1. Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck

2. Why Are We Reading This?

3. SOCIETY!!!!!! Many texts we’ve read about so far have this huge problem with “society” What does “society” even mean? What do we flee from when we go into the wild?

4. Historical Background This story was written by John Steinbeck in 1937 He’s been hailed as one of the truest and most important writers in American history It is a story about two migrant workers (George and Lennie) as they arrive at a new farm in search of work The ambitions and faults of each character in the story represent what makes up this “society” we’ve come to hate so well

5. Daily Edit 1. Arnold is a real hypochondriac whenever his head hurts, he is certain that he has a brain tumor. 2. I ate so many girl scout cookies I felt sick, fortunately, the season is ending soon.

6. Run-on sentences are normally due to: A comma splice (using just a comma to join two complete sentences): In preparation for the quiz, La'Mia studied comma splices and fused sentences until she thought her brain would burst, finally, she put away her notes, convinced that she would remember the rules even on her death bed. Or a fused sentence (using no punctuation to join two complete sentences) Arnold is a real hypochondriac when his stomach hurts, he is certain that he has a bleeding ulcer, and if he has a backache, he believes that he has cancer of the spine.

7. The big event of the 1930’s in American history?

8. The Great Depression Yes it means that lots of people lost their jobs Yes it means that lots of people lost all their money Yes it means that the Dust Bowl destroyed the agriculture industry But it’s a bit more than that

9. The number of unemployed men seeking work was staggering

10. Over 250,000 people abandoned their homes and went on the road looking for migratory work

11. Wages for migrant workers were reduced by more than half

12. Migrant workers did not gain the right to unionize through the New Deal

13. The camps these men lived on were isolated from the rest of the community

14. Racism was disgustingly normal

15. Black workers were paid less and had to work harder

16. Due to Jim Crow Law, segregation was still widely practiced and accepted

17. What ended the Great Depression? WWII

18. How was nature described in chapter one? Why do you think Steinbeck described it in this way? What does nature represent to these two men?

19. What is the nature of George and Lennie’s relationship?

20. What dream does George describe? What is “American” about this dream? Why is this dream so important to these two men?

21. Predict Considering what you know about George and Lennie in terms of: their past, their dream, their personalities, and their relationship, what do you think will happen to them at the ranch?

22. Reading for tonight: Read pages 17-33 Answer the following: Who are Curley and Candy? Why does Curley antagonize Lennie? What nameless character does George warn Lennie about? Why might he do this?