40 Book Challenge 4/30/15

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Prompt: From your brainstorming session, choose at least two conflicts to explore more in depth in this blog. Be sure to include textual evidence and support and also identify the effect that the conflict has had on the plot so far
Pages: 37-98

     One conflict I chose was when whenever Lennie was in shock or in fear he always held tight to the thing that was scaring him. When he used to live in Weed he saw a girl's dress that was soft and he touched it. The girl yelled out because she thought Lennie was going to hurt her. He was very scared that he held on in shock. That includes when he was in the fight with Curley. It states, "George slapped him in the face again and again, and still Lennie held on to the closed fist." That shows the relation of the first and second incident, he is scared so he holds on. This was a Man vs Self conflict because he just froze out of fear. He never meant to hurt anyone.

     Another conflict I chose was how Candy was very guilty that he couldn't kill his own dog. He thought that he was useless because many people compared him to his dog. It states, "...a lousy ol' sheep dog..." He gets very frustrated at that and he feels guilty about his dog dying because a stranger shot him, instead of himself. This is also a Man vs Self conflict, he is very guilty about his dog dying.



I commented on Emily's, Omar's, and Mia's Blog.

40 Book Challenge 4-22-15

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Prompt:
-Describe the atmosphere of the ranch and bunkhouse.
-Be sure to include characteristics of different characters that were formally or informally introduced to us in this chapter. Support your choice with textual evidence and interpretation.
-Why doesn't Curley's wife have a name?   What message, if anything, is John Steinbeck  trying to send by not giving her a first name?  Support your choice with textual evidence and interpretation.
Pages: 1-37

     The novel states, "The bunkhouse was a long, rectangular building. Inside, the walls were whitewashed and the floor unpainted. In three walls there were small, square windows, and in the fourth, a solid door with a wooden latch." This makes the reader have an image inside of their head on the basics of how the inside of the bunkhouse looks. It also states, "Against the walls were five bunks, five of them made up with blankets... Over each bunk there was nailed an apple box with the opening forward so that it made two shelves... Near one wall there was a black cast-iron stove, its stovepipe going straight up to the ceiling. In the middle of the room stood a big square table..." This was the place of where George and Lennie would be staying for now, it was for the men that worked on the ranch.

     Many characters were introduced in this chapter, including Slim, Candy (aka Old Swamper), Carlson, Curley, Curley's wife and, the Boss. Everyone besides the Boss and Carlson were informally introduced. The boss and Slim actually greeted each other, in the book it states, "Glad to meet ya," the big man said. "My name's Carlson." "I'm George Milton. This here's Lennie Small." "Glad to meet ya," Carlson said again." This shows that they actually introduced each other, unlike how Curley's wife just walked in (without greeting them) and asked them one question and left. The other characters didn't say their name either like Carlson, George and, Lennie did.

     Curley's wife doesn't have a name because her significance is not as important in that time period, women weren't respected as much as they are now. John Steinbeck is trying to show the way women were respected, which was very minimum in that time. He wants the reader to know and feel how back then that different people were treated differently.

I commented on Lillian, Sebastian, and Nick's blog

40 Book Challenge

Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck

Prompt: - Describe the main characters.
              - How does the authors writing affect the book?

     George Milton, “...small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features… small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose.” Small guy, big leadership role, he is like the father of Lennie. He is the tough love guy, he would swear and curse at Lennie even though he loved him like a brother. He even said that at the end of Chapter One.

     Lennie Small, “... a huge man, shapeless of face, with large pale eyes,with wide, sloping shoulders…” Big guy, sidekick. He is the other guy that messes up everything. He gets in trouble and can't remember anything. He often loves George's stories when he explains it to him. He feels sorry that he ruins everything for George. And he squeezes mice heads till they die.


     The author's writing has a southern feel to it. It uses slang instead of full real words. It adds a different and cool affect to the characters' dialogue, it makes it sound cooler. It matches the characters with their personality, like the swear words. Honestly I think that is a good touch, it shows that George is more of a tough guy that can get angry easily.

I commented on Sebastian, Devin, and Siari's Blog.