Minor Character

The minor characters are all important in developing this story's ideas. Choose one character and discuss what idea you think he or she symbolizes and why this idea is important to the work as a whole.

Just Desert?

Does Curley get what he deserves when Lennie breaks his hand?

"It's just the talkin' "

Crooks tells Lennie he “don’t understand nothing” and that when Crooks himself talks, it “don’t mean nothing,” but “it’s just the talking. It’s just bein’ with another guy. That’s all” (71). Discuss what he means and whether or not you agree. How is this statement important to the work as a whole?

Before and After: Symbols and Imagery

Compare and contrast the imagery on pages 1 and 2 to the imagery on pages 99 and 100. Make symbolic connections between the imagery and the events in the story. Discuss how both the imagery and the story might be reflective of the paradise (loss-quest) cycle.

Gender Bias

Comment on gender bias you see in the novel. Be clear about whether is is Steinbeck's bias or his characters and HOW you know.

Racial Bias

Comment on racial bias you see in the novel. Be clear about whether is is Steinbeck's bias or his characters and HOW you know.

Crooks Scares Lennie

What is the point of Crooks’s scaring Lennie about George not returning? (71-73) How do you feel about that scene?

Loneliness

Do you agree with Crooks when he says, “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got anybody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you [ . . .] I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick”? (73)