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Introduction to

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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck About the Author: ... THEMES TO LOOK FOR The importance of friendship The struggles of loneliness The worth and purpose of an ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Introduction to


1
Introduction to
  • Of Mice and Men
  • by John Steinbeck

2
About the Author Biography
  • John Steinbeck
  • Born Feb.27 1902 in Salinas, CA
  • Grew up working summers on nearby ranches with
    migrants, becoming aware of their harsh lives.
  • Attended Stanford University, but dropped out

3
John Steinbecks Work
  • Of Mice and Men was published in 1937 after a
    series of other failures
  • Masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath about a family
    during the Great Depression. This epic novel won
    him a Pulitzer in 1940.

4
STEINBECKS WRITING
  • Steinbecks stories are based on fact. He wrote
    what he knew.
  • His stories are often set in California and focus
    on detailed descriptions of nature.
  • Steinbeck is known for humanizing the working
    class outcast or loser archetype.

5
The Marginalized in OMAM
  • Marginalization to force a group of people to
    the margins of society
  • Characters in this book are judged by their
  • Race
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Intelligence
  • Social Class

6
Inspiration for the Title
  • The title of the novella is adapted from a line
    in the poem To a Mouse, by Robert Burns
  • The best-laid plans of mice and men often go
    awry  (astray, imperfectly, wrongly)
  • Translation No matter how carefully an idea is
    planned, something often goes wrong with it.

7
SETTING
  • Salinas Valley, California (Steinbecks
    backyard)
  • During the time of the Great Depression and the
    Dust Bowl

8
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9
Migrant Workers in the 20s/30s
  • Thousands of people migrated to California during
    this time period for the promise of a better
    climate, gold and The American Dream
  • Many were disappointed when no jobs were
    available so migrant farming became popular men
    abandoned their families, moving from one farm to
    another, finding short term work based on the
    harvest seasons.

10
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11
The American Dream
  • Set of ideals that are routed in the founding of
    the United States
  • We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
    all men are created equal, that they are endowed
    by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
    that among these are Life, Liberty and the
    pursuit of Happiness
  • - Declaration of Independence
  • It is the belief that all people can achieve
    success and become upwardly mobile through hard
    work.

12
  • Characterization The process by which writers
    reveal their characters traits (qualities)
  • Two Types
  • Direct characterization The writer directly
    tells the reader what the character is like.
  • ex. Jennifer was a bright and honest young
    lady.

13
  • Indirect Characterization The writer reveals
    character's traits indirectly with any
    combination of
  • Describing the characters appearance
  • Dialogue (what they say!)
  • Characters actions
  • The effects of the characters actions on others
  • The characters private thoughts

14
CHARACTERS
  • LENNIE is physically large and extremely strong.
  • As large as he is, he is mentally challenged,
    having the mentality and temperament of a small
    child.
  • He is fiercely loyal to and dependent upon George

15
CHARACTERS
  • George was a good friend to Lennie
  • He was small of stature but wiry and well built
  • He was frustrated with the task of having to take
    care of Lennie but had compassion and loyalty as
    well

16
Writing Structure
  • Steinbeck writes his book like a play. Think of
    the end of a chapter as the lights dimming on
    the stage and the beginning of each chapter as
    the lights coming up.
  • Steinbeck establishes a new setting for each
    chapter change and he gives the audience a
    description of this location in the first few
    paragraphs.
  • This is also why the chapters are not numbered.
    They simply indicate scene changes, but its all
    really one long passage.

17
Concepts to Look For
  • Symbols
  • Rabbits
  • Candys Dog
  • Curley and Curleys Wife
  • Lennie
  • Sensitive Issues
  • Racism
  • Foul Language

18
THEMES TO LOOK FOR
  • The importance of friendship
  • The struggles of loneliness
  • The worth and purpose of an individual life
  • Disillusionment (to free from illusion) of the
    American Dream
  • Social injustice / prejudice
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