John Steinbeck’s, Of Mice and Men

Introduction and Chapter One Summary

Hamish Anderson

What does this outcome ask?

1. How the author creates meaning?

2. Characters, themes, ideas

3. Context – Social, cultural, historical

4. Interpretations by readers

5. Analyse – Why? Why? Why?

How will we be assessed? SAC = Essay Format

One and a quarter periods 1.5 hours 90 minutes 5400 seconds 324000 milliseconds

You will get a question and have to answer it. TEEL i.e. - Of Mice and Men is a novel about impairments, both

literal and symbolic. Discuss

How will we study this? 1. Writing Context: Who is John Steinbeck, where is

Soledad and Salinas River, 1930s etc.

2. Read the novel – Lecture series with your chance to practice note-taking, creating your own summaries to study.

3. Answering questions, filling in tables and creating plot lines (exploring different ways to study for this outcome)

4. Film viewing

5. Essay writing practice and skills workshop

Who is John Steinbeck?

Handout #1

LET’S READ THIS ONE TOGETHER….

I’m sure that was thrilling for you… but now…

Where is Soledad?

Where is the Salinas River?

1930s

• During the Great Depression, in which the novel is set, workers were thrust from relative comfort to fend for themselves in a cruel and uncaring world. They face the original challenges of nature – to feed themselves, to fight for their stake.

• The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn starting in most places in 1929 and ending at different times in the 1930s or early 1940s for different countries

What information can the title give us about the rest of the text?

The Title

• Parallels between humans and animals

• Conflicts

• Symbolisms

• Social world

Robert Burns “To a Mouse”

But Mousie, thou are no thy-lane, In proving foresight may be vain:

The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men, Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy!

Let’s continue reading Chapter One of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men

Chapter Summary: What’s going on…

• Introduced to the protagonists: George and Lennie

• They are on their way to a new ranch, where they hope to be hired to “buck barley”… otherwise, to haul sacks full of grain

• George: small, quick man with dark, suspicious eyes, migrant worker. “I could live so easy and maybe a girl” (If he didn’t have to take care of Lennie, p7)

• Lennie: naïve, unintelligent “mountain” (large) of a man, child-like, careless, needs to be taken care of, likes to pat soft things

• George notices that Lennie has something in his pocket: a dead mouse. Lennie explains that he likes to pet the mouse’s soft fur as he walks

• Lennie is told off by George and warned to not behave badly • George reflects on past misadventures with Lennie who assaulted a woman in

a red dress because he thought her dress was pretty and he wanted to feel it. • The boys set up camp and George asks Lennie to go look for firewood. • Lennie returns with yet another dead mouse, which George takes. Lennie

begins to whimper. • They recall that Lennie’s Aunt Clara, whom Lennie refer to as “as lady”, used

to give Lennie mice to play with. • George goes on a rant about having to look after Lennie. Afterwards he feels

ashamed and apologises to for “being mean” (pg14)• Lennie requests George to “tell about rabbits”, which means talk about how

things are going to be for in the future. • George paints a picture of the future, in which he and Lennie have their own

place on their own farm and “live off the fat of the land”. Lennie repeatedly interrupts George as he tells this story but insists that George finish it to the end.

• George reminds Lennie not to say a word during their interview

with the boss the following day. • George also tells that that if they run into trouble they are to return

to the placed where they’ve camped.

Task #1: - Create a plot line so we can keep up with what’s

going on

Or

- Write a brief summary on the events that have occurred

Chapter Summary:

Chapter Analysis:

Task #2: Draw a table with two columns and list some of the

character traits of Lennie and George. Leave space so you can continue to fill this in later. Tell me how they relate to the animals i.e. personality traits, Lennie’s love for mice…what else can you find?

(After we have completed this novel we will bring all of our information together)

• Simple Characters, Simple language, Simple techniques, Simple plots • Juxtaposition of the human and natural world • Poverty draws the human and natural world closer together…reduced

them to an animalistic state i.e. Lennie an imbecilic bear, George a quiet, scheming rodent.

• The woman who mistakenly thought of Lennie, the mice Lennie crushes with his affection, George’s orders will come into play later on….

Chapter Analysis:

Themes: - a unifying or dominant idea, motif

Friendship PowerLoneliness Loyalty and Sacrifice Dreams ChangeIsolationInnocence JusticePrejudice WomenMan and the Natural World