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Writing an Of Mice and Men PETER Paragraph

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By the end of your preparation, you should:

+ Be familiar with the overall plot of Of Mice and Men
+ Undestand literary terms from the flashcards, such as 'foreshadowing', 'imagery', and 'symbolism'
+ Have (re)read Chapter 5 in full
+ Have considered key points for your essay from Chapter 5
+ Have created one A4 side of notes for your essay

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21. Marking Criteria for Of Mice and Men

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21. Marking Criteria for Of Mice and Men

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GCSE English - acceptable and unacceptable CA student notes

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Remember, the title for your essay is:

"How does Steinbeck create drama through changes in mood and atmosphere in 'the barn scene' of Of Mice and Men? Show your understanding of how this relates to the rest of the novella.”

Everything you write should link directly back to this title, and to chapter 5.

That means:
+ Do use words from the question, such as 'atmosphere', 'mood' and 'relates'.
+ Do use plenty of quotes from chapter 5.
- Do Not describe what happens in the rest of the story or just retell the story.

Every single line you write should directly link back to the question above, so don't just write everything you know about Of Mice and Men in general.

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You should now have the background knowledge you need to begin preparing for the assessments, as you now know:

+ An overview of Of Mice and Men
+ Some techniques and terminology you can use in the essay
+ What the essay is looking for

Now we can begin looking at Chapter 5

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13. Activity 4 - Literary Terms you can use

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13. Activity 4 - Literary Terms you can use

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Check your understanding of these literary terms that you can use in your essay using these flashcards.

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GoConqr - Literary Terms in Of Mice and Men

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Take a look at our interactive learning Flashcards about Literary Terms in Of Mice and Men, or create your own Flashcards using our free cloud based Flashcard maker and mobile apps.

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10. Activity 3 - Effective use of Quotes

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10. Activity 3 - Effective use of Quotes

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What makes the C-grade analysis better than the D-grade? Why is the A-grade analysis even better?

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Candy tells George that Curley is “alla time picking scraps with big guys”, and that, perhaps, the reason is that “he’s mad at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy.” In this way, Steinbeck conveys the idea of Curley seeming to be angry at the whole world, and permanently on the edge, looking for trouble.

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Candy tells George that Curley is always picking fights with bigger men “Kind of like he’s mad at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy.”

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Candy tells George that Curley is always picking fights with bigger men, as if Curley was angry that he was not bigger: “He’s alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he’s mad at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy”

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9. Top tip - Keep your quotes short and focused

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9. Top tip - Keep your quotes short and focused

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The best quotes are shorter than 7 words, and ideally just 1-3 words.

Make sure you don't just retell what the quote is saying, but suggest reasons why it is effective language to create a particular effect. Here are some examples of quotes being used with different levels of success:

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How does Steinbeck create drama through changes in mood and atmosphere in 'the barn scene' of Of Mice and Men? Show your understanding of how this relates to the rest of the novella.”

Note: Your essay is on chapter 5. You might mention other parts of the book, but you should not waste time going into detail about chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6.

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Here is a written summary of the story, in case you prefer to read rather than watch.

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Book Summary

The novel opens with two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, walking to a nearby ranch where harvesting jobs are available. George, the smaller man, leads the way and makes the decisions for Lennie, a mentally handicapped giant. They stop at a stream for the evening, deciding to go to the ranch in the morning. Lennie, who loves to pet anything soft, has a dead mouse in his pocket. George takes the mouse away from Lennie and reminds him of the trouble Lennie got into in the last town they were in - he touched a girl's soft dress. George then reminds Lennie not to speak to anyone in the morning when they get to the ranch and cautions Lennie to return to this place by the river if anything bad happens at the ranch.

When he has to take the dead mouse away from Lennie a second time, George chafes at the hardship of taking care of Lennie. After calming his anger, George relents and promises Lennie they will try to find him a puppy; then he tells Lennie about their dream of having a little farm where they can be their own boss and nobody can tell them what to do, where Lennie will tend their rabbits, and where they will "live off the fatta the lan'." Lennie has heard this story so often he can repeat it by heart. And George emphasizes that this dream and their relationship make them different from other guys who don't have anyone or a place of their own. They settle down and sleep for the night.

The next morning at the ranch, the boss becomes suspicious when George answers all the questions and Lennie does not talk. George explains that Lennie is not bright but is a tremendous worker. They also meet Candy, an old swamper with a sheep dog; Crooks, the black stable hand; the boss' son Curley, who is an amateur boxer and has a bad temper; Curley's wife, who has a reputation as a "tart"; Carlson, another ranch hand; and Slim, the chief mule skinner. Upon seeing Curley's wife, Lennie is fascinated with her and George warns him to stay away from her and Curley.

That evening, Carlson complains bitterly about Candy's dog, which is old, arthritic, and smells. He offers to kill the dog for Candy, and Candy reluctantly agrees to let him do so. Later, after the others have gone to the barn, hoping to witness a fight between Slim and Curley over Curley's wife, Lennie and George are alone in the bunkhouse. Lennie wants to hear the story of their farm again, and George retells the dream. Candy overhears and convinces George and Lennie to let him in on the plan because he has money for a down payment. George excitedly believes that, with Candy's money, they can swing the payment for a ranch he knows of; he figures one more month of work will secure the rest of the money they need. He cautions Lennie and Candy not to tell anyone.

The ranch hands return, making fun of Curley for backing down to Slim. Curley is incensed and picks a fight with Lennie, brutally beating Lennie until George tells Lennie to fight back. Lennie smashes all the bones in Curley's hand. Taking Curley to a doctor, Slim gets Curley's promise to say his hand got caught in a machine so Lennie and George won't get fired. Lennie is afraid he has done "a bad thing" and that George won't let him tend the rabbits. But George explains that Lennie did not mean to hurt Curley and that he isn't in trouble.

Later that week, Lennie tells Crooks about the plans to buy a farm, and Crooks says he would like to join them and work for nothing. In the middle of their conversation, Curley's wife enters and, after Crooks tells her she isn't welcome in his room and that if she doesn't leave, he will ask the boss not to let her come to the barn anymore, she threatens him with lynching. Eventually, George returns and tells her to get lost. Dejectedly remembering his place, Crooks retracts his offer.

The next day, Lennie is in the barn with a dead puppy. While Lennie thinks about how he can explain the dead puppy to George, Curley's wife enters. They talk about how they enjoy touching soft things. She tells him he can touch her hair, but when Lennie strokes it too hard and messes it up, she gets angry. She tries to jerk her head away, and, in fear, Lennie hangs on to her hair. Curley's wife begins to scream. To keep her from screaming, Lennie holds her so tightly he breaks her neck. Knowing he has done something bad, he goes to the hiding place by the stream.

Candy finds the body of Curley's wife and goes for George; both men immediately know what has happened. Candy knows that Curley will organize a lynching party, and George says he is not going to let them hurt Lennie. George asks Candy to wait a few minutes before he calls the others; then he slips into the bunkhouse and steals Carlson's Luger. When Curley comes and sees his murdered wife, he vows to kill Lennie slowly and painfully. George joins the men searching for Lennie.

As they spread out, George alone goes straight for the riverside where he finds Lennie. Lennie knows he has done "a bad thing" and expects George to scold and lecture him. George, however, is so overcome with remorse that he cannot scold Lennie but must save him from Curley's cruelty. He tells Lennie to look across the river and imagine their little farm. George describes it, as he has done many times before, and while Lennie is smiling with pleasure and envisioning the rabbits he will tend, George shoots Lennie at the back of his neck. The others arrive, and George leads them to believe Lennie had Carlson's gun which George wrestled away from him and shot in self-defense. Only Slim comprehends the truth, and he takes George off up the footpath for a drink.

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Get free homework help on Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men: book summary, chapter summary and analysis, quotes, essays, and character analysis courtesy of CliffsNotes. John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is a parable about what it means to be human.

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You're going to write an essay on the atmosphere in Chapter 5 (the 'barn scene') of Of Mice and Men.

This is the scene where Lennie kills Curley's Wife, and your essay will talk about how Steinbeck makes contrasts between a calm atmosphere and a tense atmosphere before she is killed.

You can have a copy of the book, and one A4 side of notes in the assessment with you.

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4. Activity 1 - Watch this summary of Of Mice and Men

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4. Activity 1 - Watch this summary of Of Mice and Men

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Watch this quick summary to remind yourself of the key plot details and themes of the story.

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Of Mice and Men - Thug Notes Summary and Analysis

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Get the Thug Notes BOOK here! ►► http://bit.ly/1HLNbLN Join Wisecrack! ►► http://bit.ly/1y8Veir From plot debriefs to key motifs, Thug Notes' Of Mice and Men Summary & Analysis has you covered with themes, symbols, important quotes, and more. This week's episode is Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck.

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6. Activity 2 - Now take this quiz to check your Of Mice and Men knowledge

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6. Activity 2 - Now take this quiz to check your Of Mice and Men knowledge

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1. Headphones / speakers
2. A copy of Of Mice and Men
3. A blank piece of lined paper for making notes.

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Read through each box in number order

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DO NOT spend time retelling the story. The person who marks your essays know what happened.

Instead, you need to look at the choices and techniques Steinbeck has used to create a certain mood or atmosphere. We are interested in your understanding of how and why Steinbeck has told the story in a certain way, not what happens in the story.

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11b. Example of detailed PETER paragraph

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11b. Example of detailed PETER paragraph

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Steinbeck’s use of light imagery enhances the rising and falling tension in the atmosphere of the barn scene, as well as symbolising several key themes of the novella. At the start of the scene, the sun “sliced” into the barn. The word “sliced” suggests violence, danger or injury, possibly foreshadowing the revelation that Lennie has killed his puppy already, and will go on to kill Curley’s Wife. These “slices” of sunlight also create “bright lines” on the hay. These lines would resemble the bars of a cell window, and so could be related to how certain characters are trapped or confined: Lennie feels trapped in a bad situation, panicking about what he has done to the puppy, while Curley’s Wife is trapped in a lonely situation by her marriage to Curley.

In contrast to the bright light at the start of the chapter, when Curley’s Wife is killed, the light around her is described as “growing soft,” suggesting a sombre respectful atmosphere. At the end of the chapter, the light is fading further and the barn is “darkening.” The sun setting could symbolise the end of George, Lennie, and Candy’s dream for their farm, as well as the hopes, dreams, and life of Curley’s Wife.

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17. Points you may consider exploring in your essay

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17. Points you may consider exploring in your essay

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§ The symbolism of the ‘Jackson fork’ at the start.

§ How Lennie killing the puppy (and other damage he has done before) builds tension because we expect something else bad to happen.

§ The sounds coming in from outside.

§ The use of light in the scene.

§ How Curley’s Wife ignores the danger signs of Lennie, and why.

§ The symbolism around Curley’s Wife, eg. “red”, “sausages”.

§ Words, phrases, and descriptive techniques which create both calm and tense atmospheres at different times.

§ How Curley’s Wife and Lennie move closer and further apart during the scene.

§ George’s (and others’) warnings about Curley’s Wife here, repeated by Lennie, and before.

§ Words and phrases used to describe Lennie struggling against Curley’s Wife.

§ Words and phrases used to describe Curley’s Wife lying dead in the hay.

§ How the scene changes once the men come into the barn, particularly how Curley reacts.

§ The atmosphere at the end of the scene (time of day, use of light), and what we know will come next.

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19. Activity 5 - Read and consider Chapter 5

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19. Activity 5 - Read and consider Chapter 5

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Download this document and open it with Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat. Do not open it in your internet browser - this is important.

When you have opened it with Adobe, you will see the highlights have questions attached. The highlighted bits are quotes you may want to use. If you can answer all the questions in this document, and talk about some of them in your essay, you will achieve well.

This will take time to do well. You may like to work with a partner.

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Of Mice and Men Chapter 5 - The Barn Scene - with questions

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20. Extension activity - Chapter 5 PETER Paragraph Practice

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20. Extension activity - Chapter 5 PETER Paragraph Practice

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Work through these questions one at a time to practise structuring your paragraphs for an essay.

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Of Mice and Men - PETER Paragraph Practice

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You will need to prepare one A4 side of notes for this assessment, which has the title:

"How does Steinbeck create drama through changes in mood and atmosphere in 'the barn scene' of Of Mice and Men? Show your understanding of how this relates to the rest of the novella.”

Your notes must:

§ All fit on a single side of A4 paper.

§ Not be a detailed plan or structure for your essay.

§ Be a sort of ‘shopping list’ of key quotes and ideas you want to talk about.

§Be bullet-pointed (not full sentences)

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Here are some words you should and should not use in your essay.

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18. Download this graph and open it in word

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18. Download this graph and open it in word

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It shows how the tension rises and falls in Chapter 5, and has plenty of quotes to support each change.

If you describe how the tension goes up and down at key moments, you will be on track to get plenty of marks.