Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

Through his novel 'Of Mice & Men'; John Steinbeck tries to convey what it means to be human. The novel was first published in 1937 during The Great Depression and won much acknowledgment.

The novel is primarily a parable and conveys several major thematic facets. 

To name a few –

• Influence of Christianity
• Loss of one's paradise 
• Fate
• Powerlessness 
• Ephemeral nature of life
• And several barriers 

The Central Characters Involve:

• George Milton
• Lennie Small
• Curley
• Slim Crooks
• Curley's wife
• And Candy

And the Prevalent Symbolisms Seen Throughout the Novel Entail –

• Milton's card game
• Animal imagery
• Location symbolism
• Hands 

Now that you've gathered a basic idea of the novel and its main characters let's dive into the summary of the novel.

Of Mice & Men – A Detailed Summary

The novel begins with George Miller and Lennie Small (two main characters) getting off the local bus some distance from the California farm/range. They were employed on that farm and were due to begin working. 

George (the shorter and darker of the two) is more authoritative and makes decisions for himself and his comrade Lennie Small (a disabled giant man with a shapeless face). However, with both parched, they decide to set up camp for the night in a clearing beside the pool besides the Salinas River and agree to go to the farm the next morning. 

Lennie having an intellectual disability is utterly devoted to George and relies on his guidance and protection. Furthermore, Lennie also has a thing for keeping soft pets and keeps a dead mouse in his pocket. But because Lennie also has a knack for unintentionally killing his pets, George reminds Lennie of his predicaments in the last town they visited. 

George even takes the dead mouse from Lennie and hurls it away to protect his giant friend from catching a nasty disease.

Moreover, George also instructs Lennie not to utter a word in the morning when they reach the farm. He also informs Lennie to return to their camp spot beside the river if something bad transpires at the farm/ranch.

Despite considering his responsibility to look and care after Lennie, George also chafes at his life, saying it would've been simpler if he didn't have to care for his shapeless-faced giant companion.

Nevertheless, after calming down soon, George sympathizes with his friend's dependence on him and assures Lennie about finding a puppy to keep as a pet. George continues speaking and tells his friend about his dream of having a small ranch all for themselves. George envisions that both he and Lennie would be bosses of their farm and would not have to listen to anyone. He further states that Lennie would look after the rabbits, and they could live in peace by relishing the best things available without needing to work their butts off to acquire them.

Eventually, George finishes his vision of the future and how life would be perfect in such a paradise. After listening to this story, Lennie retorts that he has heard this dream so many times that he has learned it. Then George responds that his dream for him and Lennie is unique. He says it makes them exclusive from those who don't have anyone or anywhere to call their own. 

After making his point to Lennie, they both cease their conversations and go to sleep for the night.

The following morning, George and Lennie head out to the range as planned. Of course, George fears how the boss will respond to Lennie's intellectual disability. Thus, he insists on doing most of the talking for both. As planned, George goes ahead with his ruse and says he and Lennie are cousins and have been on the road together. He also says a horse kicked Lennie on his head when he was a kid, which caused his intellectual disability. Of course, the range boss became slightly suspicious about seeing George answer all the questions, and Lennie remained the silent partner.

However, George convinces the boss that despite Lennie lacking intellect, he is a hardworking and resourceful worker. George's ruse worked, and they both got appointed to work at the farm. After getting hired, the two meet an old handyman (or swamper) called Candy. He had one hand missing and had an old dog. They also met Curley, the farm owner's mean yet spirited son. By profession, Curley was an amateur boxer with a short temper. Curley was also married recently, and Curley's wife had the reputation of a tart or flirtatious woman. Due to his wife's nature, Curley was bloated with jealousy and suspicion. The other farm members were Slim- the main mule skinner (muleteer/mule driver), and Carlson, another worker at the range/farm. 

Curley's wife made an impression on Lennie. And upon witnessing Lennie's fascination towards Curley's wife, George tells him to stay away as it could beget more unwanted troubles. 

During that evening, Carlson presents a complaint regarding Candy's ancient dog. He says the dog is old, disgusting, smelly, and arthritic. He even offers to put the old mutt out of its misery by killing him for Candy. Surprisingly Candy agrees somewhat reluctantly but says to do it later.

Afterward, everyone left for the barn, hoping to witness a fight between Curley and Slim over Curley's frolicsome wife. During then, George and Lennie were left at the bunkhouse. Curley's wife appears when they are alone and conversing and starts flirting with them. Lennie considers Curley's wife to be 'purity.' However, George senses that getting entangled with such a woman would only bring troubles. So, he recommends Lennie remain at a distance from her. 

After some time, the other farm helpers arrive from their fields for lunch. Curley is made fun of as he backed away from fighting Slim. George and Lennie meet Slim for the first time. Although he was simply a mule driver, Slim wielded immense authority on the farm. Slim further commented that good friendship (like between George and Lennie) is rare. 

Moreover, Carlson (the other farmhand) suggests shooting Candy's old useless mutt since it birthed a puppy. Carlson also suggests letting Candy have the puppy in exchange for shooting his stinking old dog.

Then, Slim heads off to the barn to do some work. Curley heads off in the same direction to accost Slim.  Meanwhile after heeding George's warming to stay away from Curley’s wife, Lennie wishes to hear the farm story again. George obliges and starts retelling the story. However, Candy eavesdrops on their conversation and wants in on their plan. Candy reveals he has capital ready for a down payment. On hearing this, George gets excited and starts believing with the down payment; he could get the farm he set his eyes on. George also says they could have the entire sum ready for the big step by working for another month. Till that day arrives, he cautions Candy and Lennie to remain quiet about it. Thus, the three participants make a secret pact among themselves.

Meanwhile, Slim returns from the barn and, in doing so, berates Curley for all his suspicions. However, Curley cannot suppress his anger and searches for an easier target to vent his frustration. Lennie is his target, and he picks a fight on finding him. Curley brutally beats Lennie, and on witnessing his friend getting pummeled, George tells Lennie to fight back. Lennie responds and breaks Curley's hand. 

After the altercation, Slim takes Curley to see the doctor. Moreover, Slim secures Curley's promise that he will not reveal the truth. So, he agrees to Slim's story about his hand getting caught in the machine to prevent George and Lennie from getting fired and to save him from becoming a laughing stock. 

Lennie feels bad about the altercation and says he has committed something terrible. He also feels he disappointed George and fears his friend would not allow him to tend to the rabbits on their owned farmland. However, George brushes aside Lennie's ridiculous remorse and says that whatever happened was an accident and that Lennie is not in trouble.

The following night, most men headed off to the local brothel to relish in the feminine company and blow off some steam. Lennie is the only one left with Slim Crooks and Candy. Curley's wife arrives there and begins flirting with them. She refuses to leave despite being told to and stays back till the rest of the men return. Curley's wife notices the cut on Lennie's face. She then realizes that Lennie is responsible for breaking her husband's hand. She finds this revelation amusing. 

The following day, Lennie is in the barn and has killed the old dog. Left appalled by this act, he thinks about how to explain the dog's death to George. As he reflects on his indiscretion, Curley's wife reappears and tries to charm Lennie again. She consoles him after watching Lennie with the dead mutt. Then she speaks of her married life with her husband Curley and says it has been a huge disappointment. She even says her life would have been different if she had pursued her dream of becoming a movie star. After hearing her story, Lennie retorts by saying he loves touching and petting soft things. To this, Curley's wife offers Lennie to touch her hair. However, Lennie is ungraceful and ends up stroking it too hard. Curley's wife gets annoyed when Lennie messes up her hair and even starts yelling. Lennie clutches her too tightly to make her quiet and unintentionally breaks her neck. 

Being taken back first with the dog and now Curley's wife, Lennie decides to scamper off to the Salinas River (the spot where George picked to meet if either of them got into trouble). Back at the farm, Candy discovers Curley's wife's body and looks to find George. Both of them immediately understood what happened. Candy even conveys that Curley will (likely) plan on executing Lennie for his heinous crime, and in response, George states he will not let anyone harm Lennie. Furthermore, George also requests Candy to wait a few minutes before letting others in on the situation. Then immediately after, George slips inside the bunkhouse and robs Carlson's luger (automatic pistol).

Nevertheless, when Curley finds his wife's body, he pledges to kill Lennie with pain-stricken precision. Curley gathers the rest of the men to fan out and search for Lennie. George joins the searchers. However, knowing where Lennie would be, George ditches the other men and goes straight to the Salinas Rivers spot. There, George finds Lennie before the rest and, much to Lennie's surprise, isn't mad at him. George tells Lennie about the dream of the farm and also talks about the bunnies that Lennie will look after.  

However, George is filled with remorse and, despite being unable to scold Lennie, wants to save him from Curley's gruesome punishment. Having decided, he asks Lennie to stare across the river (like so many times previously) and imagine the farm where he will tend to the rabbits. As Lennie stares across the Salinas River, George shoots Lennie in the head. Lennie is dead, and George (apparently) killed the person he was meant to protect.

The others arrive shortly after, and George tells them that Lennie possessed Carlson's pistol and threatened to shoot George. He had to wrestle the gun away from Lennie and shoot him in self-defense. Of course, among the men, Slim is the only one who comprehends that George had shot his friend to save him from Curley's merciless punishment. He then lifts George and takes him for a drink while the other men watch on, trying to make sense of the baffling situation.