1. Of Mice and Men
Chapter 4

2. True or False?
Crooks lives in a harness room, where he sleeps in an open box filled with straw.
With the exception of Lennie and Crooks, all the other farmworkers have gone into town.
Crooks taunts Lennie with the possibility that George will never return.
Crooks is fundamentally a very lonely character.
Candy and Lennie indicate that they intend to buy their own theme park.
Curley’s wife and Crooks have something in common: loneliness

3. True or False: Answers
True
False

4. ‘Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’
‘Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It’s just in their head.’ Suggest the significance of this quotation, with reference to earlier events in the novel so far.

5. How the Other Half Live
Compare and contrast the living conditions in Crooks’ room with those of the bunkhouse. Who is ‘better off’ and why?

6. The Character of Crooks
Why is Crooks isolated from the rest of the farm workers?
How does this tie-in with the theme of loneliness in the novel?
How does Crooks treat Lennie when he arrives in the barn? Why do you think this is?
How does Lennie respond to Crooks? Why do you think this is?

7. Who has a ‘chicken head’ in this chapter?
Who are the ‘bindle stiffs’?
Who are the ‘weak ones’?
Is hostility between characters a feature of Chapter 4, or have you seen it elsewhere in the novel?

8. Curley’s Wife Does the reader have any sympathy for Curley’s wife?
Do you think she is justified in the way she talks to the men in Chapter 4?

9. Consolidating Your Understanding
What are the main events of the chapter?
What do you consider to be the most important event in the chapter and why?
Suggest one thing this chapter shows us about the relationship between George and Lennie.

10. Homework Activities
Write a diary entry for Curley’s wife, describing how you feel about your husband and life on the ranch.
How does Steinbeck use language to effectively portray the character of Crooks and his living situation?
How does Chapter 4 give us an insight into the social and historical context of the novel?