Steinbeck tells the classic story of three days in the lives of two migrant workers, Lennie Small and George Milton. Lennie, a simple-minded giant who doesn't know his own strength, wants only to settle down with his friend on a small farm where he will be allowed to feed the animals. When he inadvertently kills first a puppy, then a woman--the wife of the brutal ranch owner where Lennie and George find work--George kills him, in a humane act of love, before the unfortunate Lennie is hounded to his death. Steinbeck's sympathy for the plight of the downtrodden--and especially for exploited migrant workers like Lennie and George--is powerfully expressed in this novel.