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A novella
by
John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck and 1930s America
John Steinbeck was born in 1902. His father was an accountant and his
mother was a teacher. Steinbeck had a fairly comfortable upbrinin and
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was born and raised in Salinas! "alifornia. He spent his summers workin
on nearby ranches and later with mirant workers on Spreckels ranch. He
became aware of the harsher aspects of mirant life and the darker side
of human nature! which supplied him with material e#pressed in such
works as $f %ice and %en. He also e#plored his surroundins! walkinacross local forests! &elds! and farms.
America e#perienced some of its harshest times in
the 1920s and '0s. (owards the end of the 20s!
money was di)cult to come by and the cost of
livin was constantly risin. *n 1929! America+s bi
banks su,ered the -all Street "rash! losin billions
of dollars of people+s money. usinesses and
families lost everythin they had saved.
/nemployment was at an all time hih! with a third
of the population out of work. eople livin in cities ocked to the
countryside to &nd work on farms and ranches. (hose fortunate enouh
to &nd work clun on to it with all they had!
sometimes earnin only a pittance! because a
pittance was better than nothin.
ad farmin! combined with severe weather
conditions resulted in much of the fertile farmin
land bein destroyed. (hose workers! who had
already struled to &nd work when leavin the city! were forced to
uproot aain and leave the socalled 34ustbowl lains+ of 5ansas!
$klahoma and (e#as in favour of "alifornia 6 the olden state.
(he American 4ream 6 the /S overnment! to try and combat the
4epression of the 19'0s created a 37ew 4eal+ for Americans! ettin them
back into work and tellin them that if they worked their hardest! they
could achieve the American 4ream 6 ownin their own land! bein their
own bosses and livin happy successful lives.
$f %ice and %en was published in 19'8.
"omplete the tasks on the followin pae about
the conte#t of this book.
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1. How did Steinbeck use his personal e#periences to help him write the
book
2. :#plain three ways $f %ice and %en reects the time in which it was
written.
a.
b.
c.
'. -hat messaes of American life and society did Steinbeck
communicate in his book
Setting
(here are many settins in the book that have important meanins.
;eore and
(he farm that ;eore constantly describes to
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drawn in by the dream! and even the cynical "rooks hopes that (he book starts and ends at the same place> a peaceful! idyllic river bank.
(he location is beautiful> lush! reen! fertile! cool! full of wildlife.
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(he unk House>
All the men e#cept "rooksB share the bunk house as theiraccommodation. *t is where they discuss their workin days and
important issues! such as "andy+s do and the farm that ;eore and
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Any more
"an you think of any other settins which may be important to the story
Possible Text Question:
Steinbeck uses many settings in his noel! "iscuss ho# settings
are im$ortant in Of Mice and Men.
Plan your ans#er belo#.
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%haracters:
&ead the 'ollo#ing character analyses and( in each box that
'ollo#s( summarise the im$ortant in'ormation and add your o#n
ideas or obserations!
)ennie
Althouh
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reader encounters him in the openin paes. Simply put! he loves to pet
soft thins! is blindly devoted to ;eore and their vision of the farm! and
possesses incredible physical strenth. 7early every scene in which
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/nlike
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toothless! foulsmellin! and brittle with ae?supports "andy+s fears. ast
accomplishments and current emotional ties matter little! as "arson
makes clear when he insists that "andy let him put the do out of its
misery. *n such a world! "andy+s do serves as a harsh reminder of the
fate that awaits anyone who outlives his usefulness.
=or a brief time! however! the dream of livin out his days with ;eore
and
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enerally depicts women as troublemakers who brin ruin on men and
drive them mad. "urley+s wife! who walks the ranch as a temptress!
seems to be a prime e#ample of this destructive tendency?"urley+s
already bad temper has only worsened since their weddin. Aside from
wearisome wives! $f %ice and %en o,ers limited! rather misoynistic!descriptions of women who are either dead maternal &ures or
prostitutes.
4espite Steinbeck+s renderin! "urley+s wife emeres as a relatively
comple# and interestin character. Althouh her purpose is rather simple
in the book+s openin paes?she is the Ftramp!G Ftart!G and FbitchG that
threatens to destroy male happiness and lonevity?her appearances later
in the novella become more comple#. -hen she confronts
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%rooks
"rooks is a lively! sharpwitted! black stablehand! who takes his name
from his crooked back.
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Themes and symbols:
Atheme is an underlying issue( idea( or message that isim$ortant to the story! Symbols are items( characters( oreents that are used to re$resent something else!
,a-or themes:
%ake notes under each of the headin below about theme>
)oneliness
.riendshi$
"reams
/neuality
Po#er or the lack o' it2 in its many 'orms
/m$ortant Symbols
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Animals are im$ortant symbols in the book! See i' you can ll this
table out #ith ideas o' their signicance!
Animal &elating to #hichcharacter and #hich
eents4
5hy is it im$ortant4
%ouse
"andy+s
4o
(he puppy
A 3bear+(his animaldoesn+tactuallyappear in
the book!but thinkabout itI
/m$ortant Quotes
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)ook at each o' the uotes and make brie' notes under each
about their context:
#here they+re 'rom in the book
#ho says them
about #hom
to #hom
#hy they are im$ortant
1. "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.
They got no family. They don't elong no place. . . . With us it ain't like
that. We got a future. We got someody to talk to that gi!es a damn
aout us.
#. "Whate!er we ain't got, that's what you want. God a'mighty, if $ was
alone $ could li!e so easy. $ could go get a %o an' work, an no troule.
&. "We could li!e oa the fatta the lan'."
(. ")'pose you didn't ha!e noody. )'pose you couldn't go into the unkhouse and play rummy 'cause you was lack. *ow'd you like that?
+. They fell into a silence. They looked at one another, ama-ed. This
thing they had ne!er really elie!ed in was coming true.
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. /ennie, who had een watching, imitated George e0actly.
. "Well, you keep your place then, 2igger. $ could get you strung up on a
tree so easy it ain3t e!en funny."
4. /ook, 5andy. This ol3 dog %us3 suers hisself all the time. $f you was
to take him out and shoot him right in the ack of the head, rightthere,
why he3d ne!er know what hit him.
6. George said, ")he3s gonna make a mess. They3s gonna e a ad mess
aout her. )he3s a %ail ait all set on the trigger. That 5urley got his
work cut out for him. 7anch with a unch of guys on it ain3t no place
for a girl, specially like her."
18. )he had full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, hea!ily
made up. *er 9ngernails were red. *er hair hung in little rolled
clusters, like sausages. )he wore a cotton house dress and red mules,
on the insteps of which were little ou:uets of red ostrich feathers.
Sam$le Questions:
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All taken 'rom $ast $a$ers( so these are not likely to be in yourexam! 6ut $re$aring #ouldn+t hurt7 Also( it gies you an idea o'#hat they are like( #hat to ex$ect and #hat to $ractise!
5hole Text Questions
1. How does Steinbeck present the theme of friendship in the book
2. *maine you are Slim. At the end of the novel you think back overwhat has happened since ;eore and
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-rite down your thouhts and feelins. @emember how Slim wouldspeak when you write your answer.
'. How does John Steinbeck+s presentation of ;eore throuhout thenovel a,ect your feelins towards him
. F