Student Name………………………………………
Class teacher ……………………………
‘Of Mice and Men’
Personal Study Tasks
Year 9 Term 2
There are six tasks in this booklet; complete one each week, spending
between 30 and 45 minutes, and hand in the booklet to your class
teacher at the end of term with all of the tasks finished.
The purpose of these tasks is to encourage you to think
independently, and to work ideas out for yourselves; this is much like
being in an exam, so every task you complete is a form of exam
preparation, helping you to build and practise the skills that will
make you really successful.
There is a word bank at the end of this booklet; if you see a * by a
word then look in the word bank to see what it means.
Student Name………………………………………
Class teacher ……………………………
Independent Study Task 1
Using a pen and ruler, match up the statement on the left with the statement on
the right.
The idea of the American Dream is
the streets are paved with gold.
America has always been *perceived
as a place where
that it is something unrealistic and
*intangible.
During the 1920s and 1930s,
through a combination of hard work,
courage and determination,
*prosperity can be achieved.
Some say the American Dream is
impossible because
the Depression was a cause of major
hardship.
The word ‘dream’ suggests
many trade union figures who were
championing the rights of workers.
The American Dream does not take
into account
the Robert Burns poem ‘To a Mouse’
about how things don’t always go
according to plan.
The area George and Lennie fled was because a series of dust storms in the
commonly referred to as the Dust
1930s caused major damage to
Bowl
agricultural land in some states.
The novel is set in the Salinas valley
not everyone can gain prosperity
through only hard work and
determination.
Steinbeck was heavily influenced by
that family and wealth have a
*potential bearing on success.
The title of the novel is drawn from
where John Steinbeck was born, and
a place of major immigration.
Student Name………………………………………
Independent Study Task 2
Class teacher ……………………………
The Dream
These quotations all come from the first chapter when George and
Lennie first recount their dream for the reader.
1. “We got a future.”
2. “We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.”
3. “We don’t have to sit in no bar-room blowin’ in our jack jus’
because we ain’t got no place else to go.”
4. “‘Some day – we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna
have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs
and...’”
5. “‘Nuts! I ain’t got time for no more.’”
Which of the words in the box below are shown by these quotations?
Courage
realistic
determination
hope hardship loneliness family
unrealistic *optimistic
bad tempered *pessimistic
EXTENSION TASK: you might want to get a thesaurus and add to this list with your
own ideas
Explain your answers, the first one is done for you:
1. “We got a future” shows hope and optimism by the speaker, he
also sounds very definite, very sure so you could also say that he is
determined.
2. “We got somebody who gives a damn about us” could mean ……..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
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3. “We don’t have to sit in no bar-room blowin’ in our jack jus’
because we ain’t got no place else to go.” ………………………………….
Student Name………………………………………
Class teacher ……………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
4.“‘Some day – we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have
a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and...’”……
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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5.“‘Nuts! I ain’t got time for no more.’” ……………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
What do you think it feels like to belong nowhere? Use a thesaurus and
write a couple of complex sentences explaining your ideas.
Student Name………………………………………
Independent study task 3
Class teacher ……………………………
Society in Of Mice and Men
Steinbeck’s novel was written and is set in the 1930s. The society he shows
us in Of Mice and Men is different from the society we live in because it’s a
different place, with different environmental, social and economic conditions
from the UK. This society is not just America in the 1930s, but a particular
place in America.
Wealth
How prosperous are most characters? What proportion of
characters own their own home or land?
Jobs
How much job security do characters have? What is their work
like? How much job satisfaction is there for them?
Education
What access to education do characters have? How does their
level of education affect their lives and their prospects?
Gender
How are men and women expected to behave? How far do men
and women have equal opportunities? How do men regard
women, and *vice versa?
Race
Community
How *integrated or *segregated is this society? To what extent are
characters defined by their race?
How supportive and co-operative are characters of one another?
How much trust and friendship is there? How much distrust and
hostility? How *hierarchical is this society?
Welfare
How does this society support its most *vulnerable characters?
How are the elderly treated, or the sick, or people with physical
disabilities?
Law and
order
How law-abiding is this society? How is crime dealt with? How far
can characters expect justice?
Freedom
How much control do characters have over their own destinies?
How far can they choose how they live? To what extent are they
able to speak their minds? Do they have freedom of speech?
Using these headings, spend 30 -45 minutes writing about the society
described in ‘Of Mice and Men’. Try to group your ideas into 3 or 4
paragraphs (for example, community, welfare and wealth might be in
one paragraph), begin each one with a topic sentence and try to
describe an event or example from the text to support your description.
Student Name………………………………………
Class teacher ……………………………
A description of society in ‘Of Mice and Men’
Student Name………………………………………
Independent Study Task 4
Class teacher ……………………………
Slim
‘He moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master
craftsmen … the prince of the ranch.’
‘There was a *gravity in his manner and a quiet so *profound that all
talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word
was taken on any subject, be it politics or love … His hatchet face
was ageless … His ear heard more than was said to him, and his
slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding
beyond thought. His hands, large and lean were as delicate in their
action.’
‘Ain’t many guys travel around together … I don’t know why. Maybe
ever’body in the whole damned world is scared of each other.’
‘George looked over at Slim and saw the calm, Godlike eyes
fastened on him.’
‘Candy looked helplessly at him, for Slim’s opinions were law.’
‘Slim came directly to George and sat down beside him, sat very
close to him. “Never you mind”, said Slim. “A guy got to
sometimes.”’
These descriptions of Slim and some of the things he says tell us a great
deal about him and about the society of the time. Using Point, Evidence,
Explain, take each quotation and describe what it tells us about Slim
using the table on the next page. A wordbank is below to help you to
start your task
Extension task: use a Thesaurus and select other words too
Compassionate dignified
authoritative
respected
understanding
thoughtful
wise
perceptive a strong leader
highly skilled
confident
kind
Student Name………………………………………
Slim is…
POINT
EVIDENCE (quotation)
Class teacher ……………………………
EXPLAIN
Slim is a very masculine man in a society where ‘masculine’ was valued.
How masculine are the following characters – give a mark out of 10
Curley
Candy
George
Lennie
Do you think being ‘masculine’ in today’s society is a good idea?
Student Name………………………………………
Class teacher ……………………………
Independent study task 5
Crooks and Curley’s wife
Look at the list of characteristics below:
Helpless
Educated
Intelligent
Pathetic
Victim
friendly
wants empathy/understanding
enjoys talking to strangers
had dreams that were shattered
bully
Decide which ones might describe Crooks, and which ones might
describe Curley’s wife; give reasons for your choice. You might find that
they both share some of these characteristics…
Curley’s Wife
Characteristics
Evidence
Crooks
Characteristics
Evidence
Student Name………………………………………
Independent study task 6
Top ten statements
Class teacher ……………………………
1. Below is a list of statements about Of Mice and Men. Read through
them and add an extra point of your own if you like.
2. Now rank the statements from one to ten (or eleven if you have added
your own point!) starting with the one that best characterises the novel
for you as a reader.
3. For your top three statements, find evidence from the text to support
and explain why you have chosen them.
Of Mice and Men is a text which …
•
provokes a reaction about people
•
is primarily about the pursuit of a dream
•
shows how man’s existence is purely about survival of the fittest
•
presents controversial views about men and women
•
is primarily about finding companionship
•
is first and foremost about trying to understand human beings
•
presents a microcosm of 1930s American society
•
challenges racial prejudice in the 1930s
•
emphasises the moral decay in society
•
•
demonstrates parallels with life in Britain today
Statements
1.
2.
Evidence from the text
Student Name………………………………………
3.
Class teacher ……………………………
WORDBANK
These words have appeared in this homework booklet; you might find
these definitions to be helpful:
Perceived = seen as, people might think that
Intangible = can’t be held on to, something imagined
Prosperity = wealth and success
Potential bearing = could affect the outcome
Optimistic = looking on the bright side
Pessimistic = looking on the dark side, always expecting the worst
Vice versa = the other way round
Integrated = mixed, merged, belonging to, joined
Segregated = kept apart, isolated, excluded
Hierarchical = in order, the top first and the bottom last
Vulnerable= unprotected, helpless, weak
Gravity = seriousness, importance
Profound = deep, complete, intense