Book Report by Madison Nef
Characters
George
George is a small, runty man. He comes off as a tough, quick-minded, sharp-tongued person, but inside is actually very soft and caring. In times of need he is shown to be a very loyal and supportive friend. George is very opinionated about people, and holds a grudge with anyone who doesn’t like his best friend Lennie. He is a big dreamer, with hopes of someday owning his own farm.
Lennie
Lennie is described as a big, strong, lumbering person. He is unaware of his strength due to the fact that he is retarded, thereby killing almost anything he touches and won’t let go of. He has a strange fascination throughout the whole book with soft, fluffy things, particularly rabbits. He often carries about dead mice and things so that he can pet them for comfort. Lennie has a very short memory and attention span, and is often told what to do by George, one of the few people he respects and trusts. He has one dream, and that is to live on George’s farm and “tend to the rabbits”.
Old Man Candy
Candy is described as a kindly old man. He is rather small and is missing one hand due to an accident. He is a swamper on the ranch where George and Lennie find work, and is a good friend of theirs. He has a sheepdog that he has raised since a pup, and shows great sadness (as anyone would) when the ranch men take it away and shoot it. He knows he is getting old, and wants to leave the ranch independently without being fired. He has a bit of money and offers to live on the farm with Lennie and George, should they get it.
Curley
Curley is the main antagonist in the book. He is a small, rough little bully of a man who holds a grudge against any man who is larger than him. He is a big-headed fellow as his father is the owner of the ranch, so he can do almost anything he wants without getting fired. He holds a very big grudge against Lennie right from the start because of his size. Curley is described as getting jealous very easy as his wife toys with his emotions by visiting the other men on the ranch.
Curley’s Wife
Curley’s wife is an arrogant woman, who wanders about the ranch continuously looking for Curley, and he always looking for her. While she is not the main antagonist, she is a bad character for the fact that she plays around with the emotions and minds of the men on the ranch, specifically Lennie. She is described to be tall and very beautiful, always done up nice in makeup, a fancy dress, and a fancy curly hairstyle with ostrich feathers.
Crooks
Crooks is the slave at the ranch. He is old and disabled due to a horse kicking him in the back, but is still kept as a slave to tend the horses. He lives and has his own room above the barn, which is the envy of many ranchers, since they have to share a room. Crooks has a known love of reading, owning a dictionary and a few old war books. He is a very proud man that likes to keep to himself and even takes pride in caring for the horses. He offers to help Lennie and George out, should they buy their farm.
Setting
The story takes place during the Great Depression in California. The areas described in the book make it sound very country-like, where you had to rough it. There are many fields and lakes around, and the only way to travel is dirt roads and thin trails through the woods. The main town in the book is Soledad, which is a few miles away from the ranch that the characters find jobs at.
The story really takes place in California, but the author really leaves the state up to the reader, as he never specifies “California” in the book. The indoor area of the book, mainly the ranch bedroom, is the only other area described. The ranch room is described as a musty old room with 12 beds in it, 3 empty. There are small wooden shelves above each bed for each man to keep his personal belongings, and that is it.
No comments:
Post a Comment