General:
1. The book Of Mica and Men tells of two men who have know each other since they were kids. George is the smaller one of the two and the one that is mentally fit. Lennie is tall and slim but he suffers from mental retardation. The two set off and seeking work and do eventually find it. The work in a farm along with Candy, Slim, Curley, Curley's wife, Crooks and a few others. Lennie has the tendency of getting in trouble and that he does at this new working place. He had gotten in trouble once before when he had wanted to touch a woman's dress and was then accused of rape. At this new place Lennie kills the owner's son's wife forcing him to flee once again. He wasn't a murderer but rather a mentally retarded person. He was unable to measure his strength and so killed the woman. George flees with Lennie but kills him in an act of Mercy.
2. Brotherhood describes the theme of the book. Although Lennie and George were not biological brother of related at all for that matter, the were "brothers." They loved each other and each had a different way of showing it. George was the protective one and the stronger one, mentally speaking. He played the role of the older brother. Lennie was the brother who had to be looked over. He was the one that got in trouble and George was the one that bailed him out. Lennie was completely dependent of George and wouldn't have survived without him.
3. The author uses a tone of pity. He wants the audience to pity Lennie. Lennie does horrific things but the audience knows he doesn't mean to do them on purpose. Lennie cant help being who he is. The audience pity's this poor retarded man. Lennie can basically get away with anything through the audience's eyes but in the eyes of the rest of the characters he is a sick evil man.
4. There is a major symbol toward the middle of the book. Candy's dog is old and useless. The dog is a burden and is suffering due to his old age and being a handicapped dog. He is Candy's companion and best friend. The men on the farm think that killing the dog will place him out of his misery and first Candy is reluctant. He soon comes to realize that killing the dog is what is best. At the end of the book Lennie finds himself in a difficult position but George's situation is worse. George finds himself forced to kill Lennie just like Candy's dog was killed. He shoots Lennie because he knows that letting him live would bring an even greater amount of pain.
Characterization:
1. Just by reading about the actions of Lennie, ,the audience knows he is a mentally retarded man. Now the fact that Lennie is tall and George is short is seen through direct characterization. Lennie is unable to control his strength due to his mental illness. He kills animals and this very thing causes his eventual death. Lennie kills a woman and this only comes to show how there is not limits to the amount of harm he is able to cause and does cause. George is the protective older "brother." He look over Lennie because he is aware of what Lennie is capable of doing and how much trouble he can get into. He want him to be safe and is forced to kill him in a final effort to protect him.
2. The setting is on a farm and the characters are all farm workers with little to no education. They have lived lives of ignorance and know not of the importance of school. They focus on working and making money. They like getting drunk and having the company of women. The more they flirt the better. Their diction is that of uneducated individuals. They don't know about manners and if they do they dont think they are important enough to apply them to their lives. All those on the farm speak like your typical farm workers. You can imagine their voice by the simple reading of their words.
3. The protagonists are static. The audience doesn't see a change in them throughout the book. They start off as a hard headed short guy and a tall retarded one. They end up the exact same way and in fact its their not changing that gets them into trouble and directs the story in the way it does end up going. Lennie can' t become healthy out of the blue and so he kills the woman and is forced to flee. George loving him as much as he loves him form the very beginning of the book, leaves with him and puts him out of his misery.
4. I really didn't feel like any of the characters presented could ever be anyone I would know. They live in such different times and in a very different place from where I live. There are mentally ill people at school but none I doubt any pf them would go to the extremes of murdering someone. These characters were completely fictional to me.
