Of Mice and Men Short Summary:
The novel, which takes place during the Great Depression, begins beside the Salinas River near Soledad, California, where two migrant workers, Lennie Small and George Milton, are walking on their way to a nearby ranch. They had recently escaped from a farm near Weed where Lennie, a mentally deficient yet docile man, was wrongly accused of rape when he touched a woman to feel her soft dress. George is his physical opposite, a small man with defined features. George scolds Lennie for playing with a dead mouse and warns him not to speak when they arrive at their new place of employment. When Lennie complains about not having ketchup for the beans they eat for dinner, George becomes angry, telling Lennie that he would be better off if he didn't have to travel with his retarded friend. George soon delineates his dream: he and Lennie will raise enough money to buy a patch of land, where they will have a small farm with a vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch. The rabbit hutch is the only detail of the plan that Lennie consistently remembers. George tells Lennie that, if he gets into trouble as he did in Weed, he should return to the brush near the river and wait for George to find him.
When George and Lennie reach the bunkhouse at the farm where they will work, an old man named Candy shows them their beds and tells them that the boss was angry that they didn't show up the night before. George and Lennie were late because the bus driver who brought them near Soledad dropped them off several miles away from the ranch. The boss questions George and Lennie and finds them suspicious because George speaks for Lennie. He cannot understand why George would travel with Lennie until he explains that Lennie is his cousin. After the boss leaves, his son, Curley, enters the bunkhouse looking for the boss. Curley is a short man who hates larger men out of jealousy and insecurity, and has a new wife who everyone suspects is unfaithful. His wife visits the bunkhouse later that night searching for Curley, and flirts with the other men. Later, Curley returns looking for his wife, and confronts George in an attempt to start a fight.
After a day of work, the men return to the bunkhouse. Slim, whose dog had a new litter of puppies, gives Lennie one of them. George admits to Slim that he and Lennie escaped lynching when Lennie was accused of rape. Carlson complains about Curley's dog, a decrepit creature that barely survives. He offers to shoot the dog, and after repeated complaints, Curley relents, despite his obvious wish to keep the dog. George complains about ‘tarts' such as Curley's Wife, and when the other men suggest that they visit a whorehouse the next night, George says that he prefers the company of whores, since there is no chance of danger. When George tells Lennie the story about the house that they will have, Candy says that he knows about an available house that they could have if the three men pooled their money. Curley searches for his wife once more, and fights Lennie when he suspects that Lennie is laughing at him. Curley punches Lennie several times, but Lennie does not fight back until George gives him permission. He crushes Curley's hand, and does not stop until George tells him to do so.
While the other men are at the whorehouse, Lennie goes to visit Crooks, the black stable buck. Crooks is rude and contemptuous toward Lennie until he realizes that Lennie has no ill intent. Crooks makes Lennie realize how alone and isolated he would be if George would abandon Lennie. Candy also visits the two men, for they are the only ones left at the ranch. They discuss the plan for a small farm, and even Crooks shows some interest. Curley's Wife sees the three men and, when Crooks tells her that she is not supposed to be in his room, she upbraids them as useless cripples and even threatens Crooks with lynching. However, she reveals that, as the only woman on the ranch, she is lonely.
The next morning, when Lennie is playing with his new puppy, he accidentally kills it when he bounces it too hard. Curley's Wife finds him in the barn with the dead puppy, and when she allows him to feel how soft her hair is, he handles her too forcefully. When she screams, Lennie covers her mouth and, as she tries to struggle free from his grasp, he snaps her neck. When Lennie escapes the ranch, Candy and George find the body and immediately realize that Lennie killed her. Candy alerts the other men, and Curley forms a party to search for Lennie. Curley intends to murder him. In the interim, George steals Carlson's gun, leading the other men to think that Lennie actually took it before he escaped.
George, who points Curley and the other men in the wrong direction, finds Lennie in the brush where he told him to go at the beginning of the novel. Lennie has been having hallucinations of a giant rabbit and his Aunt Clara; they warn Lennie that George will be angry at him for killing Curley's Wife and that he has lost the possibility of having a house with a rabbit hutch. George begins to tell Lennie about their plans for a house and the rabbit hutch when he shoots Lennie in the back of the head with Carlson's gun. Upon hearing this, the other men find George and Lennie. George tells them that Lennie had stolen the gun and he shot Lennie when he got the gun back from him.
When George and Lennie reach the bunkhouse at the farm where they will work, an old man named Candy shows them their beds and tells them that the boss was angry that they didn't show up the night before. George and Lennie were late because the bus driver who brought them near Soledad dropped them off several miles away from the ranch. The boss questions George and Lennie and finds them suspicious because George speaks for Lennie. He cannot understand why George would travel with Lennie until he explains that Lennie is his cousin. After the boss leaves, his son, Curley, enters the bunkhouse looking for the boss. Curley is a short man who hates larger men out of jealousy and insecurity, and has a new wife who everyone suspects is unfaithful. His wife visits the bunkhouse later that night searching for Curley, and flirts with the other men. Later, Curley returns looking for his wife, and confronts George in an attempt to start a fight.
After a day of work, the men return to the bunkhouse. Slim, whose dog had a new litter of puppies, gives Lennie one of them. George admits to Slim that he and Lennie escaped lynching when Lennie was accused of rape. Carlson complains about Curley's dog, a decrepit creature that barely survives. He offers to shoot the dog, and after repeated complaints, Curley relents, despite his obvious wish to keep the dog. George complains about ‘tarts' such as Curley's Wife, and when the other men suggest that they visit a whorehouse the next night, George says that he prefers the company of whores, since there is no chance of danger. When George tells Lennie the story about the house that they will have, Candy says that he knows about an available house that they could have if the three men pooled their money. Curley searches for his wife once more, and fights Lennie when he suspects that Lennie is laughing at him. Curley punches Lennie several times, but Lennie does not fight back until George gives him permission. He crushes Curley's hand, and does not stop until George tells him to do so.
While the other men are at the whorehouse, Lennie goes to visit Crooks, the black stable buck. Crooks is rude and contemptuous toward Lennie until he realizes that Lennie has no ill intent. Crooks makes Lennie realize how alone and isolated he would be if George would abandon Lennie. Candy also visits the two men, for they are the only ones left at the ranch. They discuss the plan for a small farm, and even Crooks shows some interest. Curley's Wife sees the three men and, when Crooks tells her that she is not supposed to be in his room, she upbraids them as useless cripples and even threatens Crooks with lynching. However, she reveals that, as the only woman on the ranch, she is lonely.
The next morning, when Lennie is playing with his new puppy, he accidentally kills it when he bounces it too hard. Curley's Wife finds him in the barn with the dead puppy, and when she allows him to feel how soft her hair is, he handles her too forcefully. When she screams, Lennie covers her mouth and, as she tries to struggle free from his grasp, he snaps her neck. When Lennie escapes the ranch, Candy and George find the body and immediately realize that Lennie killed her. Candy alerts the other men, and Curley forms a party to search for Lennie. Curley intends to murder him. In the interim, George steals Carlson's gun, leading the other men to think that Lennie actually took it before he escaped.
George, who points Curley and the other men in the wrong direction, finds Lennie in the brush where he told him to go at the beginning of the novel. Lennie has been having hallucinations of a giant rabbit and his Aunt Clara; they warn Lennie that George will be angry at him for killing Curley's Wife and that he has lost the possibility of having a house with a rabbit hutch. George begins to tell Lennie about their plans for a house and the rabbit hutch when he shoots Lennie in the back of the head with Carlson's gun. Upon hearing this, the other men find George and Lennie. George tells them that Lennie had stolen the gun and he shot Lennie when he got the gun back from him.
