Of Mice and Men Study Help Main Thread

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Reply 20

Midnightmemories

bookmarking!

Reply 21

Hal.E.Lujah

Original post by rustytap

i'm revising of mice and men and i'm trying to think of some personality traits of lennie, whats he like, hows he described, and whats the effect of that? what role does he play in the novel?
Thanks!!

Heya, saw your post. OP might be of some help.

Have you read the novel? Lots of descriptions in there :teehee:

Here's one;

4 Of Mice and Men Page Penguin Classis Edition

A huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.

Reply 22

Hal.E.Lujah

Original post by londoncricket

Hi all,

I am studying the Of Mice and Men as my novel for my WJEC GCSE English Literature.

Can anyone help me with any historic links for the novel please? I know the obvious ones such as the Great Depression, but are there any more obscure ones?

If you give any, please link them to an event in the novel.

Thank you very much!

Might be some helpful stuff in the OP :h:

Reply 23

flibber

In the exam, are you allowed to refer to chapter numbers, since my edition (Longman) says:

In Of Mice and Men there are no chapter headings, only six clearly identifiable sections (followed in this edition), which reflect the six scenes of a play.

But I'm not sure if every other edition follows this.

Reply 24

londoncricket

Original post by Hal.E.Lujah

Might be some helpful stuff in the OP :h:

Oh wow, thank you very much!

Reply 25

Hal.E.Lujah

Original post by flibber

That's the way it's always been :yep:

Many people think Steinbeck was writing a screenplay rather than a novel. Novellas are often so short though that chapters would be jarring.

You probably shouldn't refer to chapters in the exam. Maybe call them sections?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 26

Rhysician

Hi,

The reason for George killing Lennie is very open to interpretation. Some may has he killed him for justice, others may say he will have killed him out of kindness, wanting to save his friend from the fate which was coming.

The ending is basically Lennie killing Curley's wife (after he'd killed all them animals) by accident by shaking her and breaking her neck, he only wanted her to stop screaming. Curley's wife wasn't raped by Lennie at all, he isn't (in my eyes) malicious or aiming to hurt anyone, he just killed her by accident. Now when the workers found her it is never stated they believe he has raped her, however what is going on in their minds we don't know, so they could believe that.

Carlson and Curley see Slim and George upset and they wonder why they're so sad about Lennie's death considering he was a murderer. This links into the historical context of the harsh "every man for himself" nature of the 1920's, while George just feels sadness for the loss. This reflects the theme of friendship in the novel and is nicely juxtaposed (contradicted) by the cold, harsh nature of Curley.

Hope that helps,

Original post by Pinkpearl14

Hi there,

Can you please help me? So in mice and men why did George kill lennie? Just so he can die in peace? What exactly was the reason since I didn't really understand the ending if it all?

And this may sound stupid but curleys wife was apparently raped by lennie? Or did she just make it look that way?

and I'm struggling on what exactly this means right in the end:

curley and and carlon looked after the and Carlson said now what the hell ya. Suppose is eatin them two guys?

What guys? Does it imply that history repeated or what?

Who did they look after? Plzzz help I'm damn confused! Ugh!

Reply 27

CrystalMath101

I personally thought he killed him instead of letting the others kill him because when Candy's dog got killed, Candy regretted Carlson killing him and wished he'd done it himself. And taking into account how Candy and the old dog's relationship mirror that of George and Lennie's (a friendship that depends on each other), I thought that's one of the reasons why George killed him himself and not let the others do it for him...

Reply 28

Rhysician

Yeah I did that have idea when we studied it (a few months back) and it's a good point. It links into Lennie's animalistic qualities and tendencies which are touched upon throughout. It's like an owner putting their dog down.

Original post by CrystalMath101

Reply 29

CrystalMath101

Original post by Rhysician

Yeah exactly!

Reply 30

Peasantwentz

Hi, I studied of mice and men last year on year 10 and another link could be equality and the rights, Such as sexism- Curleys wife, Ageism- Candy, Racism- Crooks, The links will be how they acted in these days, compared to modern life. I got a B in the exam, Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 31

Hal.E.Lujah

Original post by Peasantwentz

Can't see the link :confused:

Original post by kuddin

How does steinbeck create both dislike and sympathy for Crooks in section 4?

Hope this thread helps!

[QUOTE="zahanara;55191743"]Chapter four starts with the description of Crooks's "harness room" which was is as a "little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn" and his "bunk was a long box filled with straw. This suggests that Crooks was not treated very well or very respectfully in the ranch because he was separated from the other men in the ranch and had to stay by himself, next to the animals. This was because during the 1930s, racial discrimination was quite severe. Black men had a much lower status than others, and were not treated equally. In fact Crooks was so low in the social hierarchy, that he was almost treated like an animal. This is because he lived right next to them and his bunk was filled with "straw" which is usually for the horses.
This point is further emphasized by the fact that Crooks had a "range of medicines, both for himself and the horses", which shows that he is almost no different from the horses. The medicine could also be a metaphor to show that Crooks is ill from the unfairness of the world. This evokes sympathy for Crooks from the readers because of the way he is mistreated by others, just because he is black.
However, even though Crooks is treated like he is almost inferior to the rest, ironically he is intelligent and probably more well-educated than most of the men in the ranch. This is shown by the description of the "tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California Civil Code for 1905" in his room, which not only shows that he is well educated but also that he is aware of his rights.
The sympathy from the reader heightens when Lennie enters Crooks's room and his immediate reaction is tell Lennie that he has no right to come in his room and that "nobody got any right in here" but him. Crooks's initial reaction could show that it doesn't usually happen that people come in his room, so he is slighly taken back by Lennie entering. However Crooks gives in after a while and says to lennie to "Come on in and set a while", which shows Crooks finally has some company and is rather happy about it. This make the readers feel sympathy for Crooks as they realise that he doesn't usually have much of a company just because he is "black" and the men in the ranch say he "stink :".:

Added this to the OP :h:

Bookmarked!

Can someone help me find some points about Candy - not just traits, but more analysis? Also for George, aside from his relationship with Lennie? I'm really struggling with these characters atm

Reply 34

Jules12345

What are the major themes of 'Of mice and men' please?

Reply 35

Lucyylulu

Please could someone give me a grade and ways in which I can improve my essay for 'Of Mice and Men'? I did the January 2013 past paper on the extract of Crooks' possessions and the attitudes presented of black people at the time.

I get extra time, but I still struggle to complete my exams in the allocated time. I only briefly planned this essay answer and tend to have trouble with structure. My guess is that my answer is still at a C grade?

I wrote:

Steinbeck presents Crooks as a wise man which is conveyed by the description of his "deep black wrinkles". The adjective "deep" is used to symbolise his thoughtfulness and the time he takes to think about things is shown through the "wrinkles" he has from ageing. Steinbeck may be suggesting that despite the predjuices in society, the indifferences portrayed through the character of Crooks is showing that the disadvantaged are in fact stronger and more capable on their own. This is reflected through the fact that Crooks can be seen as wise.

On the other hand, Steinbeck describes Crooks as having his "eyes lay deep in his head" and with his eyes "in his head" it may be representing his isolation and the barrier stopping him from having an insight into what is happening in the world, therefore he is not using his characteristics of being wise. Furthermore, this links to Steinbeck's theme of loneliness as well as the injustice of blacks at the time because during the 1930's it was still a racist society and a society where blacks were segregated it meant that he could not achieve anything.

Crooks is also presented as protective. This is clearly represented when he keeps a copy of the "California civil code" showing how he wants fair treatment as well as being aware of what little rights he has. The fact that Crooks is explosive in his response to Lennie saying how he "got no right" to come in his room reflects the hostile nature of the ranch that Steinbeck wanted to show. The hostility between ranch workers was very common and Crooks may have been shown in this way because he feels protective over his personal space as well as the possessions he has, because these are the only things he has left to keep him happy in his lonely and depressing life in the barn.

Reply 36

miz rahman

Tend du wabbits

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Reply 37

MJ15

Is anyone doing edexcel English literature next week, if so what and how would I revise/prepare? I'm really confused 😐 I'm doing OMAM and a view from the bridge, any sort of advice is appreciated

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