Literary Devices
Mood
the feeling the reader experiences (created through setting, diction, imagery, pacing, etc).
Dehumanizing
What is treating someone like they’re not a real person — ignoring their feelings, rights, or humanity?
The reason George and Lennie left Weed
- Lennie wanted to touch the fabric of a woman's dress. He grabbed on too hard and had a hard time letting go. She misinterpreted his actions, claiming he tried to rape her.
Swamper
Candy
Characterization (including the types)
Characterization - how an author shows what a character is like—their personality, looks, or feelings.
Direct Characterization: The author tells you straight-up about the character.
Indirect Characterization: The author shows you what the character is like through what they say, do, or feel.
Making someone feel less important, respected, or valued.
What is degrading?
George instructs Lennie to hide here if he is in trouble
In the brush by the river
Crooks' Burdens
Disability
Hierarchy
Powerlessness
Racism/Marginalized Group
Isolation/Exclusion
Dehumanization
Jim Crow Laws
Diction
author's word choice
Pugnacious
eager to fight; aggressive and combative
Which part of Freytag's Plot Pyramid is the event of Curley's wife being killed by Lennie?
Climax
"He was a jerkline skinner, the prince of the ranch, capable of driving ten, sixteen, even twenty mules with a single line to the leaders."
Which character is being described?
Slim (Steinbeck 33)
Climax
the turning point of a story when the tension and conflict become most intense, and often when a significant change occurs (highest point of tension).
Summary Vs Analysis
Summary: Restatement or telling of what happened in the text. Does not include original thoughts or interpretations.
Analysis: Breakdown of the text into smaller components. Shows a deeper understanding and interpretation. Connects evidence to a claim
This character kills Candy's dog.
Carlson
Stable buck
Crooks
Diction in connection to Mood
(How can diction reveal a mood?)
- Through looking at diction (word choice), the words have a particular connotation (positive or negative) which influences how we as readers feel. The word "slammed" has an aggressive undertone, while "closed" gives a calm or neutral tone. Words cause an emotional response through their meanings.
suffixes that mean "full of, characterized by"
-ory
- ous
-ful
Before George finds Lennie at the riverbank, Lennie hallucinates two figures. Who are they?
His Aunt Clara and the gigantic rabbit.
"He's jes' like a kid, ain't he."
Slim (Steinbeck 43)