1. As you are waiting for the lesson to begin… ‘Crooks had reduced himself to nothing’ Which themes does this quotation link to and what is Steinbeck suggesting through such a description?

2. Of Mice and Men To consider how section 5 impacts on the reader...

3. Curley’s Wife Have your impressions of her and feelings towards her changed since we met in section 2? Discuss this with a partner and be ready to feedback to the rest of the class... You may wish to consider how her action in section 4 impact your view. Remember to make a note of any quotations to support your views...

4. As we read the start of section 5, consider: How does Steinbeck arouse our sympathy for Curley’s wife in this section? Find as much evidence as you can and report back to the rest of the class

5. Let’s read the next section... How do you feel about this? Are you surprised at her death or were you expecting it? Are you still able to sympathise with Lennie even though he is a killer? Make sure you can explain your reasons...

6. Let’s consider: How has Steinbeck prepared us for the killing of Curley’s wife? How does Steinbeck manage to preserve the reader’s sympathy for Lennie?

7. Homework If ‘Shattered Dreams’ is a title for Section 5, what would the titles be for Sections 1-4? (Titles must be short, catchy and usefully summarise the key events/ themes of the section) Complete this using the forum on the VLE. DUE: MONDAY, 8 th November

8. Let’s do a close analysis of how sympathy for Lennie is preserved: Lennie’s big fingers fell to stroking her hair. ‘Don’t you muss it up,’ she said. Lennie said, ‘Oh! That’s nice,’ and he stroked harder. ‘Oh, that’s nice.’ ‘Look out, now, you’ll muss it.’ And then she cried angrily, ‘You stop it now, you’ll mess it all up.’ She jerked her head sideways and Lennie’s fingers closed on her hair and hung on. ‘Let’s go,’ she cried. ‘You let go.’

9. Lennie was in a panic. His face was contorted. She screamed then, and Lennie’s other hand closed over her mouth and nose. ‘Please don’t,’ he begged. ‘Oh! Please don’t do that. George’ll be mad.’ She struggled violently under his hands. Her feet battered on the hay and she writhed to be free; and from under Lennie’s hand came a muffled screaming. Lennie began to cry with fright. ‘Oh! Please don’t do none of that,’ he begged. ‘George gonna say I done a bad thing. He ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits.’ He moved his hand a little and her hoarse cry came out.

10. Then Lennie grew angry. ‘Now don’t,’ he said. ‘I don’t want you to yell. You gonna get me in trouble jus’ like George says you will. Now don’t you do that.’ And she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her then, and he was angry with her. ‘Don’t you go yellin’,’ he said, and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.

11. He looked down at her, and carefully he removed his hand from over her mouth, and she lay still. ‘I don’t want ta hurt you,’ he said, ‘but George’ll be mad if you yell.’ When she didn’t answer nor move he bent closely over her. He lifted her arm and let it drop. For a moment he seemed bewildered. And then he whispered in fright, ‘I done a bad thing. I done another bad thing.’ He pawed up the hay until it partly covered her.

12. From outside the barn came a cry of men and the double clang of shoes on metal. For the first time Lennie became conscious of the outside. He crouched down in the hay and listened. ‘I done a real bad thing,’ he said. ‘I shouldn’t of did that. George’ll be mad. An’… he said… an’ hide in the brush till he come. He’s gonna be mad. In the brush till he come. Thas’ what he said.’ Lennie went back and looked at the dead girl. The puppy lay close to her. Lennie picked it up. ‘I’ll throw him away,’ he said. ‘It’s bad enough like it is.’ He put the pup under his coat, and he crept to the barn wall and peered out between the cracks, towards the horse-shoe game. And then he crept around the end of the last manger and disappeared.

13. Why Steinbeck has Lennie hide the dead puppy? It reminds us of his innocent, childlike nature as he thinks this makes the situation seem less damaging. This adds to our feelings of sympathy for him.

16. Quick fire questions... Explain the relevance of horseshoes to the start of chapter 5. Curley’s Wife joins Lennie in the barn just after he has killed the puppy. How are sausages linked with Curley’s Wife? Curley’s Wife tells Lennie about a letter she never received. Tell me about this letter. Curley’s Wife says her hair is smooth because she brushes it often. She invites Lennie to stroke it. She then says, several times, Don’t you _______________ it up. Curley’s Wife flopped like a fish. What had Lennie done to her?

17. Quick fire questions... Explain the relevance of horseshoes to the start of chapter 5. Lennie is left alone in the barn whilst the men play in a horseshoes tournament

18. Quick fire questions... Curley’s Wife joins Lennie in the barn just after he has killed the puppy. How are sausages linked with Curley’s Wife? She has little sausage curls

19. Quick fire questions... Curley’s Wife tells Lennie about a letter she never received. Tell me about this letter. Supposedly a man she had met was going to write to her from Hollywood with an opportunity for a future in the movies. She believed her mother kept the letter from her. This is unlikely – the man had no doubt lied to her as a means of attracting her to him

20. Quick fire questions... Curley’s Wife says her hair is smooth because she brushes it often. She invites Lennie to stroke it. She then says, several times, Don’t you ______it up. muss Curley’s Wife flopped like a fish. What had Lennie done to her? Broken her neck

21. Quick fire questions... Curley’s Wife flopped like a fish. What had Lennie done to her? Broken her neck

22. Let’s read to the end of the section...

23. Find supporting evidence for each statement: When Candy finds the body of Curley’s wife he is angry because he knows that their dream will not be fulfilled.

24. Find supporting evidence for each statement: George knows it was Lennie who killed Curley’s wife and he now sees himself as an ordinary, lonely, itinerant worker. At the beginning of the novel George complained that he never got to do these things. Now he can do them there is a sense of pathos because his freedom will only bring him a life of loneliness and desperation that he avoided through his companionship with Lennie.

25. Pathos: represents an appeal to the audience's emotions; it appeals to the audience's sympathies and imagination. An appeal to pathos causes an audience not just to respond emotionally but to identify with the writer's point of view - to feel what the writer feels. In this sense, pathos evokes a meaning implicit in the verb 'to suffer' - to feel pain imaginatively

26. Find supporting evidence for each statement: Paternally, George is determined that no-one be allowed to hurt Lennie

27. How do you feel about Candy’s reaction?

28. Watching the film Now we’ve read up to section 5: let’s watch the 1992 film version. As we watch, consider how faithful this film is to the original text...

31. To start the lesson… With these ideas in mind, why do you think the novel is called ‘Of Mice and Men’? Why use animal imagery? Why use Mice-what does this suggest about how men like George and Lennie are seen in society? What happens to Lennie’s mice and why does Steinbeck link Lennie to the mice in this way-what does it suggest about what might happen to Lennie?

32. Lesson Objectives To consider the ending of Of Mice and Men To start considering our CAT question, based on loneliness.

33. From page to screen... In what ways is the 1992 film different to the novella? In what ways is it similar?

34. As we watch the rest of the film... Consider how the events and characters are portrayed differently to that which you would expect... Consider what we see at the end of the film... What sort of language do you expect Steinbeck to have used to get this portrayal.

35. Reading section 6 Let’s read section 6 together...

36. You impressions of the section... Write down between 4 and 7 words that capture your feelings and thoughts at this stage...

37. What do you think? Surprised or not? Was it an inevitable ending? Was it the right thing for George to do? Is the ending satisfactory?

38. Loneliness Make a mind-map showing all the ways in which loneliness is shown in Of Mice and Men? Find a quotation to support each point you make!

39. To end the lesson Are men like George and Lennie the ‘loneliest guys in the world’? Be prepared to discuss and share your reasons!