H4 - P4 - Week 6 - Lesson 1-2 - Of Mice and Men Chapter 5-6

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H4 - P4 - Week 6 - Lesson 1-2

Lesson Goals

After today's lessons you will..

.. have discussed/learned about Chapter 5+6 of Of Mice and Men

.. have practised your vocabulary skills

Today's Lesson

Hand out: Exam Idiom

Of Mice and Men

Vocabulary

Today's Lesson

You read Chapter 5+6 of Of Mice and Men

Today you will check your knowledge

Next week is the test

This lesson I will..


(if you chose B you can quit the LessonUp)

1. Do the Chapter 5+6 evaluation
2. Read the book

Chapter 5

Let's get started

Today you will go through the Chapter 5 evaluation yourself

Make sure you read every slide

and try to answer all the questions (these are from the booklet)

Anything in this LessonUp can be on the test

You can also decide to read the book

Tell me about Chapter 5

This chapter is the real turning point in the novel, the moment to which all the previous discussion of hopes, dreams and friendship has been leading

 It is therefore telling that this chapter opens with Lennie stroking his puppy, which is now dead.
1a) What has happened, and how has Lennie responded? 

Lennie has accidentally killed his puppy – by being too rough with it. 

["Why do you got to get killed? You ain't so little as mice. I didn't bounce you hard." Page 42].

Lennie is afraid that if George finds out he will no longer let Lennie take care of the rabbits. 

["Now maybe George ain't gonna let me tend no rabbits, if he fin's out you got killed." Page 42] 

His first response is to cover up what he did, then he gets angry and throws the puppy. Later he regrets this and lays the puppy back in the hay.

1b) What is the role of this passage? What does it reveal about Lennie, and what coming events could it be foreshadowing? 

This passage shows that Lennie finds it difficult to control his emotions and he is afraid of the consequences of his actions. It could foreshadow Lennie losing control again and accidentally killing something/someone else (killing Curley’s wife).

Curley’s wife does not appear very often, but she plays a crucial role in events. She is also ultimately presented as quite a sympathetic, if flawed, character. 

2a) Why do you think Steinbeck never gives Curley’s wife a name?

[opinion]

Possible answers: because he wants to emphasize her position as an outsider, she's different from the other characters in the story / because this shows how the other characters see her, she's only Curley's wife.

2b) What is Curley's wife's position on the farm, and how do the other men view her?

She does not have a real position other than being the boss’ daughter in law. The other men think she will only get them into trouble.

["Wha's the matter with me?" she cried. "Ain't I got a right to talk to nobody? Whatta they think I am, anyways? You're a nice guy. I don't know why I can't talk to you. I ain't doin' no harm to you."

"Well, George says you'll get us in a mess." Page 43]

2c) What was Curley’s wife’s dream, and what caused it to die?

She wanted to become an actress, but her mother wouldn’t let her. Then she married Curley to get away from her mother, again stopping her from achieving her dream.

["I lived right in Salinas," she said. "Come there when I was a kid. Well, a show come through, an' I met one of the actors. He says I could go with that show. But my ol' lady wouldn't let me.” Page 43]

Steinbeck has used events throughout the novel to foreshadow what will happen in this interaction between Lennie and Curley’s wife.
What does the reader see that Curley’s wife cannot, and what events have led you to this conclusion?

She doesn’t see that Lennie can actually be dangerous when he loses control or feels trapped. 

For readers this has already become clear because they know how Lennie reacted to Curley and how he is treated by George. 

Curley’s wife also does not know that Lennie killed the mice and had to flee Weed because a girl accused him of assaulting her.

[Curley's wife laughed at him. "You're nuts," she said. "But you're a kinda nice fella. Jus' like a big baby. page 45]

She doesn’t see that Lennie can actually be dangerous when he loses control or feels trapped. 

For readers this has already become clear because they know how Lennie reacted to Curley and how he is treated by George. Curley’s wife also does not know that Lennie killed the mice and had to flee Weed because a girl accused him of assaulting her.

[Curley's wife laughed at him. "You're nuts," she said. "But you're a kinda nice fella. Jus' like a big baby. page 45]

Why does Lennie kill Curley’s wife?

Because he panics and he’s scared. 

He is worried that George will get mad at him and in his reaction, he only makes things worse. 

Because he panics and he’s scared. He is worried that George will get mad at him and in his reaction, he only makes things worse. 

How does Lennie react to her death?

He realizes that he’s done “a bad thing”. He remembers that George told him to go hide when something bad would happen – so he leaves. 

He realizes that he’s done “a bad thing”. He remembers that George told him to go hide when something bad would happen – so he leaves.

["I shouldn't of did that. George'll be mad. An'... he said... an' hide in the brush till he come. He's gonna be mad. In the brush till he come. Tha's what he said." Page 45]

How does Candy react to her death, what does he do, and why does he do this?

He does not immediately realize that she’s dead. When he does, he goes to get George because he realizes that Lennie is the one who killed her.

He does not immediately realize that she’s dead. When he does, he goes to get George because he realizes that Lennie is the one who killed her. 

Explain the quote:
George: “All the time he [Lennie] done bad things but he never done one of ‘em mean.”

Even though Lennie does bad things, he doesn’t do them to be mean. 

It all happens by accident. 

Even though Lennie does bad things, he doesn’t do them to be mean. It all happens by accident. 

Explain the quote:
Now Candy spoke his greatest fear. “You an’ me can get that little place, can’t we, George?” ... George said softly, “—I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would.”

Without Lennie the dream of their own piece of land is gone. 

It had always been too good to be true and would never be more than a dream. 

Without Lennie the dream of their own piece of land is gone. It had always been too good to be true and would never be more than a dream. 

Evaluation

You now know more about:

- Curley's wife

- Lennie

- Something that was foreshadowed in the book several times

Chapter 6

Tell me about Chapter 6

The story of the farm and Lennie and George’s dream is repeated once again.
What point do you think the writer is making about the American Dream?

The story of the farm and Lennie and George’s dream is repeated once again. What point do you think he is making about the American Dream?

The story of the farm is often told to comfort Lennie when he is feeling scared. 

It is meant to give him hope, and that is why George tells him the story before he shoots him. 

"Look acrost the river, Lennie, an' I'll tell you so you can almost see it." In the end the dream is a fantasy, meant for comforting and hope – it doesn’t come true. 

Explain how the following aspects of the novel have foreshadowed the final tragedy of
Lennie’s death: The incident between Lennie and the girl in the red dress.

This incident showed that Lennie has had to run before, because he could not control himself. Causing other people to go after him to punish him. The only difference with the end of the story is that the girl in the red dress did not die. 

Explain how the following aspects of the novel have foreshadowed the final tragedy of
Lennie’s death: The symbolism of Candy’s dog.

The dog symbolised that sometimes it is better to pull the trigger yourself, so you know that they won’t suffer more than necessary, which is exactly what George did. 

What drove George to believe he had to kill Lennie?

What drove George to believe he had to kill Lennie?

He knows that the other men are close and on their way to kill Lennie and he feels it is his duty to make it as painless as possible – because they care about each other. 

"An' I got you. We got each other, that's what, that gives a hoot in hell about us," Lennie cried in triumph.” 

This way he can at least make sure that Lennie isn’t scared, but happy. 

Do you think George did the right thing? Why/Why not?

Evaluation

You now know more about:

- The situation surrounding Lennie's death

- George's reasoning for killing Lennie

- Something that was foreshadowed in the book several times

Homework

- Finish reading the book!

- Go through the booklet with questions

- Look up summaries

- Watch the film

Test is next week!

Finished?

Use your WaspReporter to study the vocabulary

Start studying the Exam Idiom for the test week

Lesson Goals

After today's lessons you..

.. have discussed/learned about Chapter 5+6 of Of Mice and Men

.. have practised your vocabulary skills