“A Child, a Dog, the Night” by Amalia Rendic
I. JOURNAL –
How would you define true friendship?
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Discussion Questions
1.) Who are the characters in this story? What is their relationship to one another?
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2.) Use details from the story to describe how the friendship/relationship between Little Juan and Black develops.
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3.) Describe how Little Juan and Black react to being separated after Mr. Davies returns. What does Labra decide
to do?
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4.) How does the story end?
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5.) How do you think Labra feels when Little Juan asks him to buy Black from Mr. Davies? Explain your answer.
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6.) What is your interpretation of the last line of the story?
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7.) In your opinion, who is the hero of this story? Give reasons for your answer.
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8.) Juan Labra and his family probably need the money Mr. Davies offers to Little Juan. Why do you think Little
Juan will not accept the money? What would you have done?
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9.) How are the characters of this story transformed by the events that occur?
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PLOT STRUCTURE AND LITERARY ELEMENTS IN “A Child, a Dog, the Night” BY AMALIA RENDIC (Literary Textbook pp. 129-133)
DIRECTIONS: Answer the following questions about the story “A Child, a Dog, the Night” using complete sentences. Include the question(s) as
part of your response.
1.
What is the ultimate message or theme of the story? Why is this theme still important today—how does the theme relate to our lives
today?
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DIRECTIONS: Label each plot structure component found in “A Child, a Dog, the Night” and then complete the chart.
PLOT COMPONENTS
Find an example of the
plot component listed
and explain it.
Introduce the quote and
use correct MLA
parenthetical citation to
cite the page number
and author. NO
DROPPED QUOTES.
In your own words,
explain what the quote
means and why the
quote is important.
DIRECTIONS: Define the following literary elements found in “A Child, a Dog, the Night” and then complete the chart.
SETTING
DEFINITION
Find an example of
the literary
element listed and
explain it.
Introduce the
quote and use
correct MLA
parenthetical
citation to cite the
page number and
author. NO
DROPPED
QUOTES.
In your own words,
explain what the
quote means and
why the quote is
important.
SIMILE
PERSONIFICATION
IMAGERY
THEME
CHARACTER
BUSINESS LETTER PROMPT:
1. Be sure to use all six requirements for a business letter. This letter must be TYPED and error free (use spell
check and grammar check!).
2. Pretend you are Little Juan Labra. Write a letter to Mr. Davies asking to keep Black, the dog.
3. In your letter, be sure to include the following within the body of the letter:
 Refer to p. 129-133 in the literature textbook to refresh your memory
 describe how the relationship between Little Juan and Black develops
 tell what Little Juan’s internal and external conflicts are as they relate to keeping Black
 describe how Little Juan and Black react to being separated after Mr. Davies returns
 describe what true friendship is and tell how Little Juan and Black have that true friendship
Helpful Hints:
 Little Juan lives in the Binkeroft neighborhood of Chile, South America
 Mr. Davies lives in the Chuqicamata Mine Area in Chile, South America
MODEL BUSINESS LETTER - In this letter, Yolanda Dodson uses block format to request information.
Students for a Cleaner Planet
333 Veterans’ Drive
Denver, Colorado 80211
March 14, 2014
Steven Wilson, Director
300 Oak Street
Denver, Colorado 80216
Dear Mr. Wilson:
Memorial High School would like to start a branch of your successful recycling program. We share your commitment to
reclaiming as much reusable material as we can. Because your program has been so successful in other neighborhoods, we’re
sure that it can work in our community. Our school includes grades 9-12 and has about 800 students.
Would you send us some information about your community recycling program? For example, we need to know what materials
can be recycled and how we can implement the program.
At least fifty students have already expressed interest in getting involved, so I know we’ll have the people power to make the
program work. Please help us get started.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Yolanda Dodson
OF MICE AND MEN
Anticipation/Reaction Guide
Directions—Before reading the novel:
In the “Before Reading” column, write “yes” if you agree with the statement, “no” if you disagree with the statement,
and “?” if you don’t have a strong opinion about the statement.
Yes = I agree No = I disagree ? = I don’t know
After completing the “Before Reading” column, get into small groups, then tally the number of “yes”,“no” and “?”
responses for each question.
Group Members:
Once you have collected your data, discuss those issues about which your group was divided. Make your case for
your opinions, and pay attention to your classmates’ arguments. Once you have discussed all of the issues, answer
the questions that follow.
Before Reading
Statement
After Reading
1) Having friends fulfills our basic human needs.
2) Mentally impaired people are worthless, and cannot
function like “regular” people.
3) People who are strong know their strength, and how
much they can hurt other people if they wanted to.
4) It is unnatural for people to have an attachment to, or
feelings for, an animal.
5) The purpose of life is to strive for, and eventually
reach, our goals and dreams.
6) Killing another human being is intolerable, and should
be punished.
7) Running away from a crime is never acceptable.
Pre-Reading Individual Reflection
Directions: Use the information and discussion from the “Before Reading” responses to answer the following
questions on a separate piece of paper. Be sure to use complete sentences.
1. Which statement triggered the most thought-provoking or interesting discussion?
2. Summarize the discussion/debate.
3. For any of the statements that you discussed, what were some of the strongest or most memorable points made
by your group members?
4. How did you feel when a group member disagreed with the way you feel about an issue?
5. Was any argument strong enough to make you change your mind or want to change any of your initial responses?
Why or why not? What made the argument effective?
Post-Reading Individual Reflection
Directions: Revisit your Anticipation/Reaction Guide and your answers to the discussion questions. Now that you
have read the novel, complete the “After Reading” column and answer the following questions on a separate piece of
paper, comparing your responses.
Answer each question using complete sentences.
1. How many of your responses have changed since reading the novel?
2. Which statements do you see differently after reading the novel?
3. Describe an important part of the novel that affected you, or made you think differently after reading.
4. In small groups, talk to some of your classmates about their responses. How are their responses different after
reading the novel?
5. Overall, are the feelings of your other group members the same or different from yours? Do any of their responses
surprise you? Which ones? How?
6. Why do you think there might be so many different opinions and viewpoints? What do you feel has contributed to
the way you and your other classmates responded to each statement?
Reader Response Journals – Instructions
Theses assignments are designed to help you connect your reading, writing and thinking! This is an annotation assignment; it is a
comprehension check for the novel we are reading in class.
Step #1:
In the top, left-hand corner on the page, please write the appropriate MLA format heading. The heading in the far, left-hand corner
of the page should look like this:
Michael Miller
Mrs. Ojeda
English II – Period 2
8 March 2014
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Step # 2:
Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half hot-dog style so that you have two columns.
Step 3:
As we read and discuss the novel, keep track of important passages in the novel. Once you have identified the important quotes, write
them down in the far left-hand side of the paper – please include page numbers. You will not get credit for the quote/passage if you
do not include the page number.
Step # 4:
In the right hand column, explain why you chose this passage. What about this quote makes it significant? You may want to refer to
your annotation notes to help you write your reflections. See below for examples:
Quotation and page #
“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 ain’t got nothing to look ahead to” (13- 14). “With us it
ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to
that gives a damn about us …” (14).
Your reflection
In this passage, George expresses his and Lennie’s desire for
companionship/friendship in a cruel and lonely world. They are
different from all the other migrant workers because they
have each other and because they have each other, they have
a dream, and thus a future as well as hope. This theme of
loneliness is woven throughout the novel by the different
characters’ search for companionship in one way or another,
such as Candy and his old dog.
Annotations are Conversations with the text.
You can

ask questions

comment on actions/development of character

comment on something that intrigues, amuses, shocks, puzzles you

make predictions

Use SIFTT
The S in SIFTT stands for symbols. A symbol is a literal real thing that also stands for something else, like a red rose.
What is the symbol?
What layer of meaning does it add to meaning of text?
The I in SIFTT stands for imagery. Imagery includes any words the author adds that appeal to one or more of the five senses.
What is the imagery?
What’s the significance of the imagery?
The F in SIFTT stands for figurative language and works closely with the imagery. Figurative language includes things like similes, metaphors,
and personification.
Which two things are being compared?
How does this add to the meaning?
The T in SIFTT stands for tone. Tone is the writer's attitude toward the subject or the readers.
What is the tone?
What is the author trying to express by it?
The second T in SIFTT stands for theme. In literature, a theme is a broad idea in a story, or a message or lesson conveyed by a work. This
message is usually about life, society or human nature. Themes explore timeless and universal ideas. Most themes are implied rather than
explicitly stated.
What is the theme?
If it’s implied, provide evidence from literary work.
Of Mice and Men Imagery Activity - Chapter 1
Imagery: The “word pictures” that writers create to help evoke an emotional response. Writers generally use sensory details (sight,
hearing, touch, taste, and smell) to create effective images.
Directions:
Refer to Of Mice and Men below and underline or highlight as many imagery passages as possible.
A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too,
for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one side of the river the golden foothill
slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan Mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees- willows fresh and green with
every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter's flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs
and branches that arch over the pool. On the sandy bank under the trees the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great
skittering if he runs among them. Rabbits come out of the brush to sit on the sand in the evening, and the damp flats are covered with the
night tracks of 'coons, and with the spread pads of dogs from the ranches, and with the split-wedge tracks of deer that come to drink in the
dark.
There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys coming down from the ranches to swim in
the deep pool, and beaten hard by tramps who come wearily down from the highway in the evening to jungle-up near water.
In front of the low horizontal limb of a giant sycamore there is an ash pile made by many fires; the limb is worn smooth by men who have sat
on it.
2.) Now, draw the imagery described in these two paragraphs in the box below.
1.)Friendship – Paragraph: write a paragraph answer to the following question. Use quotes to support your answer.
Explain the relationship that exists between George and Lennie based on Chapter 1 of the book.
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Of Mice and Men Imagery Activity - Chapter 3
Directions: Read the following excerpts from Chapter Three, underlining each word that evokes some sensory stimulation (sight,
sound, hearing, touch, taste). Then answer the questions that follow.
“They took places opposite each other at the table under the light, but George did not shuffle the cards. He rippled the
edge of the deck nervously, and the little snapping noise drew the eyes of all the men in the room, so that he stopped
doing it. The silence fell on the room again. A minute passed, and another minute. Candy lay still, staring at the ceiling.
Slim gazed at him for a moment and then looked down at his hands; he subdued one hand with the other, and held it
down. There came a little gnawing sound from under the floor and all the men looked down toward it gratefully. Only
Candy continued to stare at the ceiling.”
1. To what senses is Steinbeck appealing in this paragraph?
a. taste and smell
c. sight and touch
b. touch and sight
d. sound and sight
2. How is the information in this paragraph organized?
a. order of importance (most to least or least to most important)
b. chronological order (the order in which the events occurred)
c. spatial order (description of the space or surroundings)
d. order of sensory description (description of what you see, hear, taste, smell, etc.)
3. What mood pervades most of the paragraph?
a. delight
c. anxiety
b. embarrassment
d. desolation
4. Which of the following can you infer from the information given in the paragraph?
a. The men want to play cards.
c. Candy was not invited to play cards.
b. The men do not know what to say or do.
d. Slim wants to console Candy.
5. Why do you think Steinbeck included this paragraph in the novel? _______________________________________________
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“George’s hands stopped working with the cards. His voice was growing warmer. “An’ we could have a few pigs. I
could build a smoke house like the one gran’pa had, an’ when we kill a pig we can smoke the bacon and the hams, and
make sausage an’ all like that. An’ when the salmon run up river we could catch a hundred of ‘em an’ salt ‘em down or
smoke ‘em. We could have them for breakfast. They ain’t nothing so nice as smoked salmon. When the fruit come in we
could can it—and tomatoes, they’re easy to can. Ever’ Sunday we’d kill a chicken or a rabbit. Maybe we’d have a cow or
a goat, and the cream is so God damn
thick you got to cut it with a knife and take it out with a spoon.”
“Lennie watched him with wide eyes, and old Candy watched him too. Lennie said softly, ‘We could live offa the fatta
the lan’.’”
6. What senses are used to define the setting in the passage above?
a. smell and touch
c. taste and sound
b. sight and sound
d. sight and taste
7. How would you describe the mood of the passage?
a. sullen
c. festive
b. optimistic
d. tense
8. How does this paragraph reflect the time period in which it was written? __________________________________________
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Of Mice and Men Conflict Activity - Chapter 4
Conflict is the struggle between opposing forces in a story. Three common types of conflict are:
• Character versus character—____________________________________________________________________________
• Character versus self—_________________________________________________________________________________
• Character versus nature—______________________________________________________________________________
In Of Mice and Men, conflict surrounds the plot and is a major part of the action. Several conflicts emerge at the same time, and
ultimately cause the plot to materialize into an interesting and suspenseful story.
Conflict
Type of Conflict
Effect
George gets frustrated and irritated
with the fact that Lennie has trouble
remembering things, and often
scolds him for forgetting.
Character versus character
George has to take care of Lennie as
if he were a child, like carrying his
work card for him, and speaking on
his behalf.
1) Lennie likes to pet soft things,
such as mice, but tends to pet them
too hard or kill them, unaware of his
own strength.
2) George complains that if he didn’t
have to take care of Lennie he would
have a better life, and would be able
to do the things he always wanted to
do.
3) George and Lennie dream of one
day being able to own their own
farm, and to work only for
themselves, but for now they must
work to survive.
4) Curley, who has been known to
pick fights with bigger men, picks a
fight with Lennie.
5) Curley is jealous and suspicious of
his wife, who seems to flaunt herself
in front of other men.
6) Hoping to avoid any trouble,
Lennie suggests that he and George
leave the ranch.
7) Crooks lives apart from the other
men, ostracized, merely because he
is African-American.
Of Mice and Men Characterization Activity - Chapter5
As authors develop the plot and characters for a story, several character types emerge:
� The protagonist ______________________________________________________________________________________
� The antagonist _______________________________________________________________________________________
To further define his characters, an author then develops four general types of characters which evolve around the protagonist
and antagonist and support the plot development.
• Round ______________________________________________________________________________________________
• Flat _________________________________________________________________________________________________
• Dynamic _____________________________________________________________________________________________
• Static _______________________________________________________________________________________________
To help understand these character types, we must study the way that the author has written about each character. There are
several ways we learn about a character:
• Direct characterization _________________________________________________________________________________
• Indirect characterization _______________________________________________________________________________
Two of the ways we can learn about a character through indirect characterization are:
o The character’s own thoughts, feelings and actions
o What other characters say, feel or act towards another character
Character
Direct
Characterization
Indirect
Characterization
Protagonist,
Antagonist, or Other
Round or Flat,
Dynamic or Static
George
“The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with
restless eyes and sharp, strong features.”
The boss says about George: “Well, I never seen
one guy take so much trouble for another guy.”
Protagonist
Character
Direct
Characterization
Indirect
Characterization
Candy
Lennie
Round, Dynamic
Curley
Protagonist,
Antagonist, or Other
Round or Flat,
Dynamic or Static
Character
Direct
Characterization
Indirect
Characterization
Protagonist,
Antagonist, or Other
Round or Flat,
Dynamic or Static
Curley’s Wife
Slim
Character
Direct
Characterization
Indirect
Characterization
Protagonist,
Antagonist, or Other
Round or Flat,
Dynamic or Static
Carlson
Crooks
Of Mice and Men Literary Terms Activity - Chapter6
Please answer the following questions thoroughly and in complete sentences.
1.) How did you like the ending of the novel? Explain.
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2.) What was your reaction when George killed Lennie? Explain.
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3.) Why did George kill Lennie? Explain.
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4.) Was George justified in killing Lennie? Explain.
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Analyzing Literary Elements:
Give three examples of irony (either verbal, situational, or dramatic) that you find in the novel. Be sure your example is complete and give the page
number in parentheses at the end.
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2._____________________________________________________________________________________________
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3._____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Give three examples of symbolism that you find in the novel. Name the idea or thing and what it stands for. Give the page number in parentheses at the
end of the example.
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2._____________________________________________________________________________________________
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3._____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Theme - Of Mice & Men focuses on the theme of FRIENDSHIP/PROTECTION.
List three examples of how the theme of friendship/protection is illustrated in the plot of Of Mice & Men. Be very specific.
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2.________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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3.________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Give two more examples of theme that you find in the novel. Be sure your example is complete and give the page number in parentheses at the end.
From what you have read in this novel, what do you think Steinbeck is trying to say about the nature of human beings? Think about the concepts of
friendship, belonging, trust, dreams, loneliness, mental impairment and discrimination.
1.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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2.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Allusion in Of Mice and Men
While some students may think that the title Of Mice and Men comes from the fact that Lennie likes to pet mice and other soft things, the
title is really taken from the poem “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns. After accidentally turning up a mouse’s nest while he was plowing in 1785,
he wrote an ode to this mouse, expressing his sympathy for the mouse and his home.
[A mouse has been disturbed by the poet, who speaks to it philosophically. These are the last two verses.]
Scottish Version
Modern English Version
36
But Mousie, thou are no thy lane,
36
But, Mousie, you are not alone
37
In proving foresight may be vain:
37
In proving foresight may be vain
38
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
38
The best-laid plans of mice and men
39
Often go astray,
39
Gang aft agley,
40
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
40
41
For promis’d joy!
41
And leave us nothing but grief and pain
For promised joy
42
Still thou art blest, compared wi’ me!
42
Still you are blessed, compared with me.
43
The present only toucheth thee:
43
You are only affected by the present.
44
But och! I backward cast my e’e,
44
But ah, I cast my eye backwards
45
On prospects drear!
45
On dreary prospects
46
An’ forward, tho’ I canna see,
46
And though I cannot see the future
47
I guess and fear!
47
I guess an’ fear!
Directions: After reading the excerpt from Robert Burns’ poem, answer the following questions.
I.
II.
III.
The author’s attitude toward the mouse is best described as:
a. sympathetic
c. apathetic
b. skeptical
d. unattached
Which statement best describes the theme of this poem?
a. Men are superior to mice and other small creatures.
b. Life is made up of the simple moments.
c. Nature may not always be around, so we should appreciate it while we can.
d. Even the most well-constructed plans can fail.
Why do you think Burns wrote this poem? What do you think is the purpose of the poem?
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IV.
V.
In a detailed paragraph or more, explain what the connection is between the novella and the poem. Use specific examples from both the
poem and the novella to support your response. Be prepared to read your response aloud.
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Many of us look back on our lives and, although we may have had the best intentions or plans, things did not work out the way we wanted
them to, for one reason or another. Think about a time that you had planned for something to turn out one way, and it ended up another.
What was your reaction? How did you adapt to the situation? How are you dealing with the situation now? Would you have done anything
differently, knowing what you know now?
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