Week 5

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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?

First Journal Respnse

1. The setting in the story is in the country during the 1930's. It is on a farm and there is a lake near by.
2. The characters that are in the story so far are: George, Lennie, Slim, Curley, The Boss and Curley's wife. There is a major conflict between Lennie, George and Curley. Curley hates big people and wants to have a fight with Lennie. Lennie has done nothing and George is standing up for Lennie.
3. These are quotes from the novel to discribe Lennie, George, and Curley.
Lennie: "He ain't bright, but he is a damn good worker, strong as a bull.
George: "Don't say a word. If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are we wont get the job."
Curley: "wont ever get canned because his dads the boss. He hates big guys."

Literature Circles- Week 1 Feburary 3rd.

This week I am the summarizer.

The first and second chapter in the story Lennie and George go to work at a farm. Lennie is a mentally disabled man that travels with George. When George and Lennie get to the farm they meet a guy named Curley. Curley is a little guy that hates people bigger than him. He tries to pick a fight with Lennie but Lennie doesn't want to fight. George warns Lennie to stay away from him. Curley is the bosses son and just got married to a beautiful but flirtatious wife.

About the Author

John Ernst Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, on February 27, 1902. Originally an English major, he pursued a program of independent study. John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 “...for his realistic as well as imaginative writings, distinguished by a sympathetic humor and a keen social perception.” John Steinbeck remained a private person who shunned publicity. He died December 20, 1968, in New York City.
http://www.steinbeck.org/Bio.htmlv

Reviews

Here are 2 reviews of the book:
John Steinbeck’s classic novel, Of Mice and Men, is one of three novels he wrote exploring the California agricultural labor phenomenon of the 1930s (the other two were The Grapes of Wrath and In Dubious Battle). In this novel, Steinbeck focuses on the friendship between two men - George and Lennie - and their shared dream of owning land and a home of their own. The story is simple and occurs over the span of three short days on a Salinas Valley ranch where the two men have found work as farm hands. Thematically, Steinbeck explores the idea of dreams and how plans may go awry through forces beyond one’s control. Given the time in which the novel was written, his handling of the mentally handicapped Lennie is tender and compassionate. Steinbeck describes setting beautifully, and wraps it around the characters whose personalities emerge through their dialogue and relationships with each other. There is enough foreshadowing to predict the novel’s tragic end.

Of Mice and Men is a short novel that is packed. Steinbeck was able to pack lifetimes of emotions and meanings into this book. There is the dream theme - most of the characters have a dream and hope of some sort. George dreams of a farm of his own. Lenny dreams of caring for rabbits. The one handed worker dreams of a brighter future. The stable negro dreams of a place where he can feel free. The bride dreams of Hollywood and the movies. The son dreams of being the best of the men, stronger than any of them, above them all.

There is the theme of Lenny's handicap and how the others around him react to him. Most of them have some handicap or other, some of them hidden below the surface. Steinbeck subtly shows how each person deals with his own and with other's handicaps. A broken soul can be as much of a handicap as a missing hand.

I re-read this book with my book club. As we discussed the book, I heard at least ten different ideas and themes. Each of those then sparked more discussion, bringing out more discussion of the characters, Steinbeck's writing, and his ideas.

This book review cannot begin to touch everything that is contained in less than a hundred pages. Each time I read it I find something new. This time I was struck by the beautiful, idyllic beginning paragraphs. The sereness is a contrast to the poignant story that follows. Did you have to read Of Mice and Men in high school and/or in a college course? You discussed it to death, didn't you? Read it again - you'll discover something new you hadn't seen or discussed before.