Literary Analysis: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

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• Voortgezet speciaal onderwijs
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English Language 

& Literature

Analysis 

of Steinbeck's

Novella

'Of Mice And Men'

Learning Objectives

• Identify the naturalist imagery of the American landscape in the Great Depression.
• Understand the social and ethical commentary that the narrative provides.
• Recognize and explain  allusions in the novella, Of Mice and Men.
  
• Understand how the novella reflects the naturalist literary movement.
  
• Discuss how Steinbeck explores the theme of isolation throughout the novella.
  
• Interpret the ranch as a microcosm of America during the Depression.
  
• Examine how Steinbeck uses animal imagery to describe Lennie.

John Steinbeck in Context

Discussion: What do you think the following quote means:

“Man himself has become our greatest hazard and our only hope.”

Quote from John Steinbeck’s Nobel Prize Acceptance speech

The Great Depression, Dust Bowl & Migrants

• The Film: "Riding the Rails'', offers a visionary perspective on the presumed romanticism of the road.
• Middle class gentility to 'scrabble-ass poor'
• The Great Depression forced 4,000,000 Americans away from their homes and onto the tracks in search of food and lodging.
• A disturbing 250,000 of the transients were children.

Literary Analysis

 Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck

Before you start Reading:

Of Mice and Men

You need to:

• Understand that Steinbeck was neither a racist nor a sexist, he reflected the social climate of the time.
  
• Understand the nature of censorship.
  
• Understand the difference between “mentally ill” and “mentally challenged.”
  
•  Understand how the mentally challenged were treated in the 1930s.

CONTROVERTIAL ISSUES

Of Mice and Men has been on many banned book lists over the years because of:

• Racism
• Sexism
• Violence
• Offensive Language
• Mental retardation [the term used in the 1930s]).

Content of Novella: Discussion

In the book there is liberal use of the the “N” word.

• Why is this term offensive?
• In the novella there is an African-American character, who is casually and frequently called the “N” word.
  
• What is censorship? Do you agree or disagree with the censorship history of the novel? Examples?

· The treatment of mentally-challenged people has changed dramatically since the 1930s. Also, make sure students understand the distinction between “mentally ill” and “mentally challenged.”

Content of Novella:Discussion

• The sexual implications (though mild by today’s standards) 
• The language (mild by today’s standards), but you will encounter “bastard,” “son of a bitch,” bitch” (not the dog reference).
• Brief and unintentional scenes of violence. Is it ever justified?
• The treatment of ''mentally-challenged people has changed.”
• Difference between ''mentally challenged & mentally ill''.

Of Mice and Men

byJohn Steinbeck

Literary Terms

Parallelism:  two or more words or phrases in sentences that are the same grammatically, as well as in meaning. In other words, they repeat within the text.

Sentimentalism: the predominance of natural feeling over reason, the motives of admiring nature, the sublime and the beautiful

Literary Terms

• Diction: the words the writer chooses to convey a particular meaning. Creates the tone.
• Foreshadowing:  a plot element that hints at something to come later in the story. Creates tension.
• Allusion: an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text.  Creates  sense of familiarity by giving characters, places, or moments recognisable contexts

Read Chapter one

Whilst reading make notes, as to Steinbeck's use of:

• Parallelism
• Sentimentalism
• Diction
• Foreshadowing 
• Allusions

Make a presentation: In Pairs

Choose one of the following topics to make a 5 minute PowerPoint Presentation: (Topics may overlap)

• The Great Depression
• The Dust Bowl
• John Steinbeck
• Migrants in the USA - 1930's