John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men

Literary Analysis – What went right? What went wrong? Answer on a half sheet of paper: Was your grade what you expected? Do you understand why you scored what you did? How did you do with quotes and citations? How did you do with organization? What is a goal for the next writing assignment?

Of Mice and Men Schedule Today – Welcome back! Poem and Article Next class* – Discuss Journal Questions 1-4 (Tuesday 7th, Wednesday 4th, Thursday 5th ) Thursday – Discuss Journal Questions 5-8; discuss quiz Friday – Quiz over Of Mice and Men; explain movie assignment 

“To a Mouse” The title Of Mice and Men, comes from a line in this poem: How do these lines tell the story of George and Lennie? The best-laid schemes o' mice an’ men Gang aft agley An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain For promis'd joy!

Of Mice and Men: Contemporary Reviews and Critical Reception Read and annotate the article. Put a + when you agree with a statement and a – when you disagree. Write a response to the article and include a discussion of at least two things that you agreed/disagreed with.

Characterization The act of creating and developing a character Two primary methods of characterization: direct and indirect Direct characterization – the writer simply states the character’s traits George being referred to as “small” and Lennie being referred to as “huge” would be an example

Indirect Characterization Character is revealed by one of the following means: Things the character says Character’s inner thoughts and feelings Character’s actions Character’s appearance What other characters say and think about the character

Theme Central idea of a piece of literature Should be answered in a complete statement not a word or phrase

Theme “In every bit of honest writing in the world,” Steinbeck wrote as he was working on The Grapes of Wrath , “there is a base theme. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love.”

Movie vs Book Paper Introduction – introduce both the book and the movie (Remember do not assume your audience is familiar with either one). Make sure you include the author and italicize the title. Body of Paper – discusses your vision vs the movie for two of the following: character, setting, and key scene ( 2 paragraphs) Conclusion – answers the question: overall what is gained and what is lost when translating the book to film?

Paper Goals (based on argument essay) Develop introduction paragraph Proper mechanics for titles Focused body paragraphs with a topic sentence Incorporate quotes more naturally Conclusion Use present tense

Introduction Make sure to introduce both the book and the film with author / director. Book and movie titles go in italics. Thesis: Answers the question – What is gained or lost when transferring the book to film? From The Purdue OWL

Body paragraphs: Moving from general to specific information A good paragraph should contain at least the following four elements: Transition, Topic sentence, specific Evidence and analysis, and a Brief wrap-up sentence (also known as a warrant) –TTEB! A Transition sentence leading in from a previous paragraph to assure smooth reading. This acts as a hand off from one idea to the next. A Topic sentence that tells the reader what you will be discussing in the paragraph. Specific Evidence and analysis that supports one of your claims and that provides a deeper level of detail than your topic sentence. A Brief wrap-up sentence that tells the reader how and why this information supports the paper’s thesis. The brief wrap-up is also known as the warrant. The warrant is important to your argument because it connects your reasoning and support to your thesis, and it shows that the information in the paragraph is related to your thesis and helps defend it. adapted from Purdue OWL

Using Quotes Remember quotes cannot stand alone as a sentence  They need to be introduced and explained. Do not end a paragraph with a quote. Why? Your paper needs to have 4 quotes from the book. Use each of the three following ways to incorporate quotes in your paper.

Using Quotes Include an attributive tag to introduce the quotes Remember: punctuation goes after the citation! Three ways to incorporate quotes: Examples of each: Include an attributive tag to introduce the quotes Incorporate as part of the sentence… Introduce with a complete sentence followed by a quote that is a complete sentence… Steinbeck writes, “….”(2). George says, “…..” (Steinbeck 4). George, who is described as having “restless eyes and sharp, strong features” (Steinbeck 2) is the opposite of Lennie. George defends Lennie’s actions to Candy: “All the time he done bad things, but he never done one of ‘em mean” (Steinbeck 90).

Avoid using the word “quote” in your paper. Try to introduce and explain the quote more naturally without using the word “quote.”

Conclusion Paragraph In a general way: How to end your paper. In a general way: Restate your topic and why it is important. Restate your thesis/claim, Give your reader something to think about (a call to action) in regards to your topic / relate to the world today (concluding statement).