Section 2 Summary

The following morning George and Lennie leave the clearing and reach the bunkhouse at the ranch. They are met by Candy, who is the aging handyman. He shows them the bunkhouse and informs them that the boss was expecting them the night before and was angry when they were not ready for work that morning. George finds a can of insect poison near his bed and is worried that he will be infested. Candy assures him that this was left by the person who had last occupied the bed. He was a meticulous blacksmith named Whitey who kept this poison to kill insects though there are none.

Candy further tells George that the boss is a nice man, though he tends to take his anger out on Crook, the black stable buck. He describes the boss as a “pretty nice fella” and fondly recalls an earlier Christmas when he presented the workers with a gallon of whiskey. The boss enters now and asks them why they are late. George mentions that the bus driver had left them far off from the destination. He attempts to speak for both Lennie and himself, but the boss notes that Lennie is silent and asks him directly. Lennie attempts to speak, forgetting that George had asked him to not say a word. He imitates what George has said but sounds completely ridiculous. George tells the boss that Lennie isn’t bright enough, but he is strong as a bull and is a hard worker. The boss wonders why George is helping out Lennie, to which he replies that Lennie is his cousin and that he had promised his mother to look after him. The boss asks further why they had left their earlier job to which George responds that they were digging a cesspool, and now the work is completed. The boss is hesitant about accepting George’s explanation but assigns them work. A ranch hand named Slim will oversee their work.

When the boss leaves, George berates Lennie for opening his mouth and says that he is thankful that they are not related. Candy overhears the conversation, thus realizing that the two men are not related. George is angry about his eavesdropping and tells him that he doesn’t like anyone being involved in his business. Candy’s aging, blind sheepdog is introduced at this stage.

A young man, haughty in appearance, enters the bunk. This is Curley who is looking for the boss, his father. He behaves aggressively with Lennie. After he departs, Candy explains that Curley is always abusive toward big men out of jealousy as he wants to prove his superiority over them. George says that it will be unwise of Curley to pick up a fight with Lennie who is incredibly strong. Candy informs the men that Curley has been recently married to a local beauty after which he has become more arrogant. Candy, however, considers his wife a “tart”. George warns Lennie to avoid Curley.

Almost immediately, Curley’s wife enters the bunkhouse looking for her husband. She is provocatively dressed, wears heavy makeup, has a nasal voice, and is quite flirtatious. She flirts with Slim. When she leaves, Lennie says that he thinks she is pretty while George calls her a “bitch” and demands that Lennie stays away from her.

Slim, one of the most esteemed persons in the ranch, now enters. Everybody stops talking to listen to what he has to say. He asks George and Lennie about their work and commends them on their friendship, which is rare between men. Carlson, a large, big-bellied man, enters the bunkhouse and asks Slim whether his dog had her litter last night. Slim tells him that she had nine puppies, but that he drowned four immediately since she couldn’t feed so many. Carlson complains about the smell of Candy’s old sheepdog and tells Slim that Candy should put it out of its misery.

Curley enters again, demanding to know from George whether his wife had been around. George says that she was at the bunkhouse. Curley seems eager to start a fight with anyone.

Section 2 Analysis

This chapter is characterized with a lot of stage drama. A single location—that is, the bunkhouse—is used to introduce numerous characters. The characters interact with each other, giving details about their past and motivations, which facilitates the process of rich characterization in a relatively short number of pages. This “dramatic” technique allows Steinbeck’s story a portentous quality and also doesn’t require the narrator intervening and describing the characters. At one level, this is just another evening among migrant workers. On another level, the actions and personae of these workers assume a larger, almost mythic significance, bringing out the eternal, allegorical character of daily life. Hence, George is the cynic but with a good heart; Lennie is the personification of childlike innocence; Curley personifies an embittered, petty man; and Crooks represents the persecution and racial injustice suffered by African Americans. Each character establishes a type, a technique that is more closely associated with plays than with literary fiction.

Curley, the son of the boss, is a symbol of how power and authority can bring the worst in men. He serves as a natural foil to Slim, who is more self-assured and a respected person at the ranch. Whereas people tend to avoid Curley, as well as his wife, Slim is the natural authority figure, who people look up to for advice. George and Lennie immediately perceive the threat in Curley’s presence and promise to remain close to each other.

Of Mice and Men evidently has more men than women as characters. The only woman of any significance in this work is Curley’s wife, who is not even given a name. She is a lonely figure, desperately seeking attention. She is called a tramp and bitch, clearly a problematic character who will only create trouble for the men. However, Steinbeck is careful to hint at a possible motivation for her manipulative behavior—she is, after all, married to a loathsome man who keeps her confined, brags about their sex life (which might be nonexistent), hates every man whom she talks to, and who is not a good partner.

Steinbeck as a whole celebrates the bond and friendship between men in this novella. The men in the ranch try to make their lives and wish for a peaceful, uncomplicated life among other men. The only threat is Curley’s wife, and apart from her, the only other female character is Aunt Clara, who was Lennie’s caretaker. While Steinbeck argues for the dignity and equality of all men, he steers away from the inclusion of well-rounded, complex women characters. Curley’s wife is unidimensional, a sexual tease, and Aunt Clara is the benevolent caretaker. The novel dismisses women from its vision of paradise—George and Lennie aspire for a dream together, not complicating their lives with wives, happy to be tending their land and rabbits. Female sexuality is hence a dangerous threat to this idyll, which can ensnare and destroy men.