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Of Mice and Men: the characters
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Almost every character is lonely. Steinbeck uses them to show different kinds of isolation.
George and Lennie
George: sharp, protective, sometimes frustrated. He looks after Lennie, and their friendship is rare among lonely ranch workers.
Lennie: very strong but childlike. He cannot control his strength and depends completely on George.
Lennie: very strong but childlike. He cannot control his strength and depends completely on George.
The outsiders
Candy: old and disabled, afraid of being thrown out when he is no longer useful, as his dog was.
Crooks: isolated because he is Black; he lives alone in the stable.
Curley's wife: the only woman on the ranch, never named, lonely and dreaming of being a film star.
Crooks: isolated because he is Black; he lives alone in the stable.
Curley's wife: the only woman on the ranch, never named, lonely and dreaming of being a film star.
Power
Curley: small, aggressive and insecure.
Slim: calm, wise and respected; he understands George's final choice.
Carlson: practical and unfeeling, as when he shoots Candy's dog.
Slim: calm, wise and respected; he understands George's final choice.
Carlson: practical and unfeeling, as when he shoots Candy's dog.
Why does Steinbeck never give Curley's wife a name?
- She is only known as Curley's possession.
- This reflects how women were seen as belonging to men.
- It increases our sense of her loneliness and lack of identity.
Answer: To show she is treated as Curley's property, without her own identity.
George: protective. Lennie: strong, childlike. Candy: old, fears being useless. Crooks: isolated by racism. Curley's wife: unnamed, lonely. Curley: aggressive. Slim: wise. Carlson: unfeeling.
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