1. “Of Mice and Men”
Part One

2. What you need to understand…
The sequence of events in Part One.
The characters of George and Lennie and how
these characters are created.
The relationship between George and Lennie.
The structure of the novel – opening setting and foreshadowing.
The themes of the American Dream and of Loneliness.

3. Why you need to understand this…
You will need this information to develop your understanding of the rest of the novel.
It could be an exam question. (Sorry to mention it!)
Choose a novel or short story which has a striking opening.
Show how the opening is effective in introducing the character(s) and/or the atmosphere and/ or the setting (SQA 2007)

4. The Sequence of Events
The Plot

5. Task With a partner, draw a flow chart of what happens in Part One.
You may only use six boxes so you must make sure you identify the most important things.
You have six minutes.

6. What happens in Part One
The description of the clearing is very tranquil; nothing is moving and the scenery is beautiful.
George and Lennie come into the clearing..
George is angry because the bus driver wouldn’t stop at the ranch gate so they have had to walk an extra four miles.
George is angry with Lennie about the dead mouse Lennie is petting. George is also angry that Lennie keeps asking for ketchup.
We find out Lennie got into trouble in Weed (holding on to a girl’s dress)
We find out about George and Lennie’s dream to own some land together and have a house where they can “live of the fatta the lan’”.

7. George and Lennie.
Characterisation

8. George Milton
Describe George’s appearance when we first meet him. You should use quotation(s) and explain what George’s appearance suggests about his character.
Describe the way in which George speaks. Consider the words he uses; length of sentences and the adverbs used to describe how he speaks to Lennie. What does this suggest about his character?

9. Lennie Small
Describe Lennie’s appearance when we first meet him. You should quote and explain what this suggests about his character.
Find examples of occasions when Lennie is compared to an animal. What does this suggest about him
Give an example of Lennie behaving like a child
Give examples of Lennie’s “craftiness” or “animal cunning.”
Find phrases or adverbs which demonstrate Lennie’s essential good nature.

10. Relationship Evidence
Use this table to make notes on the protagonists’ relationship. Enter a feature of their relationship on the left, and textual evidence to support your ideas on the right, as shown.
Relationship
Evidence
Mutually protective
“I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you…”
This exercise is designed to encourage students to think about the novel’s most important relationship. You may in particular wish to prompt your class to consider how George and Lennie’s relationship resembles the parent/child or master/dog relationship.
Information can be added or edited by exiting slide show mode and typing directly into the table, then saved in the normal way when exiting the presentation. If different classes want to edit the table, it is possible to save the resultant versions of the presentation under different file names by selecting ‘File: Save As’.

11. George and Lennie’s relationship
Why does George get angry with Lennie? Do you blame him?
How do you think Lennie feels about George?
Why do you think George stays with Lennie?
Worksheets Five and Six accompany this slide.

12. Setting and Foreshadowing

13. Nature The first section of the novel is set on a river bank.
What kind of atmosphere does Steinbeck create? What techniques does he use? (Hint: you could consider such aspects of his writing as word choice, sentence structure and imagery.)
You may wish to encourage your class to consider too the way in which Steinbeck appeals to multiple senses: for instance, the warmth of the water, the sounds of the river and wildlife, the yellow and green of the sands and the trees.
Worksheet Seven, which focuses on the animal imagery used throughout the novel in relation to Lennie, accompanies this slide.

14. Foreshadowing

15. Predictions What is foreshadowing?
A subtle hint about something that will happen later in the book.
Often a signal that warns of danger for one of the characters.
A way of creating anticipation and tension for the reader.
A way of making the reader want to find out what happens next.
Look at the end of Section One. Can you find an example of foreshadowing here? What do you think might happen later on in the book that is being hinted at here?
Worksheet Nine accompanies this slide.

16. Themes

17. Dreams and Loneliness
Explain as fully as you can the dream that George and Lennie share.
“Guys like us, that work on ranches , are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. ..They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.”
Copy this quotation and explain how it helps us understand why George stays with Lennie.

18. The American Dream
For hundreds of years the USA has been associated with the promise of a new and better life.
Early settlers went there to escape religious persecution.
Others went in search of land and independence. Until the th century, land was virtually the only way to gain wealth or power.
Because America was a new land with no aristocracy, it gained the reputation as a country where anyone, no matter what their background, could succeed. All you needed was talent and hard work.
This ideal became known as ‘The American Dream’.

19. Theme: dreams
How does George and Lennie’s dream of having their own farm relate to the American Dream?
They would own their land and home
They would answer only to themselves
They believe they can do it despite being poor
They would reap the benefits of their labour

20. The End!