‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck Literature Unit 1 Exam Welcome! Today we will be looking at the introduction of 5 major characters in the novel. Start by analysing their names. Names can often tell us a lot about a character – what impression do you get of them?

‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck Literature Unit 1 Exam Crooks Slim Candy Curley Curley’s Wife

‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck Literature Unit 1 Exam Select a piece of contextual information from the whiteboard. Remember, context refers to the situation in which the novel was written. It is very influential and you need to know about it and write about it in your exam. 1.Is there any way you can relate it to the novel based on what you know already? 2.Keep it and use it later in the lesson and module generally.

‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck Literature Unit 1 Exam isation This means the construction of the character by the writer. Remember they are not real people and they have been made for a reason! We will now study one character together… Character

Introduction of the character: Candy The wooden latch raised. The door opened and a tall, stoop-shouldered old man came in. He was dressed in blue jeans and he carried a big push-broom in his left hand. Behind him came George, and behind George, Lennie. “The boss was expectin’ you last night,” the old man said. “He was sore as hell when you wasn’t here to go out this morning.” He pointed with his right arm, and out of the sleeve came a round stick-like wrist, but no hand. “You can have them two beds there,” he said, indicating two bunks near the stove. The old man said, “I guess the boss’ll be out here in a minute. He was sure burned when you wasn’t here this morning. Come right in when we was eatin’ breakfast and says, ‘Where the hell’s them new men?’ An’ he give the stable buck hell, too.” George patted a wrinkle out of his bed, and sat down. “Give the stable buck hell?” he asked. “Sure. Ya see the stable buck’s a nigger.” “Nigger, huh?” “Yeah. Nice fella too. Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him. The boss gives him hell when he’s mad. But the stable buck don’t give a damn about that. He reads a lot. Got books in his room.”

How they act and what they do List details here. What they say about others List phrases here and interpret them. What others say about them Write and record who talks about them. How they look What’s important in Steinbeck’s description of the character? Candy

‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck Literature Unit 1 Exam Now it’s your chance to fill the characterisation sheets in for the remainder of the characters. Take your 4 character sheets with you and go to one of the 4 descriptions. Work in pairs to fill in as much as you can. Don’t worry if you can’t fill in all the boxes yet – this will be ongoing. Your turn!

‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck Literature Unit 1 Exam Two sections to fill in here – one on characters and one on context. Chat with other people and swap information with them! 5 minutes – try to fill your table… Give One Get One

What have you learnt about characters and context in ‘Of Mice and Men’? Write your own ideas here about characters Visit another student and collect new ideas here. Visit a different student and record any different ideas here. Write your own ideas here about context Visit another student and collect new ideas here. Visit a different student and record any different ideas here.

Introduction of the character: Curley’s Wife

Introduction of the character: Slim

Introduction of the character: Curley

Introduction of the character: Crooks C

How they act and what they do List details here. What they say about others List phrases here and interpret them. What others say about them Write and record who talks about them. How they look What’s important in Steinbeck’s description of the character? Crooks

How they act and what they do List details here. What they say about others List phrases here and interpret them. What others say about them Write and record who talks about them. How they look What’s important in Steinbeck’s description of the character? Curley

How they act and what they do List details here. What they say about others List phrases here and interpret them. What others say about them Write and record who talks about them. How they look What’s important in Steinbeck’s description of the character? Slim

How they act and what they do List details here. What they say about others List phrases here and interpret them. What others say about them Write and record who talks about them. How they look What’s important in Steinbeck’s description of the character? Curley’s Wife

Links to context How does what you know about the American context of the novel influence your understanding of this kind of character? Final Language Analysis Which are the most important words and phrases in the descriptions of this character and why? Details about context What details in this description could you link to context? Pick out quotations. Personal Response Are we meant to like or sympathise with this character? Why? Candy Here’s how to complete this placemat task…

Links to context How does what you know about the American context of the novel influence your understanding of this kind of character? Final Language Analysis Which are the most important words and phrases in the descriptions of this character and why? Details about context What details in this description could you link to context? Pick out quotations. Personal Response Are we meant to like or sympathise with this character? Why? Crooks

Links to context How does what you know about the American context of the novel influence your understanding of this kind of character? Final Language Analysis Which are the most important words and phrases in the descriptions of this character and why? Details about context What details in this description could you link to context? Pick out quotations. Personal Response Are we meant to like or sympathise with this character? Why? Curley

Links to context How does what you know about the American context of the novel influence your understanding of this kind of character? Final Language Analysis Which are the most important words and phrases in the descriptions of this character and why? Details about context What details in this description could you link to context? Pick out quotations. Personal Response Are we meant to like or sympathise with this character? Why? Curley’s Wife

Links to context How does what you know about America from the slips of paper link to this character? Final Language Analysis Which are the most important words and phrases in the descriptions of this character and why? Details about context What details in this description could you link to life for women generally? Pick out quotations. Personal Response Are we meant to like or sympathise with this character? Why? Curley’s Wife

Links to context How does what you know about the American context of the novel influence your understanding of this kind of character? Final Language Analysis Which are the most important words and phrases in the descriptions of this character and why? Details about context What details in this description could you link to context? Pick out quotations. Personal Response Are we meant to like or sympathise with this character? Why? Slim