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Summary and Analysis of Chapter Two
Chapter Two:George and Lennie reach the bunk house at the farm. The old man who shows them the bunk house tells them that his boss was expecting them last night and was angry when they weren't ready for work that morning. Near his bed George finds a can of insect poison, but the old man reassures him, telling him that person who had the bed before was a blacksmith so conscientious that he even washed his hands after he ate. This blacksmith, Whitey, would put the insect killer around even if there weren't any bugs around. The old man, Candy, tells George and Lennie that the boss is a nice enough man, although he gives the stable buck hell whenever he's angry. The boss, a stocky man in blue jeans and a flannel shirt, enters and asks George and Lennie for their work slips. George attempts to talk for Lennie, but the boss notices that Lennie is silent and attempts to get him to talk. George tells the boss that Lennie isn't bright, but he's strong as a bull and can do anything. The boss wonders why George is so concerned for Lennie, and he tells the boss that Lennie is his cousin and that he promised his mother that he would take care of him. George tells him that they no longer work in Weed because their job, digging a cesspool, was done. When the boss leaves, George scolds Lennie once more, since the boss now suspects the two men. George admits that he lied about Lennie being his cousin. The old man returns with his old sheepdog, and George criticizes Candy for listening to their conversation. Curley, a young man, enters looking for his father, the boss. He behaves rudely to Lennie. When he leaves, Candy explains that Curley is like many short guys. He hates big guys out of jealousy. He says that Curley is handy in a fight and that he goes after big guys because, if he loses, he can claim that the big guy was unfair. George warns Candy that Lennie is strong and doesn't know the rules of a fight. Candy reveals to him that Curley is recently married to a and has become more cocky ever since. Curley wears a left glove full of vaseline to keep the hand soft for his wife, whom the old man thinks is a tart. George warns Lennie to avoid Curley for his own safety. Curley's Wife comes to the bunk house looking for her husband. She had rouged lips and red fingernails and wore a red cotton house dress. The positioned herself to emphasize her figure. When she leaves, George remarks that she's a tramp, while Lennie can only say that she's pretty. George warns him to keep away from her. Slim the jerkline skinner, a man with an ageless face who carried himself with great gravity, questions George and Lennie about what work they can do. Carlson, a large, big-stomached man, also enters the bunk house, and asks Slim whether his dog had her litter last night. Slim tells him that she had nine puppies, but he drowned four immediately, since she couldn't feed so many. Carlson complains about Candy's dog, and tells Slim that Candy should shoot it, for the dog can't even chew. Lennie is excited to hear about the dogs. Curley confronts George, asking if his wife has been around. George admits that she was at the bunk house looking for Curley, who seems eager to start a fight. Analysis:The structure of this chapter resembles that of a stage play. The chapter continues a series of character entrances in which they interact with George and Lennie, exit, and are subsequently followed by yet another character's entrance. Since the action of the chapter occurs in a single setting, it could easily be transferred into a stage adaptation. This structure allows Steinbeck to introduce and develop characters quickly, including Candy, Curley and Curley's wife. Steinbeck portrays the elderly Candy as passive and weak, a decaying man meant to inspire the pity of those around him. Steinbeck parallels him with his dog, a virtually worthless animal that is on its last legs. Carlson's complaints about Candy's dog are in fact veiled complaints about Candy himself, an aging man no longer of much worth to society and incapable of taking any dramatic action. In terms of the story, however, Candy plays a significant role. He serves as the guide to the farm society for George and Lennie as well as for the reader. As a man no longer significant within that society, he serves as an observant outsider, even when this trait causes him to be nosy and meddlesome. Almost immediately upon his introduction Curley becomes a dangerous force for the novel. He is a small man yet strong. It is his small stature that leads Curley to be act in an intimidating manner. He overcompensates for his height by attempting to prove that he is stronger than those of larger size. Behind his cocky boasts Curley is tremendously insecure. He brags about his sexual conquests with his wife to ward others away from her. He is quite paranoid concerning his wife, monitoring her activity even when she is simply looking Curley himself. Upon meeting Lennie he is eager to start a fight with him, for fighting a man so much larger would prove Curley's physical prowess. Steinbeck portrays Curley's Wife, however, as conforming to Curley's worst anxieties. It is only when Steinbeck introduces the wife that Curley's bravado becomes understandable. She is an obvious tramp, likely having an affair only weeks into her marriage. When she meets George and Lennie, she shamelessly flirts with them, comically thrusting out her breasts. There is more than a trace of sexism in this character. She is the only female character and also the only character not given a name. She is a farm femme fatale that will certainly prove dangerous for Lennie, out of place among the rough working men. Her rouge, painted fingernails dress are ostentatious, meant to attract the attention of the workers. She will prove equally dangerous to George and Lennie as her husband. Lennie's previous problem with a woman at Weed and Curley's wife's aggressive manner combined with Curley's paranoid bravado and immediate dislike for Lenny make a conflict concerning the three characters inevitable. When George lies to the boss by telling him that he is Lennie's cousin, he reinforces the suspicion that there is something suspect about their friendship. The boss cannot understand that two men would have any concern for each other unless they were bound by familial connections, and George's lie demonstrates that this view is widespread. George, in particular, has cares that occur beyond a narrow scope of self-interest, a view that clashes with the widespread individualist mindset. He is in some ways comparable to Candy, whose care for a decrepit old dog marks him as a weak and sentimental oddity. The exchange between Carlson and Slim emphasizes the theme of sacrifice that Steinbeck develops through the novel. Slim has to drown the four least healthy of his dog's nine puppies so that the others may survive. Carlson also suggests that Candy sacrifice his dog, for the worthless mutt is now simply a burden to others. This also foreshadows later developments in which characters must make further sacrifices.
ClassicNote on Of Mice and Men
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