Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

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Of Mice and Menby John Steinbeck
the writeris charged with exposing our many
grievous faults and failures, with dredging up to
the light our dark and dangerous dreams for the
purpose of improvement.' Nobel Prize Speech
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Of Mice Men

• Linking characters and settings with themes is a
  central part of exam preparation. For each image
  below, discuss how it is relevant to the story.

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Of Mice Men

• Steinbeck named his novel from a phrase in a
  poem by Scots poet, Robert Burns. In the poem, a
  ploughman accidentally wrecks a mouse nest and
  seeing the mouse frightened and looking lost,
  cradles it and speaks to it, realising that with
  winter around the corner, it will be too late for
  the mouse to create another shelter in time
• The best laid schemes o mice and men
• Gang aft agley
• And leave us nought but grief and pain
• For promised joy!
• From To a Mouse by late 18C Scots poet, Robert
  Burns

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Mice Men...

• The title could be seen as a kind of metaphor for
  something small and vulnerable pitted against
  something large and powerful. Discuss these ideas
  in relation to the story
• The powerless against the powerful
• The individual against society
• Fate and destiny
• Reality vs. hopes, wishes and dreams

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...Mice Men

• What part do Lennies mice, rabbits and the puppy
  in the story?
• They are a literary device called a symbol or
  motif. They work to represent Lennie's need for
  comfort and suggest his vulnerability when faced
  with what can be a frightening and confusing
  world. Readers can relate to this motif as we all
  have feelings like this at times.
• But think about this. What we treat as a 'pet' is
  really a creature, born free. We use such
  creatures for our own ends our own comfort. We
  as the more powerful exert control over the weak.
  We view the natural world as if it were there for
  our own use.
• In Steinbecks story, the powerful use and
  exploit the less powerful the Boss and the
  workers the strong workers and the weaker
  workers Curley and Curleys Wife, Crooks,
  Candy... .
• Discuss the idea of power and society's
  hierarchies.

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Of Mice Men Themes

• Steinbeck was a man with a disturbed conscience.
  He felt that life was wrong for some people in
  society. It seemed to him that these people were
  being ill-prepared for the kind of life rural
  America offered. This is the land of the
  American Dream, after all. He desired change.
  His story, then, can best be analysed and
  discussed successfully if it is seen objectively
  as a piece of persuasive writing. Its a very
  clever and effective kind of persuasion which we
  call a novel but its persuasion nonetheless.
  Here are some of the aspects of society that
  pricked Steinbecks conscience and which gave
  rise to Of Mice and Men.
• For each one, how does Steinbeck try to persuade
  us to see things his way?

• The outsider, loneliness and the need for
  friendship
• Power
• Violence brutality
• Wealth poverty
• Self-determination
• Hopes, wishes and dreams
• Men and women
• Prejudice
• Society

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Of Mice and Men Dreams
"'Well,' said George, 'we'll have a big vegetable
patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when
it rains in the winter, we'll just say the hell
with goin' to work, and we'll build up a fire in
the stove and set around it an' listen to the
rain comin' down on the roof...'"
Why does Steinbeck have these characters relate
their 'dreams'?

• George
• ...live off the fatta the lan. The American
  Dream is the ability to pursue your goals
  through hard work and free choice'
  WikipediaThis is a dream built on the idea of a
  meritocracy all have equal opportunities and
  if you work hard, you will achieve success.
  Discuss this idea in class.
• And think of this to fulfil his dream, whose
  dream was going to be shattered? Who was George
  planning to buy the ranch from and why was it
  such a bargain?

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Of Mice Men Dreams...

• Curleys Wife
• ...He says he was gonna put me in the movies.
  Says I was a natural.
• Do we ever see Curleys wife when she is not
  acting is she a natural in what way? Why
  does Steinbeck present her in this way?
• Now discuss the following characters and why
  Steinbeck has them dreaming of a better future.
• Curley
• ...He done quite a bit in the ring. Hes a
  lightweight, and hes handy.
• Crooks
• If you... guys would want a hand to work for
  nothing just his keep, why Id come an lend a
  hand. I aint so crippled I cant work like a
  son-of-a-bitch if I want to.
• Candy
• Theyll can me purty soon. Jus as soon as I
  cant swamp out no bunk-houses theyll put me on
  the county. Maybe if I give you guys my money,
  youll let me hoe in the garden ...an Ill be
  let to work on our own place...
• The Ranch Workers
• 'I read your mag for six years and I think its
  the best on the market. I like stories by Peter
  Rand. I think he is a whing-ding. Give us more
  like the Dark Rider.

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Of Mice Men LonelinessGuys like us, that
work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the
world Lennie broke in. But not us! And why?
Because because I got you to look after me, and
you got me to look after you, and that's why.

• Think about loneliness. The chances are you have
  felt lonely at some point but have you ever
  been genuinely lonely?
• How does Steinbeck use the idea of loneliness in
  the following characters lives? How do the
  methods he uses work on his readers?
• Candy
• Crooks
• Curleys Wife?

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Of Mice Men PowerCan you imagine a society
with power acting horizontally rather than
vertically you go to doctor for help with your
health to a teacher for help with your studies
to a lawyer because you need help with an aspect
of law Discuss why we seem to need to construct
our society vertically so that we see people
whose job is to help us in a power relationship?
Could it be otherwise? Think about the power
hierarchy Steinbeck presents in Of Mice and
Men most especially discuss the role of Slim.

• The Boss
• Curley
• Slim
• Carlson
• George
• Curley's Wife
• Candy
• Lennie
• Crooks

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Of Mice and Men -isms
How does Steinbeck explore aspects of ageism,
sexism and racism through the following
characters? What would you do if you were
president to support those in need?

• Candy
• Crooks
• George
• Lennie
• Curley's Wife

Why does such prejudice exist what role does it
perform?
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Of Mice Men Characters

• Never forget that characters in stories are
  fictional creations. They are being used by the
  author to persuade the reader to see society in a
  certain way the authors way. How does
  Steinbeck use characterisation in this story,
  i.e. how does he use language to create
  characters who seem emotional and real and who
  affect us emotionally, too?
• He seems to have a knack of creating a vivid
  character sketch through just a few choice
  adjectives or descriptions of action a kind of
  snapshot. Find snapshot descriptions for the
  main characters and learn these for your exam as
  potential quotations.
• Steinbeck uses everyday speech incorporating
  dialect words, slang and swearing but it is the
  reader who judges and decides what kind of
  character this suggests. Are we guilty of
  stereotyping, too?
• Steinbeck gives Candy, Crooks, George and
  Curley's wife individual speeches in which they
  let us into their innermost thoughts. How does
  this contrast or support the image we already
  have of them from other dialogue and description?
  

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Of Mice Men George

• small and quick
• a smart little guy
• sharp, strong features
• restless
• George seems altruistic thinking of others
  rather than himself but does he also need and
  use Lennie in any selfish way? What is Steinbeck
  suggesting by their relationship?
• George often loses his temper with Lennie. What
  might this suggest and what is Steinbecks
  purpose?

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Of Mice Men Lennie

• a huge man, shapeless of face with large, pale
  eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders. He walked
  heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a
  bear drags his paws.'
• a nice fella... he aint mean
• Lacks intelligence and education
• Entirely dependent on others.
• Vulnerable yet potentially dangerous
• Youre nuts,... But you're a kinda nice fella.
  Jus like a big baby.

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Of Mice Men The Boss

• ...hes a pretty nice fellow. Gets pretty mad
  sometimes, but hes pretty nice. Tell ya what...
  Brang a gallon of whisky right in here and says,
  Drink hearty boys. Christmas comes but once a
  year.
• The boss turned to George. Then why dont you
  let him answer? What you trying to put over?...
  Say, what you sellin?
• ...But dont try to put nothing over, causeyou
  cant get away with nothing.

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Of Mice Men Curley

• a thin young man with a brown face, with brown
  eyes and a head of tightly curled hair.
• Compare Curleys appearance with that of Crooks.
  Why might Steinbeck have focused on Curleys hair
  type, eyes and skin colour?
• pants is just crawlin with ants
• alla time picking scraps with big guys
• He aint a nice fella.
• This is full of irony. Just what might Curleys
  wife really be trying to say?

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Of Mice Men Slim

• the prince of the ranch.
• has understanding beyond thought.
• Try this. Think of the characters in this novel
  as being more or less evolved in Darwins
  terms. Steinbeck was trained as a biologist and
  was fascinated by the individual and by human
  society and the still fairly new and developing
  ideas of evolution were fascinating to him. One
  of the main attributes that separates us from the
  animals is our memory. It gives us the ability to
  reflect and act thoughtfully rather than acting
  purely out of thoughtless instinct. Steinbeck
  uses many animal metaphors in his story perhaps
  he wondered just how evolved some of us were
  even the powerful and successful among us!
• Work through each character and place each on an
  evolutionary scale of your own according to how
  much their thoughts and actions show evidence of
  reflection or instinctiveness. Lennie, naturally,
  will come at the bottom but he has reason for
  this, of course! Slim will come at the top Think
  of why Steinbeck might have done this. What is he
  saying about society?
• And think about this is Slim the one true
  natural in the story? Free from the kind of
  peer pressure that leads others to act out
  roles to impress others?

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Of Mice Men Candy

• a tall, stoop-shouldered old man
• Needs the comfort of his pet dog compare
  Lennies need for mice.
• on'y one hand.
• frightened

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Of Mice Men Carlson

• powerful
• big-stomached
• an ard man

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Of Mice Men Crooks

• Nice fella...
• his eyes lay deep in his head, and because of
  their depth seemed to glitter with intensity
• he had thin, pain-tightened lips which were
  lighter than his face.
• The boss gives him hell when hes mad.
• He reads a lot. Got books in his room.'
• nobody gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land

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Curleys Wife

• Her face was heavily made up. Her lips were
  slightly parted.
• her voice had a nasal, brittle quality
• I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful
  lonely.
• Listen, Nigger, she said. You know what I can
  do to you if you open your trap?

'Curley's wife lay with a half-covering of yellow
hay. And the meanness and the plannings and the
discontent and the ache for attention were all
gone from her face. She was pretty and simple,
and her face was sweet and young. Now her rouged
cheeks and her reddened lips made her seem alive
and sleeping very lightly.'
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Of Mice Men Form

• Steinbeck uses three important narrative devices
  (i.e. literary ways to make the story more
  effective)
• A narrator created in a way that makes him seem
  entirely authentic and authoritative, yet warm
  and trustworthy. A highly persuasive narrative
  device indeed!
• A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River
  drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep
  and green. The water is warm too, for it has
  slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the
  sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one
  side of the river the golden foothill slopes
  curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan
  Mountains, but on the valley side the water is
  lined with trees
• The bunk house was a long, rectangular building.
  Inside, the walls were whitewashed and the floor
  unpainted. In three walls there were small,
  square windows, and in the fourth, a solid door
  with a wooden latch. Against the walls were eight
  bunks, five of them made up with blankets and the
  other three showing their burlap ticking. Over
  each bunk there was nailed an apple box
• A use of highly focused description with an
  intensity at times that its images almost 'etch'
  themselves into the mind
• Authentic-seeming dialogue that uses dialect
  spellings down-to-earth and convincing.

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Of Mice Men Structure

• Divided into six separate sections with a
  circular plot starting and ending in the same
  place.
• Each section (there are no chapters in the
  original story) is like a scene in a play adding
  to and developing the plot but also deepening the
  readers appreciation of the themes in persuasive
  ways.
• A chronological plot with no use of devices such
  as flashbacks. All the events occur over a few
  days.

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Of Mice Men Foreshadowing

• Foreshadowing hints at what is to come and subtly
  creates tension
• Lennie's killing of mice
• The death of the dog
• The fight with Curley and the obvious strength of
  Lennie when provoked
• The death in the barn of the puppy
• Lennie's voiced fears, always ignored by George
  I dont like this place, George. This ain't no
  good place. I wanna get outa here.
• Can you think of more and show how Steinbeck
  creates effects from this narrative device?

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Of Mice Men the Exam Answer

• Create your answer in the form of an argument,
  opening it with a super-compressed overall
  answer to the question which you then go on to
  elaborate, discuss and support.
• Always be sure to tackle each bullet point in the
  question
• Try this with this past question
• Qu. How far do you think Steinbeck presents
  dreams as futile in 'Of Mice and Men'? Write
  about
• the dreams the characters have
• the effects of the dreams on the characters
• the extent to which Steinbeck presents the dreams
  as futile.
• What argument could you formulate and express
  as a single condensed sentence that you could
  write in the opening paragraph to show the
  examiner your opinion of this question?
• Think up six points written as a paragraph each
  could you write to support such an argument?
• Find a quotation that would support each one.
• Analyse the language and style of each quotation
  to show its effects, the methods used and the
  purpose intended. Try to discuss the purpose in a
  two-fold way discuss the local purpose to the
  development of some aspect of the plot and then
  link it to some overall aim of the novel.

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Of Mice Men - creating an argument style
exam answer

• For each question below, develop a single
  sentence in which you give a highly condensed
  overall answer (one you could follow up with
  five or six points, each developed into its own
  paragraph with a quotation and explanation and
  analysis of language/literary style for each).
• Qu. How does Steinbeck present loneliness and
  isolation in the novel?
• Write about characters who are lonely and
  isolated, why they are lonely and isolated, how
  Steinbeck's settings reflect characters'
  loneliness and isolation.
• Qu. How does Steinbeck prepare you for the idea
  that Curley's wife's death is inevitable?