OF MICE AND MEN
Journals
JOURNAL 1: WHAT IS THE AMERICAN DREAM?
Define it--what does it mean to people in
general?
What is Lennie and George’s American Dream?
What is your American Dream? Describe it in
detail. Why?
What are some of your goals? How will you
achieve this dream?
What does what you own say about you?
(Use the sheet we filled out last week to help you.)
JOURNAL 2: POWER VS. POWERLESSNESS
Who is powerful in the novel? Why?
Who is powerless? Explain using quotes,
events, and page numbers from the book.
In what ways are you powerful?
Powerless? Give an example.
JOURNAL 3: SEXISM AND RACISM
How are other characters sexist towards Curley’s
wife?
How are other characters racist towards Crooks?
Name one other character who experiences
discrimination in the novel.
Use page numbers and textual evidence to explain.
Describe a time you have experienced
discrimination. How did it make you feel? How did
you react? What did you learn?
JOURNAL 4: LONELINESS
Name at least 2 characters who are lonely
in this novel.
Why are they lonely? Explain using textual
evidence and page numbers.
In what ways are people lonely today?
How are you lonely (or not)? Why?
JOURNAL 5: COMMUNITY VS. THE INDIVIDUAL
Which is more important?
Why do you think this? Explain.
Which do you think Steinbeck thinks is
more important? Explain using textual
evidence and page numbers.
Choose a side, but also address the
opposing side.
INTELLIGENCE
According the American Heritage Dictionary definition it means:
The capacity to acquire knowledge; the faculty of thought and reason
IQ: Intelligence Quotient- The ratio of tested mental age, usually
expressed as a quotient multiplied by 100.5.
LINGUISTICS: The study or science of meaning in language forms.
LOGIC: The study of relationships between sign and symbols and what
they represent.
GARDNER’S MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
Linguistic- such as used in reading a book or poem
Logical- mathematical, such as used to solve mathematical problems
Spatial- such as used in fitting suitcases into a trunk of a car
Musical- as used in singing a song or composing a symphony
Bodily-kinesthetic- as used in dancing or playing football
Interpersonal- such as used in understanding the interactions with other people
Intrapersonal- such as used in understanding one’s self
Naturalist- such as understanding patterns in nature
Spiritual- such as achieving a spiritual understanding of life and aspects of the
universe
Existential- as used in understanding the nature to some extent means of
existence and existential issues.
HOWARD GARDNER
There are numerous theories about intelligence that
have impacted our understanding of human ability.
Howard Gardner is one of America’s leading theorists
about intelligence. He has spent time in China and
studied the style of education that is used. The
Chinese style stresses copying the mentor. The family is
the model in America and is used primarily to teach
children how to get along. Americans see education as
a necessary means for employment so we can survive.
JOURNAL 6: INTELLIGENCE
Define it in your own words.
How are characters in the novel intelligent?
Name at least 2 and explain using textual
evidence.
How are you intelligent?
Use one or more of Gardner’s Multiple
Intelligences to support your argument.
THEMES AND MOTIFS
1. Human existence and competition
2. Trying to obtain one’s American Dream
3. Loneliness and Companionship
4. Friendship
5. Strength vs. Weakness
6. Discrimination/Prejudice
7. Freedom vs. Confinement
8. Innocence vs. Corruption
EXAMPLES OF THEMES
FROM THE NOVEL
1. Candy trying to talk Carlson out of shooting his dog (45)
2. George telling Lennie about future plans (13-15).
3. G &L’s relationship, Curley’s wife, Candy and his dog, Lennie and
animals (9)
4. G & L (40), men on the ranch, Candy and his dog
5. Candy and dog, G & L, $ vs. workers, Curley’s dad
6. Lennie, Crooks (29), Curley’s wife (31)
7. Future plans, Curley’s wife (their marriage), job as a migrant
worker
8. Lennie vs. red dress (41), dog vs. Carlson
JOURNAL 7
Friendship
Which characters are friends and/or display friendship
qualities in the novel? Explain using textual evidence.
What do you expect in a “good” friend?
How are you a “good” friend?
What actions/qualities create a “bad” friend?
Explain your stance on George’s final act of “friendship”
in the novel. Did he have the right to make the decision to
do that to Lennie?