Of Mice and Men: Chapters 5–6

by John Steinbeck
Set during the Great Depression, Steinbeck's classic novel tells the story of shrewd, scheming George and loyal, childlike Lennie. The two farm workers dream of owning their own land but must struggle merely to survive.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–4, Chapters 5–6

Here are links to our lists for other works by John Steinbeck: The Pearl, East of Eden, Cannery Row, The Grapes of Wrath, Travels with Charley
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. console
    give moral or emotional strength to
    She consoled him.
  2. bewildered
    extremely confused and uncertain what to do
    For a moment he seemed bewildered. And then he whispered in fright, “I done a bad thing. I done another bad thing."
  3. discontent
    a longing for something better than the present situation
    And the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face.
  4. reassure
    give or restore confidence in
    And he tried to reassure himself. “Maybe they’ll lock ‘im up an’ be nice to ‘im.”
  5. lance
    move quickly, as if by cutting one's way
    A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically.
  6. clearing
    a treeless tract of land in the middle of a wooded area
    As quickly as it had come, the wind died, and the clearing was quiet again.
  7. skitter
    move or skip quickly across a surface
    When a little bird skittered over the dry leaves behind him, his head jerked up and he strained toward the sound with eyes and ears until he saw the bird, and then he dropped his head and drank again.
  8. embrace
    squeeze tightly in your arms, usually with fondness
    When he was finished, he sat down on the bank, with his side to the pool, so that he could watch the trail’s entrance. He embraced his knees and laid his chin down on his knees.
  9. belligerently
    in the manner of someone eager to fight
    Now Lennie retorted belligerently, “He ain’t neither. George won’t do nothing like that. I’ve knew George since — I forget when — and he ain’t never raised his han’ to me with a stick. He’s nice to me. He ain’t gonna be mean.”
  10. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    George came quietly out of the brush and the rabbit scuttled back into Lennie's brain.
  11. monotonous
    sounded or spoken in a tone unvarying in pitch
    His voice was monotonous, had no emphasis.
  12. muzzle
    the open circular discharging end of a gun
    And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head.
Created on Mon Aug 11 23:18:57 EDT 2014 (updated Thu Jun 26 19:10:44 EDT 2025)

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