'Of Mice and Men' Revision: Lennie (student notes)

Of Mice and Men notes: Lennie

· Lennie undergoes no significant changes, development, or growth throughout the story and remains exactly as the reader encounters him in the opening pages.

o He adores soft materials or animals, has a huge faith in George and their vision of the farm, possesses incredible physical strength and is incredibly unintelligent.

o Nearly every chapter or scene with Lennie confirms these specific characteristics.

o ‘I could pet it with my thumb…’ (chapter 1) ‘He can put up a four hundred pound bale’ (chapter 2) ‘He’s so God damn dumb’ (chapter 3) ‘George won’t do nothing like that’ (chapter 4)

· Lennie is totally defenseless.

o He cannot avoid the dangers presented by Curley or Curley’s wife because he does not understand them

§ ‘“She’s purty,” said Lennie defensively’

o He is a character whom Steinbeck sets up for disaster, a character whose innocence only seems to ensure his inevitable destruction.

§ ‘Lennie was still smiling with delight at the memory of the ranch. Curley stepped over to Lennie like a terrier. ‘What the hell you laughin’ at?’

o His innocence encourages readers to like him and sympathize with him.

· Lennie is huge and lumbering and, in many ways, the opposite of George.

o Where George has sharp features and definite lines, Lennie is "shapeless"

o Lennie is ‘huge’ and George is ‘small’

o Lennie is mentally incapable and George is fairly intelligent.

o This highlights their unlikely friendship.

· Often Lennie is described in terms of animals.

o He lumbers like a ‘bear’ and has the strength of a ‘bear’

o His actions are often described like those of a dog.

§ ‘George snapped his fingers sharply, and at the sound Lennie laid the mouse in his hand’

§ Slowly, like a terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again.

o He is compared to a lamb in his fight with Curley.

§ ‘(Lennie) bleated with terror’

· Lennie has enormous mental incapabilities, which hold him back.

o He does not think before he acts. His actions are defined by their consequences.

§ ‘George is going to give me hell’

§ ‘George won’t let me tend the rabbits’

o He is unable to learn from his mistakes – he lives in the present, and does not consider or give thought to the past

§ ‘Lennie. You gonna be sick like you was last night.’