1. Thursday 9 th October

2. Learning Objectives To determine how the context of the 1920s novel Of Mice and Men might have influenced some of decisions Steinbeck made about theme and character This objective teaches you to evaluate the information you will have explored today

3. Discussion Protocols Read the question Brainstorm everything that you associate with the key word first Then brainstorm all the possible answers to that question using an ‘argument protocol’ – for each reason for ‘yes’ you need to come up with a reason for ‘no’. Keep going until you have run out of either yes or no.

4. Why is context important? What does this article tell us about society today?

5. Context: An introduction to 1920s America S OCIAL, H ISTORICAL AND C ULTURAL CONTEXT. A time of massive change in the world!

6. Read the extract from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was first published in 1925, twelve years before Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. The novel is set in New York during the Roaring Twenties. …The bar is in full swing, and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside, until the air is alive with chatter and laughter, and casual innuendo and introductions forgotten on the spot, and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other's names. The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music, and the opera of voices pitches a key lighter. Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word. The groups change more swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form in the same breath; already there are wanderers, confident girls who weave here and there among the stouter and more stable, become for a sharp, joyous moment the centre of a group, and then, excited with triumph, glide on through the sea-change of faces and voices with colour under the constantly changing light. Suddenly one of these gypsies, in trembling opal, seizes a cocktail out of the air, dumps it down for courage and, moving her hands like Frisco, dances out alone on the canvas platform. A momentary hush; the orchestra leader varies his rhythm obligingly for her, and there is a burst of chatter as the erroneous news goes around that she is Gilda Gray's understudy from the Follies. The party has begun. Life in the 1920s TASK: What were the ‘Roaring Twenties’ like? Highlight sections from the extract that you feel capture the spirit and mood of 1920s America and make a note of your ideas alongside the highlighted sections. The Roaring Twenties Stick in your book

7. 1930s: Life Changed What words does this newspaper use to show how bad the situation was?

8. THE GREAT DEPRESSION! On Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed, triggering the Great Depression, the worst economic collapse in the history of the modern industrial world. It spread from the United States to the rest of the world, lasting from the end of 1929 until the early 1940s. With banks failing and businesses closing, more than 15 million Americans (one-quarter of the workforce) became unemployed.

9. Watch this short clipthis 1.What was life like in America after the Wall Street Crash? 2.Why were so many of them queuing? 3.What kind of work were the men looking for? 4.How would you describe their lives?

10. Historical Context The depression also led to a drop in the market price of farm crops, which meant that farmers were forced to produce more goods in order to earn the same amount of money.

11. THE FARMERS To make matters worse, America was also hit by a series of droughts and many farms could no longer operate. How would the droughts mean there was more unemployment?

12. The Dust Bowl The increase in farming activity across the Great Plains states caused the precious soil to erode. This erosion, coupled with a seven-year drought that began in 1931, turned once fertile grasslands into a ‘desert like’ region known as the Dust Bowl.

13. Dust Bowl Plains

15. WHAT DID PEOPLE DO?. People heard that, in California, the soil was still good and there was plenty of room and opportunity for work. If you were a farmer from Oklahoma in the 1930s what would you do?

16. The History of Migrant Farmers in California – During the Great Depression, economic and ecological forces (the Dust Bowl) brought many rural poor and migrant agricultural workers from the Great Plains states, such as Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas, to California.

17. The American Dream… Hundreds of thousands of farmers packed up their families and few belongings, and headed for California, which, for numerous reasons, seemed like a promised land. The state’s mild climate promised a longer growing season and, with soil favourable to a wider range of crops, it offered more opportunities to harvest.

18. … is shattered!! Despite these promises, though, very few found it to be the land of opportunity and plenty of which they dreamed.

20. Mini Plenary Making predictions: Consider what we have looked at and discussed this lesson. This is the America that the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ is set in. Look at the image of a front cover What do you think this novella will be about? Write down three statements.

21. What is the American Dream? America has always been seen as the Land of Opportunity, partly because immigrants from Europe saw it as a place of freedom, a place to begin a new life, a place for real possibilities and wealth for all. This belief in America as a country where ordinary people could create a better life for themselves is often referred to as “The American Dream”.

22. Question 1 What time of day does the story begin? ….

23. Question 2 What is Lennie’s inappropriate surname? ….

24. Question 3 What the three animals Lennie is compared to? ….

25. Question 4 What is the only type of water you should drink according to George? ….

26. Question 5 What is the one animal Lennie always remembers? ….

27. Question 6 What three things does Lennie forget in Chapter One? ….

28. Question 7 What are the two items George and Lennie go to Murray and Ready’s for? ….

29. Question 8 What three pastimes could George enjoy without Lennie? ….

30. Question 9 What is Lennie’s aunt called? ….

31. Question 9 What three pastimes George could enjoy without Lennie? ….

32. Question 10 What is the instruction George asks Lennie to follow if there is trouble at the ranch they are heading to? ….

33. Question 11 What is the task Lennie will not be allowed to do if he gets into trouble in the future? ….

34. Question 12 What is the awful event that might happen to Lennie if he were on his own, according to George? ….

35. American Dream in Of Mice and Men Steinbeck wanted to explore the themes of power, ownership and control and their effect upon ordinary people. Those people strived for a better life, and had hopes and dreams The two main characters, Lennie and George’s dream is significant because it tells us something about the culture that has created them.

36. Theme Sheets To determine how the context of the 1920s novel Of Mice and Men might have influenced some of decisions Steinbeck made about theme and character

37. The Title The title comes from a poem by a Scottish poet Robert Burns. ‘The best laid schemes o’ mice and men Gang aft agley (often go wrong) And leave us nought but grief and pain For promised joy!’

38. So Why The Title Of Mice and Men? Inspired by a poem written by Robert Burns:- From the poem: The best-laid schemes o' mice an 'men / Gang aft agley Meaning: No matter how hard or well we plan for something, our plans can often fail to become reality...or worse, they can end up going terribly wrong. What 3 predictions can you make about the book from this poem alone? Write them down. 1. 2. 3.

39. Share your impressions

40. Symbolism and Allegory Objective: be able to define, recognize and explain symbolism, allegory and figurative language.

41. Symbols

42. Come up with 3 symbols of your own

43. Concept Development: Symbols A symbol is often an event, object, person or animal to which an extraordinary meaning or significance has been attached. Pair/share: What ideas do these pictures symbolize?

44. Animal Imagery & Symbolism GeorgeLennie

45. Concept Development: Allegory An Allegory is a story in which characters, settings and actions stand for something beyond themselves. In some types of Allegories, the characters and setting represent abstract ideas of moral qualities. In other types, characters and situations stand for historical figures and events.

46. Examples of Allegories An Allegory can be read on one level for its literal or straightforward meaning An allegory can be read for its symbolic, or allegorical meaning Allegories are often intended to teach a moral lesson or make a comment about goodness and depravity.

47. Symbols and Allegory in some stories you might have read

48. Concept Development: Fable Type of ALLEGORY, usually has animals Used to teach moral lessons to children Animals/characters represent – Virtues=good human qualities – Vices=bad human qualities – Fables teach lessonsabout – life Represents Perseverance Represents arrogance

49. Concept Development: Fable Another example of a famous fable is the following from Aesop’s Fables: The Hound Dog and the Rabbit One day, a hound dog was hunting for a rabbit and managed to find one. The hound chased the rabbit for a long time, but eventually, the rabbit escaped. When another dog made fun of the hound dog for allowing the rabbit to escape, the hound dog replied: “You do now see the difference between the rabbit and I; I am only running for my dinner, while he is running for his life.” The lesson: Incentive will spur effort Pair/Share: Can you name another fable?

50. Concept Development: Parable Type of ALLEGORY set in the real world Teaches a lesson about ethics or morality Remember the Good Samaritan?? -Many stories in the Bible are parables

51. Concept Development: Allegory/Parables Some famous parables and allegorical stories/movies/television programs are: Animal Farm “The Emperor’s New Clothes” The Wizard of Oz “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” Avatar The Matrix Of Mice and Men

52. Symbolism vs. Allegory A symbol can be a word, place, character or object that means something beyond what it is on a literal level. An allegory involves using many interconnected symbols or allegorical figures in such a way that nearly every element of the narrative has a meaning beyond the literal level, i.e., everything in the narrative is a symbol that relates to other symbols within the story.

53. Animal Imagery & Symbolism GeorgeLennie

54. Symbolism and Allegory Review A symbol is _____________________. Symbols can be _______, _________, __________, or _________. Symbols represent _______________________. Name the four things that can be symbols. Symbols allow writers to __________. An allegory is ______ in which _______________. and _______ stand for something beyond themselves. Name two types of Allegories.

55. Homework Think of a film or book that utilizes a symbol (you cannot use an example from this powerpoint!) 1.Name the movie/book 2.Identify the symbol 3.Identify the literal meaning of the symbol 4.Identify the figurative (symbolic) meaning of the symbol 5.Explain why the symbol was used

56. Tuesday 21 st October A/A* B C Be able to analyse the symbolism of the characters and its effect in OMM and why Steinbeck chose to portray them in this way Be able to explain some of the symbolism of the characters in OMM and why Steinbeck chose to portray them in this way Be able to describe what some of the characters symbolise and what Steinbeck’s intentions were

57. SECTION ONE Complete your end of section question in your book. It should be three paragraphs and have a concluding sentence. How does Steinbeck present the characters of George and Lennie in the first chapter of OMM? Use quotations to support your response. Appearance and symbolism/connotation Actions and symbolism/connotation What they say and symbolism/connotation The significance of the dream DEVELOP

58. Example In their descriptions and interactions, Steinbeck shows the men's relationship: George takes care of Lennie, who is childlike and mentally handicapped, constantly giving him advice and instructions (insert quotations to support this point here). But George also realizes that Lennie cannot remember or follow these simple instructions (insert a quotation here). Steinbeck further emphasises this unbalanced relationship by… DEVELOP

59. Chapter 2 At home, you will need to cut out and stick the characters into your books (one page for each) While we read, you will need to highlight relevant quotations for the relevant characters – have a colour ready for each or make sure you put a letter in the margin for each (Cu, S, CW, Ca, Cr) EXPLORE

60. Homework for Thursday 22 nd October Create a page in your books for each character. Divide the page into 4 so that you can add quotations in for appearance, actions, speech and symbolism. Complete one page for a character of your choice. Chapter 2 EXPLORE

61. Analyse The life of migrant workers Vs The American Dream

62. Dream vs Reality

63. Chapter 3 DEVELOP

64. Disempowerment How are the characters in the novel disempowered?