Of Mice and Men
Unit 1 Literature Exam (May2012)
40% of your Literature grade
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AO1 (15%)Respond to texts critically and
select and evaluate relevant textual detail to
illustrate and support interpretations
AO2 (15%)Explain how language, structure,
form contribute to writers’ presentation of
ideas, themes and settings
AO4 (10%)Relate texts to their social,
cultural and historical contexts; explain how
texts have been influential and significant to
self and other readers in different contexts
and at different times
The Assessment Objectives for
Unit 1
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The specification states that answers should:
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be relevant – you don’t need to write everything you know about
the text, only the things that relate to the question
be sufficiently detailed – it is better to give a lot of detail about a
small part of the text than trying to cover lots of different points
be well structured – with a clear introduction which addresses the
question and a clear conclusion that returns to the question
use effective vocabulary – including literary terms where relevant
use well-chosen evidence/quotations to support points.
To gain a top grade, candidates should show an
enthusiastic and critical personal response. The best
candidates write about the author’s methods and
achievements, and will concentrate on comment, not
content.
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Key issues for improving grades
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Dialogue
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Turn taking
Questions
Statements
Commands
Interruptions
Silence
Language used (colloquial/dialect
AO2:Devices to look out for in the
extract (and other parts of novel
for part B)
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Actions of characters
Feelings of characters (expressed by
narrator)
Setting
Symbolism
Foreshadowing
Literary devices
Sound effects
AO2:Devices to look out for in the
extract (and other parts of novel
for part B)
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Part A – detailed and sophisticated analysis of the
extract
Look for the devices use and focus on what they
reveal
Connect to themes explored in the novel
Part B – essential that you discuss context relating to
the themes introduced in the extract. Refer to quotes
in other parts of the book to support your points. Use
the same detailed approach for explaining points and
devices that you used in Part A
Range of points in both parts essential but analysis
must be detailed and specific – use literary terms and
always discuss intended effect/what device reveals
Answering the question
The novel was published in 1937
 It focuses on American society n the
1930s and the relatively poor and
deprived class of men on whom the US
economy depended
 It is set in California during a period
known as the Great Depression
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Context (AO4)
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Curly’s wife is never given a name – this
shows that her identity is seen only in terms
of her husband – she is an interesting and
controversial character
Uneducated women in rural California in the
1930s had few opportunities and were not
regarded as equals
They were expected to be feminine, or
motherly (Aunt Clara) or were treated as
sexual commodities whose sexual favours
could be paid for
Position of Women
Read p.58-60
 Explore the presentation of women in this
section – how is Whit’s description of the
brothel different to Steinbeck’s
presentation of Curly’s wife?
 Refer to language and context in your
answer (AO2 and AO4)
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Text Focus
Over farming and lack on rain created a
‘Dust Bowl’ which created a situation
where owners of worthless land and
unskilled workers travelled to find work on
ranches (George and Lennie)
 Steinbeck made himself unpopular with
employers by writing socially critical
books like OMAM but conditions were
probably more squalid than described
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The Dust Bowl
People who emigrated from Europe to
America believed this new land would
enable them to realise their hopes and
dreams
 There was a less rigid class system and a
lot of land – it was believed that if you
worked hard you could ‘make good’
 George and Lennie and Curly’s wife are
believers in the American Dream
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The American Dream
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Until 1865, slavery was still legal in the USA.
In fact Southern states depended on it
The Northern victory in 1865 freed the
slaves, but black people were still regarded
as second class citizens
Crooks has some social contact with the
other ranch workers but he is not regarded
as an equal
P.91: his passive reaction to Curly’s wife’s
comments show he has no rights at all
Racism
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This section is very important. It not only
establishes the closeness of Lennie and
George- the ‘farm speech’ has obviously
been recited before – but makes us
sympathetic to their simple ambition.
Their dream is to have a small farm to
“live off the fatta the lan!”as Lennie says.
Lennie’s response to it is like a small child
being told a favourite bedtime story.
Lennie’s Dream
Steinbeck begins the novel by ‘painting’ a
scene
 Explore Steinbeck’s use of language and
the effects achieved
 Techniques: foreshadow (incident with the
mice foreshadows what happens later in
the novel)
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Section 1: Text Focus
Find key quotations from section 2 that
explore the characterisation of heroes and
villains and also the emerging theme of
loneliness
 Focus on the techniques use by
Steinbeck:
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◦ Dialogue (slang/repetition/accents/sentence
length)
◦ Strengths and weaknesses of characters
Section 2: Heroes,Villains and
Loneliness
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It explains the relationship between George
and Lennie, and reinforces the importance of
loneliness in the novel
The shooting of Candy’s dog shows us the
cruelty of the world portrayed in the novel. It
prepares us for the shooting of Lennie
The mention of the cowboy magazine the
ranch hands pretend to scorn but secretly
admire is introduced. It is another dream –
something unreal but something to make life
bearable
Importance of section 3 ‘The dawn
of hope’
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A rest period before the final climax
Introduces the issue of racial prejudice
Lennie’s anger at Crooks warns us again
that Lennie can be dangerous
The harsh injustice of the world is shown
by the ease with which Curley’s wife can
humiliate Crooks
Loneliness is again emphasised
Importance of section 4 ‘death on
the farm’
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It seals Lennie’s fate
It shows the sad loneliness of Curley’s
wife, as well as her negative affect on
others
It suggests that the dream of the farm
will die with Lennie
Dreams and reality
Portrayal of men and women
Warnings
Importance of section 5 ‘murder
by mistake’
Some feminists argue that Steinbeck encourages old fashioned
stereotypical images of women. They argue that Steinbeck sees
the use of prostitutes as a man’s right, and that the only women
who appears in the novel is a passive victim, a threat to men and
someone described simply in terms of her sexuality.
Yet the men in the novel are also frequently imperfect and
Steinbeck has sympathy for Curley’s wife: she is portrayed as a
pathetic figure, with her own unrealisable dream, married to a
man she hates and with nothing to distract her from her unhappy
marriage. In her own way, perhaps she is as much of a victim as
Lennie.
In basing his novel largely round a group of men and what we
might see nowadays as ‘macho’ values, Steinbeck us writing in a
firmly American tradition. Steinbeck’s concentration on male
figures in OMAM allows him to examine a theme more closely
studied in The Grapes of Wrath: in the America of the 1930s, men
are in charge. Yet both novels show how little anyone. Male or
female, is actually in control of their lives.
Portraying men and women
(section 5)
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It brings the novel to a dramatic climax
It finishes the novel back where it started
It introduces for the first and last time
two fantasy visions
At the same time, it shows us Steinbeck’s
brilliance at natural description
It shows us the tragic but perhaps
inevitable ending to George and Lennie’s
relationship
Importance of section 6 ‘The end
of the dream’
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The setting ‘background to death’
The visions
Dramatic tension
Irony
paradox
Section 6 – Text focus
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The visions – of Aunt Clara and the giant rabbits
– are poetic , and very different from Steinbeck’s
style in the rest of the novel
Both visions provide a clear insight into Lennie’s
feelings at the close of the novel. They show his
guilt and his genuine inability to control himself-a
giant with mind of child. They also show how
much Lennie suffers – both Aunt Clara and the
rabbit hurt and taunt Lennie
Lennie’s hopelessness is a sad contrast to his
hope at the start of the novel – a shattered
dream
Section 6 –Techniques: The
visions
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Show that you are aware of underlying
themes. The tragedy of the novel is as
much about the shattering of dreams as it
is about the deaths of two of its main
characters
Grade Booster!
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The section opens with a description
reminiscent of the opening of the novel. In
the opening, there was a heron and a water
snake. Now the heron kills a water snake
preparing us for the death of Lennie
Note the marvelous image of the sum blazing
on the Gabilan mountains, and the contrast
with the shade of the pool. Steinbeck makes
use of light in his descriptions. In addition,
‘tiny wind waves’ on the water remind us of
the waves caused by Lennie in the opening
section
Section 6: Setting
There is a tremendous amount of irony in
the fact that George takes Carlson’s pistol
to kill Lennie as an act of Mercy. His
decision is based on the paradox of being
cruel to be kind
 The novel has other paradoxes – Lennie
kills Curley’s wife but is essentially
innocent. Curley’s wife is a ‘tart’ who
causes her own death and Lennie’s but at
the same time is shown to be ‘innocent’
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Section 6: Irony
Significant dramatic tension is created by
the dialogue between George and Lennie
at the end of the novel- the reader is
waiting for the inevitable
 There is clear dramatic irony in the
comparison between the opening and
closing scenes of the novel – the same
setting, once filled with hope, is now a
scene of despair
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Section 6: Dramatic Tension
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Poetic in its intensity
Natural description
Detailed
Successful because of Steinbeck’s eye for detail and
unusual metaphors and similes and imagery (describing
the water snake as a ‘periscope’ is an effective example)
Steinbeck’s style is economical – describes the essential
Use of light/sound and vision is evident throughout
Steinbeck’s use of light and sound gives a precise sense of
perspective and distance in the novel, and fixes the
moment clearly in our minds
The light flaming on the Gabilan mountains is a recurrent
image
Descriptive Style
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The dialogue is colloquial (formed from
everyday speech). Steinbeck blends dialogue
with the descriptive style with fluency
Steinbeck uses phonetic spelling to reflect
the way that they sound as spoken by the
characters
Steinbeck uses slang to reflect the speech of
the ranch workers at the time
Be careful to distinguish between slang and
phonetic spelling (as slang dates/changes
over time)An example is ‘flop house’ for
brothel
Dialogue
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Read from ‘A tall man stood in the doorway…’
to ‘It’s a lot nicer to go around with a guy
you know’. Answer both parts of the
question:
◦ How do the details in the passage add to your
understanding of Slim?
◦ How does Steinbeck use the character of Slim in
the novel as a whole to convey ideas about working
life on ranches in 1930s America?
(read extract from A grade answer provided)
Exam Question
Read the passage and then answer the questions which follow.
(a) How do the details in this passage add to your understanding of Crooks?
(b) How does Steinbeck use the character of Crooks in the novel as a whole to convey
important ideas about America in the 1930s?
Indicative content
Answers are likely to deal with some of the following aspects of the story:
 AO1 Details of Crooks’ room such as the tidiness; his possessions; the books; the
treatments for his back; the fact he lives in the harness room.
 Details of what Crooks is like such as working with horses; proud; disabled; educated
 Details of what happens to Crooks such as racist treatment; injured by horse; momentarily
 drawn into dream; talks to Lennie
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AO2 Writer’s use of language to describe Crooks’ room such as amount of detail to show
his accumulated possessions; linking of specific objects with specific qualities of Crooks;
significance of copy of California Civil Code; writer’s use of Crooks as representative of how
black people were treated
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AO4 Racism of society; Crooks’ isolation; his association with the horses.
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Criteria for sample question on
Crooks/Racism