Whit Of Mice And Men

George

A man sits and looks at a dog he is petting. — A flick still of the 1939 film with John F. Hamilton.

George, a ranch hand, is Lennie's caretaker. He is unremarkably good-natured, merely angers easily, especially if someone is threatening Lennie. George seeks the American Dream in the form of land where he and Lennie can alive without having to answer to anyone. His life is unduly complicated by his role as Lennie'southward protector, but he accepts his responsibility and appreciates Lennie'southward companionship. He emphasizes the rare nature of his and Lennie's friendship, explaining that "[g]uys like u.s., that piece of work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world…. With u.s.a. it ain't like that" (fifteen). Their human relationship and their dream of a better future sets them apart from other ranch hands, only it too makes them vulnerable to violence and loss.

Lennie

Lennie is described as "a huge man…[with] wide sloping shoulders" (2). The text implies that he is developmentally disabled. Lennie relies on George for his intendance, and he describes their friendship in the following terms: "I got y'all to wait later me, and yous got me to expect afterward you" (15). He repeatedly asks George to tell him the story of their dream farm and expresses his desire to raise rabbits. Lennie'southward dear for soft animals demonstrates his gentle nature, only due to his enormous size and force, he inadvertently harms animals and people. Ultimately, Lennie is vulnerable in a society that refuses to understand or accept him.

Candy

One of the oldest workers on the ranch, Candy lost i of his hands in a work related accident. His biggest fright is that he will outlast his usefulness, and he will be kicked off the ranch with no place to get. He expresses regret at the expiry of his sole companion, proverb that "I shouldn't ought to take permit no stranger shoot my dog" (67). This possibly inspires George's afterward decision to kill Lennie himself. After hearing about the piece of land that George and Lennie plan to purchase, Candy offers to requite them all of the coin in his savings if they will permit him live with them. This gives Processed something to hope for, though things practise not get as planned.

Candy's Canis familiaris

This one-time sheepdog is incredibly old, with no teeth and advanced rheumatism. Carlson insists that keeping the dog alive is barbarous, so Candy allows Carlson to shoot the dog in the back of the head. The death of Processed's canis familiaris foreshadows other events that eventually transpire in the story; additionally, this moment functions as commentary on society'due south treatment of elderly and disabled individuals.

Curley

Chaney is on the left, backed up against a stack of hay and Bob Steele (on the right) looks angrily down at Chaney. — A movie still of the 1939 Of Mice and Men movie with Lon Chaney, Jr. and Bob Steele.

Curley is one of the chief antagonists in the novel. As the Boss's son, Curley treats the ranch hands in a very condescending fashion. Since he is a short man, Curley is angered and provoked by those who happen to be bigger than him, implying that he has to prove his own strength and superiority. Additionally, he brags about wearing a glove total of Vaseline to keep his hand soft for his new married woman. Nearly all of the workers dislike him and poke fun at him behind his dorsum. Curley attacks Lennie because he is jealous of Lennie's enormous stature, but he ends up having his hand crushed subsequently Lennie squeezes it too hard. Curley is representative of land owners who concur power over those of a lower economical class.

Curley's Married woman

She is the only female grapheme who physically appears in the story. The unnamed wife of Curley is viewed with thinly-veiled disgust past the workers. The workers claim that she already has a wandering eye for other men, despite but being married a few weeks. It is implied that she constantly seeks out male attending to relieve her confinement. Like the male characters who are consumed past isolation, Curley'due south wife is both lonely and regretful. She says that she could take been in movies or magazines if she had not married Curley. It seems that she only married Curley to escape her domineering mother, who did not let her go to Hollywood. Ultimately, she is trapped past her circumstances and by societal expectations of women.

Slim

A quiet, observant man, Slim is portrayed every bit the true authority figure on the ranch. While the other workers listen to the boss and Curley because they take to, they mind to Slim because they respect him as a worker and every bit a person. He gently convinces Candy that it is time to surrender his canis familiaris, and may be partially responsible for George's action at the end of the story. Slim is the only character on the ranch who understands the bond between Lennie and George.

Crooks

Crooks is the just African-American on the ranch, and he has a kleptomaniacal spine. Due to prejudice that he faces for his race and concrete disability, Crooks lives by himself in the befouled. He is described equally proud and aloof, only readers acquire that he acts this way due to aching loneliness. Crooks is secretly happy when Candy and Lennie come to visit him, and fifty-fifty allows himself to momentarily believe that he too will live on their little piece of land. However, after Curley'due south married woman threatens him, Crooks "reduce[s] himself to nothing....no personality, no ego" (89). This scene demonstrates that Crooks withdraws into himself every bit a form of defense against racist attacks. He realizes that fifty-fifty if George, Lennie, and Processed let him alive with them, it would never really work out the way he wanted because of his farthermost ostracism.

Carlson

Carlson comes across as a biting and self-centered human. He is the ranch manus who proposes the idea of killing Candy'due south canis familiaris. He expresses gild'southward view that the old and disabled are of no practical apply and can hands be eliminated.

Aunt Clara

While Aunt Clara is not a physical character in the story, she serves equally a powerful memory for both George and Lennie. She took Lennie in as a child, and on her deathbed asked George to look after Lennie for her.

The Dominate

The dominate plays a very small office in the story, simply appearing in the first role of the book to interrogate George and Lennie when they make it for their start day of work. He is curious near George ever answering for Lennie and thinks that something suspicious is going on.