1. Of Mice and Men OF MICE AND MEN’ IS A CYCLICAL** NOVEL. DISCUSS There are lots of things that are repeated throughout the novel. These are: Work & daily life The setting of the brush George & Lennie’s dream Death & trouble Loneliness Conflict & argument ** cyclical means where things happen again and again – like going round in a circle/cycle. Cycles

2. Of Mice and Men The men work six days a week with only one day off and they do the same thing day in day out, week in week out. Every Saturday sees the men going to the brothel in town – except the ‘weak ones’. Every week Sunday is their day off and they spend the day playing cards and horseshoes. In fact they spend every evening playing cards as well which shows us that that is all they can do to entertain themselves. Every day they get up, and go to work. In the fields they spend about 11 hours a day doing their jobs and even their jobs are repetitive as they involve the same movements, for example, picking up a bag of barley and putting it on a truck. The men also go through the same feelings every day because of the time in which the book is set. They feel fear because they see life as a fight for survival. They feel depressed because they’re in a situation where they don’t have freedom, a social life, family or girlfriends, essentially they don’t have their own life. They go through these feelings each day and they often result in conflict with other people because they’re angry/frustrated/sad and often lash out at everyone else as they’re men and can’t show emotion. Work & daily life

3. Of Mice and Men George and Lennie’s dream The dream is repeated to show Lennie’s devotion and determination through out the novel; while sharing the dream with others he shows his reliance on George and his passion towards the dream. The dream is repeated to show how important it is to them, and how it is their goal that they are working towards and each time they re-tell it, it gives them hope and keeps them going. The dream is repeated through 4 chapters. It’s firstly mentioned at the beginning of the novel where George tells it to Lennie, then when Candy overhears Lennie and George talking about it; when Lennie tells Crooks about it, and finally in the brush at the end when George tells Lennie so he is in a happy place when he dies.

4. Of Mice and Men The brush is first described as a place of peace and calm but when we go back to it by the end of the novel it is like a fitting burial ground for Lennie. It is the place where Lennie knows to go to if he is in trouble and it feels like home because it is peaceful, he has no worries, he has nature around him, and he knows it having spent a night there. However, it does change from the first chapter to the second. In the first chapter it is described as: ‘the water is warm’ ‘on one side of the river the golden foothill slopes ‘ ‘willow fresh’ and there is a live heron and a snake in the lake. Its like chapter one is opening a door to this scene and their story and chapter six is closing it. In the last chapter: ‘a rush of wind’ ‘a pleasant shade had fallen’ and the heron eats the snake. This change shows his emotions; first his happiness then his sadness. By showing the environment being rich at the beginning chapters and then at the end it shows sadness. The setting of the brush

5. Of Mice and Men In chapter one, George told Lennie that if he ever got in trouble then he must go back to the brush and because Lennie has a panic problem so that when he panics he holds tighter and tighter he often gets into trouble. 1. Weed – Lennie held onto some girls dress. (silky red dress) and she panic’s so he does. Knocks him out with a picket fence 2. On the ranch with Curley – Curley was being mean about Lennie, then he started on him because Curley thought he was harder than any man except Slim. But Lennie panics and couldn’t stop so crushed Curley’s hand. 3. On the ranch – killing Curley’s wife. His habit of killing things because he doesn’t know his own strength also happens again and again. Mouse --- puppy --- human. Death and trouble Loneliness is shown by all the characters, especially Crooks because he is the most lonely character because he is black and is treated as a second class citizen. Another character that is treated like a second class citizen is Curley’s wife because she is a woman. She expresses her loneliness by flirting with all the lads and tells Lennie about her acting career. “lennie said well, I ain’t supposed to talk to you or nothing. I get lonely, she said.” Loneliness

6. Of Mice and Men Conflict & argument Because of the boring and repetitive life they lead the men often get into lots of arguments and they are quick to get angry. This means incidents of conflict and violence happen again and again. - Fight in the brush over ketchup and the mouse between George and Lennie. - Curley and Lennie; when Curley picks on Lennie because he thinks he’s weak when he first sees him – and then in Chapter 3 when they have the big fight. - Curley and Slim, when Curley thinks Slim is with his wife. -Lennie petting and killing small things. -The killing of weak beings – Candy’s dog; Lennie. - Candy tells the story of the Christmas before when Smithy beat up Crooks – for fun.