“Of Mice and Men” is a classic novel written by John Steinbeck. This is one of Steinbeck's more well known stories. It’s about two close friends who lived during the Depression and the troubles they endure. The story provides an accurate depiction of what life was like at the time. However, it was especially hard for them because of Lennie’s disability. The characters, setting and writing style, affect the stories plot and depressing outcome.
Lennie Small can be considered the protagonist in “Of Mice and Men”. The antagonist isn’t a person, but Lennie’s own mental retardation. Due to Lennie’s lack of intelligence, George has to take care of him ever since Lennie’s aunt died. Lennie is a good person, but because of his giant size he ends up killing the things that he likes to pet. The boss’s son, Curley, can also be considered another antagonist in the story. Curley is angry, vindictive, and violent. He's also the boss's son, which means he's got power—the power to make Lennie and George's life pretty miserable. As soon as they get even slightly comfortable on the ranch, Curley strolls in to make their lives miserable by picking on Lennie. Curley and his wife cause most of the trouble in the story. They always seem to be looking for each other throughout the story. The climax of the story occurs when Lennie kills Curley’s wife in the barnyard after they have been talking for a while. Afterwards, a bunch of ranch workers go out looking for Lennies to kill him. George knows where Lennie is because he had previously designated an area for Lennie to run to if he was in trouble. George kills Lennie by shooting him in the back of the head to save him from a more painful death at the heads of Curley, who has vowed to make him suffer for the death of his wife. George loves his friend Lennie, whom he has looked after faithfully, and he doesn't want Lennie to die horribly, especially since Lennie has unwittingly taken the life of Curley's wife in much the same way as he...