...Loneliness is the fundamental idea that Steinbeck utilizes in his 1937 novella Of Mice and Men. He establishes this with his use of characterization through such characters as Crooks and Curry’s wife. Whether it be loneliness because of race, or sex, Steinbeck manipulates his use of characterization in ways that make you feel empathy for the various characters in this novella. Crooks is the “negro stable buck” who is confined to the back shed on the ranch because of his African-American heritage. It is because of this isolation that Crooks has become a lonely and bitter man. We receive a hint to how lonely Crooks is when Steinbeck describes, “And scattered about the floor were a number of personal possessions; for, being alone, Crooks could leave his things about, and being a stable buck and a cripple, he was more permanent than the...
Words: 752 - Pages: 4
...Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Exam style practice questions for AQA GCSE English Literature Teaching notes The following questions are designed to meet the assessment objectives for Of Mice and Men for GCSE English Literature Unit 1, Section B: Exploring cultures. Where we have created practice questions, they follow a similar structure and wording to the questions that have been set for examination. Questions are provided for each section of the text, according to the passage focused on in Part (a). It is not necessary to have completed a reading of the whole text in order to answer Part (a) of each question, so you may wish to use one or more of these with students as they study a particular section. Part (b) of each question requires reference to the novel as a whole. Where available, past paper questions have been identified for you to use as possible practice questions for that section of the text. These can be downloaded here: http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-literature-9710/past-papers-and-markschemes. Please note that for copyright reasons past papers are moved to the Secure Key Materials of the AQA website after three years, with copyright extracts removed. Please also note that the passages focused on in Part (a) of the practice questions below have not been reproduced, again for copyright reasons. Section 1 Foundation Read the following passage and then answer Part (a) and Part (b). Extract from p.2, ‘For a moment the place...
Words: 1186 - Pages: 5
...Explore the Significance of Curley's Wife in 'Of Mice and Men' How is Curley's Wife presented in 'Of Mice and Men'? The novel is a microcosm, a cross section of society reflecting the prejudice. Blacks had no rights in America; they were seen as ‘nobody’s. Women too had very few rights. The itinerant workers ended to be loners. All these people were forced into loneliness and isolation; they each had a dream in hope of a better life often referred to at the time as ‘The American Dream’. Central to Steinbeck’s novel is Curley’s Wife and her importance in the novel is of how she revolves around the novels main themes and events. Curley’s Wife is excluded for being female, she is often found in search for companionship on the ranch as her newly found marriage does not give her the affection she desires, as she states to Lennie “I don’t like Curley he aint a nice fella.” Because of this she often tries to interact with the other men although she is never allowed as they think a “ranch aint no place for a girl.” Carlson also states of how a “women should be at home where she belongs.” The fact that she is excluded from a place of physical work is indicative of how women were portrayed during the 1930’s. They were not expected to do work, but instead stay at home and raise a family. Curley’ wife feels insecure because of the loneliness she feels and it is made clear she is frustrated with this situation, “none of them care how I gotta live.” Throughout the novel as similar...
Words: 614 - Pages: 3
...Explore the way the writer presents the relationship between George and Lennie in “Of Mice and Men” Of Mice and Men was written in the 1937 by John Steinbeck, he other well know books as the Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden, h also received a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. This book is set in the 1930s and set in California, his home region. During this time, the USA was suffering from a great depression, this meant that it was hard to find job because the economy was very weak, so to find job the men were disposed to go anywhere and the bosses would exploit their workers. The itinerant ranch workers where very lonely people because they had to move from place to place and tis meant that they could set up a stable life with a wife and children. Another reason that suggests to us that they are lonely is that at the end of each month they take their money and they go to “cat house”. The character of George and Lennie are very unusual and contrasting, this is because they have a strong relationship between them and they also have a dream, a dream of buying a house and some land to become independent and to life together for the rest of their lives. But the reader knows from the beginning that this will not happen and it will have a tragic end, and this is suggested in the title “Of Mice and Men” that comes from a from Robert Burns poem “The best laid schemes o’mice an’ men/ Gang aft agley” and it means: the best laid schemes of mice and men/ often go awry. As soon as the...
Words: 3921 - Pages: 16
...Impressions of Curleys Wife John Steinbeck sees Curleys wife a 'nice girl' and not a 'floozy' however in the novel 'Of Mice and Men', Steinbeck introduces the character of Curley's wife; she could be interpreted as a mis-fitting character in the novel. In the novel Curley's wife is probably the most loathed on the ranch, the way she looks and acts lead others on the ranch to see her as a 'tart'. Additionally Curley might be the reason of Curley's wife behavior; Curley's wife is clearly lonely in the novel because Curley doesn't pay much attention to her. The lack of attention from Curley forces her to seek it elsewhere. She flirts with the other characters on the ranch but they pay her no attention either. In this essay I am going to examine whether Curley's wife is a tart or not. I will consider how some of the other characters in this novel, Of Mice and Men, perceive her. Using this information I will draw a conclusion about her personality and nature. A tart is defined as someone who dresses up gaudily and exposes her body features to attract the opposite sex. It is usually described for someone who is a prostitute. John Steinbeck portrays Curley's wife, as a tart at the beginning of the novel, however as it progresses the way he presents her is opposite. At the end of the novel we see that she presents herself as a tart because of the intense loneliness she experiences. She seems to always to want to get attention from the other men, however this does not happen the way she...
Words: 310 - Pages: 2
...Of Mice And Men In the masterful story Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck there is a looming theme of loneliness. This theme is told to you through the words and actions of the characters in the story . This story is told through two characters Lennie and George. The setting is 1930’s America. The story involves traveling ranch workers that live only for the one purpose to get paid and waste their money on a few drinks and some pleasure. These men are consumed with loneliness. The care for nothing but themselves. They are very unlike George and Lennie who have each other and a dream. Lennie is a big man with the brain of a child. Lennie never meant to hurt anybody but managed to get himself and his only true friend George into trouble. George is a small smart man who has known Lennie all his life and knows to well that Lennie could not survive on his own lets him travel with him as a favor too Lennie’s aunt Loneliness is defined as Without companions; lone. I will use this definition to describe different aspects of Steinbeck’s treatment of loneliness in this novel. Steinbeck’s use of loneliness is in this novel is very noticeable in some of the dialogue like when Lennie accidentally stumbles into Crook’s home in the stable and they talk. "You got George. You know he’s goin’ to come back. S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go to the bunk-house and play rummy ‘cause you was black...
Words: 1107 - Pages: 5
...Impressions of Curleys Wife John Steinbeck sees Curleys wife a 'nice girl' and not a 'floozy' however in the novel 'Of Mice and Men', Steinbeck introduces the character of Curley's wife; she could be interpreted as a mis-fitting character in the novel. In the novel Curley's wife is probably the most loathed on the ranch, the way she looks and acts lead others on the ranch to see her as a 'tart'. Additionally Curley might be the reason of Curley's wife behavior; Curley's wife is clearly lonely in the novel because Curley doesn't pay much attention to her. The lack of attention from Curley forces her to seek it elsewhere. She flirts with the other characters on the ranch but they pay her no attention either. In this essay I am going to examine whether Curley's wife is a tart or not. I will consider how some of the other characters in this novel, Of Mice and Men, perceive her. Using this information I will draw a conclusion about her personality and nature. A tart is defined as someone who dresses up gaudily and exposes her body features to attract the opposite sex. It is usually described for someone who is a prostitute. John Steinbeck portrays Curley's wife, as a tart at the beginning of the novel, however as it progresses the way he presents her is opposite. At the end of the novel we see that she presents herself as a tart because of the intense loneliness she experiences. She seems to always to want to get attention from the other men, however this does not happen the way she...
Words: 320 - Pages: 2
...How does Steinbeck’s writing make this such a powerful and revealing moment in the novel? Steinbeck makes this passage such a powerful and revealing moment in the novel as it highlights main of the themes throughout the book, the main theme being friendship. In this novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck focuses on the loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930’s. One of the most important things in life is to have a friend, without friends people will suffer from loneliness like in this novel, not everyone in the novel has the same connection and special friendship like George and Lennie’s. Of Mice and Men is the story about lonely men who travel from ranch to ranch not really communicating with other ranch hands. Candy, Crooks and Curley’s wife all were lonely and dealt with their loneliness in different ways. Steinbeck makes this such a powerful and revealing moment in the novel as it is the first time Curley is introduced and meets Lennie. Curley's character is described in a very wealthy style, convincing the reader that he does not live the life of a ranch hand. This is presented in the first line when Steinbeck presents Curley as a “young man”. On its own, this connotes naivety, as though he is fresh to the job, lacking experience and altogether slightly out of place compared to the other ranch workers. The extract continues, to portray him differently as “like the boss, he wore high-heeled boots”. At this moment Steinbeck makes the reader feel as if Curley is...
Words: 1052 - Pages: 5
...English: GCSE Controlled Assessment – Of Mice and Men Heroes and Villains: Explore the ways Sympathy and/or Dislike of a character is created in Of Mice and Men. Even before plunging into profound depths of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, it is unequivocal that the novel is a microcosm of American life in the 1930s. As a result of the Great Depression, the setting is abundant with hardships which immensely mould the reader’s ambivalent feelings towards the most dominant female character in this book: Curley’s Wife. Steinbeck’s depiction of this flirtacious but “lonely” temptress has the reader leaping from heartbreaking sympathy to nurturing an intense abhorrence for Curley’s Wife. In the very first few moments that the novel introduces Curley’s Wife, she is immediatley condemned to the reader’s dislike because the author depicts her character as a threat to not just George and Lennie, but their aspirations to “live off the fatta the land”. The author intends to establish Curley’s Wife by labelling her to be an ominous threat from the very beginning as “the rectangle of sunshine was cut off” by her mere first appearance. Steinbeck’s particular use of the word “sunshine” is symbolic of hope which is derived from the main theme in this novel – the American Dream, or rather a paradise that has resulted in false hope flourishing in their hearts. This is in correlation to the “sunshine” which is evidently referring to George and Lennie’s vision of owning a farm. Furthermore, the...
Words: 1686 - Pages: 7
...‘Of Mice and Men’ is written by John Steinbeck, published in 1937. The novel is set in the 1930s during the great depression in California. The two protagonist characters, George and Lennie are farm workers who have a dream of one-day owning their own ranch. They find work in a ranch near Soledad, after escaping from Weed because of George’s incident. They are met by different characters on the farm that all have a dream. To be lonely means to lack friends or companionship and to feel isolated. Most of the characters are lonely and the only thing that keeps them alive is their dreams. Some of the loneliest characters they meet are Candy, an old man with only one hand, Crooks, a black cripple and Curley’s Wife, a woman who has no identity, she is lonely even though she is married. Although they are all on the ranch together, they are lonely because of who they are and their history. ‘Of Mice and Men’ is an emotional story with many different themes and characters. This essay will describe the way loneliness is portrayed in ‘Of Mice and Men.’ George Milton and Lennie Small are friends who travel together. They both share the same dream, which is to one day own their own ranch. George is quick-witted and intelligent. He takes the parental role of looking after Lennie, a simple-minded man who in the book is described as a giant. Lennie is kind hearted with huge physical strength. He does not know how powerful he is and likes to pet animals. The other men on the ranch find their relationship...
Words: 2391 - Pages: 10
...John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men This scene in Of Mice and Men is made extra tense by the author, John Steinbeck, by a mixture of linguistic devices, description and speech. Curley’s wife is introduced in this scene and it starts by describing her. In the novel “Of Mice and Men” John Steinbeck tells a story of dreams, hopes and loneliness. We are introduced to a majorly significant and complex character, Curley’s wife. Steinbeck shows us that Curley’s wife is flirtatious, mischievous but most of all an isolated character. She plays a main part in the novel; in doing this she displays and presents many of the main themes. Before we are presented to Curley’s wife, Candy talks about her, to George and Lennie. She is spoken about in a gossipy manor. “I think Curley’s married a … tart.” Steinbeck is prejudicing and preparing us before we meet Curley’s wife. He does this, so that we have an influenced preliminary impression of Curley’s wife and the way she acts. Steinbeck creates tension in this scene as, at the start, he builds up a stark image in our mind about how Curley’s wife looks. He also makes it very clear to us what both George and Lenny are thinking. Lenny is dazzled by Curley’s wife’s beauty whereas George is more wary of her and knows better than to chat with her too long. We develop an initial perception of Curley’s wife as being flirtatious and promiscuous. This is shown at the entrance of Curley’s wife’s. Steinbeck first introduces us to her appearance, “full...
Words: 696 - Pages: 3
...‘How does Steinbeck present the character of crooks?’ John Steinbeck uses the character of Crooks to create the image of racism and symbolise the marginalization of black people at the time the book was set in. Steinbeck first introduces Crooks when Candy calls him a “nigger,” this term was acceptable during the 1930’s in the great depression. Crooks is seen as an animal by the other people on the ranch at the start of chapter 4. Steinbeck says “crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn” this shows that he is treated no better than an animal by the people on the ranch as he is black this is because a few years before black people where seen a slaves. Crooks got his nickname form the people who work on the ranch because of his crooked back. This shows that he is being discriminated against because he is different from the others in the ranch. Crooks also gives the image of loneliness and need for company form a human and the reality of that many black people thought that they wouldn’t get their American dream. He shows this in page 99 Steinbeck writes “ he had books too; a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905” the word ‘mauled’ symbolised that he may have gotten mad that he thinks that he won’t get his dream. Also the book he has is from 1905 which considering the date that this was set in it looks like he had been wanting this job for a long time and the fact that...
Words: 501 - Pages: 3
...Katie Oliveira February 22, 2013 Essay #3: Of Mice and Men The American idea of justice sometimes operates under a layer of mythology. Our “innocent until proven guilty” principle predicates itself on the idea that those accused of a crime will have a fair trial and will be justly judged by their peers. It is an elaborate system established to thwart prejudice and to prevent the public from jumping to conclusions, to protect the innocent and to punish the guilty. In John Steinbeck’s Great Depression-era story Of Mice and Men, justice is carried out without a trial. No laws are taken into consideration, but instead an angry mob of men with guns is present. Mobs react with violence for real or imagined crimes at their own discretion, not waiting for legal justice to take course. Steinbeck expresses the idea that when justice fails people take matters into their own hands through George’s decision to kill Lennie. On the surface, the answer seems obvious to most people. Of course George should not have killed Lennie; murder, after all, is wrong no matter what the circumstances. Yet it is not as simple as that. Throughout the book, Lennie seems to be unaware of what is right and wrong, and this makes him a burden to George. Every time Lenny did something bad, they had to quit their jobs and start somewhere else. If George had let Lennie live, Lennie would not have been able to look after himself properly. Lennie couldn’t look after a puppy – let alone himself. Lennie...
Words: 853 - Pages: 4
...Year group: Title Extended Reading Language Unit 3 A Of Mice and Men 10 Unit description Candidates must make reference to the whole text. Tier ( Higher) Candidates must produce work totalling about 1200 words in a period of up to four hours CA task: Explore the ways sympathy and dislike of ‘Curley’s Wife’ is created in ‘Of Mice and Men.’ CA = Week starting 20 October 2014 (All 4 lessons this week) (Possibility of starting one lesson early at the end of week 6). Level or Grade A*-C Differentiate appropriately for the group that you teach and for individuals within that group th Length 7 weeks (To include CA) Learning objectives AO3 (See mark scheme for band descriptors) Interpretations of texts/understanding significant meanings of the text Engagement with writer’s ideas and attitudes Interpretation of ideas supported with evidence Understanding of features of language and structure Learning outcomes Close analysis of text extracts leading to development of reading skills Consideration of context and writer’s intentions/themes and ideas Speaking and Listening to show understanding of issues and empathy with character Writing a draft essay and set targets for the assessment Produce an analytical essay for CA (New Acronym = SMILE (Structure, Meanings, Ideas, Language, Evidence) Prior knowledge (Enter pre-requisite knowledge and skills.) Analytical essay – Year 9 KS3 reading skills National Framework for Secondary English Strands National Framework for...
Words: 2713 - Pages: 11
...‘Of Mice and Men’ serves as a reminder that dreaming is futile. How far do you agree with this representation of the text and its key themes? To first answer the question we need to define a key element, what are dreams? When we dream we contemplate the possibility of doing something or indulging in fantasies about something greatly desired. Yet they are necessary to keep the levels of hope high in people to stand for what they believe in whether it be the inadequacies of society or something else. Furthermore without incorporating dreams and having something to achieve in our life will result in an endless stream of days that have little connection or meaning. The representation of dreams occurs via prejudice and stereotypes- Crooks, because he is black in a racist culture- seems to be no hope for him; Curley’s wife, only woman on the farm and regarded as a tart- will never feel wanted, another hopeless situation; Candy, one-handed- can’t do the same work as the others and is old- can’t socialize with anyone, lonely and isolated. These situations give reason for dreaming as it becomes a paradise for those who wish for something more in their life and acts as a beacon of hope yet over time dreams either materialize or they question reality and in the book no one achieves or has achieved their dream- Lennie and George, Curley’s wife and Curley. Dreams will always be a source of hope but if they are not achieved you begin to realise that they are futile which is why to some extent...
Words: 1516 - Pages: 7
