Alex Martiros

Alex Martiros
Of Mice and Men 
John Steinbeck
Realistic Fiction
Holiday
Just Finished 107

1. The ending of the book in Of Mice and Men in my opinion, was terrible. So what happened, was Lennie had just killed his new pup with his brute strength and he is just looking at it, knowing he has done something wrong and thinking to himself that because he has done this, George won't let him tend to the rabbits on the farm they might have one day. While he is busy being mad at himself, Curley's wife slips into the barn. George has told Lennie to not have anything to do with Curley's wife, because he knows she is a bad influence and can cause a lot of trouble. Lennie, being dumb and not understanding these things, doesn't even hear her until she comes in. She sits beside him as talks to him. She ends up so close to Lennie she was just a few inches away. Lennie tries to tell Curley's wife that he isn't to have anything to do with her, but she wont listen, and she abuses Lennie's weak and childlike mind. She talks to him about her past, how she could have grown up and become a great and famous actress in Hollywood. The she asks Lennie why he is obsessed with rabbits, and he starts telling her how he likes how soft they are. Curley's wife starts telling him that her hair is very soft and she brushes it lots. Then she places Lennie's hand on her head, and he starts stroking it. Sooner or later, Curley's wife thinks that he will mess it up, so she starts struggling to get away from Lennie and his tight grip. She starts screaming and Lennie puts a hand over her mouth. Lennie doesn't get the danger of the situation and shakes her, promptly killing her by breaking her neck. Lennie holds her in his hands and knows hes done something awful. He half buries her in hay and runs to the brush George told him to return to if there is ever any trouble. Later on, Candy comes looking for Lennie and finds Curley's wife. He calls George and George is, for a second, struck dumb. But then he figures it out and knows he has to tell the others what has happened. Curley is the most upset of them all and immediately figures out it was Lennie. Everyone is all set out to go look for Lennie and Curley and a few others are bringing guns, hoping they will have a chance for their bullet to meet its target.  George tries to convince Curley not to shoot Lennie but he doesn't listen. Curley is so full of hate for Lennie that all he wants to do is revenge his wife's death by shooting him dead. So off they all go. Now the novel goes back to Lennie's point of view and he has just arrived at the brush where George tells him to wait if there is any trouble. he starts thinking about how mad George will be when he gets there, and suddenly an old woman pops into Lennie's mind and starts talking to him. It is Lennie's conscience telling him how he has done something very wrong. It's his old aunt Clara and she is lecturing him on what he has done wrong and how mad George will be. Then his conscience changes form into a rabbit, and the rabbit starts telling Lennie that he has done so badly that George is gonna beat him, and leave him alone. Lennie gets so frightened at the thought that he starts calling George's name out loud, and George himself runs through the brush. Lennie wants it to be just like the old days with George yelling t him and saying ho easy it would be for him to take his money and leave but he doesn't. And Lennie wants to hear all about it, to try to have it be as normal as ever, and have George tell him that they are different than the other guys, but George isn't into it. Then George starts telling Lennie all about the place they are going to have with rabbits and cows and all sorts of things. Meanwhile Lennie takes out a gun an studies Lennie's head. He put Lennie in his happy place, and then.... shoots Lennie dead. The shot is heard from the other men and they come crashing through the clearing right as George throws the gun as far away as possible. Slim immediately seems to grasp the situation and what has happened, and sits next to George. Slim tells George it was the right thing and a few other words of comfort. Curley wants to know just how George has done it but George just nods and accepts Curley's story for him. Slim helps George to his feet and offers to buy him a drink. They walk down the highway and leave Curley and Carlson wondering what the heck is going on with those two. That's the end of the novel. 
2. How I felt about this book is that it was a terrible ending. The book to me was confusing because of the southern language and also the beginning of the book was hard to understand. One reason the author was pushing me away as a reader is because the plot of the story does not appeal to me. I like happy, sappy endings where the characters get what they want and the live happily ever after. This book was a confusing end especially about the reason why George killed Lennie. I didn't understand the point of even writing a story like that. The main character gets killed, and the other main character just walks away. I am new to this author, and I don't like the topics that he writes about. It was also kind of a boring book, with almost no action, or big surprises, because there was so much foreshadowing. That is why I really dislike the book and I hope we don't have to read many more of his books. 
3. A theme in this book that I have noticed so far is survival of the fittest. I have noticed this theme throughout the book, and it refers to almost all characters. George and Lennie, Curley and his wife, Candy and his dog. I also noticed that in each twosome relationship, there is a weaker character and a stronger character. Like for Lennie and George, George is the stronger character. In Curley and Curley's wife's relationship, its Curley who is stronger. And in Candy and his dog's relationship, it is Candy who was stronger. Most of the time, it is based on who has enough smarts to survive, who knows to keep the money, and not spend it all. The theme is also survival of the fittest, for example, when Lennie and George run away from Weed and make all the way to the new farm they are planning to work at. It takes a lot of wits and courage to do that, and not everyone could, especially in those days. Another reason why it is survival of the fittest is because especially in Candy and the dogs relationship, it is the basics of who is fittest and healthiest to survive. Even though Candy was older, the dog couldn't take care of himself because he was sick. Survival of the fittest is one of the most fitting themes for this novel. 
4. My favorite character is George. He is my favorite character because I think he is not only tough, but kind and thoughtful and a hard worker. For all those years, he has been providing for Lennie and himself. It would have been so much easier for him if he just left Lennie and went on his own but he doesn't. He is trustworthy and has a caring, good heart. Even though in the end he kills Lennie, he is still protecting Lennie, keeping him from greater harm. George did his duty until the end. Another reason for why I like George is because I think he perseveres a lot and always tries to create a better life for himself and Lennie. He helps Lennie out of that situation in Weed and makes sure that they find a new job and are able to keep healthy and have enough money. He knows that he wants to try and have that farm that they always dream about, so George doesn't just blow all the money on beer or liquor, even though I bet he would really like to just go out and drink all he wants sometimes. He has a greater responsibility between the two people and I think he handles it quite nicely. 
5. My least favorite character is Curley. He is my least favorite character because he is mean and cruel to his wife, and he is very insecure. He does not like people who are bigger than him and he is unsure that he can keep in control. I don't like how he treats his wife either. I know that the times are dated and that is how many people treated their wives, but I still think it was extremely unfair. Another reason why he is my least favorite character is because I think he has to be mean and push everyone around is because of he feels insecure about himself as a person, and he feels like he isn't as big, or as strong as Lennie, or some of the other guys, and that means to him that he needs to boss people around, so he thinks he is in charge. I really dislike people who think they are the boss and what they say is the rule, so you could see why I dislike Curley so much.
6. The ending to me, stunk. Sure, it had a couple of unexpected twists, but I still think the ending ruined the entire book for me. I thought Lennie and George were going to get their happy ending along with maybe Candy and everyone else would kind of just fade away. The last 2 chapters completely caught me off guard. I knew that Curley's wife was going to be bad news, but I always thought it was just going to be that Curley maybe caught one of the guys kissing her or something. I never expected her to die. Another reason why I disliked the ending was because there were so many questions left unanswered. What happened to George and Slim? Did they move on to a different farm and a better life? Or did they stay on the farm and become drinking buddies? And what happens to Curley? Does he remarry? Does he bury his wife and actually grieve for her? And Candy. does he ever get a new friend? Th ending left too many things unanswered, and I really, strongly detested the ending. My final opinion of the book is that it was good until the ending, and then the book got ruined. There could be so much more to it, but unfortunately for readers like me, the book felt like it was the first in a series that I would not be continuing.