Section 5 - Plot

Section 5 Plot

In section 5, we see that Lennie cannot grasp how strong he is. Firstly he accidentally kills his puppy and later Curley's wife. After her body is found the men on the ranch try and find Lennie.

Lennie and the puppy

Lennie has killed his puppy by playing with it too roughly.
He realises that he has done a bad thing by killing the puppy, and he tries to hide it in the straw: “Why you gotta get killed? You ain’t so little as mice.”

Curley's wife's loneliness

Curley’s wife arrives and they begin having a conversation. She tells him about how she doesn’t like her new husband, Curley, because “he ain’t a nice fella”.
She goes on to talk about it has always been her dream to become a movie star and that she “coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes - all them nice clothes like they wear.”
When Lennie tells her that he loves to pet soft things, she invites Lennie to stroke her soft hair.

Lennie accidentally kills Curley's wife

Lennie starts to get over excited when stroking Curley’s wife’s hair, and this causes her to panic and plead with him to stop so that he doesn’t “mess it all up”.
Curley’s wife’s screaming causes Lennie to become scared, and he accidentally breaks her neck while trying to silence her. Curley’s wife is dead: "I don't want you to yell. You gonna get me in trouble jus' like George says you will. Now don't you do that.”

Discovering Curley's wife

The body is discovered by Candy soon after, and it is immediately obvious that Lennie must have killed her.
George suggests to Candy that their dream of owning their own land is over once and for all: “I think I knowed we’d never do her.”

Curley seeks revenge

The men organise a search party to find and kill Lennie, with Curley determined to be the one who shoots him: “I'm gonna shoot the guts outa that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand. I'm gonna get 'im.”

George goes to find Lennie

George is worried about Lennie: he can’t bear the thought of Curley and his men finding and killing him.
Having taken Carlson’s gun from the bunkhouse, he sends the other men in the wrong direction and goes to find Lennie, who has remembered to go to the spot by the river and “hide in the brush”, just like George told him to.

1Context & Overview

1.1Context & Overview

1.1.1The Great Depression

1.1.2Racism

1.1.3The American Dream

1.1.4Of Mice & Men

1.2John Steinbeck

1.2.1John Steinbeck's Life

1.2.2End of Topic Test - Context & Overview

2Plot

2.1Section 1 - Analysis

2.1.1Section 1 - Plot

2.1.2Section 1 - Overview

2.2Section 2 - Analysis

2.2.1Section 2 - Plot

2.2.2Section 2 - Overview

2.3Section 3 - Analysis

2.3.1Section 3 - Plot

2.3.2Section 3 - Overview

2.3.3End of Topic Test - Sections 1-3

2.4Section 4 - Analysis

2.4.1Section 4 - Plot

2.4.2Section 4 - Overview

2.5Section 5 - Analysis

2.5.1Section 5 - Plot

2.5.2Section 5 - Overview

2.6Section 6 - Analysis

2.6.1Section 6 - Plot

2.6.2Section 6 - Overview

2.6.3End of Topic Test - Sections 4-6

3Key Characters

3.1Main Characters

3.1.1George

3.1.2Lennie - Strength

3.1.3Lennie - Innocence & Dependence

3.1.4Slim

3.1.5Curley

3.1.6Curley's Wife - Flirtatious

3.1.7Curley's Wife - Lonely & Heartbroken

3.1.8Crooks

3.1.9Candy

3.1.10End of Topic Test - George & Lennie

3.1.11End of Topic Test - Slim, Curley & Curley's Wife

3.2Minor Characters

3.2.1Minor Characters

3.2.2End of Topic Test - Crooks, Candy & Others

4Themes

4.1Key Themes

4.1.1Hopes, Dreams & Reality

4.1.2Racial Prejudice

4.1.3Loneliness & Companionship

4.1.4The Weak & Strong

4.1.5Women

4.1.6End of Topic Test - Key Themes

5Authorial Method

5.1Writing Techniques

5.1.1Dialogue

5.1.2Imagery

5.1.3Light

5.1.4Sound

5.1.5Symbolism

5.1.6Structure

5.1.7End of Topic Test - Writing Techniques

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