1.
VOCABULARY
“OF MICE AND MEN”

2.
1.revere 11.mollify
2.contemptuous 12.unasser8ve
3.reprehensible 13.monotonous
4.belligerent 14.skep8cal
5.ominous 15.protagonist
6.confide 16.antagonist
7.derogatory 17.sta8c
8.bewilder 18.dynamic
9.indignant 19.stereotype
10.despair 20.infer

3.
revere
1

4.
revere
1
George had always revered the strength of Lennie,
especially since he was small in stature.
to
regard
with
deep
respect
(v.)

5.
contemptuous
2

6.
contemptuous
2
Everyone’s contempt for Curley was obvious; he
was a good-for-nothin’ liar.
a
lack
of
respect,
o7en
with
intense
dislike
or
disgust
(adj.)

7.
reprehensible
3

8.
reprehensible
3
Lennie’s action at the ranch was reprehensible, but
his ignorance should be taken into consideration.
deserving
punishment
(adj.)

9.
belligerent
4

10.
belligerent
4
Lennie belligerently shook Curley’s wife by the hair,
because she would not stop yelling.
doing
something
in
a
hos<le
or
aggressive
way
(adj.)

11.
ominous
5

12.
ominous
5
Curley bolted out of the room, and George looked
ominously at Lennie.
giving
the
impression
that
something
bad
is
going
to
happen
(adj.)

13.
confide
6

14.
confide
6
Crooks shared information with Lennie that he would not
dare tell another soul; he felt he could confide in him.
to
tell
someone
a
private
ma?er
in
confiden<ality
(v.)

15.
derogatory
7

16.
derogatory
7
John Steinbeck employs the “N” word not merely as
something derogatory, but also to capture the true
culture of the 1930s.
expressing
disrespect
or
cri<cism
(adj.)

17.
bewilder
8

18.
bewilder
8
Bewilderedly, Lennie asked Crooks, “Why do you
sleep out here all by yourself?”
to
cause
to
become
perplexed
or
confused
(v.)

19.
indignant
9

20.
indignant
9
George was often indignant about the way others
disrespected Lennie, and yet he was often guilty of
doing the same.
angry
or
annoyed
by
something
that
is
unjust
or
wrong
(adj.)

21.
despair
10

22.
despair
10
There was always a hint of happiness and
despair when George told Lennie stories about
them getting their own ranch.
the
complete
absence
or
loss
of
hope
(n.)

23.
mollify
11

24.
mollify
11
They were mollified temporarily by the calm of the
river, but George knew they could not keep running
from ranch after ranch.
to
put
at
ease
or
calm
down
(v.)

25.
unassertive
12

26.
unassertive
12
Curley’s wife noticed Lennie’s unassertiveness
immediately and took advantage of this weakness.
not
having
or
showing
a
confident
and
forceful
personality
(adj.)

27.
monotonous
13

28.
monotonous
13
During the long hours working in the field, the
monotony would wear on them little by little.
dull,
tedious,
and
repe<<ous
(adj.)

29.
skeptical
14

30.
skeptical
14
People were often skeptical about George’s
relationship with Lennie.
not
easily
convinced;
having
doubts
or
reserva<ons
(adj.)

31.
protagonist
15

32.
protagonist
15
Frequently, the protagonist of a story will embody
the traits that we all aspire to possess.
the
lead
character
or
main
figure
(n.)

33.
antagonist
16

34.
antagonist
16
John Steinbeck creates a belligerent antagonist
that will foreshadow future events in the novel.
a
person
who
opposes
the
main
character;
adversary
(n.)

35.
static
17

36.
static
17
Just as there are characters in novels who never
seem to change, we too can remain static.
a
character
who
remains
unchanged
throughout
the
story
(adj.)

37.
dynamic
18

38.
dynamic
18
Each one of us should strive to be dynamic so that we
are growing and looking at the world differently.
a
character
who
undergoes
an
important
inner
change
of
personality,
aCtude
or
beliefs
(adj.)

39.
stereotype
19

40.
stereotype
19
Stereotypes develop when we are unwilling or unable
to look deeper than the single story.
an
oversimplified
idea
or
image
of
a
person
or
group
of
people
(n.)

41.
infer
20

42.
infer
20
What can you infer about Crooks other than what you
are directly told about him?
to
discover
informa<on
from
evidence
and
reasoning
rather
than
explicit
statements
(v.)