Transcript Of Mice and Men - fhsenglishrevise

Of Mice and Men
KS4
Connector:
Here are 2 statements. How would you
respond to them?
If I shout at you to protect you am I your friend?
Can you be friends and not friends at the
same time?
Learning Objectives
• Learn the role of George and Lennie in
society.
• Recap details on these characters.
• Understand section 2 of the novella.
BigPic
• Reading / discussion / note taking
Itinerant Workers
In the 1930s, a combination of droughts,
the depression, and the increased
mechanization of farming prompted a
migration of small farmers and labourers
from Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and
Texas to the W United States. It was
estimated that this type of permanent
migrant worker, without home, voting
privileges, or union representation,
numbered more than 3 million. John
Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is a
dramatic representation of the life of
those migrants.
Itinerant Workers
Conditions were often
bad and
Disease and ill health
common.
The Life of a Migrant Worker
• Steinbeck worked on a
ranch when he was 19, and
used his experiences in ‘Of
Mice and Men’.
• The living conditions for the
farm workers were very
poor.
• Often men travelled alone
but sometimes whole
families had to move and all
live in their car.
‘
George & Lennie
Jot down on a post it note a few words to
describe the characters of George and
then a separate one for Lennie.
George
&
Lennie
Place your post it notes on each character under and
around the characters
Reading
Section 2
Remember to take notes –
writing key quotations down
in your book.
Of Mice and Men
• Chapter 1 has a mood of optimism.
With a partner find a quotation that shows or
implies optimism.
How does the mood change in chapter 2?
Review
What do you think are the
key quotes?
Connector
• What type of workers are George and
Lennie?
• What has happened so far?
Reading
Section 3
Remember to take notes –
writing key quotations down
in your book.
“Of Mice and Men” Section 3
Death of the dog
Dream a reality?
Crushing of Curley’s hand.
“He ain’t no cuckoo.”
“He’s jes’ like a kid.”
“I wisht somebody’d shoot me if I get old an’ a
cripple.”
“I’ll put the old devil out of his misery.”
“Candy looked a long time at Slim to try to find some
reversal.”
“She ain’t concealin’ nothing.”
“Curley’s pants is just crawlin’ with ants.”
“I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.”
“Curley was flopping like a fish on a line.”
“I didn’t want no trouble.”
“He ain’t no ________.”
“He’s jes’ like a ______.”
“I wisht somebody’d _______ me if I get old an’ a ______.”
“I’ll put the old ______ out of his _______.”
“Candy looked a long time at _____ to try to find some ______.”
“She ain’t __________ nothing.”
“Curley’s _______ is just crawlin’ with ______.”
“I shouldn’t ought to of let no _______ shoot my _____.”
“Curley was _______ like a ______ on a line.”
“I didn’t want no _________.”
“____ ______ no ________.”
“He’s ______ _____ a ______.”
“I _____ _________ _______ me if I get ____ an’ a ______.”
“I’ll _____ the old ______ out of his _______.”
“______looked a ___ time at _____ to try to ___ some ______.”
“She ain’t __________ nothing.”
“Curley’s _______ is just _______ with ______.”
“I ________ _____ to of let no _______ ______ my _____.”
“______ was _______ like a ______ on a _____.”
“I ______ want no _________.”
Review
What do you think are the
key quotes?
Connector
If you had to tell someone what the most
important thing to know about Of Mice and
Men is, what would it be?
John Steinbeck
• He wrote the book ‘ Of Mice and
Men’ in 1936
• He came from Salinas, California
• Like ‘Of Mice and Men’ many of
his books deal with the lives and
problems of working people.
• Many of his characters in his
books are immigrants who went
to California looking for work or a
better life.
1930s USA
• Mass unemployment
and poverty because
of the collapse of the
New York Wall Street
stock market.
The Farmers
It was worst for the farmers in the country.
On top of the economic crisis, a series of droughts had
ruined the crops and dried up the soil so the farmers
were driven off their farms because of lack of money.
These droughts mainly affected the mid-West – Oklahoma
and Arkansas – also known as the ‘Dust Bowl’
‘The Great
Dust Storm’
Where did they go?
• They headed west to California where the soil
was good and there was supposed to be plenty
of room.
• America has always been seen as the
Land of Opportunity, partly because
immigrants from Europe saw it as a place
of freedom, a place to begin a new life, a
place for real possibilities and wealth for
all.
• This belief in America as a country where
ordinary people could create a better life
for themselves is often referred to as ….
The American Dream!
The American Dream
• ‘The American Dream’ has been a concept
since the 17th century. Immigrants
dreamed of a better life in America. They
dreamed of making their fortunes in the
goldfields.
• For many the dream became a nightmare.
• The Wall Street Crash was the start of the
Great Depression.
The Dream survived
For many people the dream survived.
Thousands left the mid-West and made their
way west to California just like the characters
George and Lennie in ‘Of Mice and Men’.
They hung on to the dream that one day they
would earn enough money to buy a little
house.
Reading
Section 4
Remember to take notes –
writing key quotations down
in your book.
Review
What do you think are the
key quotes?
Connector
List all of the characters
you can remember
from the text.
Reading
Section 5
Remember to take notes –
writing key quotations down
in your book.
Review
What do you think are the
key quotes?
Connector
Predict how the book will
end
Reading
Section 6
Remember to take notes –
writing key quotations down
in your book.
Review
What do you think are the
key quotes?
Review
Is this murder?
Of Mice and Men
Characteristic
L/G?
Evidence
Characteristic
Likes soft things
Protective
Takes control
Strong leader
The carer
Clumsy
Tough & sensitive
Rude
Itinerant worker
Animal like
Dominant
Small
Copies
Child like
Forgetful
Snappy
Good worker
Not very bright
L/G? Evidence
We have done a lot of work on
George and Lennie.
Make a spider diagram for each and around
it, put key quotes from the text that link to
the characters
GEORGE
LENNIE
Extract from…
To a Mouse
On turning up her nest with a plough
But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
But Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' mice
an‘men
The best laid schemes of mice and
men
Gang aft agley,
Go often askew,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an‘
pain,
And leaves us nothing but grief and
pain,
For promis'd joy!
For promised joy!
Robert Burns, 1785
How does this link with the novel?
What is the significance of the title?
1.
2.
3.
The ‘best laid plans’ or dreams of
the characters show us the harsh
reality of 1930’s California….
What does each character dream of?
Of Mice and Men
• In your book draw and label Lennie and
George’s dream.
What are the dreams of the
following characters • Curley’s wife – p.124
• Crooks – p.105
• Candy – p.88
Why?
LONELINESS
Key quotes to show loneliness?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Why does George kill Lennie?
•
•
•
The Ranch
• Look at the names of the inhabitants of the
ranch.
• Do they mean anything?
• What about ‘Soledad’ and ‘Weed’?
Soledad means loneliness and a weed is a
plant that nobody wants.
Of Mice and Men
Least
Explain your
reasons
Most
Look at these characters. How would you rank
them in status and power?
Key quote to show the hierarchy on
the ranch?
“they left all the weak
ones here”
Slim
• Look at the description of Slim on page
55/56. What are the key words used to
describe him?
• Slim is there for key events: Candy’s dog,
the killing of Lennie, Curley’s hand, etc.
• Why? What role does he play?
Slim
What do Slim and George
have in common?
At the bottom of this hierarchy is…
CROOKS
Key quotes - Crooks
• ‘The negro stable buck’ p.98
• ‘The door opened quietly and the stable
buck put in his head; a lean negro head,
lined with pain, the eye patient’ p.77
• ‘Crooks was a proud, aloof man’ p. 99
• ‘he had accumulated more possessions
than he could carry’ p. 98
• ‘Crooks seemed to come slowly out of the
layers of protection he had put on’ p. 115
What crooks says
• ‘I ain’t wanted in the bunk house. And you
ain’t wanted in my room’ p.100
• ‘They say I stink’ p.100
• ‘Yes Ma’am’ p.113
• ‘I’d come an’ lend a hand’ p.109
• ‘You won’t get no land’ p.108
• ‘Hell, I seen too many guys’ p.108
From 1776 American constitution:
“all men are created
equal”
Is this true in the novel?
Why do you think John Steinbeck
included racism in the novel?
• To show the mindset (way of thinking) at
the time.
• Prove the American Dream is
unobtainable.
• To show the injustices of society.
• DO YOU THINK HE AGREED WITH IT??
NO!
This can be seen in the novel –
• Crooks is permanent on the ranch.
• He is educated, he reads. Not all black
men are the same stereotype.
• He doesn’t believe in the ‘American
Dream’.
• Lennie cannot comprehend racism.
• In some ways, Crooks represents JS’s
message in the novel
Racism
Lynchings
• Lynching is extrajudicial punishment carried out by a
mob, usually by hanging in order to intimidate, control, or
otherwise manipulate a population of people, however
large or small. It is related to other means of social
control that arise in communities.
• Lynchings were more frequent in times of social and
economic tension, and often were means by the
politically dominant population to oppress social
challenges.
• Violence in the United States against African Americans,
especially in the South, rose in the aftermath of the
American Civil War, after slavery had been abolished
and recently freed black men were given the right to
vote.
Who could be lynched?
Crooks
or
Lennie
Why is Crooks such a realist?
• Does he believe in the American Dream?
• How do you know?
• Do you feel sorry for Crooks?
Curley’s
Wife
Curley’s wife
Find three descriptions of her.
Why doesn’t she have a name?
Look at section 5 and as you read think
about the choice of language and how it
contributes to build mood and atmosphere
• Section 5
• ‘Lennie sat in the barn
and looked at the little
dead puppy …’
• ‘Lennie began to cry …
tend no rabbits.’
• Foreshadowing.
Symbolic.
Uncontrolled power.
• He panics. Doesn’t
know own strength.
Foreshadowing
• Foreshadowing is a device that Steinbeck uses to
create tension and build atmosphere – it casts a dark
shadow over events and people.
• The killing of Candy's old dog is the ending of a hard
life and foreshadows the death of Lennie. At the same
time, the killing of the dog represents the end of a
relationship that made life worth living and provided
hope. This, too, foreshadows Lennie's death.
• The death of the mouse in the first chapter
foreshadows the later death of the pup and the death of
Curley's wife. When Curley's wife suggests that Lennie
stroke her hair, we know she, too, is doomed.
•
Curley's Wife
• Most of the ranch hands except for Slim brand Curley's wife as
a 'tart'. In fact, she is portrayed as such whenever she appears,
obviously playing up to and teasing the men.
• She is cruel to Crooks, Candy and Lennie in Crooks' room, and
later on she tempts Lennie, letting him stroke her hair in the
barn, and kneeling beside him in the hay in a provocative way.
• She is lonely. She says so several times, and that is to be
expected since she is stuck on a ranch with men who dislike
her and rarely talk to her.
• George immediately realises that she means trouble when she
first turns up in the bunkhouse, she does make her new
husband to be fiercely jealous.
Curley's Wife
• She walks around the ranch, dressed inappropriately – RED is a
key colour and seductively and remember that she has only been
married a couple of weeks. She admits to Lennie that she doesn't
like her husband and regrets marrying him. She seems to be of
limited intelligence, as she was taken in by other men's promises
of film parts.
• It is partly her desire to be petted and admired which leads her to
allow Lennie to stroke her hair, which in turn leads to her death
at Lennie's hands.
• She is only ever known as 'Curley's wife' she is a possession of
Curley's rather than a human being. She is linked with the colour
red - a symbol of sex and a colour that would enrage a 'bull' like
as Lennie. When she dies she is free and all the meanness and
planning are gone from her face.
HANDS
How many links to ‘hands’ can you
recall from the novel?
•
•
•
•
Metonym
When part is named but stands for
the whole thing.
Eg. She is the brain of the operation.
My children are my eyes.
They are just the hands.