Useful Information

Question 1

Why does Steinbeck use colloquial language?

Answer 1

To narrow the status gap between himself and the characters and readers and set the tone as semi-formal so it is easier for readers to relate.

Question 2

Why does Steinbeck start with an empty scene?

Answer 2

Because the novel was written as a play at first and it was to be theatrical/cinematic

Question 3

Why is the paragraph describing where Lennie and George are at the beginning of the book written in the present tense?

Answer 3

It implies that the place will always be there and workers like George and Lennie will always continue to come through.

Question 4

What are the three negative mentions of rabbits (dream)?

Answer 4

1) At the beginning of the book they “sit as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones” And then they “hurried noiselessly for cover.” This shows that the dream seems tangible but it will never be a reality.
2) “pants rabbits”
3) From out of Lennie’s head came a gigantic rabbit that said “you crazy bastard. You ain’t fit to lick the boots of no rabbits.”

Question 5

What is significant about the “ash pile made by many fired” and the limb of a sycamore “worn smooth by men who have sat on it”?

Answer 5

It shows that Lennie and George’s experience was a very normal and common one at the time so it creates sympathy for all the workers but also shows that their lives are two out of many that will be lead and will end the same way.

Question 6

In the opening of the novel, how is nature shown to be threatened by man?

Answer 6

It says the “path beaten hard by boys”

The use of the adjective hard juxtaposes the previous paragraph where it talks about peace in nature with adj. like “warm” and “twinkling”

Question 7

What animals are described in the opening of section 1?

Answer 7

Dogs, ‘coons, lizards, rabbits, deer

Question 8

What does Steinbeck’s concentration of male characters allow him to do?

Answer 8

To expand the theme of male dominance in American 1930s which he studies in “the grape of wrath”.

Question 9

Why is the poem “to a mouse” so significant?

Answer 9

It is a poem about a mouse losing its home when a farmer ruins it. It is used to show how men and women can have dreams however they can never be guaranteed because an uncontrollable force can change or ruin their plans. The poems also stresses that our relationship with nature should be harmonious but often is not. The title of the novel is also an allusion to the poem by Robert Burns.

Question 10

What does Of mice and men imply about capitalism and friendship?

Answer 10

That we live in a world where we are obsessed with work and we are made to think that is the only type of world we can have.

Also that capitalism corrupts inter human relationships and that we are in competition with others.

Question 11

What is one way the first paragraph in chapter 6 foreshadows Lennie’s death?

Answer 11

“A pleasant shade had fallen.” This tells the reader it is the end of the day (end of life).

Question 12

What are three phrases that tell us the story is written using a circular narrative?

Answer 12

1) it mentions the “deep green pool of the Salinas river”
2) it says the “little bird skittered over the dry leaves behind him” - skittered was used on page 1
3) George threw the gun he killed Lennie with “near the pile I old ashes.” Which is exactly where the story began.

Question 13

Why is the description of nature very poetic but man-made things are described as very sparse?

Answer 13

It implies that Steinbeck thinks that nature is better than things that are made by man.

Question 14

What is the significance of the water snake that was on the pool at the beginning of the book?

Answer 14

Snakes represent evil, this implies that something bad is going to happen. It is also a reference to the story of Eden (allusion to the bible). Male characters are condemned to work and alienated to nature. This crisis is because of the temptation of a women who is eve like (Curley’s wife). George’s second name is Milton - reference to John Milton (author of paradise lost - a poem about the fall of man)

Question 15

Describe the context of the novel.

Answer 15

It is set in 1930s California after the 1929 Wall Street Crash in New York. This lead o a huge westward migration amount the itinerant agricultural workers from the “dust bowl” states in the south. This was encouraged by Californian ranch owners who wanted to create over-supply in the labour market.

Question 16

What is the effect of the novel starting in the present tense?

Answer 16

It gives the sense that the scene with the tree trunk “worn smooth” at the beginning of the novel is always there and doesn’t ever change very much because the same type of people living the same typical lifestyles are always passing through there.

Question 17

How does each chapter of the novel start and how is this relevant to Crooks?

Answer 17

Each chapter stars like a stage play where the characters come into the empty scene.

Question 18

Why are the water snake and the heron important and the beginning and end of the book?

Answer 18

The snake glides through the waters at the beginning of the novel and is not harmed by the heron but at the end it is “plucked” out “by the head” and swallowed by the heron. This suggests Lennie’s imminent death and tells us that his life will be taken from him as unsuspecting as the water snake. Steinbeck employs both the heron and the water snake to show the predatory nature of the world and to also show that they live in a capitalist world where everyone is competing against others to survive.

Question 19

What was the novel written as a protest against?

Answer 19

The way migrant workers were exploited by ranch owners at the time.

Question 20

Why is the use of figurative language important in OMAM?

Answer 20

It creates an atmosphere for reality. His use of metaphor and simile in both the opening and final sections and, in particular, his descriptions of the natural world provide us with a clear picture of character and setting.

Question 21

What does Soledad mean in Spanish and why is this important?

Answer 21

It means solitude - this has a symbolic meaning and conveys a sense of loneliness.

Question 22

Why is it important that the main action takes place in a limited number of places? (Bunkhouse, Barn)

Answer 22

It helps the author to maintain the focus and thread of the story, and gives us a strong feeling of how George and Lennie are trapped by their situation.

Question 23

Anger and violence in OMAM:

Answer 23

There is always a hierarchy between workers and because they all have limited goals they look back upon anger as this is something that they can do and use to achieve a more powerful status.

Lots of the conversations in the book are based on anger, even George and Lennie (starts and ends the book with anger and violence)

Question 24

What is the outline of an A* PEC paragraph?

Answer 24

1)Topic sentence/point
2)Evidence (2/3 pieces of evidence)
3)Comment
C1 - inference (read between the lines)
C2 - analysis (how does a particular device contribute)
C3 - message (what is the authors message)
C4 - cross reference (get something similar from somewhere else in the novel)