... introduce readers to a fascinating, realistic cast of characters, and make the hills and seacoast of California and Mexico come to life, but also tell intriguing stories of the lives of real people. Steinbeck's characters are not the rich men and women of California's boom days, but are the homeless, the migrant ... , and the farmers. However, each of these people has a deceptively simple, but important story to tell, a story filled with love and pain. The stories tell us not only of the lives of the poor who seek to live off the land, but of the struggles of all people. Of Mice and .....

• Word Count: 4593
• Approx Pages: 18
• Grade Level: High School

... her real name because Steinbeck is trying to portray an image of her being un-important and like Crooks is singled out as she is of a different sex to every other person on the ranch. Slim is the man who keeps everything running smoothly and is often the person everyone turns to for support. ... him and keeps him on to look after he bunk house. Many of the characters are lonely because they are either discriminated against through age, race, sex, disability or not able to make real friends, as ranch workers don't tend to stay in the same place for long. George and Lennie are best ... . ...

• Word Count: 5465
• Approx Pages: 22
• Grade Level: High School

... and describes the negative, painful and destructive power loneliness can have on people. Three key characters in the novel exhibit true loneliness and each has a different reason for experiencing it: sex, age, and race.  One character in "Of Mice and Men" that represents loneliness is Crooks. "Guys don't come into a colored man's room very much"" (71). Crooks is a black man that ... ...

• Word Count: 3171
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: High School