Of Mice and Men Part 4

One of the main differences was right after Lennie killed Curley's wife and was hiding in the brush, he didn't have delusions of his Aunt Clara talking to him. In the book he envisioned his Aunt Clara talking to him and telling him things, but in the movie they did not include that event. Another one of the bigger differences was when Lennie went into Crooks' room when all of the other guys were in town, Candie didn't follow him in. Neither did Curley's wife which didn't allow her to tell Crooks all of the things she could do to him and how she could have him hanged. Then, Crooks didn't have to kiss up to her and become very submissive. There were other subtle differences like, at the beginning when Lennie and George were talking and Lennie said that if George wanted he could go off and find a cave and live by himself, in the book the conversation played out slightly different than it did in the movie. In the book George was actually quoted saying, "No Lennie I want you to stay with me." whereas in the movie George never actually told Lennie that he wanted him to stick around but he said that he should and attributed it to Lennie's Aunt Clara not wanting him to be left by himself to survive. Another less significant difference was when George found Lennie in Crooks' room, he just told Lennie to get out, he didn't say to Crook's that he could have kicked Lennie out and then Crook's didn't respond with, "I didn't mind so much, Lennie's a nice fella." How George ended up shooting Lennie was much different than in the book. In the book it was slow and we got to see George pulling out his gun and holding it near Lennie for a while before he actually pulled the trigger. In the movie you knew it was coming but, George shot Lennie in mid-sentence and we did not even see the gun in George's hand before Lennie was already on the ground. In the movie they also sort of cut out the ending. In the end of the book, after George shot Lennie, Slim and some of the other guys looking for Lennie found George and George agreed when they asked him if Lennie had the gun and if George shot him in self-defense. Then George and Slim took a walk because Slim knew why George really did it. In the movie they kind of left us hanging, we didn't see the other guys find George, so we wouldn't have known if George would have said it was self-defense, or if he would have told them why he really did it. We also wouldn't have known if the guys would have reacted how they did, or if they would have been mad at George for not letting them take care of Lennie.

There were very many similarities in this book. All of the major events like, Candie's dog, Curley's hand, Lennie's dog, Curley's wife's death, and George shooting Lennie were all the same and happened in the same order. I have seen that in many books made into movies sometimes they change the plot a little bit or the dialogue would be derivative of quotes from the book, but not word for word. In this book almost all of the dialogue was spoken word for word how it was written in the book. The characters, each one of them were very similar to how they were described in the book. Physically, and personality wise.

Dear George

Dear George,

I think that you made the right decision when you chose to kill Lennie. He was obviously not capable of keeping himself out of trouble. You knew he meant well, that was clear, "I di'n't care much," said Crooks. "Lennie's a nice fella." and "He ain't mean," said Slim. "I can tell a mean guy a mile off." But in the end, just him meaning well wasn't enough. He always unintentionally managed to find himself in situations that ended up being detrimental to both of you, but himself especially. If you had somehow managed to escape and start over yet another time, you would have inevitably been put in the same situation again and it was good that you got it over with while it was on your own terms.

You made Lennie happy before he died. That was another reason that I think you made the correct decision. You were able to keep him calm, and provided him comfort by letting him have hope that everything was going to be okay. "No Lennie. I ain't mad. I never been mad, an' I ain't now. That's a thing I want ya to know." You didn't let him see it coming, so he died peacefully. If it had been curly, he would have experienced a very violent, and harsh end. "I'm gonna shoot the guts outta that big bastard myself,even if I only got one hand. I'm gonna get 'im." That would have made things harder than they had to be, on Lennie, but also on you. I think this was logically the scenario that would cause both of you the least grief, but nevertheless, it was very hard for you to do what you did. I personally don't think that even knowing it was the right decision I would have been able to make it.

Of Mice and Men Part 2

I think that Lennie is wants to leave, because he is afraid, or at least intimidated. When Curley was interacting with him it was clearly his intent to intimidate him. "He glanced coldly at George and then at Lennie. His arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists. He stiffened and went into a slight crouch. His glance was at once calculating and pugnacious. Lennie squirmed under the look and shifted his feet nervously." When Curley's wife came in it didn't help either. Lennie hadn't done anything wrong and George kept talking to him like he had, "Listen to me you crazy bastard," he said fiercely. "Don't you even take a look at that bitch. I don't care what she says and what she does. I seen 'em poison before, but I never see no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be." Lennie was becoming overwhelmed with instruction from George. He was to stay away from Curley, and he was not even to think about his wife. In Lennie's mind, he didn't understand how delicate the matter, was, he hadn't messed up and George was making him uneasy by putting such heavy demands on him. When George acted like this place was nothing but trouble, Lennie just wanted to get out of there and go some place where he did not fell threatened, or like he was in a situation that could so easily explode.

Of Mice and Men Part 1

1) I believe that Lennie is dependent on George because he cannot get by himself, and there is no one else around or willing to help him. Lennie is clearly, as George has stated many times, not bright, meaning that if left on his own, lacking the survival skills that he relies on George for, he would not make it. He would most likely not be able to get any kind of job, therefore he would not be able to buy food. Even if he was able to afford food, there are many things he would not be able to prepare. He does not understand how the world works, and he clearly lacks social skills, because he would let people walk all over him, not understanding that their intentions aren't always good. He is also constantly forgetting things, which would make it extremely difficult for him to learn these skills.

2) In my opinion George doesn't get rid of Lennie, mainly because he feels sorry for him. Even though at first having to deal with Lennie would seem annoying, George eventually got used to the odd things about him, and got to know him as a person. Lennie is really nice and George can recognize that, he knows that Lennie means well. George knows that without someone to take care of him Lennie would not be able to function, and that is not by his own choosing. If George ditched Lennie, no one else would take him in, and George could not do that to him.