First, just a bit of background about the novel. Since Steinbeck is considered to be one of America's best Naturalist writers, we should probably briefly cover some characteristics of Naturalism.
*Although our class is highly poetic, Naturalism is not. The prose focuses less on imagery and more on explanations and details. While some of the novel includes metaphors and similes (especially at the beginnings of some chapters), most of the novel is free of poetic devices.
*Explores sociological conditions in a mostly objective manner (instead of focusing on the beauty of the language)
*Explores conflicts between the social classes, especially the exploitation of workers by those in power. Watch for examples of exploitation on the ranch as well as illustration of larger social issues happening in the 1930s within the novel.
*Creates stories in which the reader is an observor in the story. Many characters strive for the American Dream.
*Focuses on an occupation or trade. In the case in Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck's story also documents the lives of migrant workers in the 1930s.As far as the genre is concerned, Of Mice and Men is written as a play-novel, or a mixture of both. Each of the six chapters is an extended episode- the action takes place in one scene and begins with a description of that scene.
Characters also exit and enter with what seems like stage directions. Also, you've probably noticed the large amount of dialogue.For your reader's blog, mention at least three key events that have struck you so far. Do you notice any possible foreshadowing? Steinbeck is a master of this! Also, what kinds of animal imagery is associated with Lennie? Crooks? (If you read chapter 4 already.) Why does Steinbeck describe these characters in animal terms? What's the effect and purpose? Other than that, please include your thoughts, ideas, interpretations so far. Raise questions to the class if you'd like as well.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Edith Wharton
John Steinbeck
Mark Twain
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ralph Ellison
Alice Walker
17 comments:
A few events that struck me so far was when Lennie broke Curliy's hand. Also when that guy wants to give money to George to help buy that land. I think that there will be trouble with Candy and the money. Maybe Candy will die before he can give the money to George. I also think some trouble is going to come from Lenny breaking Curly's hand. Curly is probably going to want revenge. It struck me as interesting how Lenny only fights back when he is told to, and when he does he nearly kills Curly. I think Lenny is a nice guy, just not very smart.
So far there are alot of events that are important. However, three that have struck me so far; when Lennie tells George that he can go away and live in the cave, when Candy wants to be part of Lennie and George's plan to buy property, and the fight between Lennie and Curley. Like Steven said, I think that the plan that is set between Candy, George, and Lennie is somehow not going to work out; everything seemed to work out just too good. Also, the fight is probably going to cause even greater tension on the ranch between Curley and the others.
Also, I find it kind of funny that Lennie is so big and strong, yet dumb and gentle. Lennie has ahold of a mouse because he wants to pet it, dreams about taking care of rabbits, and is estatic when he finds out he can own a puppy. He is the complete opposite of how you would imagine him when he is physically discribed in the beginning of the novel. Lennie always forgets things and Goerge acts like an older brother for him, protecting him and helping him along in life.
John Steinbeck's novel contains several passages that I find intriguing. I noticed that Candy is not upset at all when Carlson decided to shoot his dog. Its like he has given up all together. This could forshadow to something like what Steven said. He may not be able to hold up his end of the deal or something may happen to him that would prevent him from doing so. I also find that Lennie's behavior is something that may cause another thing to happen. He is just too worried about his rat, his puppy, and his rabits. His sense might get he and George in trouble as it did in Weeds. I also find that Curley is going to have some sort of repercussion. The constant movement of he and his Wife seem to strike that they will play some sort of role in George and Lennie's plan. As of this point collectively, I think that in some way, the plan of Geroge an Lennie is going to be obscured.
In the first few chapters, a couple of events struck me. The first event would be the appearance of Curley's wife. Her promiscuous nature paired with George's unease foreshadow a conflict involving her in the near future.
The event with Candy and his dog was very striking to me. I am an animal lover, so this event tugged at my heartstrings. Candy relates very closely with his old dog, and believes that the he should suffer the same fate when he is no longer useful. This event shows how the ranching business works. A worker is only good to the ranch when he can work, and when he cannot, he is nothing. I do not believe, like Zach and Steve, that Candy's permission to shoot his dog was because he merely gave up. During this whole conflict, he was internally debating with himself on whether to put the old dog out of it's misery or save the life of his old friend. In the end, he decided that the dog had been suffering long enough, and allowed Carlson to shoot him.
Lennie's "fight" with Curley is a great characterization episode. This event was particularly interesting because we were able to see Lennie's kind and strong nature in action. Lennie obviously does not know his own strength, and he cannot think for himself. He is very simple-minded, and this episode with Curley's bullying ways made him an even more enduring character. He does not want to hurt Curley, despite Curley's brutality.
While the events that were already mentioned by Steve, Karen, Zach, and Steph intrigued me, the biggest thing I pulled out off the first 65 pages was the relationship between Lennie and George. They are clearly two people that have very little in common. It is mentioned several times how rare it is for laborers to look out for each other during this era, which goes on to show how special Lennie and George are. One part that stood out significantly to me was when George was describing all the things that he could have, if Lennie wasn't there. At first it made me angry because he sounded selfish, but then I realized that he was telling the reader all the things he was giving up. That part proved how much George cares about Lennie because he realizes all the things he is sacrificing, but he is still willing to do that for his friend. Then, right after that, Lennie says he can go to a cave if George would like that. George goes on for a very long time after that saying how much he enjoys having Lennie there. Another time that you can see the relationship between them is when Slim and George are talking. The reader gets to hear how Lennie and George grew up together, and how defensive George gets when he is confronted that it is "weird" that him and Lennie are so close. I loved that part, because it showed, again, how much George cares. George cares so much about Lennie. He does everything in his power to help Lennie. He is always concerned with what is best for him and always helps him. Even at the beginning he told Lenie about the property that they were going to one day have, even though at that point George figured they probably were not going to ever get there. George decided instead of the truth to give Lennie something to look forward to, since that could help ease the burdens of working and moving so much. It is always easier to work if you have something to look forward too. George always cares about Lennie and it is clear that Lennie looks up to George and it creates a wonderful relationship.
Although Lennie and George seem to be the best of buddies, George's attitude toward Lennie strikes me as unusual. Lennie seems to be exhibiting a lot of negativity toward George, and although this may just be in jest and good fun, it also may foreshadow something bad. Lennie is constantly telling George what NOT to do, what NOT to say, and consistently points out that George is dull. All of this adds up to a push toward Lennie being alone, and doing something bad. Heck, even when Lennie is not alone, he ends up accidentally hurting someone. Come to think of it, Lennie seems to be doing that a lot- the mice in his pocket, the lady back in Weed, Curley. Mice and men? I dunno, just trying to make sense of the title already.
I'm enjoying the frequent animal references, it makes a very easy connection. Lennie has been connected with rabbits a lot, those puppies, those mice. As for significance of a rabbit..i don't really know...any one else out there know?
Also, I feel it necessary to be redundant and say that Curley and his wife seem to be bad news. Since the begining Curlet has been seen as arrogant and bumptious (plus ten bonus points), I can see matters only getting worse for poor old Lennie and George. And I like those two too....
I think that it's rather intriguing how Lennie's and George's personalities are the opposite of their physical appearances (almost like the opposite of Cillingworth and Hester in the Scarlet Letter). Lennie is large and yet very soft-spoken and kind, and he simply doesn't realize how his size can affect his ability to live. (Such as the issue with the mouse) While George is loud-mouthed, protective, and actually quite a bit bossy despite his small stature.
The ability of these two total opposites to get along and work together for their mutual benefit is somewhat shocking to me, as it would seem that typically these two could very well be mortal enemies. As friends, they show a large amount of loyalty to each other. Such as when George lists all the things he could have without Lennie around but expresses his gladness to be with Lennie simultaneously. or of course when George is discussing their past together. I suppose I find it "unique" for such a friendship to exist, and it intrigues me very deeply.
There were a few instances within the story where I noticed foreshadowing. While I have only read what is required thus far, I do not know for certain the exact conditions for some of the events; I only imply from what I have already read. They were very subtle and hidden. I can see what you meant by Steinbeck being a master at this. They are scattered, and I am not sure if some are even foreshadowing or not. Such instances of foreshadowing are when George and Lennie are by the river, and George pleads with Lennie to not get in any trouble like he did in Weed (a peculiar name for a town, by the way). Another instance of foreshadowing is the description of Curley's tense demeanor and cold attitude towards George and Lennie, especially Lennie. I also linked this to the warnings George and Lennie received about Curley's wife and her wrongly placed flirtacious behavior. More evidence of foreshadowing occurs when Lennie eyes Curley's wife for the first time, like he is awestruck. And of course, the alteration between Lennie and Curley. All of these clues somehow, I realized, will be linked together to hint at some great conflict between Lennie, Curley, and Curley's wife.
A few events that struck me are:
1) When Curly minimzes Lennie who is so much bigger than him, just because he apparently doesnt like bigger people.
2) When Lennie and George are stilli nteh forest and Lennie gets George to talk about their dreams.
3) When Lennie breaks Curley's hand so easily.
First Curly just decides to pick on Lennie, not even knowing him, and just because he doesnt like bigger people, whic his wrong. Then before that in the forest, Lennie gets some kind of wit and gets George to talk about their "dream ranch" realizing that he's making George feel bad about how he treated him, which shows he has some power of manipulation. Then when Lennie breaks Curley's hand, I think it teaches him a lesson, and I'm glad it happened because Curley shouldn't go around judging and beating up people for no reason.
I also think some possible foreshadowing could be Lennie showing himself to be smarter than he appears, and George and Lennie getting some higher power on the ranch they're at now.
Steinbeck is a MASTER of foreshadowing. It is shown in the scene at the river. George reminds Lennie of when they worked in Weed. This event signifies something it going to happen in this new town.
I also find it strange how Candy wants to be apart of George and Lennie's plan of living on their own ranch. It almost seems as if Candy wants to go along with the plan, and then somehow hurt the two in the process.
The other weird thing is that Candy's willing to spend his life savings on this one plan. Or maybe Candy is being a genuinely nice guy and just wants to belong somewhere and feel useful. Also, he says he'll probably get kicked out of the ranch soon since he was injured so he wants to go with them so he'll have somewhere to live at.
The three events that have struck me so far are: Candy allowing his dog to die, Candy wanting to give his life savings to help invest in the farm, and Lennie breaking Curley's hand.
When Candy allowed his dog to die I was bedazzled. I thought that Candy would not let his dog go and would never think of letting someone, let alone someone else, kill his dog.
I never would have expected Candy to put his life savings in jeopardy for a farm he doesn't even know exists. This even could be foreshadowing an event in which George might steal Candy's money.
It was also unexpected when Lennie broke Curley's right hand. I wasn't expecting Lennie to fight back or hurt Curley. This event could foreshadowing Curley getting revenge upon Lennie. Lennie and George might be run out of the ranch for that event.
Evnets that I have noticed so far is when Lennie pets the dead mouse, Lenny crushes Curley's hand, and when Candy joins George and Lenny's dream. I know that Curley is going to give Lenny a hard time about Lenny breaking his hand because Curley is a boxer, and ashamed that he lost. I also feel like Curley's wife is going to start trouble between Slim and Curley. Finally, I do not get a good feeling about Candy and the money. I feel that Candy is going to take control of George and Lennie's dream. I also feel like Lennie is going to kill the innocent puppy.
So far their have been a little interesting to me. I think the most important parts struck me in the beginning like when Lenny and George are late to a job they havnt even started yet. I also find the stupidity of Lenny so interesting. Its not his lack of knowledge but also how he cant remember anything he is told, like who his aunt is! I think that may play a key role later in the book.
These events struck me the most:
1) George seems to feel very taken aback when Lennie offers to actually leave forever
2)Curly has no idea of the trouble his wife has the potential to cause
3)Lennie dosn't want to fight but easily shatters the hand of Curly when he is told to
I feel that the folowing conflicts have also been forshadowed:
George & Lennie vs Candy
Curly vs Lennie
Curly vs Wife
Wife vs "Society"
George vs Self
The three events that have surprised me the most have been...
-Candy's want to give his life savings to help invest in the farm. Candy seems so interested in the farm deal that he will give all of his life savings in order to be a part of it. I find this surprising, as it there is the possibility of the dream not succeeding.
-Lennie breaking Curley's hand. Lennie breaks Curley's hand so easily it surprises me, but I guess he does similar things, but to little mice (which is very strange, meaning how he keeps dead mice in his pocket to pet).
-the relationship between Lennie and George. Although this is not a specific event, I find the relationship between Lennie and George to be very close. The two men seem to complete eachother, as they compliment the other: Lennie is big and not the brightest, but is a hard worker, while George has brains.
The next three chapters are quite interesting as well. I have yet to see the fuction of Crooks. He alludes to being a work hand for George, Lennie and, Candy but decides against it. I think that his pessimistic attitude toward Lennie and George's plan indicate that he has once dreamed and enevitably failed to achieve it. Quite a few things in this book add up to that. Curley's wife says she once dreamed to be an actor, she came close to doing so but was left only to dream. Perhaps this is why Lennie and George do not get to live their dream. Candy could also personify this, he wants to be part of Lennie and George's plan as a last glimer of hope for something positive in his life. As for why George did what he did, it became apparent that he was going to cut his losses. Slim did it by drowning some of his puppies so the rest will live. Candy let his dog go probably because he realized he had to cut his losses. George did the same thing realizing that Lennie was just going to keep doing the same thing, only distancing their dream from him. That is why they had to keep moving and George taking so many precautions. Their was no saving Lennie. I do not believe the ending was bad but made quite a lot of sense in my opinion. It really provokes wonder and deep thought.
(Okay, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to post chapters 4-6 on here, but Zach did and there are no other of mice and men blogs..so here's my response to chapters 4-6 (sorry if it is in the wrong place!!))
Chapters 4-6 were very surprising, but they also made sense. The first event that struck me was when Crook at first changes his mind. At first when Candy and Lennie tell Crook about the property they are going to have, Crook wants to be apart of it. He lets himself become swept up in their fantasy and says he will work there. Then, after Curley's wife comes in and says that she doesn't think it will happen, Crook changes his mind. I wondered if Curley's wife's interuption was a wake-up call for Crook. He relized that she was right and that he was being silly for even considering that they might get their land. This is also an example of foreshadowing because you see George and Lennie's dream start to sort of fall apart. The second and third events that are important are obviously, Lennie killing Curley's wife and George killing Lennie. Lennie killing Curleys wife was a very big shocker. I was not expecting it, but after I stopped and thought about it, it made perfect sense. There was all the build-up of what happened in the other town and George says that things could have been very bad if Lennie wouldn't have let go. George often says that if Lennie does something bad, he needs to go and hide in the bushes. This is another example of foreshadowing. George killing Lennie is back to the sub plot about Candy having to have his dog shot. Candy knew tht his dog was useless and needed to be killed. Carlson told Candy that Carlson would shoot him in the back of the head-where he wouldn't feel anything. This is the exact same way that George kills Lennie. He shoots him in the back of the head, where he will be killed very quickly and hopefully won't feel much pain. It goes back to the whole human/animal connections. Also, it goes back to what Candy says earlier about how whenever someone/something becomes useless, they are killed.
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