Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Y11 Of Mice and Men Quote Quest

Instructions
-click on 'comments'
-fill in the box with your name, theme (eg. 'loneliness'), character (eg. 'Slim'), quote and comment
-fill in the security 'word'.
-submit your comment. I have to moderate it first so it won't appear immediately!

Deadline 24/4/07



1. Dreams
-Find a quote that reveals the dreams or ambitions of these characters, and write one sentence about that dream.-

eg. George

‘George said reverently, “Jesus Christ! I bet we could swing her.” His eyes were full of wonder. “I bet we could swing her,” he repeated softly.” (Section 3, p.87)

The word ‘reverently’ shows that George sees the dream as almost holy in its promise of a better life, like Heaven, while the fact that he repeats the phrase, “I bet we could swing her,” perhaps suggests that, even with the promise of Candy’s money, he has to talk himself into believing the dream could be made real.

Lennie

Curley

Curley’s wife

Candy

Crooks

Slim

2. Loneliness
-Find a quote that reveals the loneliness or isolation of these characters, and write one sentence about that loneliness.-

eg. George

‘Slim twitched George’s elbow. “Come on George. Me an’ you’ll go in an’ get a drink.”
George let himself be helped to his feet. “Yeah, a drink.” ‘ (Section 6, p.148)

The way George allows Slim to help him ‘to his feet’ shows us that George needs companionship as much as any other man, and yet the irony of him accepting a drink, after telling Lennie that migrant workers drink because nobody ‘gives a damn’ about them shows how lost he is without the direction in life looking after Lennie gave him.

Lennie

Curley

Curley’s wife

Candy

Crooks

Slim


3. Friendship
-Find a quote that reveals the friendships of these characters, and write one sentence about that friendship.-

eg. George

‘George went on. “With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us” ‘ (Section 1, p.32)

George is almost simultaneously restricted by Lennie’s dependence on him and grateful for the way Lennie gives him purpose and direction: George and Lennie are perhaps the only characters in the novel who have real affection for one another, and yet their relationship is based not only on affection, but also on guilt, duty and mutual need.

Lennie

Curley

Curley’s wife

Candy

Crooks

Slim

4. Outsiders, discrimination and prejudice
-Find a quote that reveals the way these characters are both victims of prejudice, prejudiced themselves or affected by prejudice. Write one sentence about that prejudice.-

eg. George

‘ “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place” ‘ (Section 1, p.32)

George is acutely aware that migrant workers like himself and Lennie are outside of the mainstream of society: even though he fits in well on the ranch, in a wider social context he is still regarded as a tramp, or what Curley’s wife calls a ‘bindle-stiff’ .

Lennie

Curley

Curley’s wife

Candy

Crooks

Slim



5. Hardship and poverty
-Find a quote that reveals the way these characters are victims of various kinds of poverty, whether financial or emotional. Write one sentence about that poverty.-

eg. George

‘ [George] unrolled his bindle and put things on the shelf, his razor and bar of soap, his comb and bottle of pills, his liniment and leather wristband.’ (Section 2, p.40)

As a migrant worker, George has no possessions other than those he can literally carry on his back: by describing the contents of his ‘bindle’ so exactly, and because these items are very basic and related to basic hygiene and health, Steinbeck subtly emphasises his poverty and hard working life.

Lennie

Curley

Curley’s wife

Candy

Crooks

Slim


6. Power and hierarchy
-Find a quote that reveals the way these characters are participants in the strict pecking-order of the ranch. Write one sentence about that hierarchy.-

eg. George

‘ “Slim moved back slightly so the light was not on his face. “Funny how you an’ him string along together’. It was Slim’s calm invitation to confidence.
“What’s funny about it?” George demanded defensively. (Section 3, p.65)

The adverb ‘defensively’ is especially telling here: Steinbeck rarely comments on his characters, and the fact that George responds ‘defensively’ to a personal question demonstrates that he is acutely aware of the power imbalance between himself and a senior hand like Slim, and how easily Slim could exploit that by betraying anything George gives away to the Boss.

Lennie

Curley

Curley’s wife

Candy

Crooks

Slim