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.