Of Mice and MenJohn Steinbeck

Genre: Fiction; tragedy First Publication: 1937 Narrator: Third-person omniscient Protagonists: George and Lennie Antagonists: Curley; society; the cruel, predatory

nature of human life Setting: 1930s, South of Soledad, California

John Steinbeck Born in Salinas,

CA in 1902 Died in 1968 Won the Nobel

Prize for his novel Grapes of Wrath

History to 1920s

After World War I, a recession led to a drop in the market price of farm crops, which meant that farmers were forced to produce more goods in order to earn the same amount of money.

Farmers bought more land and invested in expensive agricultural equipment, which plunged them into debt.

Great Depression The stock market crash of 1929

forced banks to foreclose on mortgages and collect debts.

Unable to pay their creditors, many farmers lost their property and were forced to find other work.

Nation’s unemployment rate skyrocketed peaking at nearly twenty-five percent in 1933.

Conditions in the U.S. 1930s In 1930, California

had 5.7 million residents, and the population shrank as 120,000 Mexicans were repatriated.

Move to California

In the 1930s, farmers from the Midwestern Dust Bowl states, especially Oklahoma and Arkansas, began to move to California; 250,000 arrived by 1940. During the 1930s, some 2.5 million people left the Plains states.

Into the book… Setting: Soledad, CA

Prereading

"The best laid plans of mice and men go oft astray." - Robert Burns

This saying so impressed John Steinbeck that he titled his novel after it.  What does this saying mean to you?

Write a paragraph analyzing this quote. Relate it to your own life. (sec. 3)

Characters:

Lennie – a large, lumbering, childlike migrant worker. Due to his mild mental disability, Lennie completely depends upon George, his friend and traveling companion, for guidance and protection. The two men share a vision of a farm that they will own together, a vision that Lennie believes in wholeheartedly. Gentle and kind, Lennie nevertheless does not understand his own strength. His love of petting soft things, such as small animals, dresses, and people’s hair, leads to disaster.

George – A small, wiry, quick-witted man who travels with, and cares for, Lennie. Although he frequently speaks of how much better his life would be without his caretaking responsibilities, George is obviously devoted to Lennie. George’s behavior is motivated by the desire to protect Lennie and, eventually, deliver them both to the farm of their dreams. Though George is the source of the often-told story of life on their future farm, it is Lennie’s childlike faith that enables George to actually believe his account of their future.

Due Friday, Nov. 14 Reading Section 2 pgs. 17-37

Write two paragraphs, one for each character – Section 3 – Writing -40 pts.

Write about Lennie and George’s characters. Find one quote for each character that best describes his personality. Cite the quote i.e. (Steinbeck, pg 2). Explain why this quote characterizes each person.

Chapter Two Vocabulary                                                                

apprehensive (adj.): anxious; fearfularchly (adv.): playfullybridled (v.): to pull one's head back in anger or pride; especially when one feels one has been offendedbuckers (n.): people who buck grain bagscalculating (adj.): shrewd; schemingcesspool (n.): a deep hole in the ground into which sewage from sinks, toilets, etc. is drained.cockier (adj.): To be cocky is to be conceited, overbearing, and aggressive.complacently (adv.): in a pleased, satisfied mannercultivator (n.): a large farm machine used for cultivation (the preparation of the earth for planting). derogatory (adj.): belittling and insultingdisengage (v.): freedousing (n): to douse is to be drenched with liquid. A dousing refers to someone having been covered with a liquid, in this case water, during a washing.dragfooted (adj.) lame; dragging a lame footgingerly (adv.): in a careful, cautious waygraybacks (n.): lice; parasites. Lice are small, wingless insects that live off the blood of other animals. hatchet face (n): a lean, sharp faceheavy-laden (adj.) heavily loadedinsteps (n.): the parts of the shoes between the toe and the anklejerkline skinnerlaboring (adj.): working, particularly work that involves physical labor.lamely (adv.): To be lame is to be crippled; especially to have an injured leg or foot.lashed (v.): swung around quicklyleaves (n.): pageslevelly (adv.): Something that is level is flat and horizontal. To stare at someone levelly is to stare at that person straight on -- not looking up nor down.lightweight (n.): a boxer who weighs between 127 - 135 poundsliniment (n.): a medicated liquid rubbed on the skin to ease sore muscles and sprains (25)

Vocabulary con’tmollified (adj.): soothed; pacifiedmules (n): a type of shoe or slipper than does not cover the heal. muzzle (n.): the projecting part (the part that sticks out) of a dogs head that includes the mouth, nose, and jaw.ominously (adv.): in a threatening waypeered (v.): To peer is to look closely or squint at something to see it more clearly.pocket (n.): in this instance, a pocket would be a hollow or cavity in the land filled with gold oreprecede (v.): go before or ahead ofpugnacious (adj.): eager and ready to fightscourges (n.): a scourge is anything that inflicts discomfort or suffering; in this case, any variety of insects and pestsscowled (v.): a scowl is an angry look achieved by frowning and scrunching the eyebrows together.skeptically (adv.): To be skeptical is doubt or question something. George is doubting that the bunk house, and especially his mattress, is really cleanslough (v): get rid ofsquirmed (v.): twisted and turned; wriggledstable buck (n.): a stable is a building where horses are kept. A buck, in this case, is a derogatory word for a black man. A staple buck, then, would be a black man who works in a stable.stocky (adj.): heavily and solidly builtswamper (n.): a handyman; someone who performs odd jobs often involving cleaningtart (n.) a woman of loose morals; one who is prone to be sexually unfaithfultick (n.) mattress coveringticking (n.): the cloth case for a mattress. In this instance, the cloth case was made from burlap.time book (n): a book used to record the hours of workerstrace chains (n): the chains that connect a horse's harness to a vehicletramp (n.): In this case, a tramp is a woman of loose morals who is sexually promiscuousvials (n.): small bottlesviciously (adv.): cruelly; in a mean waywheeler (n.): the horse harnessed nearest to the front wheels of a vehicle (25)       

Task for section 2

Individually or in pairs, students will be assigned vocabulary words.

Find the sentence where the word(s) are being used. Record the sentence.

Identify the content of the sentence – what is taking place, who is speaking, what is being said, and why?

Section 2 – pgs. 16-37

Lennie and George arrive at the farm

Allusions – a literary reference to a familiar person, place, thing, or event.

All page numbers refer to the Penguin Books edition, 1993. "On his head was a soiled brown Stetson hat...(p. 20)." " 'You got your work slips (p. 21)?' " " 'Well, that glove's fulla vaseline (p. 27).' " " 'An' I bet he's eatin' raw eggs and writin

' to the patent medicine houses (p. 32).' " " '...we'll shove off and go up the American River and pan gold

(p. 33).' " "His hands, large and lean, were as delicate in their action as

those of a temple dancer (p. 34)."

Section 3 – pgs.38-65 Assignment – On a separate sheet of paper,

complete a Reading Log while reading section 3.

Record information about all the characters. What motivates each character?

Record vocabulary words, allusions, and idioms Record what you already know, what you

learned, and what you would like to know.

Due Tuesday, Nov. 18 – 60 pts.

Reading Log- 60 pts.

 Name ____________________________ Chapter _______Date _________________ Characters: (8) George, Lennie, Slim, Candy, Curley, Carlson,

Crooks (stablebuck), Wilt (young man) What motivates this character? What does he want from life?

What is important to him or her?  

Setting and Atmosphere (2) Vocabulary (10 words) with definitions, part of speech, and in

text sentences Allusions (5) with page numbers and sentence Idioms (5) with page numbers and sentence  What I understand from this section (1) What I learned from this section (1) What I wonder about after reading this section (1)    

Chapter Three Lennie, George, and Candy spend some time with Crooks as they discuss their plans for the future.

Read this section closely.Answer the following questions: 1. What are the plans now that Candy is

included in Lennie and George’s dream?

2. How does the dream change now that Candy is involved?

More of chapter 4 –

Saturday night at Crook's room in the barn. All but Crooks, Candy and Lennie go to town. Lennie drops in on Crooks who philosophizes about companionship. Candy drops by and talks of their dreams. Curley's wife shows up and insults them all. Candy brags of their ranch. She infers that Lennie is the machine which got Curley. She threatens Crooks with a lynching. George arrives and all leave Crooks' room.

Chapter 4 – Writing Task In your binders, make a T chart. List “Main Idea”

on one side, “What the Text says” on the other. Starting with chapter 4, record the references

make to loneliness. Go back through the earlier chapters and record

any references to loneliness.

NOTE: References can be things said that show a person is lonely, actions which show the person is lonely, or desires stated that indicate he doesn’t want to be lonely.

Chapter 5 What is mental retardation? The definition used most often in the United States

is from the American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR). According to AAMR, mental retardation is a disability that occurs before age 18. It is characterized by significant limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills. It is diagnosed through the use of standardized tests of intelligence and adaptive behavior. Mental retardation is generally thought to be present if an individual has an IQ test score of approximately 70 or below and a significant deficit in at least one area of adaptive behavior (AAMR, 2002).

Chapter 6 George finds Lennie and proceeds to determine his fate.

What are the causes of mental retardation?

Mental retardation can be caused by any condition that impairs development of the brain before birth, during birth or in the childhood years. Several hundred causes have been discovered, but in about one-third of the people affected, the cause remains unknown. The three major known causes of mental retardation are Down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome and fragile X syndrome.

Chapter Six Two murders are committed; one of a puppy, the other of Curley's wife. Curley and the farm hands begin their search for the killer.

Vocabulary All page numbers refer to the Penguin Books edition, 1993.

"...over the pile hung the four-taloned Jackson fork suspended from its

pulley (p. 84)." "The resting horses nibbled the remaining wisps of hay...(p. 84)." "He looked sullenly up at her (p. 86)." "But Lennie was not to be drawn (p. 86)." "She said darkly, 'Maybe I will yet (p. 88).' " "Her feet battered on the hay and she writhed to be free...(p. 91)." "Around the last stall came a shepherd bitch, lean and long, with

heavy, hanging dugs (p. 92)." "...a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than

a moment (p. 93)." " 'Then -- it's all off?' Candy asked sulkily (p. 95)." "The sound of the men grew fainter (p. 98)."

The Task

Your task is to analyze one or more of the characters in the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, to determine how the theme of loneliness is revealed.

1. Write an essay to demonstrate your understanding of character motivation and how the theme of loneliness is revealed in the novel.

2. PROMPT: Where is the theme loneliness shown in the novel?

Five Paragraph Essay Paragraph 1 – Introduction paragraph

(includes thesis statement) Paragraph 2 – Body paragraph

(includes topic sentence) Paragraph 3 – Body paragraph

(includes topic sentence) Paragraph 4 – Body paragraph

(includes topic sentence) Paragraph 5 - Conclusion

Eleven Sentence Paragraph

Sentence 1 – Topic sentence – expresses the main idea about the subject

Sentence 2 – Reason 1 – support for the topic sentence Sentence 3 – Example 1 – textual quote or example from text Sentence 4 – Explanation 1 – explaining the quote and typing it back

to reason 1 Sentence 5 – Reason 2 – support for the topic sentence Sentence 6 – Example 2 – quote or example from text Sentence 7 – Explanation 2 – explaining the quote and why it

supports the topic sentence Sentence 8 – Reason 3 – support for the topic sentence Sentence 9 – Example 3 - quote or example from text Sentence 10 – Explanation 3 – explains the quote and why it supports

the topic sentence Sentence 11 – Conclusion sentence

Sample 11 sentence paragraph – Body paragraph 1

Prompt – Where is the theme loneliness shown in the novel?(Topic sentence) The theme of loneliness is shown by the migrant worker’s

lifestyle.Sentence 2 (Reason 1) The migrant worker living on the ranch have

difficulty forming lasting relationships.Example 1Explanation 1

Sentence 5 (Reason 2) The migrant worker’s lifestyle causes men to move around so that relationships can not be formed. Example 2Explanation 2

Sentence 8 (Reason 3) A migrant worker can be seen as weak if he does not show some sense of loneliness.Example 3Explanation 3

Conclusion Sentence – Loneliness is built into the migrant worker’s lifestyle.

Prewriting:

The prompt asks for you to look at a character or characters and what motivates him. What he is after? What does this character desire? Want from life? Working for? Need?

Construct a reason why this character demonstrates loneliness by his action.

Brainstorming - con’t Think about the theme of loneliness.

Are the character’s motivations linked to loneliness in some way? How?

Now answer the prompt – How is the theme of loneliness revealed through characters motivations?

Develop a thesis statement in response to the prompt.

Outline Format

Outline

I. Introduction with Thesis statement – expresses a central idea

i.e. The state of loneliness becomes familiar for the migrant men of Steinbeck novel; therefore, causing the men to preserve their isolation.

II. Body ParagraphsA. Crooks exemplifies the man who permanently stays to himself.

B. Slim shows his loneliness by never getting close to his men.C. Carlson promotes loneliness by removing things that would

help the men from being lonely.

III. Conclusion – restate the thesis statement

Essay Questions – Pick one

When all the other ranch hands go to town, Lennie, Crooks and Candy are left behind. Describe what each of these three do after the others leave, and explain what they have in common that causes them to be left out.

Curley's wife appears three times in the novel. Briefly describe what takes place on each occasion. On which occasion does she reveal the most about herself, and what is it? 

Describe in some detail the incident where Lennie crushes Curley's hand. What does this incident reveal about each of these two characters? 

While Curley is physically aggressive towards Lennie, his wife is sexually provocative. Show how these two characters create trouble for Lennie, and combine to cause his death. 

Many people in the novel suffer from disappointment. Choose any three of the following characters and discuss what reasons they have to be disappointed about their life: Crooks - Curley - George - Candy