Of Mice and Men Comprehension Exercises
Of Mice and Men

“Of Mice and Men” Comprehension Exercises

Introduction

In this section, you can test your knowledge of John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”. There are summaries of each chapter and comprehension questions for you to answer. Remember, you should use the important words of the question in your response and support your ideas with quotations from the text.

Chapter One Summary

The novel begins beside the Salinas River and a “few miles south of Soledad” in California. Following a “beaten” path through the “willows and among the sycamores”, George Milton and Lennie Small rest in a “clearing” beside the riverbank. After drinking from the “scummy” pool, George reminds Lennie they have “work cards” for a ranch nearby where they will be “bustin’ a gut” with “grain bags”.

George notices Lennie has something in his pocket and scolds his friend for playing with a dead mouse. He throws the creature “across the pool to the side, among the bush”. However, in the evening, when George sends Lennie to get “wood” for a fire, he hears the “sounds of splashings” and realises Lennie has retrieved the dead mouse. Lennie “reluctantly” gives it to George again and starts to cry and George promises to get him a “fresh” one to pet.

Frustrated, George complains about being burdened Lennie and how he always getting into “trouble”. In the dark and with the fire dying, George reminds Lennie about their dream of owning their own land where Lennie can tend the rabbits. Ominously, before the end of chapter, George warns Lennie to hide in this clearing if he gets into trouble again.

Chapter One Comprehension Questions

  1. Read through the first three paragraphs of the novel. How does Steinbeck present the setting?
  2. How does the writer present George at the start of the novel? Use at least three quotations to support your answer.
  3. How does Steinbeck present Lennie in the opening pages of the chapter? Use at least three quotations to support your answer.
  4. In your own words, describe the difference between the two characters.
  5. Explain why George scolds Lennie for “snorting” so much water.
  6. Why is George angry with the bus driver?
  7. Why does George order Lennie to keep quiet and not to talk when they get to the ranch?
  8. What happened to the mice that Aunt Clara gave to Lennie?
  9. Explain why George wants to spend the night at the clearing and wait until the next day before they go to the ranch?
  10. Why does Lennie have a dead mouse in his pocket.
  11. Describe the incident with the mouse and explain what the plot point tells us about the relationship between the two characters?
  12. In your own words, try to describe why the two characters ran away from Weed?
  13. Write about George and Lennie’s plans for the future.
  14. Describe the relationship between George and Lennie. In your answer, you should comment on the theme of loneliness.

Chapter One Essay-style Question

  1. How does Steinbeck present the setting in the opening pages of the novel?

The story opens with a description of the countryside close to the Salinas river near Soledad in California. Steinbeck creates a sense of hope and of freshness through the suggestion of a peaceful world of nature. For example, the image of the “warm” and “twinkling” water suggests it is a lovely “clearing”. The references to the “fresh” and “green” willows tells the reader it is springtime with trees bearing new leaves. There is a sense of freedom in all of the animals which are mentioned in the opening paragraphs. The depiction of harmonious and unspoilt setting creates a tone of optimism.

Chapter Two Summary

When George and Lennie arrive at the ranch, they are brought into the drab bunkhouse by Candy, an “old swamper”. The boss is angry they arrived late and he was “short two buckets”. He becomes suspicious of their relationship so George claims they are cousins and that Lennie “got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid”.

The reader is introduced to some of the characters on the ranch. Curley, who is an “angry little man” and the boss’s son, takes an instant dislike to Lennie. Curley’s wife appears at the doorway after her husband has left and talks to the “new guys”. The men return from the fields for dinner and Carlson suggests they put down Candy’s old dog. Lennie is interested to learn that Slim’s dog had a litter of pups.

Chapter Two Comprehension Questions

  1. Look at the first paragraph of this chapter. What sort of personal belongings to the men keep on their shelves?
  2. What do these belongings suggest about their lifestyles?
  3. What do we learn about Candy in the opening section of the chapter? In your answer, you should consider his physical appearance and history on the ranch.
  4. In your own words, how does Candy describe Curley?
  5. Why is the boss angry with George and Lennie?
  6. Why is the boss suspicious of George?
  7. Explain why Curley wants to “pick” on Lennie.
  8. What does George tell Lennie to do if Curley hits him?
  9. What impression of Curley’s wife is created by Candy?
  10. How does Steinbeck present Curley’s wife when she enters the bunkhouse? Use at least three quotations to support your answer.
  11. Why does George warn Lennie about Curley’s wife?
  12. Describe Slim, the “jerkline skinner”. Use at least three quotations to support your answer and make sure you explain each image in your own words.
  13. What is Slim’s attitude towards George and Lennie?
  14. Why does Carlson want Slim to shoot Candy’s dog?
  15. Why is Lennie excited at the end of the chapter?

Chapter Three Summary

Chapter Three is set in the bunkhouse. Slim has agreed to let Lennie take one of the pups but he has to play with it in the barn. Meanwhile, Slim and George talk in the bunkhouse. Again, Carlson complains about Candy’s “ancient” companion and the “old man” reluctantly agrees to allow the dog to be put down.

When most of men go to watch Curley accuse Slim of cheating with his wife, Candy overhears George and Lennie talking about their dreams for a farm of their own where they can live of the fat of the land. The Candy offers his savings so he can join their plan. Curley, whose ego has been bruised by Slim, turns his anger towards Lennie. Lennie crushes Curley’s hand but Slim persuades Curley to say it was an accidently trapped in a machine.

Chapter Three Comprehension Questions

  1. Why is Lennie in the barn?
  2. Why does Slim think George and Lennie’s relationship is “funny”?
  3. Read through George’s description of how he and Lennie became friends. Summarise these events in your words.
  4. Explain why George and Lennie had to flee from Weed?
  5. When Carlson complains about the dog’s terrible smell, it is Slim who makes the decision to put the dog down. What does this suggest about his character and his position on the ranch?
  6. Describe how the men in the bunkhouse react when Carlson takes the dog out into the yard?
  7. Where do most of the men go on Saturday nights to spend their money?
  8. In your own words, explain why Candy wants to join George and Lennie in their plans to buy a farm?
  9. Why is Curley angry and why does he attack Lennie?
  10. How does Slim persuade Curley to say his injuries were just an accident?

Chapter Four Summary

The novel moves to Crooks’ room beside the stable. It is Saturday night and he is alone. Intrigued by the light, Lennie goes to the harness room and tries to talk to Crooks. Candy arrives and describes his own ideas about their plan to buy their own land. When Curley’s wife enters the scene, the men feel threatened and warn her to leave. Upset at being so easily dismissed, she retaliates by delivering her own terrible threats.

Chapter Four Comprehension Questions

  1. Suggest several reasons why Crooks lives beside the stable in his own room.
  2. How does Steinbeck present Crooks at the start of chapter four of the novel? Use at least three quotations to support your answer.
  3. Why is Crooks surprised to see Candy in the doorway?
  4. Listen to what Crooks has to say about loneliness. Explain, in your own words, why Crooks thinks we need companionship.
  5. What is Crooks’ initial response when Candy talks about them buying their own place?
  6. Suggest why Curley’s wife comes to the stable to talk to the men.
  7. What is Curley’s wife’s opinion of her husband?
  8. Why is Candy no longer “scared of getting’ canned”?
  9. Explain how Curley’s wife his able to reduce Crooks to “nothing”.
  10. Why is George annoyed to find Lennie and Candy in Crooks’ room?
  11. How does Steinbeck present Crooks at the end of the chapter?

Point Example Explanation

If you are not sure how to structure your analysis, you could try the popular Point Example Explanation method. Using a worked example from John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”, this page will help you develop your ability to respond effectively to to a text.

Chapter Five Summary

While the men place bets on their horseshoe tournament, Lennie is in the barn with the puppy he accidently killed. Curley’s wife enters and she tries to console him. She invites him to stroke her “soft” hair, but he is too rough and she tells him to stop. When she screams for him to let her go, Lennie panics and covers her mouth with his hand. Curley’s wife struggles frantically until Lennie unwittingly snaps her neck.

When he realises what he has done, Lennie sneaks out of the barn.

It is Candy who discovers Curley’s wife lying lifeless in the straw. He calls George into the barn and the two men agree a quick plan. Curley and the other men arm themselves with guns and hunt for her killer.

Chapter Five Comprehension Questions

  1. How do the men pass their time on a Sunday afternoon?
  2. What happened to Lennie’s puppy?
  3. Why is Lennie angry?
  4. What information does Curley’s wife share about her life? You should consider her recent past, the reason why she married Curley, and her hopes and dreams for the future.
  5. In your own words, explain why Curley’s wife allows Lennie to stroke her hair?
  6. Why does Lennie begin to panic when Curley’s wife “jerked her head sideways”?
  7. Suggest why Candy asks George to come to the barn on his own.
  8. After he realises Lennie has killed Curley’s wife, explain why George wants to go to the bunkhouse? If you have read the rest of the story, you will know there are several possible answers to this question.
  9. Why does Candy become scared about the future?
  10. Suggest why Curley says he wants to shoot Lennie in the “guts”.

Chapter Six Summary

Lennie has escaped to the clearing beside the river. He is frightened that George might abandon him, and he will not get to tend the rabbits. George reassures Lennie that they will buy their own farm and live of the fat of the land. When George hears the men getting closer and closer, he shoots his friend in the back of the head.

Chapter Six Comprehension Questions

  1. Suggest why Steinbeck describes the death of the water snake.
  2. Lennie imagines talking to two characters. Who are these visitors?
  3. What scares Lennie the most?
  4. Why does George describe their dream of living on their own farm to Lennie?
  5. Why does George shoot Lennie? Do you think he was right to shoot his friend?
  6. Why does George lie about the way Lennie died?
  7. What evidence is there to suggest Slim understands what actually happened in the clearing?

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