Revising Of Mice and Men
The relationship between George
and Lennie
Learning Objective
To explore and evaluate
how Steinbeck uses
linguistic, grammatical,
structural and
presentational features
to present the
relationship between
George and Lennie in
Chapter One of Of Mice
and Men.
Language for learning
• Verbs
• Adverbs
• Imagery
• Simile
• Metaphor
Verbs and adverbs
P. 19 Walked heavily, dragging his feet… arms hung loosely… flung
himself
P.20 snorting… stepped nervously… said sharply… smiled
happily… dropped it gently… dabbled his big paw…
P.21 stared morosely… said angrily… looked timidly… said
softly…jerked down the brim of his hat…
P.22 said gently… looked sharply…
P.23 slowly obeyed… looked startled… said resignedly…
P.24 droned to himself softly… looked puzzled… exploded
triumphantly… disgustedly… giggled happily
P.26 lumbered… said brusquely…looked wildly… snapped his
fingers sharply
P.27 Hung his head dejectedly… looked sadly
P.31 Looked quickly and searchingly…
How do the verbs and adverbs used by
Steinbeck here help to create a clearer picture of
what George and Lennie are like and how they
act with each other?
Reading of chapter 1
• As we read, consider:
• What do we learn about the relationship
between Lennie and George?
• How do they feel towards one another?
• How does Steinbeck contrast the two men?
George and Lennie
• What do we know about the two men, and how are they
described?
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Irony of Lennie’s surname - Small
George: protective, parental, anxious
Lennie: childlike, repetitious, biddable
Shared ‘Ranch’ dream
Lennie has a thing for ‘petting’ mice and rabbits
Contrasts: size, strength, worldliness, intelligence
Simple but compelling characters, just like Steinbeck’s writing.
Their relationship
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How do they feel toward one another?
George: “God you’re a lot of trouble”, “Poor bastard”
Frustrations?
Differences?
Best mates – or?
Why doesn’t George abandon Lennie?
Is the nature of the relationship resolved, or a conundrum?
Anticipations
• Structurally: Why does Steinbeck place the
‘mouse’ episode before we find out about
what happened in Weed?
• How realistic is their shared dream?
• Why does George try to fix the location of the
pool in Lennie’s mind?
• What do you imagine could happen later?
Main task: write three paragraphs to
answer this question using PEE:
Explore the ways Steinbeck presents the
relationship between George and Lennie in
chapter 1 of Of Mice and Men.
You should write about:
• George and Lennie
• Their relationship
• The Dream
An example PEE point
Our first impressions of the relationship between
Lennie and George come in the opening chapter.
Lennie imitates George’s actions: “he pulled his
hat down a little more over his eyes the way
George’s hat was.” Our immediate interpretation
is that Lennie looks up to George as a role
model; he acts just like him and mimics him how
a son might their father.
Word-bank
George
Lennie
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Quick-witted
Sharp
Intuitive
Responsible
Mature
Frustrated
Irritable
Loyal
Protective
Father figure
Argumentative
Challenging
Optimistic
Good judgement
Intelligent
Cautious
realistic
Short-tempered
Simple-minded
Kind
Cunning
Manipulative
Secretive
Gullible
Innocent
Childish
Strong
Huge-framed
Well-built
Gentle
Trusting
Immature
Carefree
Compassionate
Awkward
Tactile
AO2 (English) / AO3 (English Language)
• Read and understand texts, selecting material
appropriate to purpose
• Develop and sustain interpretations of writers’
ideas and perspectives
• Explain and evaluate how writers’ use linguistic,
grammatical, structural and presentational
features to achieve effects and engage and
influence.
• Understand texts in their social, cultural and
historical contexts. (English only)
Band 4
‘Confident,
assured’
• Sustained and developed interpretations of texts
• Engagement with writers’ ideas and attitudes and provide
perceptive interpretations using precisely selected textual
detail
• Analysis of aspects of language and structure in convincing
detail
• convincing connections between the texts and their contexts.
• clear evidence of understanding of significant meanings of the
text
‘Clear, consistent’ • ability to explain writers’ ideas clearly offering relevant and
appropriate supporting textual detail
• ability to display understanding of features of language and
structure supported by relevant and appropriate quotation
• ability to explore the significance of aspects of the contexts
matched to textual details.
Band 3
Band 2
‘Some’
• some awareness shown of more obvious meanings in the text
• some awareness of writers’ ideas supported by relevant textual
detail
• some awareness of obvious features of language and structure
supported by some relevant textual detail
• make some relevant comments about the significance of the
How do I achieve a BAND 3+?
Use P-E-E
Include quotations / textual detail to support points
Consider different interpretations of characters
Write about your own opinion (you are the reader)
Remember to integrate quotes
Don’t use long quotations – keep them short and
relevant
• Try to develop explanations – aim for a couple of
sentences for this.
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Examples: Which is better? Why?
• George is in charge of Lennie. He takes his mouse away
from him. George gets angry with Lennie a lot because
he has to look after him
• George dominates Lennie throughout the chapter. An
example of this is when he confiscates Lennie’s mouse
and throws it ‘as far as he could’ into the brush. We infer
from this George’s frustration in constantly having to
remind Lennie what to do, almost as if he is an elder
brother forced to look after an irritating younger sibling.
• George dominates Lennie. For instance, in confiscating
the mouse from Lennie the second time, he is described
as ‘imperious’ and Lennie is characterised as a ‘terrier’
compelled through training to ‘lay’ the mouse in George’s
hand. We see something of George’s frustration in the
violence of his throw (‘as far as he could’) of the mouse
into the brush, followed by the deliberate washing of his
hands.
Main task: write three paragraphs to
answer this question using PEE:
Explore the ways Steinbeck presents the relationship
between George and Lennie in chapter 1 of Of Mice and
Men.
You should write about:
• George and Lennie (their description by Steinbeck;
their personalities; their differences)
• Their relationship (how do they get along; what role do
they each play in the relationship; how do they feel
about their relationship)
• The Dream (what is their dream; how realistic is it;
what point is Steinbeck making about the American
Dream)
Plenary: Peer Assessment
How developed is your PEE?
• Swap with a partner.
• Label up their PEE paragraphs:
– P for point
– Ev for evidence
– Ex for exploration
• How much of the latter is there?
• How could their work be improved?
Plenary
• What have we learned about the relationship
between Lennie and George?
• How do they feel towards one another?
• How does Steinbeck contrast the two men?
• Are there signs to suggest there may be
trouble to come?