Of Mice and Men - worksheet 2 pages 17-37

Directions: Answer each question on a separate sheet with a complete sentence incorporating the question into the answer.

1. Several characters are introduced in this section. Briefly describe:

A. old swamper (Candy)

B. boss

C. Candy’s dog

D. Curley

E. Curley’s wife

F. Slim

G. Carlson

2. The boss gets suspicious when George does all the talking for Lennie. What does the boss accuse George of doing?

3. When George does all the talking for Lennie, Curley gets agitated and almost picks a fight with Lennie. Candy gives a plausible explanation of why Curley wants to fight so much, on page 26. What is that reason?

4. Both the boss and Curley are suspicious of George and Lennie. The author wants to show that there are those that always think the worse about other people. Do you agree? Are people basically bad and we must be careful? Or are people basically good and we shouldn’t be on guard all the time?

5. George and Lennie meet Curley’s wife. George senses there might be trouble here with Lennie. What might that trouble be?

6. Lennie starts to get scared and says, “Le’s go, George. Le’s get outta here. It’s mean here.” George responds, “We gotta stay; Shut up now.” Why do they have to stay?

7. Slim’s dog had nine puppies and he killed four of them right off. Why is it seemingly okay for Slim to kill his pups, but when Lennie accidently kills animals, it’s a bad thing?

8. Carlson suggests to Slim that they should kill Candy’s old dog. What is the symbolic implication for Candy himself?

9. What does Lennie ask George to do at the end of this chapter?

10. Curley as a character is presented quite negatively. Does this seem fair?