THE MOUSE THAT ROARED

By Leonard WibberlyPresentation by Kylie Mountain

(NO, there are no real mice in the book. It’s a METAPHOR!)

Do Now

What is satire? What was the cold war?

Agenda1. Vocabulary2. Theme3. Relationships4. Cold War5. Wrap-up

Music: Cold War by Janelle Monae

Important Vocabulary

Satire Satire is a literary

genre or technique that makes fun of or ridicules something.

Farce The plot lies, not in

the characters, but the situations in which they find themselves.

Summary

The world’s smallest country has been independent since its founding.

It unexpectedly finds itself in need of money.

The duchess Gloriana comes up with a brilliant plan.

They will invade the United States! The invasion captures the world’s most

powerful bomb.

Theme

The theme of this book is making fun of American foreign policy, and the way in which defeated countries are treated by the government. Through hyperbole and satire, the author expresses the opinion that the United States should treat defeated countries more harshly.

What makes this a classic?

This book is a classic because: it contains timeless lessons about using

size as an indicator of strength It points out that, although we may view

our country as benevolent, and in many ways, perfect, bringing to mind the cliché “looking out for the little guy,” at heart, our system is just as deeply flawed as any other.

We also do tend to overlook the smaller countries.

Characters

Duchess Gloriana Smart Diplomatic Strong-willed Finds herself strangely attracted to someone she had

already decided not to like- Tully Bascomb Learns not to prejudge people

Tully Bascomb Is easily influenced by others Indecisive Comes up with the idea to have a war and lose on

purpose Doesn’t care what others think of him

Characters cont.

Dr. Kokintz Forgetful Regrets having ever made the Q-bomb Loyal to the good of the world, rather than one

country. Decides that the best bomb is no bomb

Author

Leonard Wibberly was born on April 9th, 1915 in Dublin, Ireland. During his lifetime, he traveled all over the world as a foreign correspondent before settling in California.

Leonard was married twice and fathered seven children in all.

He wrote over 100 books, a newspaper column, and a great number of short stories, plays, and poetry.

Died at 78 of a heart attack

Time period

Leonard Wibberly lived and wrote during a time of great unrest.

This undoubtedly influenced his writing, as he mentions some of these conflicts in the book.

One such mention is the spread of Communism in Europe and the allocating of funds by the U.S to prevent this.

COLD WAR A Chilling Climate

Table of Contents

We will be looking at: What was the Cold War? The Nuclear Arms Race The Space Race The Cuban Missile Crisis The Berlin Wall The differences between Communism

and Capitalism

What was the cold war

The Cold War was a long period of history. It involved increased tension and mistrust

between Communists and Capitalists, especially the United States and the USSR.

It lasted approximately from 1945, at the Yalta conference, to 1991, with the fall of the Soviet Union.

Nuclear Arms RaceWho can build it first?

Summary

During the nuclear arms race, the Soviet Union and the United States were both frantically adding to their stores of nuclear weapons.

The general idea, oddly enough, was that they were building these weapons for the purpose of never using them. Both sides hoped that neither would use nuclear weapons just

in case the attacked country struck back. Lasted from 1945- the successful testing of an

American nuclear weapon- to 2001-treaty to reduce stocks in both countries to below 2000 nuclear weapons.

Political Cartoon

This cartoon highlights the similarities between the real conflicts happening at the time of writing and the plot of the book. The United States created the world’s most powerful bomb, but couldn’t use it. They were afraid that Grand Fenwick would destroy most of Europe if attacked. They are also using arrows in this cartoon, just like the warriors of Grand Fenwick do.

Space RaceShooting for the stars

Summary

The space race kicked off on October 4th, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik 1.

It took a while for the U.S to catch up. While they worked a few kinks out-such as the satellites exploding-the Soviets put the first living creature- Laika- and the first man- Yuri Gagarin- in space.

The U.S, however with the help of the newly minted NASA, still managed to get the first man on the moon.

The space race ended with the fall of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet dogmonauats

LAIKA- LEFT TO DIE IN SPACE

BELKA AND STRELKA-RETURNED TO EARTH

Space Race Video

Space Race: Cold War Front

Cuban Missile CrisisOn the brink of destruction

Summary

The crisis started on October 15, 1962 when it was discovered that Soviet missiles were being installed in Cuba.

The crisis only lasted 14 days. However, those 14 days were as close as any two countries have ever come to nuclear war.

It ended on October 28 when the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for promises by the United States not to invade Cuba.

Reconnaissance PhotographThis is a picture taken by a spy plane during the crisis. The

various buildings and launch pads are labeled.

Berlin WallA city divided

The wall is built

Communist East Berlin’s economy wasn’t nearly as good as democratic West Berlin’s.

So to stop people from leaving, on August 15, 1961, the Russians in charge of East Berlin built a wall around their half of the city.

Many people tried to escape, but most were shot and killed. The video on the following slide shows one escape that succeeded.

Classic photograph-iconic of the era

Escape video

Over the wall clip

Wall falls

The Berlin wall came down on November 9th, 1989.

Huge crowds had gathered at the wall, and the guards really didn’t have a choice- they let the crowds through.

The wall was mostly demolished, although a few sections still stand.

Political ideologiesCommunism or Capitalism?

VS.

Communism/Socialism vs. Capitalism

COMMUNISM/SOCIALISM CAPITALISM All for one and one

for all No social classes Freedom and

happiness for all All property owned

by the state Government controls

the market

Everyone for themselves

Free market- little government interference

Businesses owned by private companies

All profits from the business belong to private owners

Activity

Think of an event happening in our world today. Are there any that you find silly or unnecessary? Choose one and write a short story about that event using satire.

Movie Trailer

Trailer Link

Closing

Was Grand Fenwick justified in attacking the united States? What would you have done? Do you agree with the author’s assessment of American foreign policy?