Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck
An Introductory Lecture
Cornell Notes
• Topic: Of Mice and Men
• Objectives:
– Students will become familiar with America in
the 1930s.
– Students will understand how Steinbeck
created a powerful novel that is still read
today.
Cornell Notes Format
Format your paper to look like the image below:
Questions
We will add the
questions to
our notes later.
Notes
Fill the “Notes” section with words, pictures,
numbers, facts, and quotes from today’s
lecture. Words are important but the notes
need not end there.
The Great Depression
• Began with Black Thursday – October 24,
1929, NY Stock Exchange crashed
• The worst/longest period of high
unemployment and low-business activity in the
history of the United States
• Exacerbated by severe drought in the mid-west
commonly referred to as “The Dust Bowl”
• Ends when America enters into WWII in 1941
The Great Depression
• Many people lost their life savings, were
forced to worry about necessities (food,
clothing, shelter)
• By 1932, 1 out of every 4 Americans was
unemployed
– Currently the US unemployment rate is 5.6%
• Farm income fell 50%; farms were
purchased by large corporations
The Dust Bowl: 1934-36
What Was Left Behind
Migrating to California
Hoovervilles
Named for President Herbert Hoover who was given blame for The
Depression. Hoovervilles were the nicknames for shanty towns that went up
by homeless people in the 1930s, usually in urban areas.
“The Promised Land”
Upper left: workers
picking lettuce
Upper right:
“Hooverville”
Bottom: Farm
workers in line for
“work cards”
John Steinbeck
1902-1968
John Steinbeck
1902-1968
“In every bit of honest writing in the world there is
a base theme. Try to understand (people), if you
understand each other you will be kind to each
other. Knowing a (person) well never leads to hate
and nearly always leads to love. There are shorter
means, many of them. There is writing promoting
social change, writing punishing in-justice, writing
in celebration of heroism, but always that base
theme: Try to understand each
other.”
- John Steinbeck in his 1938 journal entry
John Steinbeck
• Of Mice and Men published in 1937
• Novella(short novel): attempted writing a
play novelette. 3 acts of 2 chapters each.
• Much of his work was during the 30’s
– Dealt with social issues, particularly in CA
• Researched migrant worker conditions
– Made journey from Oklahoma, living in
camps (authentic, first-hand experience)
• Won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962
• Died in 1968 at the age of 66
Plot Overview
• Main characters: George Milton and
Lennie Small
– two friends who are migrant workers in
Salinas, CA
– They are working towards their big dream
• Action in the novel takes place over
three days (begins Thursday night and
ends Saturday night)
Novel Style
Play/Novelette
– Develops the characters through
speech and action rather than letting
the reader in on their thoughts (third
person point of view)
– Starts each scene (or chapter) with a
description of setting, just as a play is
staged around its sets
Stop – Adding
Questions
• Go back and write in a few QUESTIONS
in the left-hand column.
• The goal is to write questions that would
be similar to a test or quiz question!
• Example: Off to the left, you could write:
• “During the 1930s, what natural event
increased the seriousness of the
Depression?”
• Add at least FOUR (4) questions.
Themes
• Friendship (human relationships)
• Loneliness
• The worth of individual life
• Social inequality
• A person’s fate in a fallen world
(hope vs. hopelessness)
Novel’s Setting:
Salinas Valley, CA
San
Francisco
Salinas
Soledad
Pacific
Ocean
Novel’s Setting:
Salinas Valley, CA
Literary Terms
Foreshadowing
– Clues about future events in the story
Symbolism
– The practice of representing things by
means of symbols or of attributing
symbolic meanings or significance to
objects, events, or relationships.
Why is this book banned?
#1. Language
 swear words
 offensive language
 racial segregation
Why does this appear in literature?
Adding more questions
• Add a few more questions to the left-hand
column of your notes.
• Remember – your goal is to write
questions that are similar to a test or quiz
question.
Summary of Notes
•At the bottom of your notes write a 34 sentence summary of the notes you
have just completed.
•Study these notes – we will have a
quiz on them tomorrow.
Journal Entry #1
Essential Questions
• POWER
– What inequalities exist in society?
– How has this changed over the years?
• IDENTITY
– How do you characterize others?
– Do your impressions often change after
you first meet them?
Write a minimum one-page journal entry
responding to any or all of the above questions.
Journal Entry #2
Title Analysis
“The best laid plans of mice and
men often go awry.”
--poet Robert Burns
•
•
•
•
What is Robert Burns saying? Paraphrase his words.
Do you think there is truth to Burns’ words? Why or why not?
Why might Steinbeck have chosen Burns’ words to title his story?
Do you think it’s an appropriate title for the story? Why or why
not? (If not, come up with a better title and explain your choice.)
Write a minimum one-page journal entry
responding to any or all of the above questions.
Journal Entry #3
1962 Nobel Prize Speech
“. . . the writer is delegated to declare and to celebrate man’s
proven capacity for greatness of heart and spirit—for gallantry
in defeat, for courage, compassion and love. In the endless
war against weakness and despair, these are the bright rally
flags of hope and of emulation. I hold that a writer who does
not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no
dedication nor any membership in literature.”
• What is Steinbeck saying? Paraphrase his words.
• Do you agree with what he’s saying? Why or why not?
• Does Of Mice and Men fit with this philosophy? Support
your answer with specific examples from the text.
Write a minimum one-page journal entry
responding to any or all of the above questions.