “I don’t like this place George.” – George: “We gotta keep it till we get a stake.” (32f.) (56) Slim: “He was a jerkline skinner, the prince of the ranch” (33)

Collecting Evidence cont. Slim: “You know how the hands are, they just come in and get their bunk and work a month, and then they quit and go out alone. Never seem to give a damn about nobody.” (39) George: “If I was bright, if I was even a little bit smart, I’d have my own little place” (39) “His voice was growing warmer: ‘An’ we could have a few pigs‘” (57f.) Candy joins them and makes the dream possible: “They fell into silence. They looked at one another, amazed.” (59f.) Etc.

Significance / Connecting the Dots Dream about one’s own land = of a home Dream only attainable once several people help one another Lennie’s greatest fear = being left behind, being without George Crooks = mad with loneliness; Curley = mad with insecurity and loneliness; Curley’s wife = dangerous and cruel out of loneliness Slim: guys get mean when they are lonely (41) The dream of owning land is always mentioned in connection with companionship / family / belonging: George: has Lennie, who is like his “cousin”, “like the one gran’pa had” (57) Crooks: “when I was a little kid (…) I had two brothers. They was always near me” (73)

Deeper Meaning: The Dream The dream all the characters share is one of companionship. Material aspirations (land, liberty) are secondary when compared to the fear of loneliness. Crooks: owning land is like Heaven – “Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. (…) Nobody gets no heaven, and nobody gets no land.” (74) Deeper implication: human relationships are like Heaven on earth George to Lennie: “You... An’ me. Ever’body gonna be nice to you. Ain’t gonna be no more trouble. Nobody gonna hurt nobody nor steal from ‘em.”(106) George: “I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would.” (94)  the power of words

Verbal and Physical Abuse Verbal abuse: Crooks tortures Lennie into believing that George would leave him  out of loneliness and jealousy, he oppresses the only person who can’t retaliate (71) Curley’s wife threatens Crooks, because he is the only one she can threaten (as a woman, she has no power over white men) George takes out his frustration on Lennie (11), Candy on Curley’s wife when she is dead (95) Physical abuse: Curley becomes violent out of insecurity (his size + his wife) The lynch mob is violent because they look for a scapegoat Slim: men become “mean” out of loneliness (41) vs. George: “All the time he done bad things, but he never done one of ‘em mean.” (95) Carlson is violent because he is frustrated (has just lost game against Crooks)  takes it our on Candy’s dog (44) Lennie becomes violent out of despair, when he sees his bond with George threatened (72; 91) out of misdirected love, and handling a weaker creature too roughly (9; 85)

Deeper Significance Why is Crooks verbally abusive, and why does he enjoy torturing Lennie? (71) How does that connect him with Curley’s wife? Curley’s wife takes out her anger on Crooks, Carlson on Candy’s dog, Candy on Curley’s wife after she is dead --- what is the deeper significance between these relationships? How are Lennie’s instances of violence very different from the other men’s displays of violence? (Crooks, Curley, lynch mob, George) What is Lennie’s fondness for creatures relate to the fact that when he becomes violent, it is not out of “meanness”? While George “lays out his hand of Solitaire”, Lennie is in the barn, playing with his new dog – what is the meaning of these metaphors?

George: Internal Battle George’s good side Repentance: he recognizes when he has wronged Lennie (12; 40) Believes in the dream for Lennie’s sake (94) Selflessly gives up his dream for Lennie (95) Takes care of Lennie George’s vices: Drawn to an “easy” life (fantasy) Drawn to the cathouse, drinking, gambling (11; 95) Has a temper when he feels wronged (11; 18) Makes Lennie his scapegoat when he is unsatisfied with his situation: “If I didn’t have you…” (11) Uses Lennie in order to be the smarter one (40)

Noise / Silence / Light / Darkness Silence and noise (48; 96) Darkness and light creeping darkness when Candy’s dog is shot – a relationship is broken off, anger is unleashed (44f.) “darkening slopes of the Gabilans”, sunset when Lennie is killed and his and George’s relationship is ended (105) “only the tops of the Gabilan mountains flamed with the light of the sun (…) a water snake slipped” (7) fighting off darkness When Lennie and George’s dream is first mentioned (13) When Slim does Lennie a favor out of kindness (38)