1. Themes
Of Mice and Men

2. Friendship
The bond between George and Lennie, which goes back many years, is special. Lennie cannot survive on his own, and he needs George to guide and protect him. Without George, Lennie would live in a cave in the hills, as he sometimes threatens to do, or he would be institutionalized. George, for his part, complains regularly about having to take care of Lennie. His tolerance of Lennie also gives him a sense of superiority. At the same time, George feels a genuine affection for Lennie that he will not openly admit. Most importantly, without this friendship, neither George nor Lennie alone could sustain the dream, much less see it become a reality. The friendship lends hope to the dream, but the reality of their brutal life destroys the dream and the friendship. Although George is a survivor at the end, he is doomed to be alone.

3. Over To You!
Think of an example in the story that shows the friendship between George and Lennie. Explain, in your copy, what happens in the scene and how it shows that George and Lennie are good friends.

4. Important Quotes on Friendship
“I ain’t got no people. I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain’t no good. They don’t have no fun. After a long time they get mean.” – George
“I said what stake you got in this guy? You takin’ his pay away from him?” “No, ‘course I ain’t. Why you think I’m sellin’ him out?” “Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is.” – George and the boss.
“No, Lennie. I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want ya to know.”
- George talking to Lennie.

5. Loneliness
Loneliness is a main theme in the novel. George and Lennie have a great friendship, the alternative option is loneliness. The other characters question this friendship: they have simply never seen anything like it. In their world, loneliness is the norm.
The theme of loneliness can also be seen in the characters Crooks and Curley’s wife. Crooks is excluded and lonely because he is a black man. Curley’s wife dies looking for some human contact. Both these characters long for some company and, as Curley's wife says, "someone to talk to.“
Despite everyone's suspicion, the friendship between George and Lennie remains solid and Candy becomes part of their dream to buy the little farm. However, at the moment that George and Candy discover the body of Curley's wife, they both realise that the dream is lost; their partnership dissolves.
The end of the book suggests that loneliness is a part of life.

6. Over To You!
Think of an example in the story that shows loneliness is a theme. Explain, in your copy, what happens in the scene and how it shows that loneliness is a part of life in Of Mice and Men.

7. Important Quotes on Loneliness
“A guy needs somebody to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you.” – Crooks
"Guys like us," George says, "that work on the ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place." Lennie replies: "But not us. And why. Because because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look' after you, and that's why."

8. Is Of Mice and Men a Pessimistic or Optimistic Book?
The ending of the book is unhappy but much in it is optimistic. George’s care for Lennie, Lennie’s adoration of George and Slim’s good nature are all positive, good things.
While Lennie’s death is pessimistic on the one hand, it is somewhat positive in that he dies at the hand of the one man he trusts, painlessly, happy, free, in the open and still believing in his dream. Lennie’s death is an act of kindness and friendship, not of cruelty.
Over to You!
Find one example of a pessimistic or negative part of the story. Explain what happens in the scene and what makes it negative.
Find one example of a optimistic or positive part of the story. Explain what happens in the scene and what makes it positive.