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George ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits now.
Of Mice and Men - Extract 2
This GCSE English Literature quiz is the second of two extract questions for Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Curley’s wife discovers Lennie alone in the barn while the rest of the men are busily engaged in a horseshoe throwing tournament. Only these two characters are present and their quiet conversation leads quickly to the most devastating events in the novel. In a case of tragic irony, by choosing a time when she and Lennie were unlikely to be interrupted in the barn, Curley’s wife has no chance of being rescued from Lennie’s overwhelming strength. Pay close attention to the shifts in this passage, both characters change tone as they manage to evoke unexpected emotions in one another. Remember to read the passage through more than once before answering the questions. Consider how this passage relates to the themes of the novel. Which details are the most significant? Can you account for the language choices?
Curley’s wife came around the end of the last stall. She came very quietly, so that Lennie didn’t see her. She wore her bright cotton dress and the mules with the red ostrich feathers. Her face was made up and the little sausage curls were all in place. She was quite near to him before Lennie looked up and saw her.
In a panic, he shovelled hay over the puppy with his fingers. He looked sullenly at her.
She said, “What you got there, sonny boy?”
Lennie glared at her. “George says I ain’t to have nothing to do with you — talk to you or nothing.”
She laughed. “George giving you orders about everything?”
Lennie looked down at the hay. “Says I can’t tend no rabbits if I talk to you or anything.”
She said quietly. “He’s scared Curley’ll get mad. Well, Curley got his arm in a sling — an’ if Curley gets tough, you can break his other han’. You didn’t put nothing over on me about gettin’ it caught in no machine.”
But Lennie was not to be drawn. “No, sir. I ain’t gonna talk to you or nothing.”
She knelt in the hay beside him. “Listen,” she said. “All the guys got a horseshoe tenement goin’ on. It’s on’y about four o’clock. None of them guys is goin’ to leave that tenement. Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.”
Lennie said, “Well, I ain’t supposed to talk to you or nothing.”
“I get lonely,” she said. “You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anybody?”
Lennie said, “Well, I ain’t supposed to. George’s scared I’ll get in trouble.”
She changed the subject. “What you got covered up there?”
Then all of Lennie’s woe came back on him. “Jus’ my pup,” he said sadly. “Jus’ my little pup.” And he swept the hay from on top of it.
“Why, he’s dead,” she cried.
“He was so little,” said Lennie. “I was jus’ playin’ with him…an’ he made like he’s gonna bite me…an’ I made like I was gonna smack him…an’…an’ I done it. An’ then he was dead.”
She consoled him. “Don’t you worry none. He was jus’ a mutt. You can get another one easy. The whole country is fulla mutts.”
“It ain’t that so much,” Lennie explained miserably. “George ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits now.”
“Why don’t he?”
“Well, he said if I done any more bad things he ain’t gonna let me tend the rabbits.”
She moved closer to him and she spoke soothingly. “Don’t you worry about talkin’ to me. Listen to the guys yell out there. They got four dollars bet in that tenement. None of them ain’t gonna leave till it’s over.”
John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men (Penguin, 1994)
In a panic, he shovelled hay over the puppy with his fingers. He looked sullenly at her.
She said, “What you got there, sonny boy?”
Lennie glared at her. “George says I ain’t to have nothing to do with you — talk to you or nothing.”
She laughed. “George giving you orders about everything?”
Lennie looked down at the hay. “Says I can’t tend no rabbits if I talk to you or anything.”
She said quietly. “He’s scared Curley’ll get mad. Well, Curley got his arm in a sling — an’ if Curley gets tough, you can break his other han’. You didn’t put nothing over on me about gettin’ it caught in no machine.”
But Lennie was not to be drawn. “No, sir. I ain’t gonna talk to you or nothing.”
She knelt in the hay beside him. “Listen,” she said. “All the guys got a horseshoe tenement goin’ on. It’s on’y about four o’clock. None of them guys is goin’ to leave that tenement. Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.”
Lennie said, “Well, I ain’t supposed to talk to you or nothing.”
“I get lonely,” she said. “You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anybody?”
Lennie said, “Well, I ain’t supposed to. George’s scared I’ll get in trouble.”
She changed the subject. “What you got covered up there?”
Then all of Lennie’s woe came back on him. “Jus’ my pup,” he said sadly. “Jus’ my little pup.” And he swept the hay from on top of it.
“Why, he’s dead,” she cried.
“He was so little,” said Lennie. “I was jus’ playin’ with him…an’ he made like he’s gonna bite me…an’ I made like I was gonna smack him…an’…an’ I done it. An’ then he was dead.”
She consoled him. “Don’t you worry none. He was jus’ a mutt. You can get another one easy. The whole country is fulla mutts.”
“It ain’t that so much,” Lennie explained miserably. “George ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits now.”
“Why don’t he?”
“Well, he said if I done any more bad things he ain’t gonna let me tend the rabbits.”
She moved closer to him and she spoke soothingly. “Don’t you worry about talkin’ to me. Listen to the guys yell out there. They got four dollars bet in that tenement. None of them ain’t gonna leave till it’s over.”
John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men (Penguin, 1994)
1 .
What is the immediate context of this passage?
Lennie has just spent the evening talking with Crooks
Lennie has just crushed Curley's hand
Lennie has just accidentally killed the puppy
Curley's wife has just been threatening Crooks
Lennie believes that George will not trust him with rabbits if he cannot be trusted with puppies. He is feeling sorry and ashamed when Curley's wife appears
2 .
What immediately follows this excerpt?
Curley's wife shares her own lost dreams with Lennie
Lennie runs away from the barn to the pool
Candy discovers the two together in the barn
Curley goes in search of Lennie
More even than her need to be admired, Curley's wife wants to be heard
3 .
What is the significance of Curley's wife's choice of shoes?
The shoes hint at her love of hiking
Mules are the most appropriate footwear for a ranch
The shoes hint at her wish to attract Lennie
The choice of shoes is not significant
The shoes are attractive and frivolous and not appropriate footwear for walking around a ranch or in a barn. Curley's wife relies on her attractiveness to the men in order to gain attention and potential protection from Curley. She seeks out Lennie specifically after she realises he is responsible for Curley's crushed hand
4 .
Lennie is determined to obey George so that he doesn't lose the chance to have rabbits. How does this passage demonstrate his determination?
Lennie responds sullenly to Curley's wife, even though he finds her pretty
Lennie's refusal to talk is repeated several times
Lennie looks away from Curley's wife
All of the above
Lennie's desperate attempts to follow George's instructions and to avoid talking to Curley's wife heightens the tragedy of the events which follow
5 .
What prompts Lennie eventually to respond more positively to Curley's wife?
She laughs at him for obeying George
She asks him about the puppy
She reminds him that the other men are busy with their horseshoe tournament
She tells him that she knows about Curley's hand
She doesn't yet know what he has covered up, but can see that it is significant to him
6 .
Curley's wife is amused by Lennie's insistence on following George's orders. What does this tell us about her perception of Lennie?
She does not yet understand that he is like a child
She thinks she will be able to order him around easily
She thinks George is overbearing
She believes that Lennie will be dismissed from his job by Curley
Another tragic aspect of this scene is that here Curley's wife first begins to perceive Lennie as he is, allowing her to let go of her initial flirtatious act and attempt to relieve her loneliness through a form of friendship instead
7 .
Curley's wife attempts to create an atmosphere of intimacy with Lennie. Which of the following phrases alerts the reader to her attempts?
"She laughed"
"Her face was made up"
"I can't talk to nobody but Curley"
"She knelt in the hay beside him"
Her attempt at intimacy is confirmed at the end of the passage where she moves even closer to Lennie and reminds him that the men are not likely to disturb them in the barn
8 .
“Don’t you worry none. He was jus’ a mutt. You can get another one easy. The whole country is fulla mutts.” What does this phrase suggest about life on the ranch?
Life is seen as abundant, but precious
Life is cheap
The loss of life should never be mourned
Mourning is only acceptable where human lives have been lost
"Mutts", like labourers, are easily replaceable. Some lives are more valuable than others in the view of many of the characters
9 .
"The little sausage curls were all in place." What effect does the use of juxtaposition have in this line?
It highlights the contrast between effort and effect
It reminds the reader of the novel's title
It presents a metaphor of life on the ranch
All of the above
"All in place" reminds the reader of the effort involved in Curley's wife's physical appearance. The contrast between her efforts to appear attractive and the actual effects she achieves make her appear rather ridiculous. Her sausage curls are designed (perhaps subconsciously) to appeal to the men's appetites
10 .
Why does Lennie cover the puppy with hay?
He has already forgotten how the puppy died
He does not fully understand the consequences of his actions
He doesn't want to think about puppies or rabbits any longer
He is attempting to give the puppy a decent burial
He believes that he can hide his misdeeds from George as simply as in the act of physically covering the puppy with hay. Later Curley's wife is discovered in the barn half hidden with hay
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