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Home Middelbare School EN Uittreksels Uittreksel John Steinbeck – Of Mice and Men

Uittreksel John Steinbeck – Of Mice and Men

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Extracts English Literature
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John Steinbeck – Of Mice and Men

Heinemann Educational Books, (1937)

Title:

The title Of Mice and Men is derived from a poem "To a Mouse" written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. The poem claims that peoples' dreams rarely come true. In the book, characters George and Lennie want to have their own farm. All they need is the money to buy it. When their dream is about to come true, George kills Lennie.

Author:

John Steinbeck was born in California. He left university without a degree. He started writing and became popular with the novel Tortilla Flat (1935). Steinbeck wrote a number of regional novels, most of them set in California. His best known books are Of Mice and Men (1937) and The Grapes of Wrath (1939). In 1962 he won the Nobel Prize for literature. He mostly describes poor country people in their struggle for survival during the great depression.

 

The literary period:

The Twentieth century – first part (1918 to 1945).

The genre:

It is a novel about the characters. It shows the contrast between George who is clever and the Lennie who is naive but strong. Of Mice and Men is a psychological novel.

Summary:

On a warm summer evening, Lennie and George are on their way to a new ranch were they can find work. They need money to fulfill their dream which is to buy a little farm, where Lennie will be able to keep rabbits, which he loves because they are soft. To raise the money they need, they find work on ranches.

At the last ranch they were sent away, because Lennie loves soft things and he couldn't resist touching a young girl's dress. The girl didn't like this and she screamed. Lennie became confused and he held her too tightly and frightened her. Later the girl accuses him of assault and they have to leave the town.

George and Lennie arrive at the new farm and they are able work there for the whole season. They work very hard. George told Lennie that he would do all the talking so Lennie couldn't cause any trouble.

The son of the farmer, Curley, very unpleasant. George feels he will cause trouble, so he tries to keep Lennie away from him. Curley wants everybody to listen to him. He picks on Lennie, who doesn't react, and this irritates him. Curley has just married a woman who likes to flirt with other men, which makes Curley very jealous. When Curley is away, his wife goes to see George and Lennie. George warns Lennie to stay away from Curley..

George and Lennie meet Slim and Carlson, two other workers on the farm. Slim's dog has just had puppies which Lennie loves, and Slim promises him that he can have one. Carlson first suggests giving one of the puppies to an older worker,Candy, to replace his old smelly dog, but Candy is very attached to him. Carlson offers to shoot the dog,and later Candy agrees, but then becomes very depressed about it. He hears about the plan for George and Lennie's new farm, and wants to contribute 300 dollars and join them. After some hesitation George agrees, he thinks that his dream will soon become reality.

That same night Curley gets angry with his wife. Someone suggests he should take better care of his wife, and he starts beating up Lennie. Lennie doesn't defend himself, until George tells him otherwise, with the result that Lennie crushes Curley's hand. Curly tells the others that his arm has been crushed by a machine so he doesn't have to admit what really happened.

One day Lennie is alone with the puppies. Lennie starts petting them and accidentally kills one of them . Lennie is afraid George will get angry with him,and decides to bury the puppy, so no one will find out. Then Curley's wife comes in. Lennie tells her he likes soft things. She asks him if he would like to stroke her hair. Lennie starts stroking her hair, but likes it so much that he starts stroking it harder and harder. She begins to scream, and Lennie stops but it is too late, her neck is broken.

Lennie becomes scared and runs away into the woods. This is where George told him to hide if he got into trouble. When the dead body is found, everybody thinks Lennie has killed her and they start looking for him. George is the first to find him, desperately frightened. George asks Lennie to look the other way and tells him a story about their dream. When George hears the other men coming, he shoots Lennie.

George tells the other men that Lennie had a gun and that he tried to take it from him, but that Lennie shot himself by accident.

Time:

The story takes place over a period of about three days.

Setting:

The story is set in California during the great depression. It takes place mostly at the ranch were they work.

Characters and relationships:

Lennie:

Lennie is a simple-minded man. He is very big and strong. He loves to pet soft things, like rabbits and soft materials. Most of the time the soft animals he pets are killed because he crushes them accidentally. George is Lennie's best friend. Lennie needs George because George is very smart and he helps Lennie when he is in trouble .

George:

George is Lennie's friend. He is small, quick, and clever and protects Lennie. George travels with Lennie because he doesn't want to end their long friendship and wants to prevent Lennie from getting in trouble.

Curley:

Curley is a man who likes to be obeyed. He hates big people and boxing is his obsession. He is the son of the owner of the ranch and has just got married. His wife likes to flirt, he tries to keep her under control and is possesive.

Credibility:

….

Theme:

The story tells about friendship, the relationship between an intelligent man and one who is simple-minded, and also about the American dream.

Motto:

None.

Linguistic usage:

It is written in simple English. In the dialogues they sometimes use dialect and abbreviations.

Dedication:

None.

Perspective:

The narrator tells the story. He is all knowing. Sometimes dialogue is used.

Construction:

The story consists of six chapters, numbered with Roman numerals.

Own opinion on the book:

Your opinion!

 

What you declare, you will achieve.

Wat je beweert, zul je bereiken.

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