Year 10 English – Week 6
Year 10 English – 17 - 21 August.
The Black Balloon/Of Mice and Men Comparative unit.
Work due: Definitions, Prejudice linking sentence table and three
exercises on ending comparative paragraphs. Submit this finished
document to the Week 6 Learning Task
Year 10 English – Week 6
TASK 1: Write down definitions for the following words:
 Prejudice
 Disability
 Autism
TASK 2: Theme focus – Prejudice
Looking at the theme of prejudice and the quotes you have gathered, you are to
write a linking sentence on what relevance it has to the theme from the texts in
the table below. There’s an example of a quote and an explanation from each
text. Give
Text
‘Of Mice and Men’ and
‘The Black Balloon’
Body Paragraph 1
Topic Sentence

Body paragraph 2

Body Paragraph 3

The characters of both texts
show how prejudice effects
them.
The time each text is set in
presents a picture of how
the support and lack- thereof effects the supporting
characters.
In both texts, the
protagonists Thomas and
George overcome the
mental strain of caring for
someone with a disability.
Linking Sentence




Due to these events depicted
by Steinbeck and Downs it
justifies how stressful it is for
the caretakers.
Write your own linking
sentence here.
Write your own linking
sentence here.
TASK 3: Essay Skill – comparing and contrasting evidence within body paragraphs
Let’s start constructing good body paragraphs. A comparative body paragraph
uses evidence from both texts to make an argument, and both texts are linked by
a point of difference or similarity and summarize/ reiterate what that paragraph
was about.
Year 10 English – Week 6
Here’s the basic structure, and an example (same as last week’s example
paragraph)
BODY PARAGRAPH
Topic sentence
Topic Sentence: Both texts explore the idea that...
Explain
Explain – Text A explicitly portrays that....
Evidence
Evidence – This is illustrated through the character X, or at the moment
when...
Point of
Difference/Similarity
Point of difference/similarity - In a similar vein..
Explain
Explain – Text B, conveys similar ideas regarding... In this text....
Evidence
Evidence – This is illustrated through the character X, or at the moment
when...
Link
Link – Both these texts reinforce the idea that...
Both Of Mice and Men and The Black Balloon explore the idea that personal growth occurs through
relationships and obligations to others. Of Mice and Men explicitly portrays George as a man who feels
responsible for his partner Lennie, despite the fact that Lennie’s behaviour often results in trouble. At
the start of the text, George ensures Lennie remains silent “if the boss asks you questions”, to keep
Lennie’s disability hidden and ensure that both George and Lennie are employed, because George
understands that Lennie would be helpless on his own. However where George’s good intentions
eventually end in tragedy, Thomas Mollison’s gradual acceptance of responsibility for his brother
Charlie results in eventual reconciliation. This is in contrast to Thomas’ character at the beginning of
the film, where Charlie knocks a carton of eggs to the ground and stomps in them and, rather than help
his pregnant, unwell mother, Thomas continues to sit at the table and watch, even while his mother
becomes nauseous and vomits in the sink. Both of these texts reinforce the idea that accepting
responsibility for others leads to personal growth, and Thomas’ self-absorption is only overcome when
he accepts his brother’s imperfections, and the two reconcile. Sadly, there is no such reconciliation for
George and Lennie, as Steinbeck depicts the ultimate act of responsibility as the mercy-killing of Lennie
by his partner.
The sentence in the middle of the evidence and explanations for both texts must either work to
compare the similarities of both texts, or contrast the differences. Here are some useful words and
sentence starters.
Linking
Words
Year 10 English – Week 6





Similarly
Likewise
In the same way
Due to
Delivering a similar message




Furthermore
Therefore
Both of these texts reinforce the
idea
Nevertheless
The basic structure of a compare/contrast sentence is like this:
Compare/contrast word + information about how both texts are similar or different
Or
Information about one text + compare/contrast word + information about another text.
Here are some examples:
However where George’s good intentions eventually end in tragedy, Thomas Mollison’s gradual
acceptance of responsibility for his brother Charlie results in eventual reconciliation.
Thomas and Charlie’s relationship eventually heals as Thomas matures, which is in contrast to
the outcome for Lennie and George, who are ultimately torn apart by their poor social situation.
Of Mice and Men depicts the difficulties of caring for those you are obligated to. Similarly, The
Black Balloon portrays this struggle as exceptionally challenging.
Your turn (make sure you look at the helpful hints to guide your writing!):
Exercise 1: Prejudice paragraph to complete
Part of paragraph
Topic sentence
Written work
Both Of Mice and Men and The Black Balloon
explore the idea of prejudice against different
people like Charlie and Lennie.
Text A explain and Of Mice and Men explicitly portrays George as a
evidence
man who feels responsible for his partner Lennie,
despite the fact that Lennie’s behaviour often
results in trouble and it is all on George to fix
what has happened and make it right. At the
start of the text, George ensures Lennie remains
silent “if the boss asks you questions”, to keep
Lennie’s disability hidden and ensure that both
Helpful hints
This topic sentence is all about
looking after someone with a
disability.
The evidence and explanation in
this example is taken from the
example quotes and explanation
from this week’s evidence table
Year 10 English – Week 6
George and Lennie are employed, because
George understands that Lennie would be
helpless on his own and due to society’s
prejudice, they would both be out of work if
Lennie was not accepted.
Compare/contrast Similarly to ‘The Black Balloon’ prejudice is shown
sentence
towards the Mollison family because Charlie is
‘different’. Even though the film was set in the
early 90’s rather than the 30’s like ‘Of Mice and
Men’, people could still be small-minded.
Text B explain and Thomas suffers from social exclusion and the
evidence
prejudgment, due to his family’s dynamic. This
has an extensive effect on Thomas’s social
acceptance and happiness in his new community.
When entering the new community the Mollison’s
are confronted with the prejudice from the
neighboring people. They begin having a bias
view on the Mollison’s, when referring to Charlie
as a “spastic”. The neighbors constantly keep
distance and show their lack of acceptance
towards the Mollison’s because of their
differences.
Linking Sentence
Are the two sections of evidence
and explanation making similar
or different points?
This evidence and explanation
section doesn’t have any quotes
in inverted commas. That’s fine!
For a film, sometimes your
evidence is a scene without
dialogue. Describing the scene is
still evidence.
Write a linking sentence for this
paragraph about how prejudice
in society in the 30’s in
comparison to the 90’s has not
changed much.
Exercise 2: Paragraph about accepting differences
Part of paragraph
Topic sentence
Written work
Of Mice and Men and The Black Balloon both
portray acceptance in regards to a mental
disability.
Helpful hints
This topic sentence’s contention
is that both Thomas and George
accept Charlie and Lennie for
who they are by the end of the
text and make allowances for
them because of their disability.
Year 10 English – Week 6
Text A explain and
evidence
Write about Lennie here, how he
accidentally kills Curley’s wife.
Compare/contrast
sentence
This is a comparing/ contrasting
sentence. Could possibly write
about how George automatically
accepted Lennie for who he was
but it took Thomas more time to
accept and deal with it.
Write about how Thomas is
accepting his brother and no
longer having difficulty with the
psychological strains. The film
techniques eg: the sound is
uplifting in the concert, the
lighting is bright compared to the
birthday scene. This indicates an
acceptance of his brother.
Text B explain and
evidence
Linking sentence
Write a linking sentence about
how accepting the differences in
the people that the protagonists
care about lifts some strain off of
the protagonists wishing for
something that will never
happen.
Exercise 3: Write body paragraph 3 of this essay: BP3 hints (guide) are in BOLD.
Introduction:
The novel “Of Mice and Men” written by John Steinbeck is set in America in the great depression in the
1930s which explored the themes of acceptance and caring for someone who has a disability. In
comparison the film “Black Balloon” directed by Ellisa Down set in suburban Australia in the 90s
examined the ideas of coming of age and also accepting someone who has a disability. This essay will
explore how both texts reveal the psychological strain that the guardians in each text felt when looking
after Lennie and Charlie. Yet it will also argue how even though Lennie was much more capable than
Charlie, it was George who ended up worse off compared to the Mollison’s, as he had very little support.
Illustrated in both texts was how this stress was due to the high level of attention that was needed to
take care of Charlie who has high needs, and the lack of care and understanding from society.
Year 10 English – Week 6
Body Paragraph 1
Both authors illustrate the high level of care and attention that is required when looking after individuals
of Charlie and Lennie’s magnitude. Steinbeck in the opening chapters demonstrated just how hard it was
for George to look after Lennie. George in frustration scolds Lennie over his presumed lost ‘work cards
and bus tickets’, claiming you ‘think I’d let you carry you own work cards?”. Thus highlighting the need
for George having to be constantly on the lookout for Lennie, always having to think for him so as to
keep him safe. Just like how George claims he ‘could get along so easy if [he] didn't have [Lennie] on his
tail”, this agitation is also shown in the Mollison household, The opening scene of the film showcases
the high level of care that Charlie requires. Maggie is shown teaching Thomas how to give Charlie his
medicine instructing Thomas to use the phrase “Charlie open up for Thomas!”. Charlie’s refusal leads to
a feeling of frustration for Thomas, similar to how George felt about caring for Lennie. Furthermore
proving just how difficult it is for cares to look after people with special needs.
Topic Sentence
Point of difference/similarity
Link Sentence
Year 10 English – Week 6
Black Balloon
Of Mice and Men
P1
Thomas having to learn how to administer
George having to keep the cards for safe
medicine to Charlie, the difficulty of it.
keeps.
(Beginning of text)
(Beginning of text)
Societies lack of understanding in the
George having to speak for Lennie because
supermarket and how Thomas is
they would not understand how he speaks.
embarrassed.
The prejudice of the other characters and not
The neighbours getting DHS involved.
supporting Lennie
(middle of text)
(Middle of text)
Thomas accepting his brother
George having to shoot Lennie and
and no longer having difficulty
not being able to protect him.
with the psychological strains.
(End of text)
P2
P3
The film techniques eg: the
sound is uplifting in the concert,
the lighting is bright compared to
the birthday scene. This indicates
an acceptance of his brother.
(End of text)