Of Mice and Men Section 2

In section 2, George and Lennie went to find a job, they met their boss and his son, Curley, and his wife, they also met their colleagues, Candy and Slim. They all have very different personalities. Candy and Slim are very nice to George and Lennie, different than them, Carlson, Curley and his wife are very mean to them. I saw some foreshadowing in this section, one is that George want Lennie always to remember to hide in the brush by the river to wait for George to arrive if he get into any trouble, why down in the brush? Is Lennie still going to get into troubles? Another foreshadow in about Candy's dog, Steinbeck described his dog specifically, "And at his heels there walked a drag-footed sheep dog, grey of muzzle, and with pale, blind old eye. The dog struggled lamely to the side of the room and lay down, grunting softly to himself and licking his grizzled, moth-eaten coat. The swamper watched him until he was settled." I thought that there is something similar between Candy's dog and Lennie, Steinbeck wrote that Lennie dragged his feet a little when he walks, just like Candy's dog. They are both someone who cumbers someone that cares for them. If Candy's dog represent Lennie, than at the end of section 2, is Steinbeck trying to tell us that something is going to happen between Curley and Lennie? Candy's dog also represents Candy when Carlson asked that why can't they just get rid of  the dog because he is too old, he can't do any thing anymore, that is what Candy's afraid of because he is also old, he don't want the boss to fire him and hire someone that is young and strong, he wants to be a part of the ranch. My character is Slim, so I payed the most attention on him. According to section 2, he appeared after Curley's wife went for looking for Curley. "A tall man stood in the doorway. He held a crushed Stetson hat under his arm while he combed his long, black, damp hair straight back. Like the others he wore blue jeans and a short denim jacket. When he had finished bombing his hair, he moved into the room, and he moved with a majesty only achieved by a royalty and master craftsmen. He was a jerkline skinner, the prince of the ranch, capable of driving ten, sixteen, even twenty mules with a single line to the leaders. He was capable of killing a flu on the wheeler's butt with a bull whip without touching the mule. There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love." He is really nice and polite to George and Lennie and he have a dog named Lulu who just slang nine pups, he drowned four because Lulu can't feed that many. George and Lennie are very happy and exited because they might get to have one or more puppies from Slim. Will he help George and Lennie in the future?

Part 2

I have continued to enjoy the book, "Of Mice and Men."  During part two, I followed the character Curley.  In the book, he is described as, "A thin young man with a brown face, with brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair.  He wore a work glove on his left hand, and, like the boss, he wore high-heeled shoes."  We also learned that Curley is the boss's son and that he got married two weeks ago.  From what I have told you about Curley so far, he probably seems like a decent character.  His personality shows that he is the opposite.  When Curley saw George and Lennie, he glanced coldly at them.  "His arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists.  He stiffened and went into a slight crouch.  His glance was at once calculating and pugnacious."  He acted extremely rude towards Lennie and George and even said to George, "By Christ, he's (Lennie) gotta talk when he's spoke to.  What the hell are you gettin' into it for?"  Candy also revealed that Curley hates big men, because he is small.  Because of how Curley acted toward George and Lennie, George is concerned that Lennie, or even himself, is going to have trouble with Curley.  "I hate his guts," George said about Curley.
Foreshadowing was also represented in part two when Lennie said, "I don' like this place, George. This ain't no good place.  I wanna get outta here."  George tells Lennie that they need to stay so that they can make money.  This tells me that later in the book, something bad will happen, such as George and Curley getting into a fight.  If this happens, it will be a representation of irony.  Lennie has been described as forgetful and often making mistakes, and George has been described as a leader and taking care of Lennie.  If George makes a mistake and causes himself and Lennie to have to flee from where they work now, readers will be surprised and irony will be represented because of how George shows leadership and acts as a father figure towards Lennie at times.

In part two of OMAM, I chose to follow the character Curly. This young man had a brown face, brown eyes, and tight curly hair. He is also, handy, somewhat rude, and of a higher status. It said in the book "He wore a work glove on his left hand, and, like he boss, he wore high-heeled boots." From this passage I am assuming that Curly is of higher status then the swampers. I can support my thought further because, it also stated in the book that Curly gave Lennie and George aggressive looks, and talked to them rudely. If Curly was a swamper, he wouldn't have talked or looked at new people like that.
A few pages later it reads, "That's the bosses son." From this mans attitude and stature, I can conclude that he is rude and unwelcoming to others because, he thinks that he is too important. He is also mean because, Curly knows that his dads the boss, so he can do almost anything and not get punished.  In the book, another reason why Curly was being overly rude to George and Lennie was because, he apparently hats big guys, such as Lennie. He hates them because, he's a small thin boy. Once again, another reason why curly may be rude surfaces. Maybe he's showing off for his newly pronounced wife.
Both men George and Lennie are nervous that Curly will hurt them. I think this is foreshadowing because, the author wouldn't have put so much detail into how scared of Curly they were, if he isn't going to do anything later in the book. So, I think that Curly is going to do something to either phisaclly or mentally hurt probably Lennie.

Part Two: Of Mice and Men

Hanna Wurdack

                 During section two of OMAM, I observed a lot of foreshadowing and symbolism. I mostly saw symbolism through the old man or Candy and his dog. "The old man came slowly into the room. He had his broom in his hand. And at his heels there was a dragfooted sheepdog, gray of muzzle, and with pale, blind old eyes. The dog struggled lamely to the side of the room and lay down, grunting softly to himself and licking his grizzled, moth-eaten coat. The swamper watched him until he was settled," was a part on page 24 that showed true symbolism to me. I believe that the dog symbolizes Lennie, and Candy symbolizes George. In this paragraph from OMAM, it explained how the dog followed the old man at his heels, like Lennie following George everywhere he goes. It said he was blind, and Lennie doesn't really always know what he's doing, so George guides him, as if Lennie is blind. It also says the dog grunted softly to himself, like Lennie does when he's trying to remember something. The old man watched the dog until it had settled, like George always watches over and makes sure Lennie is OK.

                Then throughout section two, I observed a great amount of foreshadowing. "Well... tell you what. Curley's like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he's mad at 'em because he ain't a big guy," on page 26, this foreshadows what will happen later. "Well, he better watch out for Lennie. Lennie ain't no fighter, but Lennie's strong and quick and Lennie don't know no rules," on page 27 also adds to what might happen in the future. In this chapter, Curley showed a lot of hatred towards Lennie. I think these quotes from OMAM foreshadow Curley and Lennie getting into a fight or something bad will happen between them. Maybe this bad thing will have to make them run from their new job. I also think this might happen because George reminded Lennie many times to stay away from Curley and if he gets in trouble to run to the place they slept the night before and hide in the brush.  

      On page 37, I think the foreshadowing and symbolism was connected. On this page, Curley shows up again and asks George and Lennie where his wife was, and George responds with anger, disrespect, and rudeness. "Ya know Lennie, I'm scared I'm gonna tangle with that bastard myself. I hate his guts," shows foreshadowing. "After a moment the ancient dog walked lamely in through the open door. He gazed about with mild, half-blind eyes. He sniffed and then lay down and put his head between his paws. Curley popped into the doorway again and stood looking in the room. The dog raised his head, but when Curley jerked out, the grizzled head sank to the floor again," shows foreshadowing and symbolism. I think in this section the author led his readers to believe Lennie would eventually get in trouble with Curley and George and Lennie would have to run. But, on page 37 it seems the opposite. George explains how even he was scared he might get into it with Curley. Plus, when Curley comes in the old dog raises his head but doesn't get up. Still thinking of Lennie as the dog in this section, Lennie doesn't attack Curley but just raises his head. Will George get into a fight with Curley and will he and Lennie have to flee?

              

In section 2 I tracked Curley. Curley is a thin, brown, man with a head of tight curls. He has a very grumpy disposition and seems to have something that's always bothering him. He also seems to be very aggressive and belligerent. George was worried that Lennie might pick a fight with Curley because Curley hates big men. Towards the end of the section George starts worrying he might try to mess with Curley.

I thought that Curley's grumpy disposition had to do with his wife. Curley's wife was not loyal to him, and she was always flirting with other men. He would never get fired due to the fact that his dad was the boss. Bullies usually have a reason to be so angry and put other people down. Maybe Curley's past affected the way he is as an adult. Some days when I'm really mean to my sisters it's because someone was mean to me, or I did poorly on an assignment. 

I've also noticed that OMAM is centered around outcasts, and what happens to you when you are an outcast. Curley's wife's name never seems to be revealed. This might be because of her sex. The black man in the barn is forced to sleep there because of his race. Candy, the old man, is an outcast because of his age. And lastly, Lennie. There may be a debate about this but he is an outcast. Yes, he is a very important character, but so are all the other people I just listed. The people on the farm seem to be scared of Lennie because of his physical appearance and his way of thinking. The other characters are shy towards Lennie because he is very different physically and mentally. For example, he kills mice, and doesn't seem to interact with people. Do you think Lennie is an outcast?

WALSH Part 2 Qs (optional)

Part 2:

(REMEMBER: These questions are OPTIONAL; you can respond to them in a post, or just used them as direction for what to focus on while you read)

1. We meet several new characters. Choose one to discuss. What did we learn about them - - physically and their disposition? HOW did we learn about them? What do you think this character’s role in the story is?
 

2. Of the new characters that were introduce, does anyone stand out to you as different from the others? How so? What do you think Steinbeck’s rationale (thinking/planning) was here?
 

3. Steinbeck often reveals important information at the end of each section. Reread p 37 again closely. Analyze what is said about George and/or about Candy’s dog. What foreshadowing and/or symbolism is being addressed here?

I thought the first section of Mice and Men was very interesting. I found it interesting how Lennie kept repeating himself and George would get very angry at him. I also found it interesting how George was not very nice to Lennie, but when Lennie refused to leave, George said he was kidding. George obviously cared about Lennie enough that he was worried for him to go out n his own.