Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Of Mice and Men Controlled Assessment

Could anyone please explain what "Consider any aspects of character that the setting allows Steinbeck to explore" means?? I would ask my teacher but its half term and my CA is the day i get back...

Reply 1

rzi999

Hey xx I'm studying Of mice and men in english as well... Maybe it could be like how the setting and characters allows Steinbeck to explore how difficult and lonely life was back then? How the depression (from the wall street crash) affected everyone? Or to concentrate on characters, the discrimination of black people and how racism was normal back then? I think thats what it means.. is it a English Literature CA? Hope I helped xx

Reply 2

She-Ra

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by katieg213

Could anyone please explain what "Consider any aspects of character that the setting allows Steinbeck to explore" means?? I would ask my teacher but its half term and my CA is the day i get back...

I've moved this to the English forum for you :smile:

Reply 3

Subspace

The question seems to have been worded a little bit tricky, but at a glance I would assume they're asking for how the background and the description of the characters relates to the context of when Of Mice and Men was written.

Some points can include:

- female inferiority / sexism: e.g. Curley's wife has no name and is a possession of Curley, refer to how Steinbeck gives her a flirtatious character - relate this to the time the novella was written and the difficulties in lives of female people, their position in society (prostitution - link to flirty character), lack of human rights compared to men
- Wall Street Crash in the USA, high unemployment, difficulties in jobs, etc (may need to research this more)
- white dominance / racism against Black Americans using the character of Crooks as an example

Reply 4

BefuddledPenguin

You could talk about the loneliness of the impoverished man too, the nomadic lifestyle that Lennie and George have, going farm to farm, never truly having a home or family, outside of each other, being subservient to the land owner and his family (Curley especially) the ageism Candy suffers, seeing his dog put down because of his age reflects Candys feelings of uselessness in a society that doesn't respect the aged.

It's a brilliant teaching novel precisely because it packs so much into such a small book.