Of Mice and Men A663 Different Cultures text exam(25% of Lit)

• This unit is a study of a literary text from a different culture. This unit is worth 25% of the GCSE Literature and will be examined in a 45 minute open book exam (so no annotation of texts please). You will have to answer ONE question on the novel, from a choice of two. The first question will be passage-based. The second question will be more general and will require comment, criticism and analysis. Your quality of written communication is also assessed in this paper.

Band Mark AO4 AO2 QWC1 40-

35perceptive exploration and critical evaluation of a wide range of links between texts and their contexts and/or the significance of texts to readers in different contexts

sensitive understanding of the significance and effects of writers’ choices of language, structure and form

•text is legible •spelling, punctuation and grammar are accurate and assured •meaning is very clearly communicated

2 32-28

thoughtful exploration and evaluation of a range of links between texts and their contexts and/or the significance of texts to readers in different contexts

clear, critical understanding of the effects of writers’ choices of language, structure and form

•text is legible •spelling, punctuation and grammar are accurate •meaning is very clearly communicated

3 27-21

some attempt to explore and explain links between texts and their contexts and/or the significance of texts to their readers

good overall understanding that writers’ choices of language, structure and form contribute to meaning/effect

•text is legible •spelling, punctuation and grammar are mainly accurate •meaning is clearly communicated

4 20-14

some understanding of links between texts and their contexts and/or the significance of texts to their readers

understanding of some features of language, structure and/or form

•text is legible •some errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar •meaning is clearly communicated for most of the answer

Below 4

13-0 some straightforward comments on links between texts and their contexts and/or the significance of texts to their readers

a little response to features of language, structure and/or form

•text is mostly legible •frequent errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar •communication of meaning is sometimes hindered

Prose from Different CulturesOf Mice and Men A663 (the exam)

A663 Different Cultures

• You will have 45 minutes in the exam to plan and write your response so don’t waste any of this valuable time.

You are being examined on:• AO2: Explain how language, structure and form

contribute to writers’ presentation of ideas, themes and settings

• AO4: Relate texts to their social, cultural and historical contexts; explain how texts have been influential and significant to self and other readers in different contexts and at different times

1a How does Steinbeck’s writing make this a powerful and significant moment in the novel? Remember to support your ideas with details from the novel (that’s quotes to you and me!).

JOHN STEINBECK: Of Mice and Men Curley stepped over to Lennie like a terrier. "What the hell you laughin' at?" Lennie looked blankly at him. "Huh?" Then Curley's rage exploded. 'Come on, ya big bastard, Get up on your feet. No big son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me, I'll show ya who's yella." Lennie looked helplessly at George, and then he got up and tried to retreat. Curley was balanced and poised, He slashed at Lennie with his left, and then smashed down his nose with a right. Lennie gave a cry of terror. Blood welled from his nose. "George," he cried, "Make 'um let me alone, George." He backed until he was against the wall, and Curley followed, slugging him in the face; Lennie's hands remained at his sides; he was too frightened to defend himself. George was on his feet yelling, "Get him, Lennie. Don't let him do it." Lennie covered his face with his huge paws and bleated with terror. He cried, "Make 'um stop, George," Then Curley attacked his stomach and cut off his wind. Slim jumped up. "The dirty little rat," he cried, I'll get 'um myself." George put out his hand and grabbed Slim. "Wait a minute," he shouted. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Get 'im, Lennie!" Lennie took his hands away from his face and looked about for George, and Curley slashed at his eyes. The big face was covered with blood. George yelled again, "I said get him." Curley's fist was swinging when Lennie reached for it. The next minute Curley was flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed fist was lost in Lennie's big hand, George ran down the room. "Leggo of him, Lennie. Let go." But Lennie watched in terror the flopping little man whom he held. Blood ran down Lennie's face, one of his eyes was cut and closed. George slapped him in the face again and again, and still Lennie held on to the closed fist, Curley was white and shrunken by now, and his struggling had become weak. He stood crying, his fist lost in Lennie's paw. George shouted over and over, "Leggo his hand, Lennie. Leggo. Slim, come help me, while the guy got any hand left." Suddenly Lennie let go his hold. He crouched cowering against the wall. "You tol' me to, George," he said miserably.

Answering the Passage Based Question

Notes:• Look at the key adjectives in the question and work with quotations

that will suggest this is a powerful and/or significant moment in the novel.

• Look to comment upon at least 5 good quotations which will allow you to answer the question.

• The examiner will be expecting you to comment on contexts (AO4). These may include: working in America 1930, “rights” of migrant workers (or lack of them), threat of being fired (canned) for no good reason, the influence these types of texts have had on workers’ rights, Curley’s position on ranch and his ability to threaten workers because of who he is, Lennie’s position within society, your thoughts about how hard life was for these workers and how this knowledge has impacted upon you and your ideas of what it was like in 1930s, etc.

Highlight key words from the questionPassage-based question

IMPORTANT SIGNIFICANT REVEALINGPOWERFUL HORRIFYING

MOVING VIVID DISTURBINGSHOCKING

You need to know:• What the key adjectives mean• How they can be interpreted

For Example: MOVING• Arousing or touching the emotions. What emotions?

• Making a strong or vivid impression – impressive.

TASK: Choose 2 of the KEY ADJECTIVES from the list.• What do the key adjectives mean?• How can they be interpreted?

Annotate the passagePassage-based question

You are looking for examples of:LANGUAGE:• Movement• How they relate to other characters/how other characters view them• The setting in which the character is seen • Physical appearance

STRUCTURE:• How a particular atmosphere (tension) is built up across a scene• Contrast• Dramatic irony• The importance of the scene in relation to the rest of the story e.g. The circular narrative

Remember you must link to the context of the novel at least 2-3 points in your answer

The last stage of your planning is to organise your annotations of the passage into the paragraphs/sections of your response.

Writing your ResponsePassage-based question

INTRODUCTION:An overview which sets the passage in context and summarises the author’s overall purpose.

WRITING A PARAGRAPH:Mention a KEY WORD (particularly the KEY ADJECTIVE) from the question in every paragraph.Provide EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT for everything you say.Focus on THE AUTHOR’S PURPOSE and the WAYS this is achieved.Try to make a link with the an aspect(s) of the novel’s context.

Aim to write between 5-6 paragraphs:•Introduction•3/4 developed sections•Conclusion

Band Mark AO4 AO2

1 40-35 perceptive exploration and critical evaluation of a wide range of links between texts and their contexts and/or the significance of texts to readers in different contexts

sensitive understanding of the significance and effects of writers’ choices of language, structure and form

2 32-28 thoughtful exploration and evaluation of a range of links between texts and their contexts and/or the significance of texts to readers in different contexts

clear, critical understanding of the effects of writers’ choices of language, structure and form

3 27-21 some attempt to explore and explain links between texts and their contexts and/or the significance of texts to their readers

good overall understanding that writers’ choices of language, structure and form contribute to meaning/effect

Prose from Different CulturesOf Mice and Men A663 (the exam)

What is context?Context is information that is relevant to a reader’s understanding of a text.

Factors such as

Where it is setWhen it is setWho wrote it

These circumstances will all influence the story and how the reader understands it.

What do we need to consider when we write about OMAM?

CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION

What we know about it How it links to the story of ‘Of Mice and Men’

The author, John Steinbeck

The Great Depression

The American Dream

The Dustbowl

Migrant Workers

Racial Segregation

Social Inequality

Soledad, California

CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION

What we know about it How it links to the story of ‘Of Mice and Men’

Of Mice and Men

• Written in 1936, the book is set around Soledad in California

John SteinbeckContext of the Writer

Steinbeck was born in 1902 in the Salinas Valley. The places in the book really exist – in California in the west of the United States. He wasn’t making them up.

• He often worked on ranches whilst on school holidays – so he knew the life.

• He loved animals, had daily contact with them when he was growing up, and kept a dog.

• His parents had some land – he was a rural kid.Much of ‘Of Mice and Men’ is based upon John Steinbeck’s life and experiences and his interest in contemporary social issues – that’s why he describes things in so much detail.

What issues did the novel deal with?

• The American Dream was dead. Poverty and starvation stalked California and other stricken states. The migrants were worse off. There had been no union to protect the workers. The rich stayed rich and the poor stayed poor. There was no more unclaimed land for the poor masses to claim as their own. Wages were low so no one could save. Many didn’t even find jobs – there was a 30% unemployment rate.

Everyone was suffering, and everyone just wanted to have a better quality of life.

Context of the NovelThe story of George and Lennie, whilst fictional, is rooted in historical fact. The high unemployment caused by the Great Depression resulted in people travelling to find work, and being hired and fired at will by powerful farm owners (like the boss in the novel).

George’s fear that the boss will refuse them work is realistic. This should also help you to understand why the dream farm is so important to the characters. The migrant lifestyle led to a large section of the population being fragmented, unable to put down roots, and to social instability.

The American Dream

• The American Dream is the idea that each person has the opportunity to own land and control their own destiny*

* – what does this mean?

For hundreds of years the USA has been associated with the promise of a new and better life.

The American Dream

Early settlers went to America to escape religious persecution.

Others went in search of land and independence. Until the 18th century, land was virtually the only way to gain wealth or power.

Because America was a new land with no aristocracy, it gained the reputation as a country where anyone, no matter what their background, could succeed. All you needed was talent and hard work.

This ideal became known as ‘The American Dream’.

What is meant by the term ‘The American Dream’?

Race for Land

FreedomOpportunityProsperity Success

For All!

The Great Depression

The book is set during the depression of the 1930s

• The 29th October 1929 was known as ‘Black Tuesday’ in America. The Wall Street Stock Market Crashed. Lots of money was lost and this led to a huge rise in unemployment across America

• By 1931 banks and factories closed all over the country and the farming industry collapsed

• This meant countless men had to travel the country to find work. They were hired and fired at will.

• Many of the poorest members of US society suffered badly, and at one point it was estimated that 34 million men, women and children had no income at all.

• Many people were evicted from their homes and ended up living in shanty towns. This crisis in the US economy forms the background to many of Steinbeck’s novels.

What happened on 29th October 1929?

What effect did this have on‘The American Dream’?

•Banks closed•Industry collapsed•34 million unemployed•Poverty & Starvation•Migrant workers

The American Dream was over!

The Great Depression

The loss of the American Dream meant …

• No land• No money• A fragmented society: migrant workers travelling from farm to

farm looking for work

Key term: ‘Dust Bowl’The introduction of extensive agricultural mechanisation together with

years of severe drought ruined the land: farmland was stripped of its fertile topsoil which meant the land was no longer able to

grow anything. The soil turned to dust and blew away, leaving acres of once lush farmland utterly useless.

Great Depression & Dustbowl

Dustbowl

CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION

What we know about it How it links to the story of ‘Of Mice and Men’

The author, John Steinbeck

Grew up in the Salinas Valley.Spent some time working on a ranchLoved animals and had a pet dog.Was heavily interested in politics, particularly the rights of workers.

The story of ‘Of Mice and Men’ is set in a real place and some of Steinbecks’ own experiences inform the story.Because he was writing about a place and a topic he knew well, this allows for more detailed descriptions to add realism to the novel. This could make it even more emotional. The focus of the novel is on the plight of two disadvantaged migrant workers, a topic that was dear to his heart .

The Great Depression

1930’s – Black Tuesday: Wall Street CrashBanks closed – people lost their savingsIndustries closed – people lost their jobs34 million unemployed = poverty, starvation, desperationA generation of migrant workers forced to travel to find work – mainly on farms as they were least affected by the Depression to begin with (farming later suffered hugely). Families were split up = a very unhappy time.

Follows the story of migrant workers and focusses on their experiences especially the themes of social inequality, loneliness and belonging.Steinbeck subverts the expectations that the reader would have about migrant workers by telling the story of ‘friends’ who travelled together.

The American Dream

To the world, America was the land of opportunity. People moved there to escape religious persecution and a new start. As America had no monarchy it was considered a ‘fairer playing field’. There was the hope that no matter what your background, you could improve your situation in life.The American Dream was the belief that if you worked hard you could achieve freedom, success and independence with a particular emphasis on owning your own land. The American dream represents hope and was a part of the American subconscious.

None of the main characters achieve their dreams: Curley’s wife dreamt of movie stardom but is accidently killed by Lennie; George and Lennie never buy their ranch; Candy doesn’t get his happy retirement and Crooks realises the American Dream is out of his reach because of his skin colour.The workers are treated poorly – hired and fired at will. Migrant workers lived in fear of losing a job. No stability or sense of belonging.But the American Dream does give the characters (especially George and Lennie) hope, so it is tragically ironic at the end that there is no hope for them and the cyclical structure of the novel leads us to believe that all this will happen again to the next bunch of workers to pass through. All the main characters are socially disadvantaged. The American Dream is a recurring motif.

The Dustbowl For a while during the Great Depression, farming was an industry that kept going. Millions of workers flooded into agricultural areas. However, The Dustbowl threw a massive spanner in the works. The Dustbowl occurred as a result of the over farming of precious land due mechanisation (machines got the job done quickly but didn’t give the soil time to rejuvenate). The fertile topsoil was stripped of it’s nutrients and unable to grow very much food. Also, because of drought, this top layer blew away as giant dust clouds.

Though the novel is not set in the area known as The Dustbowl (Oklahoma) it is likely that the area attracted migrant workers forced to move away because of it. This would have put even more pressure on George and Lennie not to lose their jobs because someone else would instantly fill their place.

It is important to remember that The Dustbowl added to the traumatic and dismal state of affairs for the whole of America and individuals. It was like yet another kick in the teeth.

Migrant Workers

The combined result of the Great Depression (no money, no jobs) and The Dustbowl (no land) was a fragmented society. Men were forced to leave their hometowns and travel for thousands of miles with the hope of finding work. Work was sporadic and migrant workers had no employment rights. Steinbeck was heavily involved in politics and his novel may have sparked the beginning of a social reform – eventually the Workers Rights Act was drawn up, giving fairer terms and pay to all workers.

Being a migrant worker was very lonely. It was unheard of for men to travel around together. Most travelled solo, carrying a few possession in bindles on their backs. Jobs were few and they were given little warning of being dismissed. Most lived day to day.

Because of their way of life, migrant workers were unable to put down roots. It was a lonely existence with no sense of belonging and few opportunities to marry, buy a house and start a family.

George and Lennie travel together – this sense of friendship is what makes what happens to them all the more upsetting. Their relationship symbolises hope and humanity in the midst of the darkest times.

A lot of the people who live on the ranch are given nicknames (Slim, Candy, Crooks, Curley’s Wife) – we don’t learn their real names and this lack of identity can link back to the idea of migrant workers having no real sense of belonging – it is almost like they are stripped of their humanity. They live in the bleak, harsh, bare environment of the bunk house and do what they can to make it seem more homely, for example by pushing boxes together to play cards around – there is the sense that they are all craving the feeling of community that they are denied because of their circumstances.

Racial Segregation

In 1930s America, black people did not have the same rights as they do today. The were treated as second class citizens, often segregated away from the white people. The were denied basic rights like the vote, equal education, places on public transport, they even had separate shops and swimming pools.The racial stereotype of black people at the time was that they were rude, dishonest (even criminal), thick and not to be trusted. Black people, especially in rural areas, lived in fear of lynch mobs – gangs of white people who would hang them for the smallest crime or even sometimes simply for being accused of a crime. They were very violent, prejudiced and tense times.

•Crooks is the only black character on the ranch and he is segregated from the others because of the colour of his skin. He has the lowest social status out of any of the characters simply because he is black (less than Curley’s wife and Lennie : a woman and a ‘dum dum’.) Crooks is a symbol of the racial tension and stereotypes of the time because: he is treated as a second class citizen; he lives in fear of racist attack and suffers prejudice; he is isolated from the other men on the ranch; his living conditions are much poorer than the others; he is crippled so cannot move/work quickly or easily; he can only do menial jobs (manual labour); black people found it much harder to get work; he has no way of bettering his position in life through the American Dream.

•What is ironic about this? Crooks room is full of personal belongings and is the most ‘homely’ of all the settings. This is ironic because Crooks is treated as an outcast. Crooks does not ‘belong’ with the others on the ranch; his room is separated from the other men. Yet strangely, Crooks is the one character who has made the ranch his ‘home’. And appears to be the only ‘permanent’ character. He also symbolises the futility of the American Dream. He is a proud character and a hard worker but he can never achieve it because of his colour. This makes him disadvantaged.

CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION

What we know about it How it links to the story of ‘Of Mice and Men’

Social Inequality

Social inequality was a massive problem for America. The country was run in such a way that the rich stayed rich and the poor got poorer. This was made even worse when the Great Depression hit.

The poor, black, female, disabled and uneducated were not given the same opportunities as the rest of society and there were few means by which they could break out of the cycle and improve themselves. This is perhaps why they clung to the hope of achieving the American Dream so desperately.

Curley’s Wife symbolises how poorly women were treated. The fact that she isn’t given a name highlights how women were considered to be more a possession of their husband than a citizen in their own right. Her use of slang reveals a poor education and her dreams can never be achieved.

Unlike the workers, Curley’s Wife is trapped on the farm. Which makes her story and untimely death more tragic. Though she is not presented as an angel, the reader is encouraged to feel sympathy for her.

Soledad, California

California, the ‘Golden State’, so called because of the discovery of gold there in 1848. This is an area associated with wealth and happiness. Because of this fact, it was also a state that attracted many migrant workers who were searching for the chance to make a living.Steinbeck himself grew up here so would have witnessed this for himself.

The story is set in a real place, so we can imagine that the places Steinbeck describes actually exist. The descriptions of the Salinas Valley in the first and last chapters of the story are incredibly detailed and descriptive, probably because Steinbeck was so familiar with the area.

It is ironic that a story focussing on the poverty and dismay of the Great Depression should take place in the State most renowned for being a place of wealth and opportunity.

Don’t forget, in this exam you have 45 minutes to answer ONE question: either the extract based question or the discursive question. Whichever you choose, you must comment in detail on how specific examples of language, structure and form create an effect on the reader. This means you must closely analyse quotes from the text for all the points you make. You must also develop your interpretation of each point by discussing the context of the novel – these 8 features we have just explored. Each paragraph should include a detailed reference to how your understanding of the context in which the text was written informs and illuminates your understanding of the text, it’s characters and themes.