PowerPoint-presentasjon

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Powerpoint presentation Marianne
Østensen Pedagogisk senter/Kristiansand kommune
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John Steinbeck

• Was born on February 27th 1902 in Salinas Valley
  in the state of California in the USA
• Died on December 20th 1968 in New York
• Was a famous writer

U.S. Postage stamp
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The Nobel Prize for Literature

• In 1962 the Swedish Academy awarded John
  Steinbeck the Nobel Prize for Literature, the
  highest honour a writer can receive
• The prize was presented for the body of his work
• The prize was met with outcries from critics who
  felt that Steinbeck had limited talent and was a
  writer of propaganda
• Privately, he felt he did not deserve the honour
• Although the prize gave Steinbeck a place of
  great honour in the literary world, it also put
  terrible pressure on his future writing

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The United States Medal of Freedom

• The medal is the highest civilian award for
  distinguished Americans
• In September of 1964, John Steinbeck was awarded
  the United States Medal of Freedom by President
  Lyndon B. Johnson

Steinbeck with his son, visits President Lyndon
B. Johnson in the Oval Office of the White House
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The California Novels

• The Pastures of Heaven
• The Red Pony
• To A God Unknown
• Tortilla Flat
• In Dubious Battle
• Of Mice And Men (1937)
• The Long Valley
• The Grapes Of Wrath
• Cannery Row
• East Of Eden
• Sweet Thursday

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Stage Play
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Of Mice and Men

• was published in 1937
• was a popular and critical success
• was selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club
• Steinbeck produced a play version of the book
  with famous playwright George Kaufman
• The play won the New York Drama Critic Circles
  Award and also became a popular film

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Place of Action

• Place of action is in the state of California
• We remember that Steinbeck himself was born in
  Salinas
• Soledad is a coastal California city about 130
  miles south of San Francisco

Place of action
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The American Dream The Great Depression

• From the 17th Century, when the first settlers
  arrived, immigrants dreamed of a better life in
  America.
• People went there to escape from persecution or
  poverty, and to make a new life for themselves or
  their families.
• They dreamed of making their fortunes in the
  goldfields.
• For many the dream became a nightmare.
• The horrors of slavery, of the American Civil
  War, the growth of towns with slums as bad as
  those in Europe, and the corruption of the
  American political system led to many shattered
  hopes.
• For the American society as a whole the dream
  ended with the Wall Street crash of 1929.
• This was the start of the Great Depression that
  would affect the whole world during the 1930s.
• However the dream survived for individuals.
  Thousands made their way west to California to
  escape from their farmlands in the mid-West.
• George and Lennie dreamt of their 'little house
  and a couple of acres'.
• The growing popularity of cinema was the last
  American Dream for many, Curley's wife was one
  'Coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes.'

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Migrant Farm Workers

• During the 1930s, when there was very bad
  unemployment in the United States, agencies were
  set up under the New Deal to send farm-workers to
  where they were needed. George and Lennie got
  their work cards from Murray and Ready's, one of
  these agencies.

Farm workers getting work cards under a
Government Scheme
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Why Of Mice and Men?

• The title of the novel comes from a poem by the
  Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759 - 96)
• The best laid schemes o' mice and menGang aft
  agley often go wrongAnd leave us nought but
  grief and painFor promised joy!

www.englishresouces.co.uk
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Director and Actor

• Gary Sinise plays George, and also directed the
  film.
• "I walked in this kid with open eyes, and walked
  out with very wet eyes..." Gary Sinise

Gary Sinise
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Synopsis (sammendrag)

• John Steinbeck's classic story of loyalty and
  friendship focuses on two travelling farm
  workers, George and Lennie. George has taken on
  responsibility for the mildly retarded Lennie,
  who constantly seems to fall into trouble of one
  sort or another. 
• George and Lennie don't plan to travel forever -
  someday, they will have a little place of their
  own...

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John Malkovich as the mildly mentally retarded
Lennie
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• Lennie loves to touch soft things.

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Lennie and Curleys wife
Sherilyn Fenn
John Malkowich
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Characters
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George Milton

• He is a small man, but has brains and a quick
  wit.
• He has been a good friend to Lennie, ever since
  he promised Lennie's Aunt Clara that he would
  care for him. He looks after all Lennie's
  affairs, such as carrying his work card, and
  tries to steer him out of potential trouble.
• He needs Lennie as a friend, not only because
  Lennie's strength helps to get them both jobs,
  but so as not to be lonely. His threats to leave
  Lennie are not really serious. He is genuinely
  proud of Lennie.
• He shares a dream with Lennie to own a piece of
  land and is prepared to work hard to build up the
  money needed to buy it.
• "...with us it ain't like that. We got a future.
  We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn
  about us. We don't have to sit in no bar room
  blowin' in our jack 'jus because we got no place
  else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they
  can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not
  us."
• He is honest with people he trusts. For example,
  he tells Slim that he used to play tricks on
  Lennie when they were young, but now feels guilty
  about it as Lennie nearly drowned.

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• He is a big man, in contrast to his name.
• He has limited intelligence, so he relies on
  George to look after him.
• "Behind him(George)walked his opposite, a huge
  man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes,
  with wide, sloping shoulders and he walked
  heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a
  bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at
  his sides, but hung loosely."
• He shares a dream with George to own a piece of
  land. Lennie's special job would be to tend the
  rabbits
• He likes to pet soft things, like puppies and
  dead mice. We know this got him into trouble in
  Weed when he tried to feel a girl's soft red
  dress she thought he was going to attack her.
• He can be forgetful - George continually has to
  remind him about important things.
• He is very gentle and kind, and would never harm
  anyone or anything deliberately.
• He is extremely strong he can work as well as
  two men at bucking barley.
• He is often described as a child or an animal -
  he drinks from the pool like a horse and his huge
  hands are described as paws.

Lennie Small
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• Slim is the jerkline skinner (lead mule-team
  driver) at the ranch. He is excellent at his job.
  
• He is the natural leader at the ranch. Everyone
  respects his views and looks up to him.
• He has a quiet dignity he doesn't need to assert
  himself to have authority.
• "there was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so
  profound that all talk stopped when he spoke. His
  authority was so great that his word was taken on
  any subject, be it politics or love."
• He understands the relationship between George
  and Lennie. He helps George at the end and
  reassures George that he did the right thing.
• We know little else about him, which gives him a
  slightly mysterious quality. Do you think he is
  too good to be true?

Slim
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Curley

• Curley is the boss's son, so he doesn't need to
  work like the ordinary ranch hands, and he has
  time to kill.
• He's little - so he hates big guys.
• He is a prize-fighter and looks for opportunities
  for a fight.
• He is newly- married and is very possessive of
  his wife - but he still visits brothels.
• There is a rumour that he wears a glove filled
  with Vaseline to keep his hand soft for his wife.
  

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• She is newly married to Curley.
• We never know her name - she is merely Curley's
  'property' with no individual identity.
• She is young, pretty, wears attractive clothes
  and curls her hair.
• She seems flirtatious and is always hanging
  around the bunk-house.
• She is lonely - there are no other women to talk
  to. Curley is not really interested in her.
• She doesn't like Curley - she tells Lennie that
  she only married him when she didn't receive a
  letter she'd been promised to get into Hollywood.
  
• She is naive.

Curleys wife
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Crooks

• Crooks is the black stable hand or buck.
• He is the only permanent employee at the ranch,
  since he injured his back in an accident.
• He is the only black man around and is isolated
  by his colour.
• He is always called the 'nigger' by the men,
  which shows how racism is taken for granted. The
  men don't mean to insult Crooks every time they
  call him this, but they never think to use his
  name.
• He is lonely.
• "S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you
  couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy
  'cause you were black...A guy needs somebody-to
  be near him....I tell ya a guy gets too lonely
  an' he gets sick."
• The only time he mixes with the ranch hands
  socially is when they pitch horseshoes - and then
  he beats everyone!
• He has his own room near the stables. He has
  books, which show he is intelligent and an old
  copy of the California Civil Code, which suggests
  he is concerned about his rights.
• He has seen many men come and go, all dreaming of
  buying a piece of land.

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Candy

• Candy is the oldest ranch hand. He lost his right
  hand in an accident at work.
• He is the 'swamper' - the man who cleans the
  bunkhouse. He knows he will be thrown out and put
  'on the county' when he is too old to work.
• Because of this, he accepts what goes on and
  doesn't challenge anything he can't afford to
  lose his job.
• He has a very old dog, which he has had from a
  pup. It is his only friend and companion.
• Carlson insists on shooting the dog because he
  claims it is too old and ill to be of any use.
  Candy is devastated.
• He is lonely and isolated, but makes friends with
  George and Lennie and offers his compensation
  money to help them all to buy a ranch together
  and achieve their dream.
• When he finds Curley's wife dead, he is furious,
  as he knows instantly that Lennie was involved
  and that they have lost their chance of achieving
  their dream.

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The Themes of the Novel

• The novel is a parable (lignelse) that tries to
  explain what it means to be human
• Essentially, man is a very small part of a very
  large universe
• In the greater scheme of things, individuals come
  and go and leave very little, lasting mark
• Yet deep inside all people are longing for a
  place in nature the desire for the land, roots,
  and a place to call home
• The struggle for such a place is universal, and
  its success is uncertain

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Steinbecks vision of what it means to be human,
touches on several themes

1. The nature of dreams
2. The nature of loneliness
3. Mans propensity (hang, tilbøyelighet) for
   cruelty
4. Powerlessness and economic injustices
5. The uncertainty of the future

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The Nature of Dreams

• Of Mice and Men is as much a story about the
  nature of human dreams and aspirations as it is
  the story of two men
• Humans give meaning to their lives and to their
  futures by creating dreams
• Without dreams and goals, life is an endless
  stream of days that have little connection or
  meaning
• George and Lennies dream is to own a little farm
  of their own
• The telling of the story (dream) becomes a ritual
  between the two men

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The Last Telling of the Story...

• ...We gonna get a little place, George began.
  He reached in his side pocket and brought out
  Carlsons Luger. He snapped off the the safety,
  and the hand and gun lay on the ground behind
  Lennies back. He looked at the back of Lennies
  head, at the place where the spine and the skull
  were joined.
• A mans voice called from up the river, and
  another man answered.
• Go on, said Lennie.
• George raised his gun and his hand shook, and
  he dropped his hand to the ground again.
• Go on, said Lennie. Hows it gonna be. We
  gonna get a little place.
• Well have a cow, said George. And well
  have maybe a pig and chickens...and down the flat
  well have a...little piece of alfalfa...
• For the rabbits, Lennie shouted.
• For the rabbits, George repeated.
• And I get to tend the rabbits.
• And you get to tend the rabbits.
• Lennie giggled with happiness. And live on the
  fat of the land.

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The Nature of Dreams...

• To George, his dream of having their own place
  means independence, security, being his own boss,
  and, most importantly, being somebody
• To Lennie, the dream is like the soft animals he
  pets it means security, the responsibility of
  tending the rabbits, and a sanctuary
  (tilfluktssted) where he wont be afraid
• To Candy, the dream of the farm offers security
  for old age and a home where he will fit in
• For Crooks, the farm will be a place where he can
  have self-respect, acceptance, and security
• For George, Lennie, Candy, and Crookshuman
  dignity is an integral (vesentlig) part of the
  dream

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Loneliness

• Humans crave contact with others to give life
  meaning
• Loneliness is present throughout the novel
• - the ranch hands go into town to ease their
  loneliness with alcohol and women
• - Lennie goes into Crookss room to find
  someone to talk to
• - Curleys wife comes for the same reason
• Crooks says A guy goes nuts if he aint got
  nobody. Dont make no difference who the guy is,
  longs hes with you.
• Slim mentions I seen the guys that go around on
  the ranches alone. That aint no good. They dont
  have no fun. After a long time they get mean.

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Loneliness...

• Georges taking care of Lennie and the dream of
  the farm are the attempts to break the pattern of
  loneliness that is part of the human condition
• Similarily, Lennies desire to pet soft things
  comes from the need to feel safe and secure, to
  touch something that gives him that feeling of
  not being alone in the world. For Lennie, the
  dream of the farm parallels that security
• The theme of loneliness is also notably present
  in the characters of Candy, Crooks, and Curleys
  wife. How?

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Loneliness...

• Candy Candys dog stopped Candy from being
  lonely
• Curleys wife Her husband has forbidden anyone
  to talk to her. She combats her loneliness by
  flirting with the ranch hands
• Crooks Crooks is isolated because of his skin
  colour. As the only black man on the ranch, he is
  not allowed into the bunkhouse with the others.
  He combats (kjemper mot) his loneliness with
  books and his work.

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Loneliness...

• Solidade The name of the town means solitude
  or alone

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Barriers

• Despite the need for companionship, people set up
  barriers that maintain loneliness
• People sustain (opprettholder) those barriers by
  being inhumane to each other

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Barriers...

• A barrier based on gender The real thing that
  isolates Curleys wife is that she is a female in
  an all-male world
• A barrier based on race Crooks being an
  Afro-American must occupy a room in the stable
  alone. He is not welcome in the bunkhouse
• A barrier based on age and handicap Candy is
  afraid of being thrown out because of his age and
  handicap. He is a victim of a society that does
  not value age and discriminates against
  handicaps.

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Powerlessness

• Steinbecks characters are often underdogs
• He shows compassion (medfølelse) toward them
  throughout his body of writings

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A pile of mice and men
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Powerlessness...

• Powerlessness takes many forms
• - intellectual
• - financial
• - societal
• Steinbeck touches them all
• Which characters represent the different forms of
  powerlessness?

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Literary Device Animal Imagery

• Lennie
• is often compared to a bear with his huge size
  and strength
• s hands are described as paws
• is always associated with rabbits and mice
• snorts like a horse at the stream
• Circles like a terrier when he does not want to
  bring the dead mouse to George
• These animal images lead careful readers to
  question Lennies future. With his enormous
  strength and his lack of intelligence, common
  sense, and responsibility, Lennie causes the
  reader to wonder how well he fits into human
  society.