Essay prompts: Of Mice and Men
Annotate the prompts, and then choose two of them that are most
appealing to you and rewrite them in your own words; in your rewriting
of the prompt, include the most pertinent information and the writing
task you’ve been given.
1. Looking at the book, most of the characters are misfits; they do not
seem to belong to any definable group. Some are marginalized
because of color, some because of intellect, and others because of
physical deformities. Whatever the reason for characters finding
themselves outside acceptable society, you must decided who is the
most marginalized of all the characters and decide the reasons as to
why s/he is not accepted. In a well-developed essay of 750 words
or more, using examples from the book, discuss the marginalization
of ONE character. Include information as to why the character is
not accepted, the validity of the reasons, whether or not the
character’s lack of acceptance is self-inflicted, and how it affects the
character’s life. Why did Steinbeck create such characters to
interact with one another?
2. Friendship is a flimsy institution in the migrant farm worker’s life.
Often relationships revolve around a part time void or to fill a need;
relationships are far from symbiotic. Analyze the relationships that
exist in the book and, in a well-developed essay of 750 words or
more, using examples from the book, discuss why the nature of
relationships in the 1930’s amongst those who labored on farms
lacked cohesion. What does Steinbeck argue about the purpose
relationships served, how society regarded relationships, and the
success and failure of the relationships that exist within the book.
3. The book revolves around “The American Dream”. In a welldeveloped essay of 750 words or more, using examples from the
book, discuss Steinbeck’s view of the attainability of “The
American Dream”. What do the characters that Steinbeck created
and their ability to attain the promise that America gives say about
the dream? Include the nature of the American Dream, the
character’s internalization of it, the success (or lack) in attaining it,
and what argument Steinbeck is making about the dream as a whole.
4. There are several themes motifs that exist in the book. A motif is a
repeated theme; choose a motif that exists in the book
(independence, companionship, individuality or one of your choice)
and, in a well-developed essay of 750 words or more discuss its
greater purpose. Analyze Steinbeck’s view of your chosen motif
and offer examples from the text that support your analysis.
5. Your fifth choice is to create a prompt of your own. If you chose to
create your own, please run it by me before you begin writing. An
essay that answers a prompt that is created by you, that is not run by
me first, will result in a “0” in the gradebook upon submission.
Annotations
Read each of the statements below and decide whether you agree or disagree with it. You
will mark in the “Before” column before reading the book and the “After” column after we
finish the book. Determine to what degree you agree or disagree with the statement and
decide why you feel that way. Be ready to discuss what you feel and why.
Before
SA = Strongly Agree
SD = Strongly Disagree
A = Agree
D = Disagree
After
____________
1. Believing that an unhappy situation is only temporary
makes it more bearable.
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2. Feeling responsible for someone is a burden.
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3. Men will not allow their friends to become burdens.
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4. Women need friends more than men do.
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5. It is more acceptable for women to love their female
friends than it is for men to love their male friends.
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____________
6. Of the many feelings that hurt – grief, anger, resentment,
jealousy, loneliness – loneliness hurts the most.
7. If a person has a dream to cling to, s/he can survive
against the odds.
____________
____________
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8. Te feel needed is basic human nature.
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9. Society cannot defeat us; a flaw within our own
personality can.
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____________
10.Dreaming is for dreamers, and dreamers go nowhere. Be
real.
11. The job a person holds is an expression of his/her
abilities.
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12.Farm work is unskilled labor – anybody can do it well.
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13. The work that farmers and laborers do is the most
important work in the country.
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14. The worst way to die is in anonymity.
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15. The American Dream is available to anybody who wants
it bad enough.
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