Literature Analysis "Of Mice and Men"

General 1. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is the story of George and Lennie, two childhood friends who travel to the Soledad, California to work at a ranch. Due to Lennie being mentally handicapped and not having a very great past (especially shown with his killing of soft things while petting them), he relies on his friend George who is in a way Lennie’s caretaker and the one who does the talking for the both of them. his friend. Once arriving at the ranch, George and Lennie begin working in return for small payment and housing. They meet several men on the farm, and are able to befriend all of them except for Curly, the farm owner’s son who later gets his hand broken by Lennie when angered by not knowing where his wife was. Candy, the farm’s oldest worker, has a dog that gives birth to a group of puppies, and is later killed to end its suffering. Candy gives Lennie one of the puppies, because he knows that Lennie likes soft things. Wanting to pet his new puppy Lennie sneaks out. Just as the mouse in the beginning of the novel, Lennie’s strong hands kill the puppy, causing him to freak out. Hearing the commotion Curly’s wife tries to calm him down by letting him pet her soft hair. Again Lennie’s strong begin to hurt Curly’s wife who screams which cause him to panic and he snaps her neck. When the men find out what’s happened they set off to find Lennie and hang him. George gets to Lennie first, and puts him out of his misery by shooting him in the back of the head as a final act of kindness/protection for Lennie. 2. The theme I got from the novel was the Importance of companianship. Throughout the novel many of the characters reveal their loneliness. Curly’s wife in the novel does not feel a great sense of companionship with her husband so she constantly seeks the attention of the other men. Candy becomes very sad and lonely when having to put down his dog and longtime companion. And Curly is constantly being overly protective of his wife due to the lack of companionship between his wife and him. The only characters that seem to get through the novel without this lack of companionship 3. I got that Steinbeck’s tone was realistic and honest as he expresses many points without being around the bush but straight forward; telling it how it is. • "You'd drink out of a gutter if you was thirsty." Chapter 1, pg. 3 • Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. . . . With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.” • “I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads . . . every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ’em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.” 4. Imagery: "A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees - willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter's flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool." Pg. 1 Diction: Steinbeck’s diction in the novel is all colloquialisms.“Well, he’s a pretty nice fella. Gets pretty mad sometimes, but he’s pretty nice. Tell ya what—know what he done Christmas? Brang a gallon of whisky right in here and says, ‘Drink hearty, boys. Christmas comes but once a year.” CH 2 Syntax: "On one side of the little room there was a square four-paned window, and on the other, a narrow plank door leading into the barn. Crooks' bunk was a long box filled with straw, on which his blankets were flung." pg. 66 Foreshadowing: ‘’Course you did. Well, look. Lennie—if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an’ hide in the brush.” Tone: Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. . . . With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.” Mood: “I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads . . . every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ’em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.” Symbolism: "You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn't no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody'd shoot me. But they won't do nothing like that. I won't have no place to go, an' I can't get no more jobs." Ch.3, pg. 60 Hyperbole: “His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love.” Chapter 2 Characterization: 1. Direct Characterization: “A powerful, big stomached man came into the bunk house. His head still dripped water from the scrubbing and dousing. "Hi, Slim," he said, and then stopped and stared at George and Lennie. Direct Characterization: "Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, and wide, sloping shoulders; he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws." Indirect Characterization: "Ya know, Lennie, I'm scared I'm gonna tangle with that bastard myself. I hate his guts. Jesus Christ!" Indirect Characterization: "If you want me to, I'll put the old devil out of his misery right now and get it over with. Ain't nothing left for him." 2. The Syntax and diction only seem to change in the novel in Lennie’s dialogue, due to the author expressing his mental handicapped. The rest of the characters syntax and diction only changes slightly to represent their personality in the novel. For example Curly’s wife dialogue is very flirtatious, Curly very tempered and short. 3. The characters in the book all remain static except for maybe George who comes to the realization to put Lennie out of his misery at the end of the novel but his overall personality is the same as it was at the beginning of the novel. 4. What I came away with from the novel was that without companionship life is miserable and when you have this companionship there are those who want to pick it apart.

Rest of Lit Terms

101. Realism:  writing about the ordinary aspects of life in a straightfoward manner to reflect life as it actually is.

102. Refrain:  a phrase or verse recurring at intervals in a poem or song; chorus.

103. Requiem:  any chant, dirge, hymn, or musical service for the dead.

104. Resolution: point in a literary work at which the chief dramatic complication is worked out; denouement.

105. Restatement: idea repeated for emphasis.

106. Rhetoric: use of language, both written and verbal in order to persuade.

107. Rhetorical Question: question suggesting its own answer or not requiring an answer; used in argument or persuasion.

108. Rising Action: plot build up, caused by conflict and complications, advancement towards climax.

109. Romanticism:  movement in western culture beginning in the eighteenth and peaking in the nineteenth century as a revolt against Classicism; imagination was valued over reason and fact.

110. Satire:  ridicules or condemns the weakness and wrong doings of individuals, groups, institutions, or humanity in general.

111. Scansion: the analysis of verse in terms of meter.

112. Setting: the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem occur.

113. Simile:  a figure of speech comparing two essentially unlike things through the use of a specific word of comparison.

114. Soliloquy: an extended speech, usually in a drama, delivered by a character alone on stage.

115. Spiritual: a folk song, usually on a religious theme.

116. Speaker: a narrator, the one speaking.

117. Stereotype: cliché; a simplified, standardized conception with a special meaning and appeal for members of a group; a formula story.

118. Stream of Consciousness: the style of writing that attempts to imitate the natural flow of a character’s thoughts, feelings, reflections, memories, and mental images, as the character experiences them.

119. Structure: the planned framework of a literary selection; its apparent organization.

120. Style:  the manner of putting thoughts into words; a characteristic way of writing or speaking.

121. Subordination: the couching of less important ideas in less important  structures of language.

122. Surrealism: a style in literature and painting that stresses the subconscious or the nonrational aspects of man’s existence characterized by the juxtaposition of the bizarre and the banal.

123. Suspension of Disbelief: suspend not believing in order to enjoy it.

124. Symbol: something which stands for something else, yet has a meaning of its own.

125. Synesthesia: the use of one sense to convey the experience of another sense.

126. Synecdoche: another form of name changing, in which a part stands for the whole.

127. Syntax: the arrangement and grammatical relations of words in a sentence.

128. Theme:  main idea of the story; its message(s).

129. Thesis: a proposition for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved
or disproved; the main idea.

130. Tone: the devices used to create the mood and atmosphere of a literary work; the        
author’s perceived point of view.

131. Tongue in Cheek: a type of humor in which the speaker feigns seriousness; a.k.a. “dry” or “dead pan”

132. Tragedy: in literature: any composition with a somber theme carried to a disastrous conclusion; a fatal event; protagonist usually is heroic but tragically (fatally) flawed

133. Understatement: opposite of hyperbole; saying less than you mean for emphasis

134. Vernacular: everyday speech

135. Voice:  The textual features, such as diction and sentence structures, that convey a writer’s or speaker’s pesona.

136. Zeitgeist: the feeling of a particular era in history

1st Quarter Review

Wow this quarter has been hectic, with the scholarships, constant checking of acceptances, job applications and blog work. Although it was stressful at times it will be all worth it later. In the course I have tried to keep up but need a little more work finishing assignments on due dates.

Class Rank

Rosa Alvarez- no posts since December 

Amanda Arnold- good job seems up to date

Will Boerger- looks good just missing sum assignments for this sem

Rheanna crawley- looks like you got almost everything assigned for the sem good job

Michelle Crosby- I think your only missing maybe one or two assignments so great job

Vince Cruz- keep the good work up

Jose de leon- your new so can’t say too much other than good luck

Lizbeth Estrada- missing a good chunk of lit terms

Kaitlyn furst- no February posts

Illiana Guitierrez- great just need rest of lit terms

Mckenzie Greeley- highest 2013 posts in our class I think, keep it up

Tailor giego- need to catch up

John Han- seems like your keeping up to date

Elizabeth Hotchkiss- good job

Pablo nicassio- missing posts

Elisabeth pereyra- up to date 

Me- missing a few assignments

Torri Reddeck- no posts for Feb

Alex Ramirez- awesome job

Christa west – keep it up

Lit Terms 81-100

82. Omniscient Point of View:  knowing all things, usually the third person.


83. Onomatopoeia: use of a word whose sound in some degree imitates or suggests its
meaning.

84. Oxymoron: a figure of speech in which two contradicting words or phrases are combined to produce a rhetorical effect by means of a concise paradox.

85. Pacing:  rate of movement; tempo.

86. Parable:  a story designed to convey some religious principle, moral lesson, or general truth.

87. Paradox:  a statement apparently self-contradictory or absurd but really containing a possible truth; an opinion contrary to generally accepted ideas.

88. Parallelism: the principle in sentence structure that states elements of equal function should have equal form.

89. Parody:  an imitation of mimicking of a composition or of the style of a well-known artist.

90. Pathos:  the ability in literature to call forth feelings of pity, compassion, and/or sadness.

91. Pedantry: a display of learning for its own sake.

92. Personification: a figure of speech attributing human qualities to inanimate objects or  abstract ideas.

93. Plot: a plan or scheme to accomplish a purpose.

94. Poignant:  eliciting sorrow or sentiment.

95. Point of View: the attitude unifying any oral or written argumentation; in description, the physical point from which the observer views what he is describing.

96. Postmodernism: literature characterized by experimentation, irony, nontraditional forms, multiple meanings, playfulness and a blurred boundary between real and imaginary.

97. Prose:  the ordinary form of spoken and written language; language that does not have a regular rhyme pattern.

98. Protagonist: the central character in a work of fiction; opposes antagonist.

99. Pun:  play on words; the humorous use of a word emphasizing different meanings or applications.

100. Purpose: the intended result wished by an author.

Lit terms 56-81

57. Genre: a category or class of artistic endeavor having a particular form, technique, or content.

58. Gothic Tale: a style in literature characterized by gloomy settings, violent or grotesque action, and a mood of decay, degeneration, and decadence.
 
59. Hyperbole: an exaggerated statement often used as a figure of speech or to prove a point.

60. Imagery: figures of speech or vivid description, conveying images through any of the senses.

61. Implication: a meaning or understanding that is to be arrive at by the reader but that is not fully and explicitly stated by the author.

62. Incongruity: the deliberate joining of opposites or of elements that are not appropriate to each other.

63. Inference: a judgement or conclusion based on evidence presented; the forming of an opinion which possesses some degree of probability according to facts already available.

64. Irony: a contrast or incongruity between what is said and what is meant, or what is expected to happen and what actually happens, or what is thought to be happening and what is actually happening.

65. Interior Monologue: a form of writing which represents the inner thoughts of a character; the recording of the internal, emotional experience(s) of an individual; generally the reader is given the impression of overhearing the interior monologue.

66. Inversion: words out of order for emphasis.

67. Juxtaposition: the intentional placement of a word, phrase, sentences of paragraph to contrast with another nearby.

68. Lyric: a poem having musical form and quality; a short outburst of the author’s innermost thoughts and feelings.

69. Magic(al) Realism:  a genre developed in Latin America which juxtaposes the everyday  with the marvelous or magical.

70. Metaphor(extended, controlling, and mixed): an analogy that compare two different
things imaginatively.
Extended: a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer
wants to take it.
Controlling: a metaphor that runs throughout the piece of work.
Mixed: a metaphor that ineffectively blends two or more analogies.

71. Metonymy:  literally “name changing” a device of figurative language in which the name of an attribute or associated thing is substituted for the usual name of a thing.

72. Mode of Discourse:  argument (persuasion), narration, description, and exposition.

73. Modernism:  literary movement characterized by stylistic experimentation, rejection of tradition, interest in symbolism and psychology

74. Monologue:  an extended speech by a character in a play, short story, novel, or narrative poem.

75. Mood:  the predominating atmosphere evoked by a literary piece.

76. Motif:  a recurring feature (name, image, or phrase) in a piece of literature.

77. Myth:  a story, often about immortals, and sometimes connected with religious rituals, that attempts to give meaning to the mysteries of the world.

78. Narrative:  a story or description of events.

79. Narrator:  one who narrates, or tells, a story.

80. Naturalism: extreme form of realism.

81. Novelette/Novella: short story; short prose narrative, often satirical.

The Time of My Life

Today we mostly spoke of our Smart Goals and what we would do to achieve them. We also talked about how far we have gotten so far to achieve our goal which was mostly very little mainly, because it we had just come up with them. And we also spoke of the AP exam, Scholarships, and college deadlines.