Mice and men quotes Flashcards
Live off the fatta the lan
G. Steinbeck uses a metaphor to convey to the reader the luxury of the dream. 1 in 4 of people didn’t have a job
We’re gonna have a little house
G. This was significant to G and L even though the adjective highlights the size of the house. This was important for itinerant workers since they had to constantly move around because of the Great Depression and shortage of jobs.
Looked raptly at the wall…nuts
G. The adverb highlights he is deep in imagination as he realised achieving the dream was possible. The juxtaposition snaps him back to reality as this was a things not many people had achieved.
We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us
G. The inclusive pronoun highlights how they have companions compared to the other itinerant workers as it was an individualist society.
God’s sake don’t drink so much
G. Steinbeck uses imperative language to shows his paternalistic attitude towards him as L isn’t conscious of what is correct and incorrect.
Get him, Lennie
G.Steinbeck uses personification to show G’s authority over L as if he was a guard dog waiting for his owners instruction.
Pulled his trigger
G. He does this to shield L from Curley’s mobs and they will torture him. The personal pronoun shows he was in control of the situation but he didn’t have a fair choice. An audience from the Great Depression would not have understood G’s true intentions because it was an individualist society.
Why do you got to get killed
L. Steinbeck uses direct pronouns to highlight his severe mental capacity as he blames it on the pup. The rhetorical question reinforces this as he continue to talks to the pup and is genuinely confused.
CW wore a dress with ‘red ostrich feathers’
L. This causes a flashback to the incident in Weed where Lennie and George were lynched because of the ‘sexual assault’. This alludes/foreshadows CW death because Lennie keeps on repeating his actions uncontrollably.
Get him
L. The imperative language shows L is responsive to G’s commands because his mental capacity is of a child so he always relies on G.
Don’t want ta hurt you
L. The verb is very ironic as he is hurting her unintentionally but he has a choice to stop however it is very difficult as he is extremely strong as an adult but has the mental capacity of a child.
Why do you got to get killed
L. The rhetorical question once again highlights his poor mental capacity is shown when he accidentally kills the puppy but once again blames it on it for dying. The personal pronoun shifts the blame onto the pup.
G ‘pulled the trigger’
L.The allows Steinbeck to unveil the relations between friendship and violence. George does this to show his paternalistic live towards L as if he didn’t kill him, he would be tortured by Curley.
CW ‘I never got that letter’
L. He allows Steineck to reveals the aspirations of achieving the American Dreams for many as he is a a safe person and won’t repeat what he hears.
Crooks talks ‘dreamily’ about the ‘chicken ranch’
L. Crooks shows how pervasive the American dream is in the American society however it being a meritocracy he has lost everything and is now a low status worker on a ranch. The adverb highlights the unattainbility of it.
Crooks ‘conceal his pleasure with anger’
L. As more people are coming into his room, the juxtaposition between nouns convey his struggles of concealing his emotions as no one except for Slim comes into his room.
Whit ‘I bet she even gives the stable buck the eye’
CW. The idiom highlights to the audience what type of woman she is: flirtatious, desperate and attention seeking. However she only does this as an attempt to gain attentions as she doesn’t receive any in her relationship with Curley.
George ‘rat trap’
CW. She is called a ‘rat trap’. The metaphor conveys the misogynistic attitudes toward women as they were thought of as inferior. This alludes to the Garden of Eden where she tempt other people however consequences follow( fired or harmed by Curley’.
George’poision’
CW. The metaphor is very ironic as being a method to kill someone, she is killed first.
George’ no place for a girl’
CW.The ranch is a microcosm of American society where women aren’t valued and treated the same as men. Achieving the American Dream is now harder for women.
Crooks ‘she got no right to be here’
CW.She is being isolated and treated differently compared to the other men which have entered his house. This is ironic as he himself as a black man has little rights.
Candy ‘roll your hoop’ and go because ‘we know what we got’
CW.The repetition of the inclusive pronoun reflects to the audience how cruel Candy is to her. Boasting that he has companions and she doesn’t however they are actually scared of each other. The idiom imply she is a child
Simply called ‘curleys wife’
CW.Shows how she is treated as if she was an object belonging. This is because women were especially treated without respected until 1918 when they were allowed to vote.
Talking to the ‘weak ones’, they ‘close ranks’
CW.This causes the audience to feel sympathy towards her as even by the longest characters on the ranch she is excluded. Reinforces the opinion that she is the loneliest on the ranch.
Her voice was ‘nasal, bristle quality’
CW.Entering a male dominated area she lowers herself in the faces of them as they have more power over her and she doesn’t want them to tell Curley she has been here. Adjectives show that.
Calls him ‘Crooks’ and he responds ‘Mr Slim’
S. His genuine respects is reflected to where Crooks responds in a respectful manner.
Nobody has been here except Slim
S.The preposition emphasises that only Slim has entered his room because he treated everybody with equal respect.
Good-lookin
S. He says this to CW. This is significant as this contrast the attitudes compared to the other ranch men. He gives her the attention she wants.
We got to get him
S.The inclusive pronoun shows everyone instincts agrees with him because his opinions were law.
Walks ‘quickly’ to CW dead body
S.The adverb is significant as he attempts to not disturb the atmosphere as a sign of respect
Get this guy canned and we’ll tell everybody
S. The inclusive pronoun is significant as it shows the power of a gathered socialist society
Tells Carlson to ‘take a shovel’
S. This indicates him to bury the dog as he understood the sentimental value of it to Candy. This would have been negatively looked upon as it was an individualist society where they only valued there own person well-being.
Godlike eyes
S. The metaphor indicates that he can see into men’s soul, this elevates his character. He is a moral compass.
He moved ‘back slightly so the light’ wasn’t on him
S. This regards the quality of a powerful creature of God or God himself as light is associated with pureness and power.
Hands of a ‘temple dancer’
S. The metaphor conveys to the reader that even though he is a ranch men, he still has precise, soothing and delicate movements.
Tells Lennie to ‘get up on your feet’
Curley. This short sentence shows his aggravated and fast movement as it builds tension.
He ‘ain’t givin nobody a chance’
Curley. He is aggressive and always manipulates the situation so he ends up on top. Nobody could retaliate as if they were to do anything he would get them fired. This is significant as there was a shortage of jobs during the Great Depression.
Tells L’ you answer when you’re spoken to’
Curley. The repetition of the direct pronoun isolates L and manipulates the situation to make him believe he has done something wrong.
Oh so it’s that way
Curley. He responds to G and L travelling together because G is exploiting L or they were gay. He was shocked by this because being gay was illegal until 1967.
G says Curley is an example of when people ‘get lonely’ and don’t have ‘nobody’
Curley. This is because of his individualist mindset where he is constantly competing with others. This is a reason why G doesn’t want to leave L.
He’s alla time picking scraps with big guys
Curley. He does this as a mechanism to gain respect from the other guys which he has to force upon unlike Slim. Antithesis of Slim.
Always has ‘ants in his pants’
Curley. This idiom highlights how controlling he is of his wife.
He wears a ‘left glove of fulla vaseline’
Curley.He is manipulative over her and views her as a sexual object. In the 1900’s, a male figure always dominated over women. Throughout childhood it was their father and through marriage the husband.
CW ‘know where they all went’
Curley. This is significant as he is always out at the brothel whilst she is forced to remain and stay in the house away from any interactions.
He ain’t so good
Candy. In this situation Candy resembles his dog however he faces ageism and Carlson wants him to be put down because of this. Candy is scared in this case as he doesn’t want to be fired, killed like his dog.
Not ‘much good with only one hand’
Candy. He attempts to be apart of George and Lennie dream. He does this as he buys his way to security and protection from being fired. Illustrates how America is not a meritocracy.
‘Right here on this ranch’ now he is a ‘swaper’
Candy. He is only allowed to stay because of the boss’ pity.
Rolled over slowly and faced the wall and lay silent
Candy. Steinbeck uses a rule of 3 with these verbs to show how distraught he is as he has lost his only true companion.This may foreshadow future as his is old.
His sorrow and anger grew into words
Candy. The personification emphasises Candy’s emotions as because of this he will have to remain on the farm.
They’ll can me purity soon
Candy.This is because of his age and disability which is regarded as less of. The adverb illustrates the uncertainty of him being fired so he needs to always be cautious as it can happen any moment if he messes up. This incapsulates Candy’s tragic situation and the situation of many American elderly as America is not a meritocracy.
‘We got friends’ and ‘we got nothing to say to you’
Candy. The inclusive pronoun is significant as it isolates Curley’s wife. He is used in this momen to show the power old people had. This is important as it shows he finally has the ability to defend people which he cares about which he was unable to do with his dog.
God damn tramp
Candy’This projects Candy state of mind as he viciously says this. The adverb displays Candys anger however not sadness as the dream is now unachievable because Lennie got to carried away.
Tramp
Candy. He calls her this when introducing her, this is because of her provocative dressing to tease other and gain attention as in her relationship she is just the ‘trophy’
You got no rights comin in a coloured man’s room
Crooks. It’s however very ironic that he says this as he himself has little rights in a white dominated society where he is restricted from doing many things such as going into the bunk house.Crooks is one of few characters which speaks in a certain dialect which reflects his background.
I ain’t wanted in my own country
Crooks.This reveals crooks awareness to the prejudice American society . This reinforces his cynical attitude which he constantly has a negative view over the world. This evokes pathos in the reader. The possessive pronoun in conjunction with the adjective highlights how he doesn’t belong here even though he was born and raised.
A guy gets too lonely and he gets sick
The repetition emphasises the process of getting lonely and consequently having a physical affect.Due to him being segregated from the other, this allows Steinbeck to convey his message how we need interactions to be healthy.
Crooks face lighted with the pleasure in his torture
Steinbeck utilises an oxymoron to highlights the contrasting emotions as he is torturing Lennie. However this may be directed at Lennie because of all the racism he has had to take. This may be a way to cope with the racism.
They excuse the racial segregation because of his ‘stink[ing]’.
Crooks subverts contemporary the racial stereotypes by saying ‘you all of you stink’.The repetition of the direct pronoun demonstrates his attempt to subverts the attention on him as he has realised the cruel but true reality.
