Of Mice and Men Objects/Places

Salinas River: The River is south of Soledad and very close to the ranch. The novel begins and ends on the banks of the river. It is also Lennie’s hiding place if he gets into any trouble.

Soledad: The town south of the ranch, in the California valley.

Gabilan Mountains: The mountain range near the ranch and the river.

Mice: Lennie loves to pet soft things. Mice are no exception. But Lennie often kills his tiny pets accidentally, when his petting gets too rough. He and George have an argument in the first chapter when Lennie wants to keep a dead mouse and George won’t let him.

Weed: The last town where Lennie and George had a job. They had to leave when Lennie unintentionally assaulted a woman. The woman was wearing a red dress, and Lennie tried to touch it. She got scared and started to struggle, which made Lennie confused and caused him to hold on tightly. George heard them, and he had to hit Lennie with a fence post to make him let go. The woman went to the police and told them she was raped. George and Lennie hid in irrigation ditches until night, when they left town. George is careful when he talks about Weed; he doesn’t want the wrong people to know (like the boss or Curley) what happened there. George does confide the story to Slim, and shares with him his worry that something like that will happen again.

Rabbits: The farm the men hope to get will have rabbits for Lennie to tend (and pet). Lennie is excited at the idea of this larger pet, because he is less likely to hurt a rabbit than a tiny mouse.

Candy's sheepdog: Candy has had his sheepdog since it was a pup. The arthritic, half-blind dog is his only companion. When Carlson urges Candy to kill it, or to let him kill it, Candy gives in and lets Carlson shoot it. He later feels bad he didn't shoot the dog himself. Candy's relationship to his dog is very similar to George's relationship with Lennie.

Curley's glove: The glove is full of Vaseline, to keep his left hand soft for his wife. All the men find it disgusting.

Pulp magazine: A type of magazine the men read to pass the time. Bill Tenner’s letter is in one.

Puppies: Lennie is hopeful that because a puppy is bigger than a mouse, it will be strong enough to support his petting. Slim gives him one of his dog’s puppies, which Lennie plays with and pets constantly until he accidentally kills it.

Carlson's Luger: This is the gun Carlson uses to shoot Candy’s sheepdog. George will steal it and use it to shoot Lennie.