Of Mice & Men
John Steinbeck
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John Steinbeck
• Born in Salinas, CA on Feb.
27th 1902
• Mother was a teacher – grew
to love reading and writing
• Worked ranches in the
summer
• He attended Stanford
University as an English major
–didn’t have great attendance.
• In 1925 he quit and moved to
New York to begin his writing
career; he wasn’t successful,
so he moved back home.
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His life continued . . . .
• Married Carol Henning in 1930 and continued to write at
this time. (He divorced her in 1942.)
• Wrote Of Mice & Men in 1937 – very little success
• Published and found success with The Grapes of Wrath
(1939)
• Worked in Mexico collecting marine life with marine
biologists
• Wrote The Pearl based off his experiences in Mexico
• Married Gwyndolyn Conger in 1943 – divorced her in
1948.
• Worked as a war correspondent for the New York Herald
(advisor to President Lyndon B. Johnson)
• Married Elaine Anderson in 1950
• Died in 1968 leaving his 3rd wife and son behind
• A very private person who hated publicity
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His Literary Works & Style
• Most of his work was inspired by what he saw
around him; it was his story of the human condition.
• His novels are social novels that deal with economic
problems.
• Some of his great pieces are
– The Grapes of Wrath (It was about the Great Depression.)
– The Pearl (He wrote this based on his time in Mexico.)
– Tortilla Flat (He wrote it while married to his 1st wife; it was
about their life together.)
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Steinbeck Bibliography
“John Steinbeck’s Biography.” The National Steinbeck
Center. 14 November 2008.
http://www.steinbeck.org/Bio.html
“John Steinbeck.” Books and Writers. 14 November
2008).
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Setting
• Salinas, CA (farm country)
• Written following the Great
Depression
• Migrant workers were
common
• Worked on farms helping
when they needed a room
or food
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Plot
• OMM is the story of George
Milton and Lennie Small.
• They are two migrant workers
who dream of one day owning
a small farm.
• George is a father figure to
Lennie.
• Lennie is very large and
mentally challenged.
• Lennie’s weakness is that he
underestimates his immense
physical strength. It is the
source of his troubles; George
is needed to calm him.
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Day 1: Chapter 1 Due
• What didn’t we understand?
• Quiz
• Large Group Discussion
– P. 5 Blackboard for jobs – understanding the times
– How do you feel about their relationship and the way
George treats Lennie?
– Why does George stay with Lennie? Does George need
Lennie as much as Lennie needs George?
– Define their relationship.
• Intro to Writing
– Establish a thesis – answer the question
– Find concrete detail for tomorrow
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Chapter 1 Quiz: 8 points
1. What does George keep finding in Lennie’s pocket? (1
point)
2. What was the “trouble” George and Lennie had in
Weed? (1 point)
3. What is George and Lennie’s dream? (1 point)
4. How are George & Lennie different from “other guys
like them that work on ranches”? (1 point)
5. What does George want Lennie to remember? (1 point)
6. Who is the author of the book?
7. How does the author foreshadow that Lennie may do
something bad? (1 point)
8. What major historical event does the story take place
during? (1 point)
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Steps to Writing a Well Developed Paragraph
1. Topic sentence (1 sentence, must relate to the claim and
reason of the thesis statement)
2. Set the stage (who, what, where, when, why). Review the
plot details from the story that lead up to the textual
evidence that you are going to quote. (2-3 sentences)
3. Quote Textual evidence, NO PLOP QUOTES-- example
needed (depends on length of quotation-at least 1 sentence,
but can be more)
4. Analysis and Explanation of textual evidence. Explain why
this supports your claim; directly comment on and decode
the quote. MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE ESSAY. (46 sentences)
5. Concluding Sentence--transitions into the next paragraph
and/or wraps up the paragraph, restates the overall
point/focus of the paragraph and essay. (1 sentence)
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Day 2: Writing Refresher/Reading & Writing Time
• Vocab Work: Sentences, pictures, synonyms, etc
• Well developed paragraph: DUE Tomorrow!
– Thesis/State your Point
– Lead into quote
– Quote the text to prove your point
– Explanation
– Restate TS
(TS)In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the author
established a brotherly relationship between George and Lennie.
(LI)At one point in the book, they are sitting by a river having
dinner and George says to Lennie:
(Q)“If you don’t . . . . “(Steinbeck 14)
(Exp +2)Even though they fight like brothers, they still need and
love one another. (RT)Clearly their relationship is brotherly.
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Day 3: Chapter 2 Due
• What didn’t we understand?
• Quiz/Fill out discussion Slip
Small Group Discussion/Rules
• Establish the following roles in your group:
–
–
–
–
Leader: Asks questions, gets group to accomplish task list
Point taker/Encourager: records times people talk & gets everyone to get their full points
Scorer: Awards scores to team based off of criteria below!
Recorder: Records a transcript of what you talked about
• Things to Accomplish:
– Go through packet questions
– Go around and discuss everyone’s discussion slips- start with “My favorite moment. . . “
and have everyone respond. Move on to “My least favorite moment. .. .”
– Have things changed for people with disabilities like Lennie? How?
– Will George and Lennie survive? Predict.
– Is George taking advantage of Lennie? Did Lennie actually get kicked?
• Scoring: On task,prepared, involved, engaged, insightful
• Written Assignment: Answer the prompt in one word. Then write your thesis!
– Atmosphere means mood or tone of the room!
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Chapter 2 Quiz: 9 points
1. Curley is . . . (1 point)
2. What advice does George give Lennie after Curley
and the swamper leave? (1 point)
3. What does Slim have that Lennie wants? (1 point)
4. What does the boss think George is doing to
Lennie? (1 point)
5. What two lies does George give the boss? (2 points)
6. Why does the boss’s son dislike Lennie? (1 point)
7. What two things/people all ready seem to pose a
problem for Lennie? (2 points)
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Day 4: Setting and Writing Day
• Spelling/DOL Quiz
• Find a partner to work with
• Please work through the setting pages and then draw
a picture, that we will hang in the room, as to what
you think the setting looks like!
• You will get 30 minutes with your partner.
• The end of class is yours to write.
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Chp. 1 Paragraph Common Errors
• Format
Your paragraph should all be left-aligned. You want to then
have to
“’Indent if you have text from that is a quote from a
character.’
‘Every time a new character talks, start a new
line.’”(9)
After your text evidence comes commentary.
• Commentary: Don’t summarize what happened. Explain
how it proves your THESIS. Remember your thesis is
what type of relationship you think they have! Bring it all
back to that. So What? Means how does it tie to that
idea?
• Punctuation: Underline titles from books!
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Chp. 2 Paragraph
• Remember your thesis should answer the question
of atmosphere.
• Atmosphere is the tone or mood of the room. Make
sure you’re labeling that and not describing how it
looks!
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Chapter 3: Large Group Discussion
• What didn’t we understand?
• Quiz
• Large Group Discussion
– Define George and Lennie’s relationship.
• Why do the guys think it’s weird?
– Should Candy have shot his own dog?
– Do you think the dream will happen?
– Do you think Slim is having an affair with the wife?
• Intro to Writing
– Establish a thesis – answer the question
– Find concrete detail for tomorrow
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Chapter 3 Quiz (9 points)
1. How does George know Lennie? What is their history? (1 point)
2. Why does George not pick on Lennie anymore? What
happened? (1 point)
3. What color was the girl’s dress in Weed? (1 point)
4. What does Carlson do for Candy? (1 point)
5. What is the tone/mood of the bunkhouse while Carlson is
gone? Why? (2 points)
6. Why does Lennie keep saying “I didn’t want to hurt him.”? (1 pt)
7. How does George and Lennie’s dream become a reality? (1 pt)
8. What is the story for the boss about Curley’s hand? (What Slim
tells him he will say!) (1 point)
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Read/Write Day
• Chapter 4 Due Thursday
• Common Errors:
– Commentary: Make sure your explanation ties to the
wording in your thesis.
– You want to mention the words you chose to use to
answer the thesis.
– Format: If you are citing a quote from the story, you must
start it on it’s own line and double indent it. You return
back out to the left- alignment after you’re done writing
the quote.
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Chapter 4 Due
• What didn’t we understand?
• Quiz/Fill out discussion Slip
Small Group Discussion/Rules
• Establish the following roles in your group:
– Leader: Asks questions, gets group to accomplish task list
– Point taker/Encourager: records times people talk & gets everyone to get their full
points
– Scorer: Awards scores to team based off of criteria below!
– Recorder: Records a transcript of what you talked about
• Things to Accomplish:
– Go around and discuss everyone’s discussion slips- start with “My favorite moment. . . “
and have everyone respond. Move on to “My least favorite moment. .. .”
– Do you sympathize with Curley’s wife? Explain.
– What is Crooks’ message to Lennie? To readers?
– Do you agree with Crooks that we need “someone” to rely on and survive?
– What is the American Dream? On p. 74 how does Crooks define it? Has the American
Dream changed throughout time?
– What do Curley’s wife, Lennie and Crooks all have in common?
– Scoring: On task, prepared, involved, engaged, insightful
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Chapter 4 Quiz: 7 points
1. Who does Lennie go and hang out with during this
chapter? (1 point)
2. How does he (question 1) treat Lennie at first while
he’s out there? Why? (He explains this to Lennie)
(2pts)
3. Why does Lennie start to threaten Crooks? (1 point)
4. How do the men support Crooks in the barn? How
do the men support Lennie in the barn? (Think
about the scene with Curley’s wife.(2 points)
5. What saves Lennie, Crooks and Candy from trouble?
(1 point)
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Friday Agenda
•
•
•
•
DOL Quiz
Vocab Quiz
Time to Rewrite Paragraphs (due at end of hour)
Time to finish book (due Tuesday)
• Topic Sentence: You MUST mention your thesis + the topic of
that paragraph. Remember you are ARGUING something to the
reader, so you want to continue reminding us of what you’re
trying to prove.
• Establish the setting: You must have 1-2 lines that establish what
is happening in the story where you are pulling your citation
from.
• In-text citation: You need to LEAD into your citation. Don’t start
a sentence with quotation marks.
• Commentary: Using your thesis words, explain how your
example proves your point
• Restate your Topic Sentence: You must use new words!
Body Paragraph Format
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End of Book Discussion
• Small Groups:
– Finish processing themes
– Work through assigned symbol
• Large Group:
–
–
–
–
–
–
What theme stands out to you the most? Why?
Discuss symbols
Do you agree with what George did?
Is the barn scene Lennie’s fault?
What is Steinbeck saying about women through this story?
What would have happened to Lennie had George not done with he
did?
– Will George still get his American Dream?
– Do you feel sorry for Curley’s wife?
– How is the story cyclical?
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Wednesday: Introduction to the Final Paper
Theme analysis: Take one of the themes we have studied and
turn it into an argument. You will use your paper to prove
that you think this exists.
• Pick your topic and do the following
– Write a thesis that ANSWERS the questions: What is the
author’s message in this story?
• Answer it with one of the topics in our packet
– Find two specific examples (with page numbers) in the
book that prove your point
– Explain – how do they prove your point ( commentary)
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Thursday Paper Reminders
1. Write only a few parts of your intro:
1.
2.
Write your thesis: Should NOT include the author’s name or title
Write your preview, or two specific scenes/events in the story that
will prove your thesis.
2. Write your body paragraphs: (just like what we’ve been
doing in class – follow these steps)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Topic Sentence: Mention thesis and way you’ll prove your thesis
Lead In: Explain in 1-2 sentences the setting of your concrete detail:
Establish physical setting and what’s happening
Quote the book: Format it correctly, find a scene/event in the book
and cite it in MLA format
Explain your example: Use words from your topic sentence to explain
how your example proves your thesis (3-5 sentences)
Restate your Topic Sentence
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Intro and Conclusion Reminders
• Introduction:
– Attention Getter: NO QUESTIONS, a fact, talk about your
subject, a famous quote, etc.
– Explain your attention getter and how it ties to your thesis.
Introduce the author and title of the book
– Thesis – no title
– Preview – list the two ways you’ll prove your thesis.
• Conclusion:
– Restate thesis and preview
– Leave the reader with advice about life; something you’ve
learned about life from writing your paper.
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Final Paper Reminders
• Sign up for Turnitin – Instructions are on my website: under the Turnitin
tab
• You must share your paper with me in Google Drive and turn it in via
Turnitin
• Paper MUST be in MLA format
– Times New Roman
– Size 12
– Entire paper double spaced
• Citations must be cited correctly
– If you’re using dialogue, it will be double indented with triple quotes on each
end.
– If you’re just using lines, it flows with the paragraph, unless it’s longer than 4-5
lines in the book!
• Works Cited
– MUST have Of Mice and Men on it
– If you use something else in your paper, include that as well