Of Mice and Men Character List:
George Milton: A migrant worker who travels from farm to farm for work during the Depression, George cares for Lennie, his childhood friend who is mentally disabled, while the two dream of earning enough money to buy a small farm where Lennie can tend rabbits. By virtue of his mental superiority, George assumes a dominant role with Lennie, acting as would an overtired and overworked parent. Because Lennie tends to involve George in difficult predicaments, George must be responsible, level-headed and ready to deal with any tragedy that may arise. Despite the many problems that Lennie causes George, he stays with his simple-minded friend as a buffet against loneliness and he retains a palpable hope that the two will eventually leave the aimless life of a migrant worker to live a more normal existence.
Lennie Small: A gigantic mentally disabled man, Lennie is simplistic and docile. He obsesses over simple sensory pleasures, particularly those that are tactile. He finds great joy in touching soft things, whether a cotton dress or a soft puppy. Although Lennie is inherently innocent, he is still capable of great violence, for he lacks the capacity to physically control himself and has a great protective instinct. Lennie is fixated on the dream of having a small piece of land with George, but can only remember one aspect of this dream. His obsession is having a small rabbit hutch where he can tend rabbits, but cannot grasp the entirety of George's plan. Lennie is almost entirely incapable of making decisions by himself and relies on George for action.
Candy: An old, crippled man who has lost his hand, Candy is the swamper at the ranch. He remains attached to his aging dog, which has become so weak and sickly that it depends entirely on Candy to survive, but still allows Carlson to shoot the dog to put it out of its misery. Candy is a passive man virtually unable to take any independent action and his one major act in the book, offering Lennie and George money in order to go in on a piece of land together, is a means by which he can become dependent on them.
Curley: The son of the ranch owner, Curley is a man of short stature who is nevertheless a formidable pugilist. Curley is aggressive, boastful and cocky, with a volatile temper and a tendency to provoke conflict, as he does with Lennie. Part of Curley's bravado stems from anxiety over his new wife, who everyone widely suspects of being a tramp. He spends a great deal of time monitoring her, believing her to be off with other men when she is not under his supervision.
Curley's Wife: Generally considered to be a tramp by the men at the ranch, Curley's Wife is the only major character in Of Mice and Men whom Steinbeck does not give a name. She dislikes her husband and feels desperately lonely at the ranch, for she is the only woman and feels isolated from the other men, who openly scorn her. She still holds some small hope of a better life, claiming that she had the chance to become a movie star in Hollywood, but otherwise is a bitter and scornful woman who shamelessly uses sex to intimidate the workers. Lennie accidentally murders her.
Crooks: The stable buck at the ranch, Crooks is also the only black. A proud and bitter man, Crooks has a cynical intelligence and a contemptuous demeanour that he uses to prevent others from inevitably excluding him because of his race. His defensive manner fades, however, once Lennie behaves kindly toward him, and he even considers helping Lennie and Candy with their plan to buy land until the threats by Curley's Wife force him back into his normal combative posture.
Carlson: A large, big-stomached man who works at the ranch, Carlson complains about Candy's dog and eventually offers to put the old dog out of its misery. George steals Carlson's gun to shoot Lennie after Curley's Wife is murdered.
Slim: The jerk line skinner at the ranch, Slim is a seemingly ageless man who carries himself with great gravity. He gives Lennie one of his new litter of puppies to care for. Curley initially suspects that his wife is having an affair with Slim.
Whit: He is one of the workers at the ranch, a young man who shows Carlson the magazine with the letter from William Tenner.
The Boss: The boss of the ranch is Curley's father, and begins to suspect George and Lennie when they arrive, thinking that there's something odd about the two men travelling together and about how Lennie remains so silent.
Aunt Clara: The woman who raised Lennie, she is now deceased, but appears to Lennie in a hallucination when he hides in the brush. In this hallucination, she appears as a short but hefty woman who berates Lennie for his stupidity.
William Tenner: A former worker at the ranch who drove a cultivator, Whit shows Carlson a magazine that has a letter to the editor that Bill Tenner has written.
Andy Cushman: An acquaintance from grammar school, George tells Lennie that he is now in jail in San Quentin ‘on account of a tart.’
Al Wilts: The deputy sheriff of Soledad, Curley sends Whit to find him when his wife is murdered.
Lennie Small: A gigantic mentally disabled man, Lennie is simplistic and docile. He obsesses over simple sensory pleasures, particularly those that are tactile. He finds great joy in touching soft things, whether a cotton dress or a soft puppy. Although Lennie is inherently innocent, he is still capable of great violence, for he lacks the capacity to physically control himself and has a great protective instinct. Lennie is fixated on the dream of having a small piece of land with George, but can only remember one aspect of this dream. His obsession is having a small rabbit hutch where he can tend rabbits, but cannot grasp the entirety of George's plan. Lennie is almost entirely incapable of making decisions by himself and relies on George for action.
Candy: An old, crippled man who has lost his hand, Candy is the swamper at the ranch. He remains attached to his aging dog, which has become so weak and sickly that it depends entirely on Candy to survive, but still allows Carlson to shoot the dog to put it out of its misery. Candy is a passive man virtually unable to take any independent action and his one major act in the book, offering Lennie and George money in order to go in on a piece of land together, is a means by which he can become dependent on them.
Curley: The son of the ranch owner, Curley is a man of short stature who is nevertheless a formidable pugilist. Curley is aggressive, boastful and cocky, with a volatile temper and a tendency to provoke conflict, as he does with Lennie. Part of Curley's bravado stems from anxiety over his new wife, who everyone widely suspects of being a tramp. He spends a great deal of time monitoring her, believing her to be off with other men when she is not under his supervision.
Curley's Wife: Generally considered to be a tramp by the men at the ranch, Curley's Wife is the only major character in Of Mice and Men whom Steinbeck does not give a name. She dislikes her husband and feels desperately lonely at the ranch, for she is the only woman and feels isolated from the other men, who openly scorn her. She still holds some small hope of a better life, claiming that she had the chance to become a movie star in Hollywood, but otherwise is a bitter and scornful woman who shamelessly uses sex to intimidate the workers. Lennie accidentally murders her.
Crooks: The stable buck at the ranch, Crooks is also the only black. A proud and bitter man, Crooks has a cynical intelligence and a contemptuous demeanour that he uses to prevent others from inevitably excluding him because of his race. His defensive manner fades, however, once Lennie behaves kindly toward him, and he even considers helping Lennie and Candy with their plan to buy land until the threats by Curley's Wife force him back into his normal combative posture.
Carlson: A large, big-stomached man who works at the ranch, Carlson complains about Candy's dog and eventually offers to put the old dog out of its misery. George steals Carlson's gun to shoot Lennie after Curley's Wife is murdered.
Slim: The jerk line skinner at the ranch, Slim is a seemingly ageless man who carries himself with great gravity. He gives Lennie one of his new litter of puppies to care for. Curley initially suspects that his wife is having an affair with Slim.
Whit: He is one of the workers at the ranch, a young man who shows Carlson the magazine with the letter from William Tenner.
The Boss: The boss of the ranch is Curley's father, and begins to suspect George and Lennie when they arrive, thinking that there's something odd about the two men travelling together and about how Lennie remains so silent.
Aunt Clara: The woman who raised Lennie, she is now deceased, but appears to Lennie in a hallucination when he hides in the brush. In this hallucination, she appears as a short but hefty woman who berates Lennie for his stupidity.
William Tenner: A former worker at the ranch who drove a cultivator, Whit shows Carlson a magazine that has a letter to the editor that Bill Tenner has written.
Andy Cushman: An acquaintance from grammar school, George tells Lennie that he is now in jail in San Quentin ‘on account of a tart.’
Al Wilts: The deputy sheriff of Soledad, Curley sends Whit to find him when his wife is murdered.
