For many literary works, especially novels, character development is quintessential. Literary characters drive the action and conflict; they create a reason for a story to exist. Mapping characters can be as simple as asking students to fill in charts that track important aspects of characters, or as complex as noting traits that categorize them as an archetype.
Of Mice and Men is a short novel by John Steinbeck about an unlikely pair of migrant workers in California. George and Lennie have little in common, and when most people meet the pair, they question why the two are together. George Milton is a small, smart man, while Lennie Small is large and strong, but has the mind of a child. Lennie's traits make him clumsy and unpredictable, and often get the two men into trouble.
