LO: What factors in American Society can I relate to the characters in the novel? Section 4: p98 Whilst reading think about what Crooks says and how the others react to him. How do you feel about Crooks? What is Steinbeck’s message?

LO: What factors in American Society can I relate to the characters in the novel? Crooks: Highlights the plight of African American people in 1930s America. Lives alone – segregation. Does he isolate himself? Reads books – Owns a copy of Californian Civil Rights – Educated and aware “stable-buck” and “nigger” – lack of identity. Boss abuses him He mixes socially playing horseshoes – always wins He has seen many men come and go, all dreaming of buying a piece of land, but is now cynical, as no one has ever achieved it.

Curley’s Wife

LO: What factors in American Society can I relate to the characters in the novel? Page 53- 54. The first time Curley’s wife is introduced suggests that she is a flirtatious character. Pick out 2-3 important quotes. Explode them in your tables. Challenge: Look at light and dark in this passage. Both men glanced up, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off. A girl was standing there looking in. She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers.

What are your first impressions of Curley’s wife? Good looking CURLEY’S WIFE Purty Jail bait What are your first impressions of Curley’s wife? bitch Rat trap Got the eye Tramp

How do you respond to Curley’s wife? In your response you should consider the following: How other characters describe her/talk about her. The things she says and does. How do you respond to her Do you like her? Do you feel sorry for her? Explain the reasons for your opinion. Many good quotes can be found on pp.53 – 54. Also explore the end – her confessions to Lennie.

LO: What factors in American Society can I relate to the characters in the novel? Curley’s Wife: The only woman in the novel. Nameless – lack of identity Name – apostrophe implies she is a possession Dresses provocatively – red – implies danger Flirts shamelessly and hangs around the bunk house – loneliness Rejected from Hollywood – dream has failed so she married Curley. Naïve character Killed by Lennie

What does Steinbeck suggest about women in 1930s America? Steinbeck uses the character of Curley’s Wife to convey the sexism in America at the time. This can be seen through her lack of a name. Through referring to her as “Curley’s wife” it implies that she is Curley’s possession and this ownership defines who she is as a person/character. Steinbeck doesn’t allow the reader to discover her name to highlight that woman lacked rights and were merely possessions in America at the time. Furthermore, they were submissive to men and thus did not have opportunities to succeed and realise a dream without a successful marriage. Success Criteria: Your point discusses which character conveys which issue. Your quote is evidence for this. You look at a word or technique in the quote. You explain what Steinbeck is saying about American society. Challenge: You consider an alternative reading of your quote. Challenge: Refer to other females in the novel. (Aunt Clara or women at the brothel.)

LO: What factors in American Society can I relate to the characters in the novel? Success Criteria: Your point discusses the issue the character conveys. Your quote is fitting evidence for this. You look at words or techniques in the quote in detail. You explain what Steinbeck is saying about American society. What is his message? Challenge: You consider an alternative reading of your quote. Highlight or underline where you have met the success criteria. What could you improve?

Curley

What are your first impressions of Curley? p.46 LO: What factors in American Society can I relate to the characters in the novel? What are your first impressions of Curley? p.46 At that moment a young man came into the bunk house; a thin young man with a brown face, with brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair. He wore a work glove on his left hand, and, like the boss, he wore high heeled boots. “Seen my old man?” He asked… His eyes passed over the new men and he stopped. He glanced coldly at George and then at Lennie. His arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed in to fists. He stiffened and went into a slight crouch. His glance was at once calculating and pugnacious. Lennie squirmed under the look and shifted his feet nervously. Curley stepped gingerly close to him.

LO: What factors in American Society can I relate to the characters in the novel? Curley is the boss's son, so he doesn't need to work like the ordinary ranch hands, and he has time to kill. He's little - so he hates big guys. He is a prize-fighter and looks for opportunities for a fight. He is newly-married and is very possessive of his wife - but he still visits brothels. There is a rumour that he wears a glove filled with Vaseline to keep his hand soft for his wife.

Curley is the son of the boss and thus he has a privileged and easy life. Do you agree? Plan an answer to this question in pairs. Think about: Why is Curley in the novel? What does he tell us about society? How do you feel about his character? Is he happy? Why is he always fighting?

Carlson and Candy

What are your first impressions of Candy? “a tall, stoop-shouldered old man came in. He was dressed in blue jeans and he carried a big push-broom in his left hand. Candy is always described as “old” or a “swamper” Candy is often the voice who presents other characters: We learn about Curley’s wife, Crooks, Curley and Slim from Candy’s opinion first. Is this important?

Candy: Candy is the oldest ranch hand. He lost his right hand in an accident at work. He has a very old dog, which he has had from a pup. It is his only friend and companion. Carlson insists on shooting the dog because he claims it is too old and ill to be of any use. Candy is devastated. He is lonely and isolated, but makes friends with George and Lennie and offers his compensation money to help them all to buy a ranch together and achieve their dream. When he finds Curley's wife dead, he is furious, as he knows instantly that Lennie was involved and that they have lost their chance of achieving their dream. He is the 'swamper' - the man who cleans the bunkhouse. He knows he will be thrown out and put 'on the county' when he is too old to work. Because of this, he accepts what goes on and doesn't challenge anything: he can't afford to lose his job.

What does Carlson tell us about American Society? It is Carlson’s idea to shoot Candy’s dog. After years of working on a ranch and only looking out for himself, Carlson has become mean. He's a bitter, coarse, ugly man who only thinks about himself and apparently can't even understand why Candy would hem and haw about shooting the only friend he's ever had. What does Carlson tell us about American Society?

The Boss

The Boss – Has he achieved the dream? Nameless – defined by his role. Stocky, well-dressed man in charge of the ranch, and Curley’s father. He appears only once, but seems to be a fair-minded man. Candy happily reports that the boss once delivered a gallon of whiskey to the ranch-hands on Christmas Day. Beats Crooks and takes his anger out on him.

Slim

What are your first impressions of Slim? “A tall man stood in the doorway. He held a crushed Stetson hat under his arm while he combed his long, black, damp hair straight back. Like the others he wore blue jeans and a short denim jacket. Whe he had finished combing his hair he moved into the room, and he moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen. He was a jerkline skinner, the prince of the ranch, capable of driving ten, sixteen, even twenty mules with a single line to the leaders. He was capable of killing a fly on the wheeler’s butt with a bull whip without touching the mule. 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. This was Slim, the jerkline skinner. His hatchett face was ageless. He might have been thirty-five or fifty. 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 as those of a temple dancer.” Explode quotes from this opening description. What does he tell us about society?

Do you think he is too good to be true? Slim is the jerkline skinner (lead mule-team driver) at the ranch. He is excellent at his job. He is the natural leader at the ranch. Everyone respects his views and looks up to him. He has a quiet dignity: he doesn't need to assert himself to have authority. He understands the relationship between George and Lennie. He helps George at the end and reassures George that he did the right thing. We know little else about him, which gives him a slightly mysterious quality. Do you think he is too good to be true?

In the end, Slim is the only one who understand what George has done—and why. As the novel's moral center he allows the mercy killing: “Never you mind," he says to George: "A guy got to sometimes“. According to Slim's Man Code, if someone has to die, it's better to do it yourself. You can't let a stranger kill your friends. Candy: “Slim’s a jerkline skinner. Hell of a nice fella. Slim don’t need to wear no high-heeled boots on a grain team.”p50. When Slim does lie, he lies for the good of the group or to protect the weak. After Lennie crushes Curley's hand, Slim tells Curley what to do: "I think you got your han' caught in a machine. If you don't tell nobody what happened, we ain't going to. But you jus' tell an' try to get this guy canned and we'll tell ever'body, an' then will you get the laugh" Slim's "authority" means that he gets to decide who deserves justice, and who deserves a little leniency. He's good at reading character, saying "I can tell a mean guy from a mile off" (3.28)—and, unlike some other people in the novel, he's not saying that out of ego. It's just true.

Challenge: Slim is a mysterious man as very little detail is given about him. What does his character suggest about American society?