A real past paper theme (Jun 2021). Cruelty pervades the novel — from Curley to Crooks to the natural world itself.
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Watch first — Mrs Rumsey
Mrs Rumsey · Feb 2025 · Edexcel IGCSEAnalysis of Cruelty in OMAM
Key analysis
⚡ 40-mark question structure: AO1 (20 marks) — knowledge, argument, personal response, critical style. AO4 (20 marks) — context (1930s Depression, migrant workers, racism, gender). Every paragraph needs BOTH: a point about the text AND a link to context. Closed book — you must know quotes.
Forms of cruelty in the novel
Curley's aggression — seeks fights, attacks Lennie without cause, treats his wife as property
Crooks's treatment — racial slurs, segregation, his dignity constantly undermined. Crooks himself is cruel to Lennie: "Crooks's face lighted with pleasure in his torture"
George's cruelty to Lennie — he confesses: "Used to play jokes on 'im... I hit him over the head with a fence picket"
Lennie's unintentional cruelty — kills mice by petting them, kills his puppy, breaks Curley's wife's neck
Carlson's shooting of Candy's dog — some see mercy, Candy sees cruelty in the relentlessness of the pressure
Natural world cruelty
Steinbeck's natural imagery in the opening/closing mirrors cruelty — a heron plucks a water snake from the river and swallows it
This suggests cruelty is built into the natural order, not just human society
Lennie's death beside the pool echoes the water snake's death — he too is taken by a force beyond his understanding
Candy's dog — old, arthritic, useless to others. The ranch's cruelty to it mirrors its attitude to all "useless" beings
"Crooks's face lighted with pleasure in his torture."
Narrator — Crooks tormenting Lennie about George
"Used to play jokes on 'im 'cause he was too dumb to take care of 'imself."
George confessing past cruelty to Slim
Exam questions — 2 questions · 22 marks
1 markCruelty quote
What does it reveal when Crooks torments Lennie about George not coming back?
A Crooks hates Lennie for being big and strong
B Crooks uses the moment to inflict on Lennie what has been inflicted on himself — isolation and fear. His cruelty is rooted in his own pain.
C Crooks is trying to warn Lennie that George is unreliable
D Crooks wants Lennie to leave so he can have his room back
20 marksCruelty essayEdexcel IGCSE Jun 2021 — real question
"In what ways is cruelty an important theme in Of Mice and Men?" — Discuss. You must consider the context of the novel. (Full 40-mark question — write 4+ paragraphs)
Hint: Plan: intro (cruelty is systemic + personal) → George's past cruelty to Lennie → Curley → Crooks (victim AND perpetrator) → Lennie's unintentional cruelty → Candy's dog → nature/heron → 1930s context. Quote in every paragraph.