List 3 significant descriptions of the bunkhouse:

  • “whitewashed” (segregation)
  • “small, square windows” (freedom/ American dream)
  • “solid door” (masculinity)

e.g. The ‘solid door’ could represent the men on the ranch’s need to be a hard and ‘solid’ man. Perhaps it also highlights their ideology regarding emotions and how they won’t allow their feelings to show, not opening their metaphorical ‘solid’ door of emotions.

The symbolism of Western Magazines:

“love to read”

“scoff at”

“secretly believe”

The Western Magazine provides the men hope that they will one day walk into the sunset like the ‘western’ characters they read about and become a hero like the cowboys in these magazines. This places the American dream on a pedal stall causing us to empathize for the men on the ranch as we as readers know that it is most probable that they will live the rest of their lives on the ranch.

The purpose of Chapter 2 is to introduce characters!

Curley “a thin young man”

“tightly curled hair
Boss “a fat legged man”

“squinted his eyes”

“pointed a playful finger”

“high heeled boots”

“to prove he was not a labourer”
Candy “the old man”

“gray of muzzles”

“blind old eyes”
Curley’s Wife “rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off”

“rouged lips”

“fingernails were red”

“Her hair hung in little rolled clusters”
Slim “the prince of the ranch”

“His hands… as those of a temple dancer”

“face was ageless”

 Action

  • Whitey (the last worker on the ranch before George and Lennie) left. It depicts how these men are migrant workers and are used to travelling. George’s scepticism about the lice on the bed and how this spans over pages shows its more than just the bed. It acts as a representation of George’s lack of faith in humanity as humanity has treated him so harshly.
  • Important quote: George said ominously, you betta’ watch out for Lennie he’s “strong”, “quick”, and “don’t know no rules”.
  • Candy is the helper on the ranch but also to the readers as his character provides power to the readers as we are informed- through candy- the latest gossip running through the ranch.

Solitaire: Some aspects the game of solitaire represents:

-George is a solitary man

-He is isolating himself due to his mistrust in men.

-He is absorbing everything around him, he is looking busy but is thinking carefully, “thoughtfully” about the new people he had met.

-It acts as a defence mechanism so no one bothers to talk to him.

Summary

Candy’s old dog -> foreshadows the fate of the weak.

Curley’s wife -> trouble to come with her promiscuity.

Curley -> trouble to come with his physical boxing skills.

Crooks -> a sign of racism and segregation to enter the story through the use of the derogatory ‘N’ word used against him in this chapter.

Curley and slim drowning puppies -> this resonates with the story George later tells slim in chapter 3

George reveals that he used to play jokes on Lennie because “he was too dumb even to know he had a joke played on him.” One day when George, Lennie, and other men were loitering around the Sacramento River, George ordered Lennie to jump into the water:

“I turns to Lennie and says, ‘Jump in.’ An’ he jumps. Couldn’t swim a stroke. He damn near drowned before we could get him. An’ he was so damn nice to me for pullin’ him out. Clean forgot I told him to jump in. Well, I ain’t done nothing like that no more.”