Hoo-boy. Okay, so Of Mice and Men is a book about horrible, horrible, depressing stuff You might be wondering if I’m gonna be drawing the frames for this, and I can say with certainty that I will not for several reasons. First this is way faster, and I don’t want to keep this story in my head for any longer than necessary. Second, I get way more emotionally invested in stuff that I have to draw as anyone who saw my Odyssey video might have realized. Man, I looked sketchy back then, and thirdly because there is a perfectly fine movie version of this particular book that does a better Job of capturing the bleak desolate worldview that Steinbeck loved so dearly, than I ever could. So, the main characters are these dudes George and Lennie. George is a small smart man. While Lennie is a large stupid man. See they got a yin-yang thing going, symbolism? Anyway, George and Lennie are besties. With George basically serving as the wall between Lennie and a cold cruel world that doesn’t understand him. While simultaneously trying to build a happy peaceful life for them both. Well, that’s nice I hope we get to see them succeed. Have I mentioned this takes place during the Great Depression? So unfortunately it’s a little tricky for Lennie and George to scrape together the money for their dream of a little farm with fluffy rabbits and perpetual sunshine. Mostly because Lenny has a few quirks that make it hard for them to hold down a job. First of all he’s enormous. Second, he’s very strong. And third, he’s obsessed with soft things and really likes touching them, and the end result in a lot of cute fluffy and very dead animals and at least one assault charge from the time he wouldn’t let go of a girl’s skirt. Yeah, I’m sure this story’s gonna go great. So, our story begins with George and Lennie heading to a new ranch for a new job after losing their last one by getting run out of town after the aforementioned skirt thing. George momentarily contemplates how much easier his life would be without Lennie, but we all know that’s empty speculation. Hehe… Anyway, George keeps Lennie entertained by telling him how they’re gonna have a farm and animals and live off the fat of the land. Lennie is the most excited about the prospect of owning rabbits because again. He likes soft things get used to this character trait as it’s the only one he has. So, before they head into town George tells Lennie that if anything bad happens in town, Lennie should hide by the river in this specific spot, so George can find him. I hope that chekhov’s gun doesn’t end up getting fired. Anyhow they arrive and get set up where the boss is immediately slightly suspicious at how little Lenny’s talking but that’s much less of a problem than the sudden arrival of his son Curley a walking Napoleon complex who makes his entrance into the story by picking a fight with Lennie and swaggering away when Lenny doesn’t comprehend that he’s being provoked. Anyway, we learned that Curley has a wife, he married two weeks ago who’s already making eyes at the ranchers. Which goes a long way towards explaining why he’s picking fights with everyone with a y-chromosome and George warns Lennie not to fight Curley because that’s a one-way ticket to fired’s ville. Sure, hope that doesn’t come up again. Anyway, then Curley’s wife shows up poses for couple minutes and then sprints off when she hears her husband’s around. Lenny’s entranced by her calling her purdy which immediately leaves George worried about what he might end up doing, but this train of thought is disrupted by the entrance of another character, Slim. Who’s apparently the literal coolest and passes out puppies like party favors. Man, I want to be friends with this guy. So the next day Slim and George talk about Lennie and George explains why they’re traveling together. Which boils down to George used to bully the hell out of them when they were kids but then he figured out that it’s no fun to bully someone if they don’t even realize they’re being bullied. What a stellar example of human compassion. Meanwhile, Lennie likes puppies, shocker. Anyways another one of the ranchers employees is this old dude named Candy. Who’s got a dog who’s ancient and stinky and way more trouble than he’s worth. So another one of the ranchers urges him to put the old dog down and save them both a world of trouble. That almost sounds like it’s mirroring the experience of another important character. How bizarre. Anyway, the other rancher volunteers to put the dog down and he does. Man, this is just the feel-good novel of the century. More Curley’s wife drama happens as Curley runs in looking for her again and then immediately runs out again to go look for Slim who he suspects of sleeping with her. George and Lennie discussed their dreams of a house with rabbits again, but this time Candy mentions that he has money saved up that he could give them if they took him with them when they left to buy the farm. This is the best thing that’s happened to them in a while since together they’d have nearly enough money to actually do it. Wow, their dream is suddenly so close to being a reality. Sure hope nothing goes horribly wrong in the next few minutes. Enter Curley and Slim arguing furiously Curley looking to take out his aggression on someone who can’t kick his ass, notices Lennie still happy at the prospect of the farm and decides that picking a fight with the eight-foot super-strong giant is the best idea ever. So, he very briefly kicks Lenny’s ass, until George tells Lennie to fight back a little and Lennie does this by crushing Carly’s fist. Oh boy, fortunately Slim’s still the best guy ever. Easily convinces Curley not to tell anyone how his hand got so messed up. With the reasoning being that Curley’s too much of an egomaniac to be able to handle the humiliation. Whoo crisis averted right? Anyway next morning Lennie goes and tries to make friends with Crooks. Who’s the black stable buck. Which, proves difficult because Crooks is with reason not the happiest individual, but then Candy shows up and when they discuss their idyllic view of a farm in the future even the jaded crooks is a fan of the idea and then Curley’s wife shows up again. She’s her usual degree of flirty with Lennie, but this time it’s coupled with a healthy dose of racism towards Crooks She does however, put together that Lennie broke Curley’s hand and apparently she finds this super hot… Uh.. Anyways, she casually threatens to have Crooks lynched and then leaves and the now disillusioned Crooks says he’s not interested in joining them on the Farm anymore. Feel-good novel of the century. Anyway, it’s now later and Lennie sitting in the barn with his puppy Which is now dead because again. He’s super strong and can’t leave soft things alone. He’s very conflicted about the dead puppy because if George finds out that he killed it he might not let him tend the rabbits in their idyllic totally gonna happen farm future. Anyway while he’s debating what to do, who should appear, but that harbinger of unnecessary complications herself, Curley’s wife. So Curley’s wife persuades Lennie to talk to her even though George warned him that she’d give them nothing but trouble Lennie sad the puppies dead while Curley’s wife is sad that she can’t make something of her life Basically her story is that a long while ago. She met a dude who said he was gonna make her a star, but rather than that story playing out chicago-style? He never got back to her. She thought maybe her mother sabotaged her chances so she ran off and married Curley out of spite. Lennie is of course completely uninterested instead continuing to bemoan the potential loss of more fluffy things and Curley’s wife decides to try speaking his language and offers to let him pet her hair. Which is itself remarkably soft and fluffy. Lennie’s very excited and pets her hair, but she freaks out when she feels how strong he is and tries to pull away. Lennie as previously established Reacts to this by panicking, and long story short he accidentally breaks her neck. So now that’s two fluffy deaths he doesn’t want George finding out about. Lennie remembers what George told him to do in case he gets into trouble and sneaks away to hide by the river. Later that day Candy and George discover her body and they immediately put together what happened and resolved to tell the others although George insists that they not be allowed to hurt Lennie. Unfortunately Curley is definitely going to want to shoot him, so George lowkey sends them off in the wrong direction saying they came from the North so Lennie would have gone south and heads off on his own with one of the ranchers guns. So Lennie is off hiding by the river having visions of his dead Aunt Clara and Giant rabbits telling him he’s a terrible person. When George finds although Lennie expects George to give him hell and tell him how much easier his life would be without him. George instead tells him to take off his hat feel the wind and look across the river then he starts describing in vivid beautiful detail the farm. Where they’re gonna live and the rabbits that Lennie will get to take care of and then he shoots Lennie in the head. Feel-Good Novel of the Centery! Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vAIp_c7-0A
