Of Mice and Men (Plot Summary)

Plot Summary

Of Mice and Men opens with a physical description of the topography of the Central Valley of California. "A few miles south of Soledad," the Salinas river winds through an idyllic scene of yellow sands, golden foothills, and deer that come to the shore to drink at night. It is in this setting that we first meet Steinbeck's two protagonists, George Milton and Lennie Small. George is "small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features." Lennie is "his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders." They have just come from the town of Weed in Northern California where Lennie had gotten into some sort of trouble, forcing them to flee south. There they are now looking for new work on a ranch. As the two talk it becomes clear that Lennie is mentally handicapped: he cannot quite remember what had happened in Weed; he speaks with a child's vocabulary; and he bursts into tears when George makes him give up the dead mouse that he has been secretly petting in his pocket. At first George lectures Lennie on what a burden he is, with the recent events in Weed as an example:

His voice rose nearly to a shout. "You crazy son-of-a-bitch. You keep me in hot water all of the time." He took on the elaborate manner of little girls when they are mimicking one another. "Jus' wanted to feel that girl's dress — jus' wanted to pet it like it was a mouse — Well, how the hell did she know you jus' wanted to feel her dress? She jerks back and you hold on like it was a mouse. She yells and we got to hide in an irrigation ditch all day with guys lookin' for us, and we got to sneak out in the dark and get outta the country. All the time somethin' like that — all the time. I wisht I could put you in a cage with about a million mice and let you have fun." His anger left him suddenly. He looked across the fire at Lennie's anguished face, and then he looked ashamedly at the flames.

After calming down, George repeats, at Lennie's request, the story of how they are someday going to get out of the lonely life of itinerant farm laborers and buy a piece of land where they can live by working their own small farm together.

The next day, George and Lennie arrive at the ranch and are brought by Candy the swamper (handyman) to the workers' bunk house to meet with the owner. After some discussion concerning their ability to work and Lennie's inability to speak, they are hired. A while later, the boss's son, Curley, comes into the bunk house, supposedly looking for his father. Curley is a small man and he approaches Lennie with "hands closed into fists." "His glance [is] calculating and pugnacious," and he stands in a slight crouch. The confrontation ends with Curley leaving after telling Lennie to "answer when [he's] spoke to" in the future. As Candy explains, Curley is a good, "handy" fighter who likes to pick fights with men larger than himself; he is also very jealous of his pretty new wife who lives on the ranch and has been known to give some of the workers "the eye." Just then, Curley's wife appears momentarily at the door, pretending that she is looking for Curley. Lennie is struck by how pretty she is. Slim, the skinner (a teamster, or mule driver), also arrives and is followed by the rest of the men. The news that Slim's dog has had a litter of pups the previous night greatly interests Lennie. George promises to ask Slim if Lennie can have one.

By the next day, Slim has agreed to let Lennie have one of the pups and Lennie is out playing with them in the barn as George and Slim talk in the bunk house. Candy comes in, followed by his ancient dog and Carlson, who has just lost at horse-shoes. Carlson immediately starts to complain about the smell of the feeble old dog and tells Candy that he should shoot it and take one of the new pups in its place. Candy is reluctant, but Carlson offers to shoot the dog himself and, after some deliberation, Candy agrees that it must be done. Slim leaves to fix a mule's hoof in the barn, and at the card table Whit invites George to go with the others to a brothel in town the next night. Carlson returns and begins to clean his pistol, and Lennie comes in as well. Curley then arrives, looking for his wife, and asks where Slim is. He leaves looking for them both. Slim returns shortly afterward, followed by Curley, who is apologizing for accusing him of improprieties with his wife. The men all side with Slim and tell Curley to keep her at home. Curley then attacks Lennie, who is still silently dreaming of his future ranch with George. Lennie is surprised and terrified, but after George tells him to fight back, he grabs one of Curley's fists and crushes it.

Crooks the stableman, being black, is not allowed to live in the bunk house with the white workers; he has a bunk in the harness room of the stable. The night that the men are at the brothel Lennie wanders into Crooks' room. They talk a while: Crooks tells Lennie that he is in fact not from the South but rather a native of California. Lennie tells Crooks of his and George's plans for the future. Candy then arrives and joins the conversation. Just then, Curley's wife appears at the door asking if they have seen her husband. When she continues talking with the men despite their reluctance, Candy jumps up and shouts at her to leave. She then notices the cuts on Lennie's face and realizes that it was Lennie who broke Curley's hand. She flirts with him, and when Crooks protests she reminds him that as a black man he has no rights and that she could cause anything to happen to him that she wants. Crooks realizes that she is right and sits down. After she leaves, George arrives and Lennie and Candy leave Crooks alone in his room.

Sunday afternoon finds Lennie sitting in the barn looking at a puppy he has just accidentally killed. He is confused about how he killed the puppy and afraid of what George will do when he finds out. Curley's wife walks into the stall and kneels down in the hay beside Lennie, telling him that he gave Curley what he deserved. When Lennie is obviously reluctant to talk with her she becomes exasperated, wondering why no one will speak with her, and then she recounts the story of how she came to be Curley's wife. Lennie starts to talk about the dead puppy and how he killed it only by petting it. He says he likes to "pet nice things," and she tells him to touch her hair and feel how soft it is. When he does touch her hair he is too rough, and she tells him to stop, but he continues to clutch it. When she screams for him to let go Lennie panics and covers her mouth with his hand. As she struggles to get away Lennie tightens his grasp and breaks her neck. Slowly realizing what he has done he puts the dead pup under his shirt and creeps out of the barn. Candy then comes in, discovers Curley's dead wife, and goes to get George. George sadly decides that the only thing to do is tell everyone and to hunt down Lennie. Curley and Carlson go to get their guns, but Carlson's gun turns out to be missing, which they attribute to Lennie's having stolen it. They all go out to hunt down Lennie.

The final chapter opens with a terrified Lennie appearing from the brush in the same scene by the shore where the story opened. George then appears from the brush and tells Lennie not to worry about what has happened. He calms Lennie down with by repeating the story about their future plans and how they will always be together to care for one another. George tells Lennie to look across the river, that he can almost see their little farm. With Lennie gazing into the distance George takes out Carlson's pistol and points it at the back of Lennie's head, all the while continuing the story of their future. As the voices of the other men come within earshot, George shoots Lennie. When the men all arrive, George tells them that Lennie had the gun and that he had gotten it away from him and killed him.