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Gcse Of Mice and Men

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Original post by TwinAz
Not just the depression, but attitudes towards women, and different races, are equally important. Not just the American Dream. Talk about how this combines with stereotypes.


Oh, I see... So talking about different stereotypes and the hierarchy in the society back then would also count as context?
Reply 21
Original post by Dandaman9999
Oh, I see... So talking about different stereotypes and the hierarchy in the society back then would also count as context?


I took this paper last year, and attitude's towards race and women were a key factor taught by my teacher (as well as unemployment and the American Dream)
glove fulla vaseline
Original post by TwinAz
I took this paper last year, and attitude's towards race and women were a key factor taught by my teacher (as well as unemployment and the American Dream)


Ok thanks :smile: We have quite a poor teacher but I now remember him teaching us about the rights of women regarding how Curley's wife is treated on the ranch and also the way the fellow ranch-hands treat Crooks is metonymical of the society in those times (in terms of racial-equality). Thanks again for jogging my memory :tongue:


Lennie
Reply 25
Originally Posted by mia_hilton

mine's on tuesday, and i have done no revision- all going well i think i might look up analysis of the characters as the questions are mainly based on the characters and what they represent as well as context , thanks for the luck looks like im going to need it! Good luck to you to!


you guys really dont even need that much revision! Just before you go into the exam- make sure you have watched the film and make sure you've acctually read the book, then just check that you know the characters inside out!

If you know your characters and their motives, you should be fine- because they only ever give you a short extract from the novel to analyse..

Like for when i done it a year ago, we got the part about 'crooks' [i think that was his name]
and we were told to talk about how he was discriminated or something like that, i wrote about how coloured people were viewed at that time and how crooks suffered because of it, how he had to live in a seperate barn because he wasnt white!


don't watch the film and discard of the book.....i didn't watch the film and it did me no harm. what i would say, it make a list of key themes in the novel, then list quotes to support them. do the same for each character and link it all to come to an interpretaton. it should help to not only get a bank of quotes as supporting evidence, but helps you to evalute and analyse through linkage.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 26
Original post by Dandaman9999
Thanks! But what else apart from the Great Depression and unemployment is there in terms of context for this book?


You have the Dust Bowl, this is where the desert states lost nutrition in their soil so migrants moved towards Florida? I might be wrong about the Florida part... But they moved somewhere to find work.

EDIT:

Take a read of the wikipedia article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl
Reply 27
Original post by Dandaman9999
I'm doing OMAM as well :smile: I haven't got any notes but I can tell you that there are literally hundreds of analyses of the novel on the Internet if you just search it up which are really useful and that's what I am using. Can I also ask you how are you revising for this exam because I really don't know what revision technique to use or where to start :frown:

Good luck in your exam!

Hi i have this exam next week, and for revision i have just been doing analysis of quotes that can link to the most important characters and themes. This will save you some time in the exam, also my english teacher says Curley's Wife might come up, as it hasn't been on for a while :smile:
Good Luck!
Original post by Booyah
You have the Dust Bowl, this is where the desert states lost nutrition in their soil so migrants moved towards Florida? I might be wrong about the Florida part... But they moved somewhere to find work.

EDIT:

Take a read of the wikipedia article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl


Thanks, very informative. I guess this can be linked as to why George and Lennie moved in the first place and why they continue going from ranch to ranch.
Original post by laurenf95


Hi i have this exam next week, and for revision i have just been doing analysis of quotes that can link to the most important characters and themes. This will save you some time in the exam, also my english teacher says Curley's Wife might come up, as it hasn't been on for a while :smile:
Good Luck!


Thanks, good luck to you too! That's a very good idea so I might try that to enhance my revision :smile:
If Curley's wife is in the exam then I will be very happy since she is the character which I have the most context and useful points about!
Original post by mia_hilton
Thanks this has helped! You don't by any chance do private tuition do you? :wink:
Did you do short stories also? Would simply just read them and look at key point/themes?


Glad i was of Help! :smile:
Tutuion, no. But i could consider it.. aha
Explain to me what you mean By short Stories? you Mean have i written any??- if so, i have.. but if that's not what you meant- Let me know! :smile:
Original post by Dandaman9999
Thank you both, you have helped so much :smile:


No Worry's!
Best of Luck on Your Exam! :smile:

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Original post by Salvatore8
No Worry's!
Best of Luck on Your Exam! :smile:

[Give a Positive Rating]


Haha I did for your essay structure post so I can't do it again :redface:
Original post by Dandaman9999
Haha I did for your essay structure post so I can't do it again :redface:


Thnx :smile:
Reply 34
Original post by Dandaman9999
Thanks! But what else apart from the Great Depression and unemployment is there in terms of context for this book?


Racism - there is an obvious discrimination where Crooks is concerned due to the colour of his skin.

Attitudes towards women - Curley's wife only wants attention but as a woman she is expected to stay at home and look after Curley.

Attitude towards men - although not one of the most important ones, it's worth noting that Slim is portrayed as the 'ideal' worker and man. Notice how he is the only one who talks to Curley's wife; what does this imply?

Futility of dreams - The American Dream is one that was what kept workers 'going' at the time. They all had a dream that one day they would own their own land and not have to work for somebody else again, but as Crooks says, they never achieve those dreams. George and Lennie's dream starts to become a possibility but in the end it was inevitable that it would never materialise. The same is for the dreams of Crooks, Candy and Curley's wife.


They are just some basic points, I think I've probably missed some out so have a look around at the other comments.

Back to Decision Maths... :woo:
Original post by Aquar
Racism - there is an obvious discrimination where Crooks is concerned due to the colour of his skin.

Attitudes towards women - Curley's wife only wants attention but as a woman she is expected to stay at home and look after Curley.

Attitude towards men - although not one of the most important ones, it's worth noting that Slim is portrayed as the 'ideal' worker and man. Notice how he is the only one who talks to Curley's wife; what does this imply?

Futility of dreams - The American Dream is one that was what kept workers 'going' at the time. They all had a dream that one day they would own their own land and not have to work for somebody else again, but as Crooks says, they never achieve those dreams. George and Lennie's dream starts to become a possibility but in the end it was inevitable that it would never materialise. The same is for the dreams of Crooks, Candy and Curley's wife.


They are just some basic points, I think I've probably missed some out so have a look around at the other comments.

Back to Decision Maths... :woo:


Thank you v much! I think I recognise all of those points, but not the point about Slim being the ideal man... I know that've is presented as being very respected and even Godly (as my teacher puts it) but I didn't quite get the example of him asking to Curley's wife: could you please explain that :colondollar:

Otherwise thanks and good luck with Maths :smile:
Reply 36
Soledad, the town they was in at the start in Spanish means solitude and loneliness.

Mentioning this always seems to be worth a few marks as people often forget it.
Maybe you could mention that Lennie and George started in loneliness and solitude and ended alone, in solitude: this is writing technique in which the writer goes full circle etc etc...

Has your teacher told you what are the likely questions you will be asked? From what I remember, most teachers could easily predict what questions would crop up.
What can you say about Crooks job? Like he has the most important job, looking after the horses who if they were ill or dead the ranch wouldn't be able to run but then he is at the bottom of the hierachy. Is this because he is seen as the most intelligent on the ranch?
Reply 38
For revision I'd definitely say plan or write past essays, that's what helped me most last year.

Original post by shyamshah
What can you say about Crooks job? Like he has the most important job, looking after the horses who if they were ill or dead the ranch wouldn't be able to run but then he is at the bottom of the hierachy. Is this because he is seen as the most intelligent on the ranch?


I've never thought about Crooks in that way before, I suppose it's a possible interpretation. I think Crooks is generally used as a comment on discrimination and racism in the 1930s, e.g. he's called one of the "weak ones" by Curley's wife (which I suppose is somewhat ironic, seeing as she's a minority being the only female on the ranch). Crooks is defensive and interested in his rights (description at the beginning of chapter 4, I believe) but still doesn't pose much of a threat to the other characters. Even if he is possibly the most intelligent, he seems to be stuck in his place in the ranch, so that says something about discrimination in America at the time.
Original post by adam271
Soledad, the town they was in at the start in Spanish means solitude and loneliness.

Mentioning this always seems to be worth a few marks as people often forget it.
Maybe you could mention that Lennie and George started in loneliness and solitude and ended alone, in solitude: this is writing technique in which the writer goes full circle etc etc...

Has your teacher told you what are the likely questions you will be asked? From what I remember, most teachers could easily predict what questions would crop up.


Thanks for the info :smile: My teachers didn't tell me but someone above in this thread says Curley's wife could come up.

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