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GCSE English - 'Of Mice and Men' help

I'm looking for the basic points I need to mention in the essay question of the relationship between George and Lennie.

As of yet I have -

Lennie is the subservient character, follows George - admires and looks to him for guidance ect - concept of George being 'parent' in relationship
Both characters need each other, contrary to what is refuted throughout the novel
George having to constantly take care of Lennie - Weed ect
Two characters juxtaposed with each other - physical and mental attributes ect

I'm not looking for the essay! Just the other main points that are required for this essay.

And also . . . for the exam I'm making essay plans for each of the themes which could come up, could someone give me or direct me to a list of the different themes, ie loneliness, Curley's Wife, Candy, Dreams, Ranch Life ect? Would be much appreciated!
Reply 1
Maybe you could think about whether George genuinely feels that Lennie is a burden or underneath it all, is he is friend first and foremost?

In other word, friendship vs burdens
Reply 2
Other themes that you haven't mentioned are:
survival of the fittest - strong young (white) men worked better than old or handicapped
( E.g Lennie who is mentally handicapped, Candy who is old and
handicapped and the drowning of Slim's pups as they could not survive)

Racism - how Crooks was treated

You can also talk about foreshadowing. This is a technique that the writer uses to give the reader clues about what may occur in the novel.
E.g The incident in Weed foreshadows the death of Curley's wife.
The death of Candy's dog foreshadows the end of the story - Lennie's death. Candy
Tells George how he regrets letting Carlson shoot his dog. 'I oughta not of let no
stranger shoot my dog'

Happy revising! :biggrin:
Hey I made this last year from a collection of notes from school, might help you with a few of the themes :smile:
Reply 4
Hey is anyone else doing the question where there's an extract and a question on that and then another question? If anyone is, do you know what the mark weighting is for each and how long I should spend on each question? Thank you :smile:
Original post by panic king
Hey is anyone else doing the question where there's an extract and a question on that and then another question? If anyone is, do you know what the mark weighting is for each and how long I should spend on each question? Thank you :smile:


For the AQA English Lit paper at least, there is a section A and a section B. You answer 1 question from each!

Each section is worth 20% of your whole GCSE (as this paper is worth 40%) and you have 45 minutes for each (since the paper is 1h30mins long).

Each section is worth 30 marks and each question has a part a) and part b) and you must answer both parts for your questions.

Hope I have helped! But if this all sounds confusing the way I put it then have a look at a past paper on the AQA website :smile:
Reply 6
Original post by Dandaman9999
For the AQA English Lit paper at least, there is a section A and a section B. You answer 1 question from each!

Each section is worth 20% of your whole GCSE (as this paper is worth 40%) and you have 45 minutes for each (since the paper is 1h30mins long).

Each section is worth 30 marks and each question has a part a) and part b) and you must answer both parts for your questions.

Hope I have helped! But if this all sounds confusing the way I put it then have a look at a past paper on the AQA website :smile:


Ohhhh ok :smile: thank you
So for part a and part b i answer them seperately? I don't have to combine them or anything?
Original post by panic king
Ohhhh ok :smile: thank you
So for part a and part b i answer them seperately? I don't have to combine them or anything?


You answer them separately :smile: and I found out that section A has 2 questions and you choose 1 but it doesn't have a part a) or b), just a 30 mark question :smile:

Section B has one question for OMAM and it has a part a) and b) which both add up to 30 marks.
Reply 8
Original post by Dandaman9999
You answer them separately :smile: and I found out that section A has 2 questions and you choose 1 but it doesn't have a part a) or b), just a 30 mark question :smile:

Section B has one question for OMAM and it has a part a) and b) which both add up to 30 marks.


Thank you so much :biggrin:
Is anybody of WJEC exam board? Any tips for the two unseen poems?
Original post by panic king
Hey is anyone else doing the question where there's an extract and a question on that and then another question? If anyone is, do you know what the mark weighting is for each and how long I should spend on each question? Thank you :smile:


I'm doing this alongside the unseen poetry, but I'm on WJEC. We're advised to spend 20 minutes on the context question, 40 on the essay and 1 hour on the unseen poetry.
Reply 11
These are also some points u can add on...


George acts as Lennie's parent and takes care of him

George threatens to punish him

And Lennie is constantly in fear of being punished by George

George often becomes angry with Lennie and says stuff that he does not mean

but George is still protective of Lennie

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