2. Why doesn’t Crooks want Lennie to come into his room at first? What makes him change his mind? 3. Why does Crooks tell Lennie so much about himself? Do you agree with him that “a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick?” Why or why not? What do you learn about Crooks’ past? Where is he from and what was his upbringing like? 4. How does Crooks scare Lennie with his talk? Why do you think he does this? How does he apologize? Why does he apologize? Do you think he is afraid of Lennie? Do you think he regrets frightening Lennie? 5. Why does Candy come into Crooks’ room? How can you tell that Crooks is pleased? Why is he pleased to have visitors? 6. Why does Curley’s wife come to Crooks’ room? Where are all the other men? What do you think Curley’s wife means when she says, “You’re all scared of each other, that’s what”? Is she lonely? What kind of life does she want? STOP – Hot Thinking Break Think briefly about this scene. Here are our four main outcasted characters: Lennie, the mentally challenged man Crooks, the African American man Candy, the elderly and physically disabled man Curley’s wife, the woman In your own mind, ask yourselves these questions: What do they all have in common? How and why do you think they have all “crashed” together?
7. Why does Curley’s wife insult Candy, Lennie, and Crooks? How does Crooks stand up to her at first? How does he back down and why? For which, if any, of these people do you feel sorry? Why? 8. Why is George angry with Lennie and with Candy when he finds them in Crooks’ room? How do you think Crooks feels when Candy protests “Didn’t tell nobody but Crooks”? How does it make you feel? 9. How does Crooks offer to help out on the place George, Lennie, and Candy are planning to get? Why does he want to do this? Why, then, do you think Crooks calls to Candy, “Jus’ foolin’. I wouldn’t want to go to no place like that”? How can you tell that his mood has changed? How does this withdrawal change the mood of the entire novel?
PREDICTION – What kind of trouble will Curley’s “jail bait” wife cause? |