Theme Analysis

In last week's blog response, I asked you to select a theme that "hit home" with you the most. Now that you have set your sights on a theme you would most like work with some more, it is time to test your skills of analysis. Scan through the last chapter (6) in Of Mice and Men and see if you can pull out a moment from the text that, upon close reading, says something about your selected theme.

For example, imagine that I am a student who was most interested in the theme of "The American Dream." When scanning chapter 6 I came across this moment in the text:

"A water snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting its periscope head from side to side; and it swam the length of the pool and came to the legs of a motionless heron that stood in the shallows. A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically."

Next, try to analyze how this moment is somehow connected to the theme you have chosen. It mights sound something like:

One of the final images of setting that Steinbeck offers us in Of Mice and Men involves a snake being eaten unexpectedly by a taller, silent bird. The snake "gliding smoothly up the pool" is similar to an American citizen in the 1930s attempting to work their way towards a goal of prosperity. The snake moves its way around obstacles as it sees them, just like a hardworking citizen has to jump some hurdles in the pursuit of their dream. However, the unfortunate truth of the matter is that "The American Dream" is beyond the grasp of most people because of unforeseen enemies to their progress. The tall heron might be a symbol for the more powerful upper or dominant class of society silently waiting in the shadows. The heron ultimately swallows the snake, and in the same light, many Americans dreams are snatched from American people in ways that they do not suspect. 


"Come on , George. Me an' you'll go in an' get a drink." (107)
Now that Lennie is gone forever George no longer has a "burden". George always complained how Lennie getting in his way and by now he could have had a girl and everything, but now that Lennie is really gone George seems quiet and as if this are now out of place. When he killed Lennie the weigh was pulled off his shoulders. He was right then and there a freeman.

Chapter 6 Notes

Summary: Chapter 6 to me was quite upsetting and sad. In this chapter it starts off with Lennie going to hide in the bushes waiting for George to come like George said he always would. when George finally comes Lennie starts apologizing and explains what happened to Curley's wife. George than takes the gun away from Lennie and they go over by the lake and talk then George takes the gun and shoots Lennie in the back of the head. The others from the ranch start to gather to see what happened and they don't say anything. They start to walk back to the ranch and one of the guys comfort George all the way there.

Prediction: If this story went on I would think George would bury Lennie somewhere quiet and nice and go back to the ranch and I feel everything would be different in a bad but good way. George won't have Lennie always hovering over him, but it'll also seem kind of boring and lonely because even though Lennie to George was a burden he still cared for him.

Question: -Why wouldn't George bury Lennie after he killed him?
-Why did they just walk off like that and no really think anything of it?
-Why did John Steinbeck choose George to kill Lennie why not one of the other characters like Curley?

Novel Reaction: Thinking Forward

We have investigated many captivating themes that exist in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men over the last few weeks. You have explored the desperation and poverty of the American 1930s through pictures and video. You have witnessed how John Steinbeck used naturalism to portray certain characters as "human beasts" acting on impulsiveness and instinct for self-preservation. You have examined how the author used literary devices such as sentimentalism, diction, tone, parallelism, and foreshadowing in order to propel these themes. You have close-read and analyzed the text digging deeper and deeper for evidence of themes such as Power vs. Powerlessness, Individual vs. Community, The American Dream, Euthanasia, Racism, Loneliness, and maybe even a little Sexism. Pat yourself on the back! You have been critically thinking about this novella on so many different levels.

For this week's blog response, you need to make some pretty serious decisions! We are quickly approaching the time where you will be expected to write your Research Paper based on a topic of interest from Of Mice and Men. If you have been keeping up with your reading, completing your notes, participating in conversations and activities during class on the various themes, and completing your blog responses this choice will be fairly easy! If not, you may be in for a struggle....

What topic or theme that we have touched on during this unit has "hit home" with you the most? Which theme or topic has a personal connection for you? Which did you find most captivating or interesting to discuss and investigate during this unit? Select a topic/theme from the list above that peaks your interest, and, in this week's blog response, discuss why you find it fascinating, which moment in the story you think about when reflecting on this theme, and how this theme is relevant in today's world.




A topic that I feel "hit home" was defiantly loneliness. I have felt alone in many situations. Loneliness is a problem everyone may have experienced and when authors like John Steinbeck uses it in the novels it helps you connect with the stories characters. You can see what they are going through or went through. Characters in the story like Crook, Curley's wife, Candy, and although it may not really seem like Lennie because he really doesn't portray it a lot, you can see when he is exclude from going out with others because he has a disability and the other guys don't want something to go wrong. Crook is lonely because of his race. Nobody wants to befriend him because he's different the push him away for example they leave him in a shed and let him sleep on straw. Curley's wife is lonely because of her gender and also she is the bosses wife. She's the only female in the ranch so she is seen entirely different from some of the others. Candy is lonely because of his age. The others don't feel like he would be good company if he went out with them. They're loneliness help certain people relate.

Chapter 5 Notes

Summary:  This chapter began with Lennie in the barn with the puppies. As Lennie plays with the puppies he get a little too rough with one of them when he thinks its about to bite him, He ends up killing the puppy and just as he was about to hide the dead animal Curley's wife shows up. She pretends she didn't notice it and began to attempt a conversation with Lennie. When she sees Lennie isn't going to talk to her she gets angry and tells him all about how she isn't a bad person nor is she going to get him into any trouble, after that she starts talking about how she feels she should have joined the circus and not marry Curley. Lennie was still explaining the rabbits when Curley's wife asks why he is so obsessed with the rabbit, he tells her that they are soft and the feel good. Curley's wife tells Lennie that he hair is softand it feels good too also that Lennie can touch it and she wouldn't care. As Lennie is touching he hair like that puppy he is more rough then he should be and when she screams he is scared someone is going to find out so he covers er mouth and ends up killing her. Lennie is so shocked by this he runs away and hides. When one of the workers Candy finds her he alerts George and the other. Candy get all the boys together and make a plan to kill Lennie.

Prediction:  I predict that in the next chapter they're going to kill poor Lennie and George is going to get upset because he promised Lennie's Aunt Clara that he would look after him.

Connection:  I can relate to how scared Lennie was when he identically killed Curley's wife. I once broke something important to my parents and I was terrified that I was going to get into so much trouble. So since I was so little I went and hid in my room.

A Portrait Of Racism

Chapter 4 in Of Mice and Man, paints a very realistic portrait of racism in the 1930s. Discuss at least two ways in which racism is explored in this chapter. Include quotes and your own analysis of key moments in this chapter that clearly demonstrate the racism that existed in the American 1930s. What do readers understand about racism as a result of reading this chapter?

In the 1930's racism effected everyone. It was built into their everyday lives. In chapter 4 Of Mice and Man it introduces Crook to be a lonely misunderstood man who is excluded because of his race. "Cause I'm black. They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black. They say I stink. Well I tell you, all of you stink to me." (p.68) This quote explains that Crook is lonely and people avoid and lie to him all because he isn't a white man. They don't invite him into card games or let him sleep in the bunkhouse with all the others. Instead the push him away as if he doesn't exist and makes him stay alone in a cabin away from the other workers. When he was faced by the Curley's wife even though she had less power seeing as though she is a woman, but also hold a high amount of power because she's married to Curley, she had threatened him and seeing as though she has power he must obey and listen, leaving him to respond with "yes, ma'am". Since he is the only black human being with in miles, "There wasn't another colored family for miles around. And now there ain't a colored man on this ranch an' there's jus' one family in Soledad." he feels even more helpless, this proves his loneliness is obvious. Racism in the 1930's was crucial to the point where you felt as if you were dirt o the bottom of someones shoes.

Chapter 4 Notes

Prediction:  I think George may decide to leave Lennie also Lennie will become friends with Crook but people are going to frown upon it.

Summary:  While every one except Crook, Lennie, and Candy decided to go to the bar. When Lennie see a light while on a walk to see the puppies he walk towards the light and finds a new character named Crook alone away from everyone else when he comes in and begins talking, Crook wonders why a white man would associate with him because he is black and after getting all the information from Lennie, Crook decides to just let him stay. After talking a bit they get on the subjects of the rabbits than Candy joins them and later on Curley's wife. She asked them have they seen Curley. After they talk a little more Curleys wife begins to make fun of them for hanging out with Crook and they just tell he to leave because they're not up for trouble. The boys soon come back and George looks for Lennie after that they leave and go to the bunkhouse.

Connection:  I feel like I can relate to the new character Crook because he is kind of an outcast because no one wants to be around him and they exclude him from the others because he has a different nationality. I can understand the feeling to a certain point. I know how it feels to be alone but I honestly don't know how it feels to be excluded because of my color.

Investigating Themes in Of Mice and Me

Choose one of the following questions that interests you most to respond to in this week’s blog post:

2.) What kind of relationship do George and Lennie have? Is their relationship a friendship? How does this relationship express Steinbeck’s position on the individual versus the community?

George and Lennie have a close friendship relationship. Even though Lennie may annoy George's nerves they've been through a lot together they always seem to have each others back. You can say they've been through thick and thin together.I would say George and Lennie are the true definition of friendship because what ever happens they are together. Also George may put hints that he doesn't want Lennie around and Lennie always disregards it. This friendship may have been brought together by Lennie's Aunt but was mad stronger by their journey to the new job.

Naturalism as a Mirror of the 1930's

Literature is often a reflection of the time period in which it was written or, in the case of historical fiction, of the time period it is focused on. Authors will often find sneaky little ways to demonstrate the dominant characteristics of the time period by blending in details, that, at a closer glance, reveal these hidden themes.

In class, we viewed several videos (in the LitByFleming blog video bar) that gave us a look at some major events and common themes or characteristics of the 1930s. John Steinbeck certainly considered these elements when writing Of Mice and Men. In fact, it might be said, his writing style intentionally made use of naturalism in order to capture and expose some of the attitudes and characteristics of the American 1930s.

Let's see if you can make the connection! Think about some of the naturalistic elements we identified in class (Chapter 1). What aspects or characteristics of the 1930s are being demonstrated to us at those moments in the text? What do you believe John Steinbeck was trying to show us or expose about the way people, life, or society was during this time in American history?



Chapter one '"Of Mice and Men" displays many characteristics of a human. It shows the extents people had to go to get a job. In the beginning of chapter one Lennie and George are walking to get another job and once they stop to rest Lennie and George find a large dirty pool of water, which Lennie carelessly drinks out of. They describe Lennie as becoming animal like in this section."His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse." (3) After this George of course steps in to intervene, worried that Lennie may become sick after in taking the not so fresh water. This showed that Lennie no longer showed human characteristics but in fact animistic traits. At the time there wasn't as much technology as now, obviously. Which made things boring alongside with the small amount of jobs in the 1930 this could have probably brought out the wild side in people.

Steinbeck presents that life back in the 1930 was nothing, but hard. He demonstrates that if you want something you have to take the risk and all the journeys to get what you want in life. He shows that you can never take a short route in this process . If you want something you must put an effort in to get it. 

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/g/great_depression_1930s/index.html

Picturing the History Behind Of Mice and Men

For a moment the place was lifeless, and then two men emerged from the path and came into the opening by the green pool.
They had walked in single file down the path, and even in the open one stayed behind the other. Both were dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls slung over their shoulders. The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. Behind him 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.


The first man stopped short in the clearing, and the follower nearly ran over him. He took off his hat and wiped the sweat-band with his forefinger and snapped the moisture off. His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself. (1.2-4)




Sound familiar? Kind of like the pictures, right? In writing, compare and contrast this opening section from Of Mice and Men to the pictures you analyzed in class. What does the text and the photographs show us about the 1930s? Be specific!

I choose the picture of the man walking on a road by himself. The reminded me of Lennie and George how they both walked looking for a job. The man could look like George because Lennie would probably be taller and well built just like his description. The picture shows us how the 1930s was a hard time. and how you might have had to travel to find a good job.

Chapter 1: Notes

1.) Question:
George is the character involved, The question I have for George is why would he promise to take on such a large responsibility of protecting, caring for, somewhat "raising" a handicap civilian? I say this because the smallest thing Lennie will do, George will get annoyed  already knowing Lennie isn't a normal person.

2.) Prediction:
My prediction is George and Lennie will get to the job and Lennie will accidentally blurt out what made them loose their other job and that's going to make George furious.

3.) Connection:
My connection is that George and Lennie remind me of my Mother and Father size wise because my dad towers over my mother while my mom is only 4'11.