Discussion Director.
Did you think the ending of the novel was predictable?
Why do you think George killed Lennie rather then letting the other guys do it?
Do you think George should have killed Lennie?
What could have been alternative endings to the story?
What did you enjoy most about this novel?
Monday, March 9, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Book Review
Of Mice and Men
John Steinback
Drama
This story takes place in California during the great depression. The two main characters in this story are Lennie and George. Lennie was a tall male that was mentally challenged. George is a medium high male that always was very caring for Lennie. They always stayed close together during their travels. Lennie and George are on a ranch and during their time at the ranch many different characters were introduced. Curley was one character they met. Curley hated Lennie because he was tall. Curley got into a fight with Lennie and Lennie won. This sparked a lot of tension between Curley and George and Lennie. Curley also has a wife that he is very overprotective with. During the rest of the story Lennie gets in a lot of trouble with Curley’s wife resulting in Curley getting very angry.
Lennie is a very large, male that is mentally challenged. He loves things that are soft. He is very gentle but will defend himself if he needs to. George is a mid height male. He is un-sophisticated but can be kind at times. He is very generous to Lennie. Curley is a small male. He is very arrogant and dislikes people that are bigger than him. He is handy around the ranch but could also never be fired because his father is the boss. The characters in this story are very realistic for the setting because they behave in realistic ways that people would in that time. The characters in this story are stereotypical because Lennie is the big dumb guy and Curley is the small mean guy. Also Curley’s wife is the beautiful but very flirtatious, and everyone in the story is un-educated and lives in the country. Personally I like Lennie because he is funny throughout the novel because of his stupidity and the weird things that he does. Lennie and George are very important in this novel because their journey is the entire plot. Curley is also important in this novel because he changes the plot a bit and causes George and Lennie to have some troubles.
This story deals with a friendship that is tested a lot throughout the novel. This story makes me think of people during the great depression and how everyone in the story besides Lennie and George was only for themselves and wouldn’t spare a cent because they were so short on money. Also how hard people worked for such little pay back then. Another theme in the novel is dreams. Lennie and George have a dream to have their own house and farm. This is shown a lot in the ending about what happens with the dream. I also thought a lot about the ending of the novel and why George did that. I think George did that because he knew nothing good would happen to Lennie or him and that the farm was an un-realistic dream. He also knew that Lennie could hurt a lot of people thinking that he could go tend rabbits because he knew if George found out he did something bad he would hide it from George and George couldn’t help him.
I enjoyed this book because it had realistic characters. I thought the ending was sad but necessary because if the book ended that George and Lennie living happily ever after it would have been really boring and there would be no purpose to the story. The ending really makes you think after you finished the book because at first you think that George did it out of hate. When you think more deeply you can see that George did it because he loved Lennie and he didn’t want him to get hurt anymore. It also made me think that everything Lennie did could have been prevented if Lennie was supervised. This wouldn’t have been possible though because George has to do thing other then caring for Lennie. I have never been in the same situation as the characters in the story and I am very lucky for that. I have learned from this novel that the great depression was a bad time and that people worked really hard and lots of men wasted the little money the earned.
John Steinback
Drama
This story takes place in California during the great depression. The two main characters in this story are Lennie and George. Lennie was a tall male that was mentally challenged. George is a medium high male that always was very caring for Lennie. They always stayed close together during their travels. Lennie and George are on a ranch and during their time at the ranch many different characters were introduced. Curley was one character they met. Curley hated Lennie because he was tall. Curley got into a fight with Lennie and Lennie won. This sparked a lot of tension between Curley and George and Lennie. Curley also has a wife that he is very overprotective with. During the rest of the story Lennie gets in a lot of trouble with Curley’s wife resulting in Curley getting very angry.
Lennie is a very large, male that is mentally challenged. He loves things that are soft. He is very gentle but will defend himself if he needs to. George is a mid height male. He is un-sophisticated but can be kind at times. He is very generous to Lennie. Curley is a small male. He is very arrogant and dislikes people that are bigger than him. He is handy around the ranch but could also never be fired because his father is the boss. The characters in this story are very realistic for the setting because they behave in realistic ways that people would in that time. The characters in this story are stereotypical because Lennie is the big dumb guy and Curley is the small mean guy. Also Curley’s wife is the beautiful but very flirtatious, and everyone in the story is un-educated and lives in the country. Personally I like Lennie because he is funny throughout the novel because of his stupidity and the weird things that he does. Lennie and George are very important in this novel because their journey is the entire plot. Curley is also important in this novel because he changes the plot a bit and causes George and Lennie to have some troubles.
This story deals with a friendship that is tested a lot throughout the novel. This story makes me think of people during the great depression and how everyone in the story besides Lennie and George was only for themselves and wouldn’t spare a cent because they were so short on money. Also how hard people worked for such little pay back then. Another theme in the novel is dreams. Lennie and George have a dream to have their own house and farm. This is shown a lot in the ending about what happens with the dream. I also thought a lot about the ending of the novel and why George did that. I think George did that because he knew nothing good would happen to Lennie or him and that the farm was an un-realistic dream. He also knew that Lennie could hurt a lot of people thinking that he could go tend rabbits because he knew if George found out he did something bad he would hide it from George and George couldn’t help him.
I enjoyed this book because it had realistic characters. I thought the ending was sad but necessary because if the book ended that George and Lennie living happily ever after it would have been really boring and there would be no purpose to the story. The ending really makes you think after you finished the book because at first you think that George did it out of hate. When you think more deeply you can see that George did it because he loved Lennie and he didn’t want him to get hurt anymore. It also made me think that everything Lennie did could have been prevented if Lennie was supervised. This wouldn’t have been possible though because George has to do thing other then caring for Lennie. I have never been in the same situation as the characters in the story and I am very lucky for that. I have learned from this novel that the great depression was a bad time and that people worked really hard and lots of men wasted the little money the earned.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Summarizer Week 4
This week I am the summarizer again.
This chapter begins with Lennie sitting in a barn alone with his dead dog. Everyone else is outside having a horse show competition. Lennie is really afraid that George will find out that he killed it and wont let him tend the rabbits. Curley's wife find Lennie alone and talks to him. Lennie showed her the dead dog. Curley's wife invites Lennie to feel her hair and Lennie does. Lennie starts to feel it and wont stop. Curley's wife screamed and Lennie covered her mouth and nose. Curley's wife started to panic and Lennie shook her and accidently broke her neck. Lennie realized he has done 2 very bad things and ran out of the barn. Candy and George find the dead body and tell the others about it.
This chapter begins with Lennie sitting in a barn alone with his dead dog. Everyone else is outside having a horse show competition. Lennie is really afraid that George will find out that he killed it and wont let him tend the rabbits. Curley's wife find Lennie alone and talks to him. Lennie showed her the dead dog. Curley's wife invites Lennie to feel her hair and Lennie does. Lennie starts to feel it and wont stop. Curley's wife screamed and Lennie covered her mouth and nose. Curley's wife started to panic and Lennie shook her and accidently broke her neck. Lennie realized he has done 2 very bad things and ran out of the barn. Candy and George find the dead body and tell the others about it.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Characterization – Journal #3
Choose an important character
Write the following: Curley
Write a paragraph about the character and include:
--appearance.
--actions
--ideas-- what the character thinks.
--manner-- how the character acts.
--reactions of others to the characters.
Curley is a short man with a glove of Vaseline on his left. He started a fight with Lennie and Curley punched him in the eye. Lennie then broke his hand. Curley is very handy but is very mean. Curley hates big people. Curley always acts like he is the best. He thinks he is the toughest guy around. Everyone in the story hates him except for his wife and father. George and Lennie especially hate him because he started a fight with Lennie. Other people thinks he is really annoying and are tired of him thinking he is the best.
Why is s/he import ant in the novel?
He hates Lennie and starts fights will him. He is plotting revenge. He shows that Lennie is strong. He is also the boss’s son.
Would you like to be the main character? Why or why not?
No I would not like to be the main character or any character in this story. I would not like this because they are in the great depression and have no money. They are struggling to keep a job and no one treats each other properly.
Would you like the main character for a friend? Give your
reasons.
No, I would not like to have any character in the story as a friend. I would not like this because they don’t seem very nice. Lennie is the only nice one but he would be to annoying because he will always be asking for help and won’t be able to remember things.
Write the following: Curley
Write a paragraph about the character and include:
--appearance.
--actions
--ideas-- what the character thinks.
--manner-- how the character acts.
--reactions of others to the characters.
Curley is a short man with a glove of Vaseline on his left. He started a fight with Lennie and Curley punched him in the eye. Lennie then broke his hand. Curley is very handy but is very mean. Curley hates big people. Curley always acts like he is the best. He thinks he is the toughest guy around. Everyone in the story hates him except for his wife and father. George and Lennie especially hate him because he started a fight with Lennie. Other people thinks he is really annoying and are tired of him thinking he is the best.
Why is s/he import ant in the novel?
He hates Lennie and starts fights will him. He is plotting revenge. He shows that Lennie is strong. He is also the boss’s son.
Would you like to be the main character? Why or why not?
No I would not like to be the main character or any character in this story. I would not like this because they are in the great depression and have no money. They are struggling to keep a job and no one treats each other properly.
Would you like the main character for a friend? Give your
reasons.
No, I would not like to have any character in the story as a friend. I would not like this because they don’t seem very nice. Lennie is the only nice one but he would be to annoying because he will always be asking for help and won’t be able to remember things.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Vocabulary Enricher
1. "... and took down his spectacles."(68)- Spectacles- eyeglasses, esp. with pieces passing over or around the ears for holding them in place.
2. "Lennie's face wrinkled with apprehension." (72)- Apprehension- anticipation of adversity or misfortune; suspicion or fear of future trouble or evil.
3. "Candy repeated sullenly." (78)- Sullenly- showing irritation or ill humor by a gloomy silence or reserve.
4. "Candy was crestfallen." (83)- Crestfallen- dejected; dispirited; discouraged.
5. "He reached for the liniment bottle." (83)- Liniment- a liquid or semi liquid preparation for rubbing on or applying to the skin, as for sprains or bruises, usually soothing or counter irritating.
www.dictionary.com
2. "Lennie's face wrinkled with apprehension." (72)- Apprehension- anticipation of adversity or misfortune; suspicion or fear of future trouble or evil.
3. "Candy repeated sullenly." (78)- Sullenly- showing irritation or ill humor by a gloomy silence or reserve.
4. "Candy was crestfallen." (83)- Crestfallen- dejected; dispirited; discouraged.
5. "He reached for the liniment bottle." (83)- Liniment- a liquid or semi liquid preparation for rubbing on or applying to the skin, as for sprains or bruises, usually soothing or counter irritating.
www.dictionary.com
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Journal 2
1. What point of view is your story told in?
This story is told in third person.
2. Is the point of view effective?
Yes, this is effective because it shows what all the characters are like and what they are doing in different scenes. Not just what the characters personalities from someones in the stories opinion.
3. What is one of the most important/memorable events that have happened so far? Think about that moment and re-tell it from another point of view. For example, if you were reading We All Fall Down as your Literature Circles novel you may re-write from Will’s fathers Point of View(min. 300 words)
Curley’s point of view at the fighting scene.
I walked into the room tryin’ to tell Slim I didn’ mean no harm. Slim kept on sayin’ that he was sick me. I couldn’ let the other guys see him standing up to me cause then they wouldn’ be afraid of me no more. When we walked in the room Slim was still mad. People in the room join in. Carlson told me that I should let my wife hang around and that she should stay home. Someone brought up my glove full of Vaseline. At that moment I felt real weak and like no one respected me. I needed to show them something to make them fear me again. I saw that big guy on his bed. He was smiling and this made me really mad. I called him,
“Hey what the hell are you laughing at?”
I then grabbed him and punched him in the eye. He was bleeding and sayin’ he doesn’t want to fight. I kept on hitting him hope he would soon give up. Then that George guy said to Lennie:
“Lennie fight back!”
I knew that I wouldn’t stand a chance against Lennie if he tried hard. So I punched him again and hoped he would give up. Lennie then grabbed my hand. It felt as if an elephant just stepped onto my hand. I felt every single bone in my hand snap and I started to scream in pain. George was yelling at Lennie to let go and he didn’t. He yelled a few more times and Lennie eventually let go. I collapsed to the floor with my hand and crumpled sack of skin. I didn’t know if my hand could be repaired. I heard Lennie saying that he didn’t mean to hurt me. I knew I was going to get revenge once my hand if fixed.
Slim bent down next to me and said;
“If anyone asks you got your hand stuck in a machine.”
I wasn’t going to tell anyone. I was going to get back in my own way.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Week 2
Discussion
Do you think that Lennie is as dumb as George says he is?
Do you think that Lennie could be mean if he wanted to?
Do you think it was far to Candy to have his dog killed?
Do you think that Curley will tell on Lennie for breaking his hand?
Do you think George and Lennie will have a house like the one they talk about?
Do you think that Lennie is as dumb as George says he is?
Do you think that Lennie could be mean if he wanted to?
Do you think it was far to Candy to have his dog killed?
Do you think that Curley will tell on Lennie for breaking his hand?
Do you think George and Lennie will have a house like the one they talk about?
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