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Of mice and men - 16 mark question help

I don't know where to start with this question and would anyone please help me?
Explore how the language in the extract influences your view of Lennie's feelings (16)

The extract is when Lennie kills Curley's wife, below:

She struggled violently under his hands. Her feet battered on the hay and shewrithed to be free; and from under Lennie’s hand came a muffled screaming.Lennie began to cry with fright. “Oh! Please don’t do none of that,” he begged.“George gonna say I done a bad thing. He ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits.”He moved his hand a little and her hoarse cry came out. Then Lennie grewangry. “Now don’t,” he said. “I don’t want you to yell. You gonna get me introuble jus’ like George says you will. Now don’t you do that.” And shecontinued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her then,and he was angry with her. “Don’t you go yellin’,” he said, and he shook her;and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had brokenher neck.

He looked down at her, and carefully he removed his hand from over hermouth, and she lay still. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, “but George’ll bemad if you yell.” When she didn’t answer nor move he bent closely over her. Helifted her arm and let it drop. For a moment he seemed bewildered. And then hewhispered in fright, “I done a bad thing. I done another bad thing.”

He pawed up the hay until it partly covered her.

From outside the barn came a cry of men and the double clang of shoes onmetal. For the first time Lennie became conscious of the outside. He croucheddown in the hay and listened. “I done a real bad thing,” he said. “I shouldn’t ofdid that. George’ll be mad. An’ . . . . he said . . . . an’ hide in the brush till hecome. He’s gonna be mad. In the brush till he come. Tha’s what he said.”Lennie went back and looked at the dead girl. The puppy lay close to her.Lennie picked it up. “I’ll throw him away,” he said. “It’s bad enough like it is.”He put the pup under his coat, and he crept to the barn wall and peered outbetween the cracks, toward the horseshoe game. And then he crept around theend of the last manger and disappeared.

Reply 1

SteveJamesAWest

It is good to start and continue your answer in chronological order, the question is asking you to analyse language. The analysis of language in an extract should be methodical and not just strung out all over the place. You should try and get down to simple word level and analyse what a word actually means and why the author has chosen to use it opposed to any other word before looking at the wider picture here. It is also helpful (although entirely your choice) to weigh your argument one way, for example leaning towards that Lennie is frightended and vulnerable, in doing this you can then begin to pick out language that supports this view and so generally making your answer much more sound and focused.
Personally I would start with something along the lines of -

"Steinbeck uses language in this extract in specific ways in order to influence the portrayal of Lennie's character to the reader. Throughout the extract Lennie is shown to be something of a vulnerable child and this is highlighted in his actions and primarily through Steinbecks lexical choices. Using the word "begged" shows that Lennie is a weak character and for him to need to beg for anything shows that he is incapable of fending for himself despite being a full grown man and has to rely on other people in order to function...."

Continue analysing the language and support your interpretations using the language from the extract, for example the short answer I have just given can be further supported by Lennie falling back and relying on what George told him to do. "go and wait in the brush"

Hope this helped :smile: