...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...
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...Michael Emminger Ms. Wanczuk English 9 Honors Period 3 11/21/13 Character Analysis Essay A time of sickness, bankruptcy, and underground liquor runs; the 1930’s were a devastating time in which our protagonists lived. Of Mice and Men is a classic book by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, this tale shows the adventures of two poor men, George and Lennie, who are suffering in the Great Depression. The book goes through a portion of their life through different places and roads. Lennie, I believe, is the most interesting character. Lennie shows his strengths and flaws from Of Mice and Men by having a big heart but bigger hands, helping keep George sane, and accidentally killing animals and people. Lennie has extraordinary physical strength, but his mind does not have that type of power. His head and heart did not know what to do when Curley started punching him and: “he was too frightened to defend himself… Curley’s fist was swinging when Lennie reached for it. The next minute Curley was flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed fist was lost in Lennie’s big hand” (69). Lennie’s brain could not comprehend the events developing around him and his body initially shut off in the process. If it was not for George yelling at him to fight back Lennie could have been really hurt. Some might say fighting is wrong all together, but if it is not possible to walk away from it then it is important to defend yourself. Even though it took him a while to be convinced to hit Curly...
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...“Of Mice and Men” “Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is the shocking story of two friends, George and Lennie, who have nothing but each other and a dream that one day they will have some land of their own and no longer have to wander round the country in search of work. The direction in which the story is heading becomes clear as it draws to a close. When George kills Lennie because he believes he must take responsibility for him. “And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied, he pulled the trigger.” George realizes that he must be the one that kills Lennie and not the other ranch men. In the same way that Candy should have taken the responsibility for his dog, George believes that he must take responsibility for Lennie. He must have realized that even if they were to run away again, Lennie would get into trouble and they would have to run away again. It really must have killed George inside when he saw Lennie lying dead at his feet. He and Lennie were portrayed as having been together a long time. Now George is on his own and no different from any of the other ranch men , he no longer dreamed of having a house of his own, that dream died when Curley’s wife was found lying in the hay. George tells Lennie how different they are compared to the other ranchers. “Guys like us that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They...
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...English 11 In The Histories of Herodotus, Herodotus states that “…men are at the mercy of events and cannot control them.” There are two novels that I have read that this quote applies to. The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is about two migrant farm workers, George and Lenny, who get into trouble due to the fact that Lenny is slow minded and huge in physical stature. The other novel that comes to mind is Night by Elieser Wiesel. In this novel, Elie is part of the deportation to Nazi concentration camps during World War II. In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses characterization to portray the characters and help the reader get to know them. In this book, Lenny is a very large man but is mentally handicapped. George, his friend since childhood, takes Lenny under his wing and tries to keep him out of trouble while still saving up money for their dream. The two men’s dream consist of buying a little farm house far away from everybody while having animals and “living off the land.” This dream is almost within reach until Lenny makes a life changing mistake and accidentally kills his boss’s daughter in-law by strangling her trying to keep her quiet. Then, all of the farm hands are sent out in a search party to find Lenny. George finds Lenny first and ends up shooting him in the back of the head while Lenny is in the middle of a day dream so that way the other men could not torture him and he died while being happy. George had no control of...
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...a) How does Steinbeck present Curley’s wife in the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’? Use details from the text to support your answer. Steinbeck presents Curley’s wife’s life on the ranch as being a miserable one, and a life she didn’t expect to lead with her aspirations of being a movie star. She evidently isn’t ready for life on the ranch, as Steinbeck describes her as a “girl”, suggesting that she’s young, immature, and possibly quite quick-tempered and impetuous as she “flared up”. This suggests that she makes very quick, rash decisions, which is supported by the fact that she married Curley the night she met him. Her bad temper also has strong links to the colour red, which is often thought of as being quite a brash, angry colour, and is a recurring theme throughout the novel when it comes to Curley’s wife. She is described as wearing red mules and lipstick, and having red nails which she admires frequently. This could link to Steinbeck’s use of a hand motif throughout the story. Curley’s wife asks “what happened to Curley’s han’?” after complaining about being stuck with him for a husband, suggesting that she doesn’t have a happy married life, even though they’re only 2 weeks into their marriage. She’s extremely sarcastic when referring to her husband – “swell guy, ain’t he” – because of how she’s treated. Everybody thinks less of her as she’s a young woman (or possibly even in her late teens) in the 1930s, which was very much a male dominated society. Steinbeck uses Candy’s reluctance...
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...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...
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...How can the poems in the ‘Moon on the Tides’ anthology be seen to provide a meaningful insight into George and Lennie’s relationship? During the Great Depression of the 1930s when America was plunged into financial crisis, following the Wall Street Crash of October 1929, levels of unemployment and poverty were at a record high. Through this period, life was a struggle and the mentality of society became survival of the fittest, every man for himself. Migrant workers toured the country in search of labour to provide money for food. These men led lonely and emotionless lives, which are reflected through Steinbeck’s portrayal of his characters in his famous, yet bleak, 1930s parable ‘Of Mice and Men.’ In the novel, George and Lennie’s relationship diversifies them from the other ranch workers for the reason that they rely on each other for support and companionship ‘I got you and you got me.’ In particular, the dream they share of owning their own land, reflects the American Dream of being the ringleader of your own life with a level of self- sufficiency. The dream is a significant aspect in their relationship and is portrayed in the poem ‘The Moment’. Apart from each other, the only other thing that George and Lennie have to keep them motivated is the dream. The poem opens with the line “The moment when, after many years of hard work and a long voyage”. This is a metaphor for the life that George and Lennie live as itinerant workers and how they move from ranch to ranch together...
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...Steinbeck's novella 'Of Mice and Men' is written during the depression era and is about 2 friends, George and Lennie who venture out to conquer the 'American Dream'. Steinbeck incorporate s many themes such as loneliness, dreams and friendship as well as the characterisation of Lennie, Curley's wife and Crooks to place the reader back into the depression era so that we can feel the differences of the past and present which allows the us to see the world differently. Steinbeck perceives loneliness as a longing or desire of friendship or companionship. Characters such as Crooks and Curley's wife demonstrate loneliness in the novella. Their desperation for someone to talk to is clearly evident through Crooks as he whines about 'A guy needs somebody to be with them' and 'A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody'. As a reader Steinbeck incorporates Crooks as the character that shows that it is tough being alone and juxtaposes it to the tight friendship of Lennie and George to let the reader know and understand the true feeling of loneliness. Curley's wife also expresses her longing to talk to someone when she blurts out 'Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever' once in a while? Think I like to stick in that house alla time?'. The guys on the ranch don’t understand Curley's personality or mentality due to her flirtatious behaviour which leads to the guys trying to stay away from her which puts Curley's wife in a lonely situation. Steinbeck shows the audience that being lonely...
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...Mikayla Weinke 04/23/14 Advanced Lit. and Comp. Mr. West Symbolism is a key concept throughout the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. Though there were many examples of symbolism, mice were paramount throughout the book, even included in the title of the novel. They were symbolic of the struggle with helplessness. The mice and Lenny were helpless and acted without the ability to understand consequences they may face because of their lack of cognitive ability. The mice in the story were helpless creatures that were only seeking love and affection. As any other animal, mice act upon nature instinct. Their brains don’t have a thinking process of cause and effect; they act upon what their natural instinct is. So when the mouse acted impulsively and bit Lennie, Lennie acted impulsively and killed the mouse. Lennie was different from most people. His brain didn’t process the way a normal human beings does. All he wanted was to be loved and cared for like any other person. He was unable to understand the potential consequences of his actions, but rather acted on impulse. He was so helpless that most of the time when he got into situations, he couldn’t even remember them. So when Lennie and Curleys wife got into an argument and Lennie got scared he acted upon impulse and shook Curleys wife to death. The title of the book is Of Mice and Men which from previous examples show how both can be helpless creatures. In examples throughout the book these helpless creatures...
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...major motif of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is the American dream and the drive to attain it. The life of a ranch hand is grim, yet the characters in the novel are still vulnerable to dreams of a better life. The dream of owning land, called the American dream by some, is what motivates George and Lennie in their work on the ranch. It is their friendship that sustains this dream and makes it possible. While the dreams are credible to the reader, in the end all dreams are crushed, and the characters are defeated by their circumstances. The characters in Of Mice and Men have very little to look forward to as migrant ranch hands. They travel from ranch to ranch with all of their possessions in a bundle, looking for work for fifty dollars a month, and that work does not usually last very long. If a man is a good worker, he might be kept on at the ranch indefinitely and wind up as Candy does, old and crippled, just waiting until he is no longer useful. George explains the despair of a ranch hand to Lennie: Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they're poundin' their tail on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to. (Steinbeck 13-14) Despite their destitute state, many of the characters in Of Mice and Men are prone to dream. George and Lennie...
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...Reading File – Class 5 1. Summary Retell the story in your own words or attach a good summary from the internet (mentioning your source)..... The book Of Mice and Men is about two poor guys, George and Lennie, who travel together to find work. Lennie is a big, clumsy man, who doesn’t know his own strength and he is also childlike, simple and easily forgetful. Lennie goes through life with his fellow George, a smart guy and hard worker who takes care of Lennie. The book starts with them walking down a road, they ran away from their job in Weed because the stupid, innocent Lennie touched a ladie’s dress (because Lennie likes soft things). Lennie and George have a shared dream: having their own farm, where they can keep all kinds of animals, and can live from their harvest when they have saved enough money. When they on their way to a ranch, hoping to find work, they sleep in the clearing (a place near a river) for one night. The next day they come to the bunkhouse and they get a job. Soon they meet the other workers on the ranch, including Curley, the son of the boss. Curley is mean, aggressive and a lightweight-boxer. Because he is so small he doesn’t like big guys, he feels threatened by them. So an aggressive look and a rude attitude is his first reaction when he sees big Lennie. The next day when Curley comes into the room, Lennie is attacked by Curley. But strong Lennie defends himself and crushes (accidentally) the hand of Curley, because he tried to stop...
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...Loneliness in Of Mice And Men In the novel “Of Mice and Men” John Steinbeck illustrates loneliness in numerous ways. Steinbeck creates a lonely and blue atmosphere at nearly every stage of the novel. This is shown in everything from the setting of ranch to the way the characters are portrayed. In my opinion the four characters that exude the most identifiable sadness are Lennie, Curley’s wife, Crook’s and Candy. This is depicted in different ways for each character, each given a different form of loneliness. For some of these characters loneliness is the sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned which seems to be the case for Lennie. At the beginning of the novel Lennie and George are discussing Lennie’s Aunt Clara that cared for him when he was growing up. It was said that she gave him soft things such as mice and velvet for him to hold and touch, which continues into his life even at the end of the novel. Lennie often speaks of tending to the rabbits when they talk about their dream of buying a farm. Although Lennie has George, who he loves and idolizes he if often shunned by George and made to look stupid. "If you don’ want me I can go off in the hills an’ find a cave. I can go away any time." From the rabbits and the mice he would receive unconditional love and no orders of what to do and what not to do. The way he needs these comforting items shows the lack of nourishment and love in his childhood. He also has no one he can really relate to in...
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...Of Mice and Men When reading the book Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, it was clear to me that he wanted the reader to read between the lines while reading his book. This book is much deeper than two grown men looking for work on the farms of Northern California; it’s a journey of friendship, hardships, and life lessons that are learned along the way. In the book, work is scares right now, and George and Lennie can’t seem to keep a job because of Lennie’s antics he can’t seem to stop. Some of it is due to Lennie’s mental state not being all the way there, and other parts is the just cant seem to stay away from “petty” people or animals. Despite both of them being broke, they both still have a dream of owning a farm eventually. This dream seems to be what keeps Lennie going, though George knows that they will probably never have enough money to have their own farm, he still tells Lennie that whenever things hit a rough patch. When they finally find work in Soledad, California things eventually go from bad to worse. When they arrive they meet the co-workers: Candy, Crooks, and Curly. To make matters worse Curly’s wife is a ‘”tart” a Lennie would like to pet her hair. As the weeks working on piles up, so do the trips to the whorehouse and the money spent. As expected, Lennie messed up again this time kills Curly’s wife in an attempt to “pet” her. This results in George hiding Lennie, and then shooting him in the back of the head to save him from what punishment he...
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...Characterization of Lennie and George - Of Mice and Men The two main characters in “Of Mice and Men” are George Milton and Lennie Small. The story is written by John Steinbeck during the Great Depression in USA. Lennie and George have a very unorthodox relationship at that time but they are still like a family to each other. The relationship between them is different from any other relationship that was common among most workers during the Great Depression. Migrant workers usually travel alone but it is different with Lennie and George, they do almost everything together and they take care of each other. They also grew up together and all the kids, including George, would always make fun of Lennie, but one day George rescues Lennie from dying and since that day, Lennie begin to trust George. If anyone threats or talks bad about George, Lennie will be there to protect him and George also protects Lennie from bad guys such as Curley. Lennie is much stronger than he think and if George tells him to fight for himself or to rescue another man, Lennie is ready to kill, because he loves and respect George so much. Lennie is mentally handicapped so he needs George to talk for him and to take care of him and that is also one of the reasons why they are travelling around together. George tolerates that Lennie is with him, because he would be alone if Lennie was not there, and Lennie also loyally follows George, because he don’t have any family left besides George. George is the small and...
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...Of Mice and Men is one of the most widely assigned modern novels in high schools because of both its form and the issues that it raises. John Steinbeck’s reliance on dialogue, as opposed to contextual description, makes the work accessible to young readers, as does his use of foreshadowing and recurrent images. Equally important is the way in which he intertwines the themes of loneliness and friendship and gives dignity to those characters, especially Lennie and Crooks, who are clearly different from their peers. By focusing on a group of lonely drifters, Steinbeck highlights the perceived isolation and sense of “otherness” that can seem so overwhelming when one is growing up. Of Mice and Men is also important because it explores the way in which events can conspire against the realization of one’s dreams. It pits a group of flawed individuals against a set of circumstances that they are unable to master or, in the case of Lennie, even to comprehend. This is a theme that Steinbeck also explores in his classic novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939). When Steinbeck began Of Mice and Men, he was planning to write a children’s book called Something That Happened. His intent was to demonstrate that events often have a momentum of their own and need not reflect the existence of a higher power that is exacting punishment. Perhaps it was for this reason that he decided to retitle the book, drawing from Robert Burns’s oft-quoted poem “To a Mouse,” which contains the line “The best-laid...
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