of mice and men powerpoint
DESCRIPTION
A review of the plot, themes, and exercises I use when teaching "Of Mice and Men"TRANSCRIPT
OF MICE AND MEN
• Literary analysis of John Steinbeck’s novel by Joe Student, Jane Doe, Fred Smith, and Sam Project
• Period 1• October 15, 2002
• Author Information• Story Setting• George vs. Lennie• Story Summary• Character Feelings• Character Dreams/Goals• Personal Dreams/Goals• Theme List• Theme Poster• Book Review• Questions to Think About• Sources
AUTHOR INFORMATION• 1902-1968, Salinas, CA• Worked as a ranch hand
and a fruit picker as a youth
• Often wrote about good but poor and oppressed people trapped in an unfair world
• Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962
STORY SETTING• Places mentioned in
Of Mice and Men• The ranch in Of Mice
and Men
GEORGE VS. LENNIE
GEORGE GEORGE & LENNIE LENNIE
More intelligent Friends Less intelligent
Talks for both of them
Afraid of the past catching up with them
Tries to keep quiet
Shorter Migrant ranch hands Taller
Weaker Hard workers Stronger
Doesn’t like Curley’s wife
Dream of having their own place
Likes Curley’s wife
STORY SUMMARY
• George and Lennie are two migrant ranch hands who fled from Weed, California, to a ranch near Salinas, California. They had had to flee because Lennie had scared a girl there by holding on to her soft dress and not letting go. He had meant no harm, but he is not very intelligent and often does not realize his own strength.
• On the new ranch, Lennie and George are doing well at saving up money to fulfill a dream of theirs--buying a place of their own. Their dream is a month from fulfillment when they let Candy, an old man with one hand, join in their dream.
• Then Lennie accidentally kills the attention-starved wife of the boss’s son. The boss’s son, Curley, is a small man who hates big men and seizes on this opportunity to hunt Lennie down and kill him.
• George finds Lennie first and shoots him in the back of the head as he recites their dream one last time.
CHARACTER FEELINGS
GEORGE
FRUSTRATION When Lennie forgets things
ANGER When Lennie wanted ketchup
RELIEF When the boss hires them
LONELINESS When he has to keep traveling
FEAR When they’re chased out of Weed
HUMILIATION When Lennie starts talking
PRIDE When Lennie proves his strength
CHARACTER FEELINGSLENNIE
FRUSTRATION When can’t remember things
ANGER When Crooks says George might disappear
RELIEF When he’s told he’ll still get to tend rabbits
LONELINESS When George isn’t around
FEAR When he kills Curley’s wife
HUMILIATION When Curley laughs at him
PRIDE When he’s compared to a bull
CHARACTER FEELINGS
CURLEY
FRUSTRATION When he sees big men respected
ANGER When people laugh at him
RELIEF When Slim isn’t with his wife
LONELINESS When he can’t find his wife
FEAR When Lennie crushes his hand
HUMILIATION When he has to promise to say he hurt his hand in a machine
PRIDE When he wins a fight
CHARACTER FEELINGS
CURLEY’S WIFE
FRUSTRATION When no one will tell the truth about Curley’s hand
ANGER When no one will talk to her
RELIEF When Lennie talks to her
LONELINESS When everyone goes into town
FEAR When Lennie tries to stop her screaming
HUMILIATION When Curley tells her to shut up
PRIDE When talking about being an actress
CHARACTER FEELINGS
CANDY
FRUSTRATION When people pressure him to kill his dog
RELIEF When gets to be a part of George and Lennie’s plan
LONELINESS When everyone goes to the fields
FEAR When discovers Curley’s dead wife
HUMILIATION When thinks about his dog’s death
PRIDE When talking about his dog’s abilities
CHARACTER FEELINGS
CROOKS
FRUSTRATION When can’t fight the racism
ANGER When Lennie comes into “his” room
RELIEF When he starts enjoying Lennie
LONELINESS When he has no one to talk to
FEAR When Lennie gets angry at what he said about George
HUMILIATION When he’s not allowed to play cards
PRIDE When defends Lennie being in his room
CHARACTER DREAMS/GOALSCHARACTER DREAM/GOAL WHY IMPORTANT
LENNIE Tend rabbits Finds comfort in soft things
GEORGE Own a small farm Sick of traveling and not having a home or family
CURLEY Be respected/feared Has a complex about being small
CURLEY’S WIFE
Be an actress Bored, lonely, ignored, & unappreciated
CANDY Be in on George and Lennie’s dream
Feels old, useless, and unconnected to anything
CROOKS Be accepted Has faced a lot of racism
PERSONAL DREAMS/GOALS
DREAM #1: Lifelong health and happiness for my son
DREAM #2: To relax more
DREAM #3: To stay happy and healthy as I age
DREAM #4: To pay off my mortgage
THEME LIST• We need dreams or goals to survive life’s troubles.• Racism destroys its victims.• Control your anger and fears.• Accept yourself.• Know your strengths and weaknesses.• Follow your dreams.• Don’t judge against others just because of their
appearance or intelligence.• Life is a long struggle to fit in.• Elderly people and animals need and deserve our respect.• True friendship may demand hard decisions and actions.
• Racism: treating others unfairly because of a belief that their race is inferior.
Crooks, the only black person in Of Mice and Men, turned into a broken, bitter man because of the isolation and prejudice he had to bear because of his skin color. He became so bitter that even when Lennie offered him some companionship, Crooks rudely and angrily rejected him.
BOOK REVIEW
• Steinbeck in this novel manages to portray tough lives and tough decisions with compassion and even some humor. The migrant ranch hands that people the pages are vivid, lonely, hardworking, and heroic. As such, they cause the reader to reflect on a wide range of themes, including the importance and effects of true friendship, age, isolation, racism, intelligence, dreams/goals, self-knowledge, anger, and self-control. It is not at all surprising that this novel is so frequently assigned in English classes.
QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT1. Anais Nin writes, “Dreams are necessary to life.”
Agree or disagree with this statement with evidence from Of Mice and Men.
2. Discuss what each of the following pairs of friends gives to each other:
• Lennie and George• Candy and George• Slim and George
3. Curley’s wife suffers from acute loneliness. Analyze the depth of her loneliness, the factors leading to it, and the consequences of it.
QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT
4. Think of one character in the novel who makes either a good decision or a bad one. Identify the decision, why it was made, why it was good or bad, and the future consequences the decision maker will have to face.
5. Explain the significance of the title of Of Mice and Men.
SOURCES
• http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspz?refid=761570273
• http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Steinbeck/• http://www.steinbeck.org/Home.html• http://creativegettyimages.com• http://www.educeth.ch/english/readinglist/maps/
california.html• http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/mice/
micesg1.html