Novel Reaction: Thinking Forward

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.

"Discrimination" has really stuck with me the most. I think its what this book is mainly written about; other than Lennie’s character. And I can relate to this topic because I’m from Egypt so discrimination against color, level of education, religion, nationality, poverty all of kind of things you could think of happens everyday maybe even every hour. People don’t care whether your feeling are getting hurt they just do for pleasure. To make them-selves feel like they are better than you are. Also the powerful vs. the powerless. It happens a lot especially in high school like with the senior maybe against the freshman they think they are more powerful than us. Or, even with working people everyday.

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 parts in the book where racism is discriminated against. In the 1930s black people didn't have as much freedom as white men. Today people come to America for freedom. This picture shows how much people discriminated against the black in the 1930s. But if someone where to put up a sign like that today the people responsible would be the ones discriminated against. Because, they would be labeled as racist which in the United States black people have rights against people who do that. As do white men if it were the other way around. I would understand that after reading this chapter that people really have to learn so manners and be respectful to colored people, whether they are black, yellow, or white. 

Chapter 4 Notes

In this chapter Lennie starts to get to know crooks a little more since he is also being discriminated against because of his skin color. Same as how Lennie is being discriminated against because he has a disability. 

A quote from the book " Just like heaven. Ever’ body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land."

In this quote, Lennie tells crooks his plan to buy a farm and live with George and own a lot of rabbits.

This part mostly describes Lennie dream or as we have been talking about it in class his "American dream". Crooks has a dream to, he explains to Lennie how he wishes people would stop discriminating against him because of his skin color, and he also dreams of the perfect women, because for every man to prove his strength he needs to show that he has the power to get a women.

Crooks attack those who are even weaker than him. In this part of the book Curley's wife threatens crooks.

Chapter 3 Notes for "Of Mice And Men"

Chapter 3 Notes for "Of Mice And Men"

The climax in chapter 3 would be: Lennie accidentally killing Curley’s wife in the barn.

Our protagonists would be: George and Lennie

Our antagonists would be: Curley I think.

This part of the story is coming from the point of view of the author/narrator.

This chapter mostly discusses how Lennie and George think they that they would be better off separated than with one another. I think it is because Lennie feels that it is unfair for George to be bossing him around all the time. In this chapter Curley’s wife dies and Lennie being the person who killed her is kind of a conflict/ resolution moment in the story cause by him. To take place at the barn house.

Naturalism as a Mirror of the 1930s

- Let's see if you can make the connection!  Think about some of the naturalistic elements we identified in class (Chapter 1).  What aspects or characteristics of the 1930s are being demonstrated to us at those moments in the text?  What do you believe John Steinbeck was trying to show us or expose about the way people, life, or society was during this time in American history? 

   The aspects of the 1930s that are being demonstrated to us at those moments in the text are for example like elements in their clothing how it was being described.  The characteristics of naturalism that we had talked about in class have many examples in the text that we read in chapter 1; like they way he compares Lennie to a bear, and a horse when he was drinking because he was dehydrated and when he was dragging his feet across the grounded like a bear drags his paws, cause he was tired so I would feel bad for the working class because it shows how tired he is, and no body knows 

how long they had been walking for.

I think that John Steinbeck was trying to explain to us how hard it was for people to survive get food, water, jobs and how they weren’t able to travel from place to place as efficiently as we can now.

Chapter 1 notes

     Lennie:

-       He is described twice as a beast in the first chapter.  The first time is when he was drinking water, he didn’t care whether it was clean or dirty he was just very thirsty. Then they described him as if the way he was drinking out of the dirty river water was, as a horse would drink. The second time they talk about how he was following his friend George and dragging his feet on the dirt as a bear would drag his paws. Again describing a human as an animal, those are two examples of naturalism.

-       Lennie has a disadvantage, and that is why he kind of relies on his friends George for most things, like a job, food, water, survival on the road, and company so that he is isn’t feeling lonely.

-       George:

-       He is the one that carries all the weight taking care of Lennie making sure they both have jobs, food water, and survive on the road. And, I would say Lennie also keeps him company.

-       George also relies on lennie for small reasons, because he is short and not as strong as Lennie is so you could say that George also relies on Lennie in ways.

-       Setting:

-       This all takes place in the wood by an old lake that has been stagnant for a while now, the 1930s is very different from now, especially in their type of cloth and they way they react to a situation once they are in trouble.

-       I can relate to this situation in a short story I read before “The Scarlet Ibis”. It kind of a similar situation, because the same way doodle relied on his brother and vise versa. Lennie and George rely on each other. 

The imagery that the author explains at the begging of the story tells you a lot about the setting of the story. The pictures that we analyzed in class barely tell you anything in detail like the story does about where it takes place. The book was very detailed about the people and what they wearing and they way  they communicate/talk with each other it nothing like what we do today. There were many features in the picture that were told in the story like the clothing of the people, the area that they were going to, how much they had to walk there, when today we barely walk to our destinations any more. Like the river, and the fact that he wasn't scared that he has a mouse in his pocket. The way he bosses his little partner around is not right, anyone today would have not accepted being treated like that at all. A lot of people back then traveled on horse back or walk the entire destination. They would have all their stuff in a bag with them right there and then and they would be up and ready to go in seconds, unlike like now you need papers, suitcases, money, cellphone; all kinds of stuff that you could not have been able to travel without they could back then.