Thank you to Kushal for preparing this comprehensive and thoughtful summary of significant moments and quotations at the start and end of each chapter. A very useful resource!
Chapter 1: Start
- ‘A few miles south from Soledad’ – first line
- Soledad means loneliness in Spanish
- Links to theme of loneliness presented through the character
- The word ‘south’ could mean everything could go downhill from the start
- Setting – where the plot starts and ends in the novella
- Unlucky place
- Theme of death is linked to the Brush – at the start we are told a mouse is dead and at the end Lennie is shot by George
- We are told about the context in relation to typical ranch workers
- George and Lennie’s relationship
- Gives a hint of whether George’s relationship with Lennie is protective or choice?
- George is introduced first – presented as father-like figure
Chapter 1: Ending
- ‘Shut up now’
- Lennie is obedient
- Shows George’s authority on Lennie
- Dream conversation
- George humours Lennie with different colour usage
- He makes fun out of what Lennie wants to do
- The Brush
- We are told that George has told Lennie to come back to the Brush if he messes up – this foreshadows the thoughts of the reader
- ‘The red light dimmed on the coals’
– Darkness – danger?
Chapter 2: Start
- Description of the bunk house
- ‘Small squared windows’
- Shows the closed mindset
- ‘Long rectangular building’
- It is never ending
- Foreshadows with limited space each ranch worker has in the room
- Theme – Loneliness
- Ironic – they are together but alone
Chapter 2: Ending
- ‘You seen a girl’
- Curley refers to his wife as ‘girl’
- Disrespectful
- Links to masculinity
- Chapter ending
- Tense ending – foreshadows Curley and his role as a villain
Chapter 3: Start
- ‘I ain’t so bright either’
- George confiding in Slim
- Shows a calm and receptive conversation – Slim presented as a good man and friend who is able to take responsibility and shows confidence in his leadership to the ranch workers – almost portrayed as ‘The Boss’
Chapter 3: Ending
- ‘Looks to me like…’
- Slim is in control and is leading the action
- Links to the start
- ‘Fist was lost in Lennie’s paws’ – this quote shows animal imagery and shows the power of Lennie’s physical dominance
- Slim blackmails Curley so Lennie doesn’t get into trouble – shows his power on the ranch and shows he is able to control Curley, who is the Boss’ son
Chapter 4: Start
- ‘Crooks’
- Description of his room – shows he does have a say because we are given a description of his room
- Details
- The purpose is to give an insight of his room to shows the life of a segregated black man on a ranch in the 1930’s
- ‘Negro stable buck’ – we are told he looks after the horses and he has a element of skill as he is the only person with this job on the ranch
Chapter 4: Ending
- Broken dreams
- The ‘weak ones’ have become defeated
- Cyclical chapter because it represents the life of black people in the 1930’s
- Breakdown of the dreams: 1. Curley’s wife and 2. George is upset at Candy and Lennie for revealing dream
- Curley’s wife
- She is weak because she has no name and no friends
- Her husband has gone to the whore house
- Theme – racism
- ‘I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.’
- ‘Nobody’d listen to you’
- ‘A coloured man got to have some rights’
Chapter 5: Start
- Lennie kills a puppy
- ‘A little dead puppy’
- George likes soft things – shows how vulnerable and excited he is to soft things as it causes an unlikely result
- Theme – relationships
- Lennie predicts what George will say when he finds out he has killed the puppy
- This shows how well they know each other and it shows the number of occasions this has happened
- Lennie is in fear of ‘tendin’ the rabbits’
- Lennie is a quick thinker
- When Curley’s wife enters he is quick to react and hide the puppy – clever
- He can sense danger and tells her he wants ‘nothing’ of her
Chapter 5: Ending
- Themes – power and revenge
- Curley decides to kill Lennie instead of staying with his wife
- Curley wants revenge over his hand not his wife
- Curley makes this out as a mission
- Whit ‘ain’t got a gun’
- Carlson’s luger
- ‘I’m goin’’
- Theme – relationships
- George makes extra time for Lennie because he lies to them saying ‘he would’ve gone south’
- Shows his love to him
- Readers now know where Lennie will be
Chapter 6: Start
- ‘He came as silently as a creeping bear moves’
- Simile – Lennie is still presented as an animal
- Shows he still remembers the instructions George gave when they both first came to the Brush as migrant workers
- Lennie can see Aunt Clara
- We are revealed more to his mind
- Shows severity of his learning difficulties
Chapter 6: Ending
- George kills Lennie
- George should’ve run off with Lennie
- He couldn’t run off and he had to murder him
- End of the dream
- If they would’ve run off, they would’ve run off for the second time in the novella
- Candy’s dog and Lennie were both shot on the back of the heads
- Theme – relationships
- Although George does kill Lennie, he shot him in a way so Lennie would feel no pain
- He killed him so Curley could not torture him
- George does lie and say Lennie had Carlson’s gun
Thanks for these great tools
they’re really useful
one quick question: are you doing the edexcel English language gcse
Thank you for your comment. We are taking the AQA GCSE, so mark schemes and question guides are geared towards their requirements.