Blog part 5 - 6 OMAM

I think Curly's wife decided to confide in Lenny because she knew that Lenny was mentally challenged. Curly's wife was confiding in Lenny about how exactly Curly's hand was broken. She thinks that she knows but Lenny doesn't tell her. I think Lenny didn't tell her because saw that nobody else was telling her so he thought that if he did he would get in trouble.

Jon Raclin

Part 5 Question 2

I think what was ironic about the description of Curley's wife's death was the opposite of both what you would think of death and how she looked and acted when she was alive.  The description of her - pretty and simple, with rouged cheeks and reddened lips made her seem alive and sleeping very lightly.  Curley's wife always looked for attention but now the ache for attention was gone from her face.  The irony is that one might not think a dead person would look so peaceful; but, Curley's wife, dead, covered in hay, looked peaceful yet alive.

Part 5 Question 6

The lie that George tells Slim is that Lennie would have gone South because they came from the North. This is a lie because if something ever happened to them on the Ranch, George told Lennie to go to the brush that they had stopped at on there way to the Ranch. The brush is therefore North because that's were they came from. This made me think that they might actually try to buy a house and live by themselves. It also made me think about why George wouldn't lead them to him because Lennie is such a pain to George. After reading chapter 6, I could see that his plan was to kill Lennie in the Brush by himself. He wanted to be able to kill him because he was his friend and would like to have done it himself. He would have felt like Candy and his dog if he wouldn't of done it himself.

Part 5-6 Lennie and Curely's Wife

       In part 5, Lennie and Curelys wife become part of the climax of Steinbeck's, Of Mice and Men. Part five starts with Lennie in the barn with his pup. Lennie slapped his pup when it looked like it was about to bite him. He was arguing with the dead pup and grew angry at the pup for dying. Curely's wife then came in and wanted to talk to Lennie. He started to obey George, but she convinced him to talk to her. She expressed that she was lonely and wanted to talk to other people than Curely. She then explained how her mother was horrible to her and whenever a large opportunity for her her mother denied it because she thought she was too young. She then explained how she met Curely and married him to get away from her mother. She then questions Lennie about the dead pup. He explains how he likes to pet soft things and she lets him pet her hair. He starts to mess her hair up and she screams. Lennie instinctively holds onto her hair in shock. He tells her not to scream putting his giant paw over her mouth and neck. He then shakes her and accidentally breaks her neck and kills her. I believe this is the climax of the story because it causes George to go with all the men and kills Lennie. Once Lennie had done this there was no turning back before he would've been tortured or killed.

Question 1: Lennie and Curlie's Wife

Lennie and Curly's wife were both part of a big scene in part 5 in Of Mice and Men. First, Curly's wife tells Lennie about her past, and tells him about her childhood and later life. Curly's wife first says that when she was younger, many people asked her about joining shows and movies, but her mother rebuffed the invitation. First, an actor asked her to join a show with him but her mom did not allow her to because she was too young. She says how if she went along with him she would be living a completely different life. Another time an actor told her how she was a natural in acting and how she could be in movies. He told her that he would write back to her once he got to Hollywood, but she did not get the letter. She supposes that her mom stole the letter so she did not know. Instead of following her dreams, she married Curly so she could be somewhere she could achieve something and not be completely restricted. She then tells Lennie that she does not even like Curley, she admits that this is the first time she had told someone. She says how she could be living a much better life if she had followed her dreams and become an actor. I believe that Curly's wife confessed this to Lennie because she trusts and and feels that he would not tell anyone. She believes that Lennie would have no reason to tell anyone and would just probably forget because of his memory and childish mind. She also told him this because she needed to admit this to someone in order for her to feel better about the situation. She is also struggling with loneliness in a place where she is only allowed to talk to Curly. She believes that talking to Lennie will give her someone to talk to that she knows will not tell Curly. Next, Lennie tells her how he likes to pet soft things. Now Curly's wife says how she has nice and soft hair and tells Lennie he could touch it. Lennie touches it and then she jerks back over fear of messing it up. Lennie freaks out and grasps on. In response, Curley's wife screams and to prevent the men from hearing, he covers her mouth and shook her. She then broke her neck and died.

Chapter 5 and 6 Question 1

Curleys wife tries to talk to Lennie, but Lennie refused saying that George would get very mad at him. Curleys wife keeps trying to convince Lennie to talk to her, but he wont listen so she starts talking anyways. Lennie is baited in and begins to listen, Curleys wife talks about her childhood and how she had a dream of being an actor but her mom always prevented her from doing this. Her mom would not let her follow her dream so she ended up marrying Curley. I think Curleys wife opened up to Lennie because Lennie is a safe person to talk to and he will not share it with anyone else. I also think Curleys wife desperately needed to tell someone so it would make her feel better. After Curleys wife speaks Lennie starts to talk about how he likes to pet things and that is why he wants the rabbits. When Curleys wife listens to how Lennie likes to stroke things she says she likes to stroke her hair to make it very nice. She tells Lennie to feel her hair and Lennie begins to stroke her hair and she says do not mess it up. Lennie keeps holding on and Curleys wife gets frustrated and screams and tries to wiggle out of Lennies grasp. Lennie also gets scared and grabs onto Curleys wifes hair and does not let go. Lennie tries to calm down Curleys wife by shaking her head and when he does this he snaps her neck and Curleys wife goes limp and is suddenly dead.

Section 5+6 Social Pyramid at Ranch with G/L and C/CW

In the last two sections of our novel it was apparent that a social pyramid had been established on the ranch. For example, when Lennie and Curly's wife are talking secretively together, Curley's wife mentions how she got lonely and has no one to talk too. Woman at the time did not have much authority, her name was not even stated throughout the whole book. Lennie however is to afraid to talk to Curley's wife at first because he is scared George will get mad at him and not let him pet rabbits. George and Lennie's relationship is similar to Curley and his wife's relationship. They both have one controller, George and Curley, and they have a weak who is not strong enough to speak up for themselves.  That is why Lennie could eventually relate to Curley's wife in chapter 5.

WALSH - part 5 & 6 Qs

Part 5:

(REMEMBER: These questions are OPTIONAL; you can respond to them in a post, or just used them as direction for what to focus on while you read)

1. Lennie and Curley’s wife both confided in each other. What did she tell Lennie and why do you think she chose him to confess this too? What did he tell her and what event did this lead to?

2. Describe what Curley’s wife looked like once she died (p. 92-93). What is ironic about this description?

3. What question does Candy ask George, and what is his response? (address two important quotes here… one on p. 94 and the other on p. 95) WHY do you think George plans to become just like every other rancher, rather than live out the dream with Candy?

4. What is Curley’s motivation for going after Lennie? Use quotes to support your answer.

5. What lie does George tell Slim? Before reading part 6, what did this lie make you think about George’s plan? After reading part 6… WHY ___________________

Part 6:

1. Analyze Lennie’s hallucination. Use some quotes to support what you think it all means.

2. WHY DID GEORGE SHOOT LENNIE? (Use previous events, info, quotes to prove the foreshadowing AND the explanation for WHY he did it.)

3. Why did Steinbeck choose to have Carlson, of all characters, be the last one to speak in the novel? What significance do his words have? OR What theme do his words support? à “Now what the hell do ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?”

Section 5 and 6




              The first time i red section 5 and 6 i though that it was very confusing. Though after reading it a second time a few days later i became more clear to me what it was about. This book Of Mice and Men starts off with Lennie just petting mice and accidental killing them on accident. Just as one might let a few mice in their house on accident. They gradually Linnie becomes bigger and not knowing his strength he does things that becomes a danger to others. Then he does things that are worse and worse because he does not learn from his mistakes. Like killing his puppy and then accidentaly killing Curley's wife.He runs away into the brush that George tells him to and starts to daydream. He has visions of his different people and things telling him off and finally shows what goes on inside of Linnie's head.  After doing this the others the ranch come to a conclusion that he is dangerous and needs to be taken care of.  Then unlike candy George is the one who kills Linnie once and  for all. Also just like candys dog, he knew that it would be better for Linnie to go to a better place where he didn't have to worry about anything again.

Why George Shot Lennie

The story ends with George killing Lennie. Lennie kills Curley's Wife accidentally, Curley sends a lynch mob to kill Lennie Runs away to the river where he and George meet. Lennie wishes they could be relieved of all their problems and go to their fantasy farm. George isn't mad  at Lennie and agrees with him. George then kills Lennie. I think George does this for the benefit for Lennie. I think this is better for Lennie, I would've been much more diffucult for George to live through life knowing that Lennie was Lynched.

George shooting Lennie Chapter 6

I think that it was weird that George shot Lennie instead of trying to run away with him. They could have been able to escape from the other ranchers. But on the other hand I can sort of see Georges reasoning when he shot Lennie. I think that George knew that they couldn't survive in the wilderness or run away from Curley and the guys. Because of this I think that George wanted to shoot Lennie himself. George also talked about the imaginary farm and tried to make Lennie as happy as possible before he shot him. George showed that he really cared for Lennie in this chapter.

Should George have shot Lennie?

Part 4 Blog Question 3

It think it was Ironic that she said that they left the weaker ones here because she was still there. When she said this, she might have been referring to just the boys because she was talking to them. Either way though, she was still there which made us think that she was also referring to herself. This is an example of Irony because we thought she viewed her as so much better than everyone else like she was the Queen Bee or something. This means that she, like the other people shes talking to, are way farther down on the totem Pole than everyone else. It really surprised me in this chapter that she would say this because she is also talking about herself.

How do you think this was ironic?

Section 5+6: Slim's Caring

In Section 5, Slim showed that he respects George’s opinion and tries to protect Lennie, and in Section 6, he tries to make George feel better after George shot Lennie. Slim is like a caring big brother or father to everyone, providing advice and keeping everyone in line. When Curley gets all fired up, Slim tells Curley that “maybe you better stay here with your wife”, trying to mollify him so Curley doesn’t go on a killing spree starting with Lennie. When Slim finds George mourning Lennie, he tries to comfort him by telling him to move on, and tries to make him feel better.

Part 5: The past of Wife

In part five, Curley's Wife revels her long history. She tells how she wanted to take advantage of many opportunities, bu her "ol' Lady " kept her from taking advantage of them. First there was the circus. In that event, she wanted to run off with the circus but her mother would not let her. She said that it was because she was to young. I think that this is totally reasonable. Then when she was older someone wanted to take her to Holly Wood and make her a movie star. This time her mother probably stole her letter, so she married Curly who she did not like. This probably is because woman of the era did not have much choice in there future. She tried to fight this and get out of her confinement by marrying Curly, but ended up making it worse.

Part 4 Question 1

In this section of the book the character Crooks was introduced. Crooks is an African-American with a seemingly mean disposition. This the Lennie and George's first interaction with this character and right off the bat Crooks creates the impression that he dislikes George and Lennie. We don't know much about Crooks' background, but it seems like he has dealt with something that has changed his life, and as a  result he is in a bad mood. The author makes Crooks seem like he feels that he is being judged due to his race. Crooks is clearly discriminated in the farm and I think that this is the reason he acts the way he does. (He lives in a different house away from all the other whites)

Part Four

2/8

        Crooks changed his mind because he thought about all the good things he could have that were not at this farm. Some of those things were respect, and equality. I think Crooks will be in the plan to start a new farm for now. What do you guys think?

Section 4


             I think that it is ironic that when Curley's wife came into the stables on page 77 and said "I guess that they left all the weak ones here. There are a few things that are ironic with this, for one it takes willpower to not ego to town and spend all of your money but stay back at the ranch. Also it is ironic because she is calling herself week witch she might have done on purpose though is still ironic. Lastly Lennie "Smalls," is definitely not weak and is almost the opposite. Why do you think that this is ironic.

Candy's Wife: Escapee

Curly's Wife came to Crooks' house to talk to the men. She said some suggestive things and talked about her dislike for Curly. This kind of suggests that women of the time had almost no choice in who they married. Also it shows that divorce was much less common or at least, women had less of a choice in it.

Part 3 Candy's Dog Gets Killed

       In part three I think the most important event is when Candy's dog is shot and put out of it's misery by Carlson. Candy hesitates when Carlson asks permission to kill his dog. Carlson says his dog is old and had no place on the ranch. and is basically in agony as he is alive. He tries to find some excuse to stop his lifelong friend be put down. He looks around and at everyone, but no one will give him one.Afterwards he sits quietly in his bed looking up at the ceiling.When they heard the gunshot Candy slowly turned to face the wall. His despondence shows that he had been through a lot with his dog and was emotionally connected to him.

Chapter 4 Question #3

When Curley's Wife sais "They left all the weak ones here" it is ironic. It is ironic because Lennie is the strongest physically on the ranch, he broke Curley's hand with ease even though Curley is pretty strong. Crooks is one of the strongest mentally because he can read very well and he is very literate. Candy is also strong emotionally like how he reacted to his dog being killed and did not let Curley's wife get the best of him. The most ironic thing is that Curley's wife seems like the weakest on the farm. She has no friends and is usually by herself, I think that is why she has no name. This is what's ironic about her statement.

WALSH Section 4 Qs

Part 4:

(REMEMBER: These questions are OPTIONAL; you can respond to them in a post, or just used them as direction for what to focus on while you read)

1. We finally get to know Crooks. What stood out to you or surprised you about him? With what intentions do you think Steinbeck deliberately characterized him?

2. “Crooks’ face lighted with pleasure in his torture [of Lennie]” – p. 71

At first this made me strongly dislike Crooks! BUT, after reading on, Steinbeck made it clear WHY Crooks was toying with Lennie about George not returning. Discuss your interpretations of this…

3. What is ironic about Curley’s wife’s statement: “They left all the weak ones here.” – p. 77

4. Curley’s wife reveals several times throughout her appearance in Section 4 that she is in the same exact state of mind as these men (i.e. LONELY) – where did we see evidence of this?

5. Some thoughts to discuss on the ending scene:

 - Why does Crooks change his mind about wanting in on their dream?

 - Why do you think Curley’s wife intends to get herself some rabbits?

 - How did Curley’s wife ultimately “win” the argument? 

Section 4: Lennie's Protectiveness

    George is often fathering Lennie, as Lennie has mental problems and if like a child. George is like Lennie’s helpful older brother in a way, and Lennie is the younger brother wanting to be like his older brother. However, on page 72, when Crooks starts to poke fun at Lennie, saying “What if George got hurt?”, “Lennie’s eyes centered and grew quiet, and mad. He stood up and walked dangerously toward Crooks.” Also, “Lennie growled back to his seat on the nail keg. ‘Ain’t nobody goin’ to talk no hurt to George,’ he grumbled”. This shows that while Lennie had the brains of a young boy and George is caring for Lennie like a guardian, Lennie is looking after George as well. He shows a fierce protective aura when it comes to people close to him, and obviously doesn’t want George to get hurt. What are your thoughts?

Section 4: American Dream and Curley's Wife

In section 4, Curley's wife entered Crooks room where Lennie, Candy, and Crooks were. We learned that Curley's wife was very mean to all people in Curley's room by calling them bad names. After her mean remarks Crooks branched into a tirade saying that he Lennie, George, and Candy all have a plan on leaving the ranch for new land and opportunities. "We got our own lan', an it's ours, an' we c,n go to it," said by Crooks. Curley's wife rebuffed that statement by saying, "I've seen to many of you guys." Later in the section Crooks told the people in his room that, "Jus' foolin. I wouldn't want to go no place like that." This shows authority in Curley's wife because she persuaded Crooks that it was an unrealistic plan to pursue. Curley's wife has know made her statement that she does not even like Curley. I expect her character to play a key roll in the enidng of our novel.

Candy's Ancient Dog

As we learned in part two, Carlson decides to kill Candy's ancient dog (obviously with his permission.) I believe that this situation was actually ironic. To me, it was ironic that Candy succumbed to the pressure put on him by Carlson about killing the dog. This was ironic because we learn from part 2 and part 3 that Candy raised this dog ever since he was a pup. You would think that there close relationship would lead to Candy raising this dog to death. However, Candy allows Carlson to kill his dog. Overall, I believe that the fact that Carlson killed Candy's dog with Candy's permission was ironic because of the fact that Candy raised him since he was a pup.

Section 3

               I think that Carlson suggested shooting the dog not only because of the smell or that he was a cold-hearted person. Almost the opposite, I think that he wanted to put the dog out of it's misery. he said that the dog was old and it hurt to even live anymore. I think that candy eventually agreed to it because he loved his dog and wanted to end his pain. Especially when Carlson said that if you were old and in pain would you want someone to end it for you, and when he said that  he knew how to make it so that the dog didn't feel it. I think that that dog itself resembles the dreams of the ranchers, mangled and old and pushed aside. also like the dog they have given up or been given up. Then when they shoot the dog it resembles the dreams being destroyed. Then reborn when Candy gets a new dog. Also I think that author used foreshadowing to show that George, Linnie, and now Candy's dream might be destroyed and then  reborn again. If they get canned from the ranch for fighting Curly.

Part 3 "Candy Wanting In"

In the story Candy says he "wants in" on George and Lennie's rabbit farm. Candy seemed panicked to be apart of the  farm. Since Candy is old and has been working on the farm for a long time I think he is eager to leave this farm and become the boss of his own farm. I think that Candy is urgent to leave the farm because he senses the rising tension between everyone about Curleys Wife. Candy seems very observant and I think he would be the first to know when things are about to get ugly.

Part 3: Lennie's Independence

I think it was interesting how George did NOT help Lennie when Curly attacked. Although one may think George was acting out of fear or selfishness, I feel otherwise. I think George knew that he could've taken Curly in a fight, but he wanted to force Lennie to become independent. Therefore, he only encouraged Lennie to fight back, he did not actually intervene. I think George's plan both succeeded and failed, depending on how you look at it. Lennie was eventually forced to fight back, and easily crushed Curly. (His hand, specifically.) Although this was what George wanted, I do not think it went down in the manner that made Lennie any more independent. He only followed George's orders, and in the end he felt bad because he had not actually meant to hurt Curly, even though Curly had attacked him. This shows Lennie's childish and arrogant spirit. Normally, the champion of a fight would celebrate and mock, but Lennie looked for help because he felt what he did was wrong. What do you think? Should George have physically intervened? Or did he make the right choice by forcing Lennie to (sort of) stand up for himself?

The fight section 3

Chapter 3 The Fight



I think the fight was weird. First of all Curly attacked Lennie without evidence he was laughing at him. I think Curly did this because he is intimidated by big guys and he might be embarrassed about his wife. Second I taught it was strange that Lennie didn't defend himself before George told him to. I taught that this was weird because it is human nature to defend yourself from being attacked. Lennie was like a trained dog he only acted when he was told to. George wanted to let Lennie handle Curly himself. He did this by stopping Slim from helping Lennie. This shows that George wants Lennie to solve some of his own problems.



Why didn't George help Lennie?

WALSH - Section 3 Qs

Part 3:

(REMEMBER: These questions are OPTIONAL; you can respond to them in a post, or just used them as direction for what to focus on while you read)

1. On p. 39 George spoke “proudly” of Lennie for the first time ever while talking to Slim. Later, on p. 44 Candy spoke proudly of his old dog as well. How are these two situations alike?

2. Beyond the smell, why do you think Carlson suggested shooting the dog? What might the dog itself, or the shooting of the dog, represent? Why do you think Candy eventually agreed to it?

3. Any time an author uses repetition, it is usually meaningful. Steinbeck has used the word ‘deliberate’ five times (so far) throughout the novel. Find the word on pages 22, 28, 42, 51, and 55 and see if you can find the significance.

4. We learned a LOT more detail about George & Lennie’s dream. But “when Candy spoke, they both jumped as though they had been caught doing something reprehensible…[and] George was on guard immediately.” WHY the panic??? And why do you think Candy wants “in” on the dream?

5. What is your reaction to the fight? (Bot the beginning of it and the end.) What characteristics were solidified about the many characters who were present during this debacle (Curley, George, Lennie, Carlson, Candy, Slim)?

Section 3: Candy's Dog

In Section 3 of our novel Of Mice and Men  one of the main events was when Carlson put Candy's old dog away by shooting him in the back of his head. Carlson's reason for killing the dog was that the dog was so smelly and old. He said that Candy's dog had no means being on the ranch and that the did not help anyone in anyway. Candy was trying to get the confidence to say no to Carlson, but I think that the old Candy did not have the courage to defend his dog against the big authoritative Carlson. Carlson took the dog away to shoot him. While Candy lay silently looking at the ceiling in disappointment.

What do you think the significance of the dog's death is to the ranch?

Part three: Symbolism

I thought that in part three I might as well right about a literary device.  I figured symbolism would be good. Candy's dog was a major example of symbolism, and maybe foreshadowing Candy's fate. Candy is worried that the dog could represent him when "The old man squirmed uncomfortably." He is missing one hand and is worried that the others will get rid of him next. Personally I think that the people like him just not his dog. Candy gets even more concerned when Slim (the affable one) says "I wisht somebody'd shoot me if I got old an' a cripple." Now Candy is worried that they think they should just get rid of him. Are his fears really so unjustified?

Curley Part 2

I think that Curley is going to have a very significant role in this story. He doesn't have the most authority out of everyone on the ranch, but he acts like he does. He has the strongest personality on the ranch and looks at everyone as if they are less of a person than he. He acts high and mighty to keep the illusion that he has authority. He also treats his wife like a trophy and uses her as leverage over everyone else.