Characters
Of Mice and Men characters can typically be described as:
What are 3 main themes in Of Mice and Men?
-Dreams
-Loneliness
-Friendship
Define alliteration:
In alliteration, consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables are repeated.
Example: "pretty as a picture" and "dead as a doornail."
What type of characterization is evident in Curley's Wife?
Round and static.
The dead mouse in Lennie’s pocket demonstrates the use of what type of literary device?
Foreshadowing
Describe Lennie
- huge and lumbering
- often he is described in terms of animals
- personality is like that of a child
- only defines them in terms of consequence
- petting soft things helps Lennie feel safe
Since this novel takes place during The Great Depression in 1930's America, what does it suggest about the American dream?
That it's impossible to achieve.
Define metaphor:
A figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other.
Example: "love is a battlefield" and "taking the road less traveled"
Of Mice and Men is typically written in what style?
Descriptive
At the end of the novel George kills Lennie because ________.
He would prefer to kill Lennie painlessly and quickly than allow Curley to hurt him.
Describe George
- physically small with very sharp features
- can be very rational and thoughtful
- realizes and understands his special bond with Lennie
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This character wants to live somewhere where he feels like he will belong. (hint: not Candy).
Crooks (chapter 4) - Highlights the theme of loneliness.
________________ is a repeated pattern—an image, sound, word, or symbol that comes back again and again within a particular story.
Motif
“An’ have rabbits. Go on, George! Tell about what we’re gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages…”
What literary device do the ‘rabbits’ represent?
Symbolism
What does the way the Boss speaks in Chapter two show the reader?
“The boss deliberately put the little book in his pocket. He hooked his thumbs in his belt and squinted one eye nearly closed. Say – what you sellin'?”
Even the Boss speaks informally and in dialect showing how common this is for the characters on the ranch.
Describe Slim
- described always in terms of dignity and majesty .
- tall, ageless, and an expert in his job.
- is the voice of rationalism.
- appreciates the difficulty of George's position.
What is the effect of Steinbeck’s style of narration in this extract from Chapter two?
“Lennie cried out suddenly—I don' like this place, George. This ain't no good place. I wanna get outa here.”
There is little description but Lennie’s direct statements about the ranch immediately indicate that it is a negative environment.
What type of conflict is evident in George getting frustrated with Lennie and often scolding him for forgetting?
Why does Steinbeck use animal imagery throughout the book to describe Lennie?
To show the lack of control Lennie has over his actions.
Give an example from chapter 3 that suggests on the ranch, things that have no value are destroyed.
The shooting of Candy’s dog
Describe Candy
- right hand is simply a stump because he lost his hand in a ranch accident.
- represents what happens to everyone who gets old in American society.
- plays an important role in the dream.
- Candy and his dog parallel the relationship of George and Lennie
What does Slim’s statement from Chapter five reveal about the way that the men live?
“Slim nodded. We might, he said. If we could keep Curley in, we might. But Curley's gonna want to shoot 'im. Curley's still mad about his hand. An' s'pose they lock him up an' strap him down and put him in a cage. That ain't no good, George."
The men are unsentimental and direct in the way they speak to each other
_______________________ is a narrative technique that blurs the distinction between fantasy and reality.
Magic realism
What characterization is evident in The Boss?
Flat and static.
Steinbeck chose the title Of Mice and Men after reading a poem called “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns, where the poet regrets accidentally destroying a mouse’s home. What is the similarity between the poem by Burns and the story Of Mice and Men?
The dreams of George and Lennie are destroyed.