Thursday, October 3, 2013

Literature analysis #2 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

1. This novel is about two men (Lennie and George) who are starting a new job. They had to flee from the previous job they had because Lennie assaulted a lady and they were wanted for rape. George is the adult in the novel and he is always telling Lennie what is right from wrong. Once they get to the new work place Lennie and George meet Candy who they eventually make plans to own a dream house with. Lennie gets himself into some trouble because he kills his puppy, and a women. Lennie goes back to the "safe" spot George made for him, if any trouble ever came about. George finds Lennie at the spot by the river and retells him the story about the dream house they are going to have as George makes the decision to do something tragic. (I don't want to give away the ending of the book!)
2. One theme of the novel would be trust and another one would be acceptance. Throughout the novel Lennie trusts George with his life and keeping him safe. George has less trust in Lennie but that doesn't stop him from taking care of him for so many years, without a thing in return. Acceptance would  be another theme because Lennie just wants to be accepted by George and the people he is around. Lennie has some sort of learning disability and doesn't comprehend things the way the other characters do and he knows this, he feels that because he does things that are bad he will not be accepted by George to raise the rabbits of their future house.
3. The authors tone is serious. "so you wasn't gonna say a word. You was just gonna leave your big flapper shut and leave me do the talkin'. Damn near lost us the job."  (pg 25).This is a serious tone because their lives depend on getting the job, this is because they only have $10 from their previous job. Another example is " you George you stick with us so we don't think you got nothin to do with this" (pg 98) this is an example because in this part of the novel Lennie had just killed the mans wife and George has to decide who he is going to be loyal to. " you hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with me now." (pg107). This is another example of a serious tone because George did something that he didn't really think through and at this point the reader can conclude that he is feeling sorrow and remorse for his actions.
4. Foreshadowing- The author foreshadows events when the gun is missing from Curleys room.
"Some one stole my gun, whata bastard. It aint in my room no more." pg 97"

Irony- The author uses irony because the man who is so strong wants to always handle the smallest of animals and always winds up killing them." You aint so little like a mouse, I didn't bounce you hard." pg85

Rhetorical questions- Lennie says many rhetorical questions to himself and the animals he kills, this is because he is mentally ill. " why do you go get killed? Why weren't you big enough for me?" pg86

Symbolism- The plan for their future house is the symbol of success and being well off. This is referenced to many times through out the novel.

similes-" A far rush of wind sounded and a gust drove through the tops of the trees like a wave." pg 99

setting- the setting is around a farm where the two men are hoping to be handy men. The setting is in a time period when working is essential for a person to be able to eat or support themselves in any way.

Flashback- " And he jus grabbed her red dress cuz he liked it and he didn't mean no harm. Then we had to spend the whole day in the ditch cuz she say he rape her." pg 74

Imagery- "The deep green pool of the Salinas River was still in the late afternoon." pg99

Conflict- the conflict in the novel is what causes Lennie and George to get into the sticky situation. " Come on ya big bastard. Get up on your feet. No bi son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me. Ill show you who's yella" pg 62

Characterization- the characters are developed in a short amount of time, yet still seem to be strong and relevant to the point the author is trying to get across through the novel, which is trust and acceptance.

CHARACTERIZATION:
1.Lennie is described a big bulky man because he is much larger then all the other men on the farm.
Lennie is described as nuts because he isn't fully aware of everything that is going on around him all the time.
George is respectful and kind, you can get this because he is like a father to Lennie and is always teaching him right from wrong and never treating him wrong.
George is also one to get the job done, this is showed at the end of the novel when he knows he must take care of the wrong doing of Lennie and fix the problems Lennie has caused.
2. I think that Steinbeck uses mainly diction throughout this novel. The novel is mainly in dialogue so therefore there isn't much of a narrator describing the way the characters are its just what the reader takes from the conversations the characters have with each other. From pages 98-105 the author uses a lot of diction while George is talking to Lennie before the tragic event happens at the end.
3. The protagonist is George, He is a dynamic character in the story. He starts off this man who is trying to keep himself and his friend Lennie safe and on track to owning land. Eventually things occur within the story that allow him to realize that Lennie is never going to be able to stop doing harmful things to people. George comes to the realization that the plan they came up with will never happen because they are not meant for it to go through, he also realizes that Lennie is dangerous and something needs to be done before he causes more harm.
4. The end of the book made me cry. Although Lennie was a grown man he acted like a child which allowed me to feel sorrow for him. I feel that the book does a great job of creating characters that are easy to latch onto and follow them through out the novel. One example of Lennie's character that made me feel the most sorrow for him is on the last page when George is telling him the plan for the future for the very last time. " No Lennie, I ain't mad. I never been mad, an i ain't now. That's the thing I want you to know right now." The end of the book is depressing and I wasn't expecting the book to end the way it did.

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