Of Mice and Men Characters

George Milton is our hero, a roving farmworker who is "small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features … [with] small, strong hands, slender arms, and thin and bony n...

Don't let the name fool you: Lennie Small is big. Unfortunately, that's about all he has going for him—that, and he's got a really good friend. So, what did Lennie do to deserve a friend like Geo...

Candy is an old ranch worker ("swamper") who has lost one of his hands in a farm accident. He's spent the best years of his life working on someone else's ranch, only to lose his hand and have litt...

Curley's wife has a lot of names, but we can't repeat any of them in mixed company. Let's just call her trouble: she's a good-looking woman who knows it, wearing makeup, form-fitting dresses, and o...

Slim is the "prince of the ranch." He's the consummate Western man: masterful, strong, fair-minded, practical, non-talkative, and exceptionally good at what he does. He is a god among men, and his...

Crooks (named for his crooked back) is the stable hand who works with the ranch horses. He lives by himself because he is the only black man on the ranch. Crooks is bookish and likes to keep his ro...

Curley is the son of the ranch boss, so he's got a big head—which doesn't quite match up with his body. He used to be a lightweight fighter, and he just can't let go of the life: he picks fights...

Carlson may be the least interesting important character. We learn about all we need to know from when he tells Slim, "Whyn't you get Candy to shoot his old dog and give him one of the pups to rais...