Edexcel IGCSE English Literature style questions: Of Mice and Men
Exam questions tend to follow a pattern: one will usually focus on characterisation;
the other will examine another aspect of the text such as theme, writer’s craft,
structure or social and cultural setting.
Character
1. Choose two characters from the list below; say why you think they are important
in the novel and how Steinbeck presents them:
Candy
Crooks
Curley
Curley’s wife
Slim
2. To what extent do you sympathise with the character of George?
3. In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck presents some of his characters as being weak in
some way. Choose two characters you think are weak. Write about these
characters and how they are presented.
4. “I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her” (George). What is the reader
supposed to think about Curley’s wife?
5. Pick TWO characters you find interesting in the novel and write about them.
6. How does the Steinbeck present Lennie as a sympathetic character?
7. Explain the nature of the relationship between Lennie and George and discuss its
importance to the meaning of the novel as a whole.
8. Discuss the presentation of outsiders in the novel.
Theme
.
9. How does Steinbeck present loneliness and isolation in the novel?
10. How far do you think that Steinbeck presents dreams as futile in Of Mice and
Men?
11. Hopes and Dreams are important in ‘Of Mice and Men’ – discuss.
12. How do you respond to the ending of the novel? What do you think the final
message of the novel is?
13. How important is the idea of friendship in Of Mice and Men?
Setting& writer’s craft
14. Of Mice and Men has been described ‘as nearly perfect as any book can be’. To
what extent do you believe that Steinbeck has written a truly great novella that
succeeds in highlighting important moral issues?
15. Many readers find that Of Mice and Men is a sad book. How far do you agree?
16. Write about two places in the novel which you think are important. Include how
they are presented by Steinbeck and why you think that they are important.
17. How does Steinbeck prepare you for the idea that the death of Curley’s wife is
inevitable?
18. Discuss the use of imagery of light and dark in the novel.