Chapter 6 Notes

Question: Being as chapter six is the final section of the novella, George is taking back to Tyler ranch with the rest of the ranch-heads after he kills Lennie by shooting him in the back of the head. Why did George decide to do that? Why couldn't he have made a compromise with the other ranchers and Curley to leave Lennie alone since he is mentally challenged and cannot control himself? Also, what did George do after he back to the ranch? Considering that the book ends with George leaving the murder scene with the rest of the ranchers, the world may never know!

Prediction: Since Steinbeck ended "Of Mice of Men" very dramatically, I have a feeling that George would have arrived back at the ranch in a very regretful state, thinking deeply about his actions over and over again and how it affected him as a human being. I also think that Curley must have been filled with sorrow of how and why his wife had to die, and hate for Lennie and how he deserved to be punished the way he did.

Reflect: To finish of the book, Steinbeck decided to bring back the first setting of the book, the bush and clearing of the woods, to sort of end the book where it started. With this in mind, it gives the readers suspicion that something dramatic is going to happen, so when Lennie appears, the fate the awaits him is obvious. Once George makes the final to pull the trigger, it gives a sense that dreams don't to seem to be able to fit in a world filled with injustice and hard times.

Novel Reflection: Thinking Foward

We have investigated many captivating themes that exist in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men over the last few weeks.  You have explored the desperation and poverty of the American 1930s through pictures and video.  You have witnessed how John Steinbeck used naturalism to portray certain characters as "human beasts" acting on impulsiveness and instinct for self-preservation.  You have examined how the author used literary devices such as sentimentalism, diction, tone, parallelism, and foreshadowing in order to propel these themes.  You have close-read and analyzed the text digging deeper and deeper for evidence of themes such as Power vs. Powerlessness, Individual vs. Community, The American Dream, Euthanasia, Racism, Loneliness, and maybe even a little Sexism.  Pat yourself on the back!  You have been critically thinking about this novella on so many different levels.

For this week's blog response, you need to make some pretty serious decisions!  We are quickly approaching the time where you will be expected to write your Research Paper based on a topic of interest from Of Mice and Men.  If you have been keeping up with your reading, completing your notes, participating in conversations and activities during class on the various themes, and completing your blog responses this choice will be fairly easy!  If not, you may be in for a struggle....

What topic or theme that we have touched on during this unit has "hit home" with you the most?  Which theme or topic has a personal connection for you?  Which did you find most captivating or interesting to discuss and investigate during this unit?  Select a topic/theme from the list above that peaks your interest, and, in this week's blog response, discuss why you find it fascinating, which moment in the story you think about when reflecting on this theme, and how this theme is relevant in today's world.

The theme that really "hit home" with me the most is the American dream, or the "impossibility to the American dream" as I like to call it. There are many ways that this theme is showed through the book. One being George and Lennie's dream to own their own farm. If the boys would be able to invest in some land, it could be able to help sustain their lives, assist them in receiving some profit off of crops, and could give them protection and happiness from what seemed to be a miserable-like lifestyle. Though it looks as if there dream can indeed be accomplished, it turns out that bitter Crooks' theory is right: nearly every American dream is just a mere unreal utopia. Also, another part that shows this theme is Curley's wife and her dream. When she grew over the years since she was a young girl, Curley's wife always wanted to become a movie star. With her mother strict accusations, her dream became nearly impossible. When she had no choice but to finally marry a man to hopefully push her fantasy in the right direction, it turned out that it impelled it even deeper into the ground. Yet again, this proves that some people may not even get to see or live though their imagination of a perfect world by the time they have to leave this world.

Check out this TIME magazine article that I found on the American dream!

Chapter 5 Notes

Question: At the beginning of chapter 5 in "Of Mice and Men," Lennie comes to find out that his puppy has died and becomes furious. How did the puppy die? Did it die from a sickness, disease, or of another natural cause? Later on in the section, Curley's wife has a little chat with Lennie, stating that she still married Curley even if she disliked him. If she hates Curley so much, then why did she marry him in the first place? Did her mother force her to do that or did she think that she could earn so much in life with a man by her side?

Prediction: Since Lennie accidentally killed Curley's wife, making Curley want to kill Lennie for that, I have a felling that Curley will never find Lennie since he is hiding near the bush in the deep woods that George instructed him to go to if anything would go wrong during their time at Tyler ranch. Also, since George is Lennie's closest guardian, I think that he might just do something drastic to get Curley and the angry mob off Lennie's back and preventing anything bad and/or serious from happening.

Relate: With all of this suspense building up in the book from Lennie killing Curley's wife to Curley now beginning to look for Lennie to get revenge, I am getting pretty excited at this point in the book. When you're this far into the book, the reader should know by know that Lennie is very practical since he has a mental disability, so something can get crazy really quick with him around. With this in mind, once Curley's wife walks into Lennie bunk right after he pets his dead puppy, you can tell that Steinbeck makes the readers think that something tragic is going to happen.

A Portrait of Racism

Chapter 4 in Of Mice and Man, paints a very realistic portrait of racism in the 1930s.  Discuss at least two ways in which racism is explored in this chapter.  Include quotes and your own analysis of key moments in this chapter that clearly demonstrate the racism that existed in the American 1930s.  What do readers understand about racism as a result of reading this chapter?

Check out this article titled, "Racial Segregation in the American South: Jim Crow Laws"  to gain a better understanding of the timeline of racial segregation in America.

There are a couple of ways that racism is showed in chapter 4 of "Of Mice and Men." One being that right at the beginning, the book expresses that as a black man, Crooks is forced to sleep by himself in the stables, is not allowed into the white ranchers' quarters, is not allowed to play cards with other white ranchers, and is also not allowed to go out into town with other white ranchers. At this point in the story, Steinbeck lets the readers understand that there can be strict separation of human beings just by the color of your skin.

Another part in the chapter that shows racism is when Crooks is telling about his past life to Lennie, when he was on a chicken farm and played with white children. He also tells Lennie of how lonely he felt back then, when his is family was the only black family for miles, and how his father warned him against keeping company with their white neighbors. In this situation, the readers can understand of how cautious blacks had to be when encountering white people, because one wrong step could have gotten them into deep trouble with the law.

Chapter 4 Notes

Question: Throughout the chapter, Crooks lets some company into his quarters, including Lennie and Candy, when he's not supposed to due to the face that Crooks is black and they're white. What would of happened if a fellow rancher or even the boss himself walked in and saw the combination of white and black? Would the boss fire anyone? If he did, who would be laid off: Crook or Lennie and Candy?

Prediction: Later into the chapter, Curley's wife happens to come in, beginning to baffle about her marriage with Curley, how it is so lonely and that she needs more company in her life more often. This makes me think that maybe, just maybe at some point, Curley's wife will either confront Curley and attempted to break off the marriage or she will just cheat on him with another rancher such as Slim.

Relate: From all of the events occurring the "Of Mice and Men," I have been continuing to enjoy the book. It seems as if George and Lennie are getting closer to their dream of owning some land, since it looks like they are gather more and more money as their days at Tyler ranch pass, though I have a slight feeling that Steinbeck will eventually use that theme that I discussed about in my previous chapter notes, about the "impossibility to the American dream," making Lennie and George's American dream suddenly go down the drain in some miraculous way.

Investigating Themes in Of Mice and Men

Choose one of the following questions that interests you most to respond to in this week’s blog post:

1.)  What different forms of power exist in Of Mice and Men?  What kind of power does Lennie have?  What kind of power does George have?  What kinds of power or powerlessness do other characters possess?  

2.)  What kind of relationship do George and Lennie have?  Is their relationship a friendship?  How does this relationship express Steinbeck’s position on the individual versus the community?

3.)  Is the American Dream a real possibility in the story?  If yes, what characters, symbols, events, or other details from the story confirm that the American Dream is within reach?  If not, what characters, symbols, events, or other details from the story represent the American Dream as out of reach?

Check out the info History.com has to offer about the American 1930s!  Who had power in the 1930s?  Who did not?  What kinds of power existed then?  What important relationships were formed in the 1930s?  Was the American Dream still alive in the 1930s?


Unfortunatly, it seems like the "American Dream" is nearly impossible in George's case when it came to "Of Mice and Men." With all of the things that Lennie's done behind George's back, it seems like the boys are getting themselves into trouble 24/7! What Steinbeck is trying to say is that there are multiple characters in the story that want to achieve a dream with no problems or complications in the process, but while they're all getting closer and closer to that achievement, they just happen to warp into a big fault all of a sudden, ruining their chances. In the real world back then, it seemed as if the wealthy had the best chances of the american dream, considering that they were already living it! Though it wasn't so great for the immigrants and poor, who were just trying to make a new start in their lives in a horrible economy, where one-quarter of all wage-earning works were unemployed.