1. “Of Mice and Men” - Section Six
CONTENTS
Plot Summary Exercise
Echoes of the First Scene
Lennie
Dramatic Tension
The American Dream
Extension Work

2. “Of Mice & Men” - Section Six
Plot Summary Exercise
Complete the plot summary by filling in the blanks:
Lennie arrives at the _________ and has a drink. He imagines a gigantic ___________ telling him off. ___________ arrives and talks to Lennie. He has Carlson’s _______. George hears the men approaching. He _________ Lennie in the head.
river
rabbit
George
gun
shoots

3. Echoes of the First Scene
“Of Mice & Men” - Section Six
Echoes of the First Scene
Steinbeck makes this last scene echo the first one, by using phrases and images that are similar in both. Find some instances of this technique and write them on the next slide. Here is one example to help you.
Section One:
“A water-snake slipped along on the pool, its head help up like a little periscope.”
Section Six:
“A water-snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting its periscope head from side to side.”

4. Echoes of the First Scene
“Of Mice & Men” - Section Six
Echoes of the First Scene
Write down the examples you find below.
Section One:
Section Six:

5. Echoes of the First Scene
“Of Mice & Men” - Section Six
Echoes of the First Scene
Question
Why do you think Steinbeck uses this technique in the last section of the novel?
Answer
Because it strengthens the sense of the novel having come ‘full circle’. Just as in nature, where animals are born, live and die, so too do humans. Throughout the book, we have seen animal images used in connection to Lennie. Now, like Candy’s dog, Lennie is ‘put out of his misery’.
Notice too how Steinbeck choses to finish his story in the same place that it started. The novella has shown us the brief life, and death, of one man.

6. “Of Mice & Men” - Section Six
Lennie
In this final section, we see more of Lennie’s character. The reader has a strong sense of foreboding about what will happen to him. Answer the questions below to test your understanding Lennie’s character.
Look at the way Lennie drinks from the river in this section (p.106). Why is this so different from the way he drinks in Section One (p.3).
What do you think is the significance of the two visions Lennie has (p )?
Why do you think Steinbeck chooses to have George shoot Lennie at the end of the book, rather than one of the other characters?
Lennie remains an outsider throughout the novel, different from and separate from other people. What is Steinbeck saying about what happens to outsiders?
Questions

7. “Of Mice & Men” - Section Six
Dramatic Tension
There is a high level of dramatic tension in this scene, as we reach the climax of the novel. The tension becomes especially high as George builds up to shooting Lennie. Find some quotations from this section that develop the dramatic tension. An example has been given for you.
“And the shouts of the men sounded again, this time much closer than before.”

8. “Of Mice & Men” - Section Six
Dramatic Tension
What is it about the way that Steinbeck writes this scene that creates a high level of dramatic tension? Here are some ideas:
The story of the ‘dream farm’ is repeated again. This time, though, the reader knows the terrible truth - that there is no chance of George and Lennie fulfilling their dream.
George must shoot Lennie rather than allow the men to hurt him - he is forced to kill his closest friend.
The other men are getting closer and closer, and George must shoot Lennie before they arrive. The sounds of the men come closer and closer as the scene goes on, developing the tension to its climax.

9. “Of Mice & Men” - Section Six
The American Dream
The themes of the novel are resolved in this section, particularly the men’s unfulfilled ‘American Dream’. Answer the questions below to show your understanding of this theme.
Look at how Candy responds to Curley’s wife’s death in the previous section (p.101). Why does he start to cry?
Now look at Lennie and George and their final discussion about the farm (p ). Why do you think this is the subject of the last conversation that they ever have?
Do you think they ever stood a real chance of achieving their dream? Why / why not?
What point do you think John Steinbeck is making about the American dream?
Questions

10. “Of Mice & Men” - Section Six
Extension Work
1. Why do you think George shoots Lennie?
2. When George shoots Lennie, of which other incident in the book does this remind you?
3. Why do you think Steinbeck echoes the earlier incident in this way? Try to think of more than one reason.
4. What do you think the significance is of Slim inviting George to go for a drink at the end of the book?
Questions

11. “Of Mice and Men”
Essay Questions

12. “Of Mice and Men” - Essay Questions
The novel “Of Mice and Men” shows the reader how characters who do not fit into society are destroyed by it. Discuss this statement, referring closely to events in the novel.
Question
Write a detailed analysis of the character of ‘Curley’s Wife’, showing how and why Steinbeck uses her to develop the theme of the outsider in “Of Mice and Men”.
Question

13. “Of Mice and Men” - Essay Questions
Discuss the theme of the ‘American Dream’ in “Of Mice and Men”, looking at all the characters who have a dream of some type. Explore what happens to people’s dreams in the novel and what Steinbeck might be saying about this theme.
Question
Write a detailed analysis of the character of Lennie. Look particularly at the symbolism associated with him, and the meanings that Steinbeck creates.
Question