Of Mice and Men
This is the ultimate dream that George and Lennie share and constantly talk about throughout the novella.
What is owning their own piece of land/farm?
This is the name of the lower-class, tight-knit gang that Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dallas belong to.
What are the Greasers?
This poetic technique involves repeating the same consonant sound at the start of closely connected words, like "silent, slithering snake."
What is alliteration?
This literary technique gives human qualities, feelings, or actions to non-human things, like "the wind howled in the night."
What is personification?
This major theme in Of Mice and Men is represented by characters like Crooks living in the harness room and Curley’s wife wandering the ranch.
What is loneliness & isolation?
This character is the old, one-handed ranch worker who offers his life savings to help George and Lennie buy their dream farm.
Who is Candy?
This character is the oldest of the Curtis brothers, who gave up a football scholarship to work two jobs and keep the family together.
Who is Darry Curtis?
This is the term used when a poet compares one thing directly to another using the words "like" or "as."
What is a simile?
This is a direct comparison between two things without using "like" or "as," stating that one thing is another.
What is a metaphor?
This famous last phrase is what Johnny whispers to Ponyboy in the hospital before he passes away.
What is "Stay gold, Ponyboy"?
This is the specific setting and decade in American history where John Steinbeck's story takes place.
What is California during the Great Depression / 1930s?
This tragic character is known as the "pet" of the Greaser gang, heavily traumatised by a past beating from the Socs.
Who is Johnny Cade?
This occurs when a poet uses words that imitate the actual sound they represent, such as "buzz," "hiss," or "crash."
What is onomatopoeia?
This is the perspective from which a story is told, such as Ponyboy telling his own story using "I" and "me."
What is first-person narrative / first-person point of view?
This is an object, person, or situation in a story that stands for a deeper idea beyond its literal meaning, like Candy's dog representing old age and helplessness.
What is a symbol / symbolism?
This character acts as the aggressive antagonist on the ranch, constantly wearing a work glove full of vaseline on one hand.
Who is Curley?
This is the title of the famous Robert Frost poem that Ponyboy recites to Johnny while they are hiding out in the church.
What is "Nothing Gold Can Stay"?
This is the repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words to create a musical effect, such as "the crumbling thunder of the seas."
What is assonance?
This device occurs when a writer drops subtle hints or clues early in a story about what is going to happen later on.
What is foreshadowing?
This is the name given to the general atmosphere, mood, or emotional feeling that a writer creates throughout a text.
What is tone / atmosphere?
This highly respected ranch worker is the master driver of the mule team, described by Steinbeck as having a natural authority and majesty.
Who is Slim?
This Soc girl acts as a spy for the Greasers and tells Ponyboy that things are "rough all over" for both sides.
Who is Cherry Valance?
This is the term for a pause or break in the middle of a line of poetry, often created by a full stop, comma, or dash.
What is a caesura?
This is the use of vivid, descriptive language that appeals to the reader's five senses to create a clear picture in their mind.
What is imagery?
This is the term for a contrast between expectation and reality, such as Lennie being a massive, powerful man with an innocent, childlike mind.
What is irony / juxtaposition?