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Book Information-
Title: "Of Mice And Men"
Author: John Steinbeck
Date of original publication: 1937
Significance of the title in relation to the book: "Of Mice and Men" is a literal reference to the mice Lennie is prone to kill, but the mice in turn represent innocence killed by innocence. By the juxtaposition of "mice" and "men," Steinbeck suggests that innocence is in all of us, but that the innocence can't prevent us from causing bad things or from bad things happening to us.
S etting- The book occurred during the Great Depression, from 1929-1939. It took place in a town close to Soledad, California, and near the Salinas River. The feeling of the era was one desperate for a sense of reliability and safety, a constant source of money, housing, and food. George and Lennie are two ranch hands who dream of their own farm to live off of. The time period is important to the plot because it's what causes George and Lennie to need constant financial support (Great Depression). It's also why they are so obsessed with their dream of their own farm.
Character-
Major Characters:
George- George is a hard character, who comes off as very intolerant and stark. He is very rough, but his heart is in the right place.
When George shoots Lennie he displays a resolve many could not achieve. It takes courage to kill someone you're close to, even if it's for their own good.
George is a significant character because, despite Lennie causing all the events, the novel is really about George and the conflicts he faces.

"'It ain't so funny, him an' me goin' aroun' together,' George said at last." This quote, from chapter 3, demonstrates George's unshakable loyalty to Lennie, despite their bond being viewed as strange and suspicious by the lone wolves working on all the ranches they go to.

Lennie - Lennie is George's opposite. He isn't very defined, and breaks all of society's accepted "laws," or leaves the boundaries hazy. As opposed to George's roughness, Lennie loves soft, fluffy things, but he can't seem to keep himself from killing them.
Lennie kills Curly's wife because while feeling her hair, he panics when she starts to struggle and snaps her neck. Despite being kind and innocent, Lennie is a killer by the end of the book. Lennie is important to the novel because if George is the protagonist, he's the metaphor and the conflict. Lennie causes all the problems without meaning to, which is ironic being George's closest companion and really says a lot about reality.
"Lennie looked sadly up at him. "They was so little," he said apologetically. "I’d pet ‘em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead—because they was so little." Lennie just doesn't realize the effects of his actions, not because of inconsiderateness but because of ignorance, which is a metaphor for all the accidental damage even the kindest, most innocent people can do unintentionally.
Minor Characters: The minor characters include Slim, a ranch hand who helps George through the conflicts he faces, the unnamed boss, Curly, said boss's cocky, aggressive son, Candy, a kind old swamper missing a hand who befriends the pair, Crooks, the stable buck with a crooked back who faces racial discrimination and has grown to rely on his isolation, Curly's over-made-up wife who is always unsatisfied, and Carlson, a ranch hand known for always backing Curly and being bitter and callous.
Conflict- George vs. Himself: George knows that he has to take care of Lennie despite how easily he could manipulate him because Lennie will listen to whatever George tells him to do. Even when George yells at Lennie, like when he drinks the still water at the beginning of the novel, it's usually because he's looking out for him.
(internal)
George vs. Lennie: George struggles to keep Lennie from doing "bad things." George is logical and intelligent, while Lennie is impulsive and not good under pressure. This contrast helps enhance the conflict and point it out. When Lennie killed Curly's wife, George realizes he lost this conflict rather than overcoming it, but that he also foresaw this ending. (external)
Theme-
Death:
Death, although devastating, can be for the better.
Innocence:
Innocence doesn't prevent people from causing hurt or suffering, though on the surface it seems like it should.
Point of View- "Of Mice and Men" is written in the third person omniscient point of view because the narrator isn't "assigned" a character and knows the thoughts of every character as well as the whole plot. This causes a removed yet fully involved feeling, as if the reader is only vaguely, but certainly is, a part of the story. The author's choice of a fully excluded narrator causes the themes to feel relevant to all rather than specific to the story.
Beginnings and Endings- The opening scene of the novel is a peaceful scene revealing the location of the story interrupted by George and Lennie's arrival. The final scene is a parallel to this; Lennie arrives, followed shortly by George. By both starting the novel and ending the novel and Lennie's life in the same spot, Steinbeck creates a nostalgic feeling and suggests that life will always lead back around in circles, hinting at how George's life will likely turn out. This wraps up the novel pretty solidly, even if no one got their happy ending.
Literary Devices-
Diction: Throughout the novel, the author uses diction to help enhance the setting and characters. Words like "scairt" and "goin'" suggest the limited education and country speak of a ranch hand, while choosing longer, more elaborate words to describe George and shorter, blunter words to describe Lennie help display their personalities.
Irony: All throughout the novel, Steinbeck uses little bits of irony to develop characters and set the mood. For example, choosing massive Lennie's last name to be "Small" adds a dose of dry humor to lighten the mood during the intense scene when they first meet their new boss. In addition, at the end of the novel, Steinbeck compares Lennie to a creeping bear, claiming he's silent but implying he far from it.
Symbolism: Prevalent everywhere in the novel, almost everything represents a bigger idea. Lennie is the embodiment of innocent damage, while the mice are his unwitting victims chosen for their softness, which is commonly thought of as a "pure" quality.
Key Quotes-
“I’ll come. But listen, Curley. The poor bastard’s nuts. Don’t shoot ‘im. He di’n’t know what he was doin’.” (chapter 5)
This quote demonstrates George's love for Lennie, even after the worst "bad thing" he's ever done. If any reader was ever in doubt of George and Lennie's bond, this quote reassures and reestablishes it.
The quote applies to real world because it sends a message of loving the unlovable; unlimited kindness and forgiveness, and acceptance of what can't be changed. Sadly, this message is a sharp contrast to the way things were then and the way they still are now.
"No," said George. "No, Lennie, I ain't mad. I never been mad, and I ain' now. That's a thing I want ya to know." (chapter 6)
This quote establishes for a final time that George would only kill Lennie if it was the only way. It shows just how deep their bond runs, and helps give the reader a sense of what George was going through because we know the plot, and of Lennie's impending doom.
This quote also sends forth a message of love, but especially forgiveness. George is the "perfect protagonist;" he's a better human being than anyone alive. This quote applies to everyone because it sets an example, or a goal, for us to strive towards rather than telling us how the world currently is.

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Book Information-

1. Title (correctly punctuated): Ethan Frome

2. Author: Edith Wharton

3. Date of Original Publication: 1911

4. Explain the significance of the title in the overall novel: The book is about the main character.

5. Setting:

6. Describe the time and place in which the action occurs. 1800s, New England (Starkfield), winter

7. What is especially significant about the setting? Starkfield- snow, “Stark- severe, bare”

8. Character:

9. For each major character in the novel, respond to the following:

10. Give a brief character description

Ethan: protagonist, married to escape loneliness, loves Mattie but not his wife, Zeena, unhappy, feels trapped and lonely in his life

Mattie: Ethan’s love interest, kind, dreamy, light-hearted, taking over the housework for Zeena, hated by Zeena, loves Ethan more and more until Chapter 9, has the idea to commit suicide so they can be together forever

Zeena: bitter old nurse who took care of Ethan’s mother until she died, sickly, bossy, hated Mattie, uptight, Ethan’s unhappy wife, ended up taking care of Mattie & Ethan

1. Relay one specific significant incident that involves that character.

Ethan: drove Mattie to the train station but ended up attempting suicide with her

Mattie: had the idea to sled into the tree so she & Ethan didn’t have to be separated

Zeena: told Mattie she had to leave

1. Discuss that character's importance/significant impact on the novel as a whole.

Ethan: protagonist (all events revolve around him)

Mattie: Ethan’s love interest (causes most events)

Zeena: antagonist (causes most events & conflicts)

1. Provide a significant quote spoken by the character or describing the character and discuss what this quote reveals about the character.

Ethan: “It seemed to Ethan that his heart was bound with cords which an unseen hand was tightening with every tick of the clock.” (ch. 9 pg. 99); he feels trapped and hopeless

Mattie: “She had an eye to see and an ear to hear: he could show her things and tell her things, and taste the bliss of feeling that all he imparted left long reverberations and echoes he could wake at will.” (ch. 1, pg. 46); she is Ethan’s “perfect girl” in his opinion

Zeena: “Zeena laughed. It was an odd unfamiliar sound.” (ch. 7 pg. 84); she’s as unhappy as Ethan is

1. Briefly discuss any minor characters that play an important role in the novel as a whole.

2. Conflict:

3. Identify two major conflicts in the novel. Briefly discuss the type of conflict (internal/external) each with specifics from the novel.

1) Mattie and Zeena- Man vs. Man: Ethan Frome likes both of them; Zeena isn't getting all the attention. (EXTERNAL)

2) Ethan Frome and his sense of responsibility (what is right vs. what he wants to do) (INTERNAL)

1. Theme:

2. List two themes (one-word abstract concepts) revealed in the novel

3. Lust

4. Loneliness

5. Write a thematic statement for each.

Lust- Sometimes it's better to appreciate what you have versus what you want.

Loneliness- Loneliness means just because you have someone in your life doesn't mean you aren't alone.

1. Point of View:

2. What is the narrative point of view? What narrative technique does the author utilize? Third person limited (except in the prologue and last chapter); the author uses metaphors to describe the mood and tone in the story, and to describe saying things such as, “Zeena was cold.”

3. How does the narrator’s point of view affect the novel as a whole? Since the narrator only gives the thoughts of the protagonist, Ethan Frome, it leaves the reader wondering  how the other characters feel about the situation. It also gives a sense of reality to the story and helps put the reader in Ethan’s shoes without using 1st person.

4. Does the choice of narrator(s) make an impact on the author's message (theme)?  (Hint:  The answer to this question is always “YES.”  Your job is to explain HOW the choice of narrator impacts the theme.) Yes, because it causes the story to feel real but also detached and second-hand, giving it a sense of “set in stone” destiny and hopelessness.

5. Beginnings and Endings:

6. Briefly describe the opening scene of the novel.  What is its impact on the overall work? The first chapter sets the scene of the novel and introduces the majority of the characters. The harsh winter setting and the stories of harder winters set the mood and tone for the novel.

7. Briefly describe the final image or line of the novel.  What is its impact on the overall work? The end of the novel does not leave the reader with a sense of satisfaction, but it does give a sense of closure. The setting is winter, just like throughout the rest of the book, implying hardships and an idea that nothing has changed for the better despite the nine chapter narrative.

8. To what extent does the ending wrap up or resolve the plot? The last line of the novel compares the living Fromes up in the house to the dead Fromes down in the graveyard, with the conclusion that the only difference is that the dead women are quieter. The line leaves the reader with a sense of hopelessness and also a sense of closure.

9. Literary Devices:

10. Examine three devices such as diction, syntax, symbolism, metaphor, imagery, irony, allusion, or any other dominant element the author uses throughout the novel.

11. Identify the device. symbolism, flashback, foreshadowing

What is its significance in the novel?

Symbolism

The author uses this device to show what characteristics one character has and what another character lacks.

Foreshadowing

The author uses this device to foreshadow a major event at the ending of the story.

Flashback

A majority of the story is about Ethan's past.

1. Provide at least two examples of the device from the novel.

Flashback

a majority of the story is about Ethan's youth and how he grew up and how he became who he is now.

Foreshadowing

The repeatedly refer to sledding throughout the story foreshadowing the incident.

1. Key Quotes:

2. Select two key quotes that are absolutely central to the novel and its characters. (It might be a good idea to commit one of these to memory eventually, so don’t make them too long!). Type selected quotes, include parenthetical citations):

3. Place the quotations in context of the story:

Quote 1: “She had an eye to see and an ear to hear: he could show her things and tell her things, and taste the bliss of feeling that all he imparted left long reverberations and echoes he could wake at will.” (ch. 1, pg. 46)

Quote 2: “It seemed to Ethan that his heart was bound with cords which an unseen hand was tightening with every tick of the clock.” (ch. 9 pg. 99)

1. Explain their meaning and/or importance to the overall story.

Quote 1: Ethan loves Mattie because of all the reasons Zeena hates her; he loves her dreaminess, her intelligence, and her observance.

Quote 2: Ethan feels trapped in a life he doesn’t enjoy living, and that his short strain of happiness is running out.

1. What do these quotes say about people and/or the world in general?

Quote 1: Popular traits are not always most attractive.

Quote 2: It’s difficult to take and maintain control of your own life, especially during the rough times.

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