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An Aha-Moment I had during the discussion was when the first group was saying how on page 93 when Curley's wife died with her lips parted, it had a deep significance. They said that she died with her lips parted as if she had a statement left to say that never came out. It made me realize how Curley's wife is more of a misunderstood character with deeper feelings and hopes behind, and she is not just a flirty character with a pretty face. She had her own dreams and explanations that I looked over when I read for the first time and it is totally possible that she may have had something left to explain but she never had the chance to before she died.

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Sean Trompeter                                                           

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Sean Trompeter                                                           

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One point that stuck with me was the connection between Foster and the novella near the end. After shooting Lennie in the back of the head, George was in a state of shock as Slim offered to take him out for a drink. This relates to the Foster chapter, "Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion". Communion, or eating and drinking together, is explained by Foster as a way for characters to bond with each other. Slim's offering of a drink is used in a way of bonding and acceptance towards George.

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An "Ah Ha" moment that stuck with me was the contrast that Crooks shows compared to Lennie and George. When Lennie was speaking with Crooks, Lennie had brought up the dream he and George shared and Crooks laughed. Crooks explained how he has seen tons of people come and go all with the same dream, all failing to achieve it. Whereas at the end of the book, George and Lennie speak about their dream one last time. They finish by saying they should get their dream right then. Lennie's death symbolizes how Crooks says no one ever gets their dreams, nor goes to heaven. George and Lennie agreed to go and get their dream, however it became a matter of whether in this life or the next.

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One thing that stuck with me was how Candy's dog directly resembles Lennie, and it was so obvious that I can't believe I missed it. Both died in the same way, and for the same reasons. Lennie and Candy's dog were both killed to be put out of their misery, in the back of the head. The only difference is that Candy did not shoot his own dog, but George did shoot his own best friend. This shows that Steinbeck foreshadows the ending a lot, but it can be very easy to miss.

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my aha moment was when I realized that Lennie's death could signify the end of George's dreams. Previously, I thought that Lennie's death meant George could finally chases his dreams, but now I realize that it could mean that George is finally giving up on caring for Lennie and settlin gon land with him.

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One ah-ah moment for me was when I realized the connection between Candy's dog and Lennie. I really didn't see how the two could relate to one another or how they could be connected but once I read about George killing Lennie. This really brought me back to the idea of Candy's dog's death and how George did what Candy wish he had for his dog. This was so meaningful to the novella because through the entire story Lennie was George's little puppy who followed him around and George had to clean after his mess.

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One thing that stuck with me was the idea that Candy's dog could be representative of Lennie. When looking back, they had many similarities. Both characters were shot in the back of the head for their own good and were cared for by a "superior" or "able" companion. This makes me wonder if Candy's dogs presence was Steinbeck foreshadowing what was to come for Lennie.

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My aha moment was during our socratic discussion. Emma mentioned the significance of Curley's wife's mouth constantly being open, even in her death. Our discussion had veered toward the path of injustice and how, in the given time period, women did not have rights. Emma brought up how women lacked voices in the 1930s and that Curley's wife was a prime example of that under-representation. Furthermore, Curley's wife's mouth is always open as if she is about to say something, but she never gets the chance. When she finally shares her true feelings and confides in Lennie, she dies almost immediately after, her mouth open once again. This connection to the novella and the outside world really helped deepen my connection to the story and further understand Steinbeck's choices in Of Mice and Men.

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My ah-ha moment was when the inner circle discussed how the way George shot Lennie is much like a master putting down his dog. This form of a can be seen as either merciful, like a compassionate owner, or a disgraceful death where the shooter saw his dog like a burden. Adding onto this, being shot in the back of the head without showing oneself to their victim is also commonly reflected in modern day cultures as a symbol of shame.

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One thing I learned was that sometimes people don't have dreams because Slim had already fulfilled it by being a leader of the ranch. I thought it was surprising that sometimes a dream does't have to be just a dream.

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My "ah ha" moment was when I realized how symbolic it was that we were never told Curley's Wifes name. It was because never got to express herself and have her own opinion and thoughts. This symbolism shows how women were truly treated during this time period

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One thing that stuck to me was the tragedy and depth of Curley's wife and her characterization throughout the story. Before her death, Curley's wife was often described as a "tart" or "jail bait" meaning that she hung around many men and made romantic advances on them. The more important description is her "tartness". Curley's wife had her own hopes and dreams. She wanted to be an actress or someone who was a celebrity. But after marrying Curley, she was put into her own prison, unable to speak about her fantasy. After her death, she was described as sweet, with her lips slightly open, her last words never being heard again.

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My ah-ha moment was when Emma brought out the part about the open lips. I have never thought this way before and it was insane how she made that connection. Curley's wife does not get to talk throughout the book ever unless she is looking for Curly. I didn't take that into consideration until after she made her point.

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An "Ah ha" moment I had was when we talked about how George killed Lennie out of mercy rather then out of anger or vengance, because he wanted to spare Lennie of the pain of dying in worse ways.

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My aha moment was when someone shared the idea that Candy's dog and Lennie represent each other, and are considered burdens or useless, and that the death of Candy's dog was kind of foreshadowing the death of Lennie.

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While in the outside circle, the inner circle was discussing the foreshadowing of Curley's Wife's death. I had realized that the death of the mice and the puppy were signs that someone was going to die, but I never saw it as layers. First the mice, small insignificant rodents. Then the puppy, who had more value since it was important to Lennie. Then finally, Curley's Wife, to ultimately caused Lennies own death. Slowly the deaths increase in significance, and that had just never clicked until someone mentioned it.

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My AHA moment was when the second group was discussing how Steinbeck never shows Slim discussing his American dream. The book always portrays Slim as wise and content with his life. Slim, in a way, has reached his own version of the American dream through the wisdom he's acquired over the years and not necessarily through materialistic wealth like others hope for.

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One thing I learned was the connection between Crooks and Curley's wife. I learned how both felt isolated because of discrimination, leading to others leaving them behind. Both have had their dreams cut short, and are restricted by the stereotypes against them, but still attempt to make trustworthy friends with others.

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An ah-ha moment for me was when the setting was the same in the very beginning and end of the book. It reveals how that even though the setting is the same, the characters' relationship has changed. It shows the comparisons of characters from the beginning to the end, a full-circle moment.

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One ah ha moment for me was when I realized the similarities between Curley's wife and Crooks. They were shaped by society into the people they are. How they feel alone and isolated from everyone else because of their society.

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One thing that stuck with me was that one of the possible theme topics in the novel was the loss of control that various characters had.  This is shown in Lennie's character because he is very impulsive and can't always control the actions that he does.  This is also shown through Curley's wife and Crooks who both have no control over their lives because of how society treated them during that time period.

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Something that resonated with me was the symbolism of Curley's wife, and the expectations for that time period. From the other group, the talk of the American Dream really stuck with me, and other expectations of that time period.

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When Curly's wife speaks to Lennie in chapter 5, the reader learns about the limited freedoms she is given. In the middle of the story, she is seen as more of an object with very little impact on the other characters and readers. But the passage we looked at reveals how she doesn't have a voice and is quite lonely. This stuck with me and gave me a deeper understanding of gender inequality throughout the time period, it also helped the discussion go into many different parallels in the novella.

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A light-bulb moment I had was when we discussed the relationship between crooks and Curly's wife. It made me realize how both characters came from a place where they had lots of friend, then when the depression hit the became wrapped in loneliness.

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One thing I found really significant in our discussion was the comparisons between different relationships. For example, Candy and his dog's companionship is similar to that of George and Lennie. When his dog is killed to end its suffering, the author is foreshadowing to Lennie's own death. Just like Candy, George loved Lennie enough to do what was best for him.

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An "Ah ha" for me was when I realized that everyone had their own"The American Dream" and that the dream wasn't really a goal, it was a reason to keep going in the tough times.

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A ah hah moment in the story was the use of the mountains in the background, this is representing the difficulty of life and how nothing was as easy as it seemed.

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Something that stuck with me was the explanation of why Curley's wife and Slim act the way they do. Someone brought up a point about how Curley's wife once had a dream to be an actor, but based on society's norms, she ended up marrying a man she could depend on. Similar to Curley's wife, Slim was also shaped by society into believing that he didn't deserve to have a dream or ambitions because he was black.

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The parallel between Candy and his dog and George and Lennie - Candy's dog is represented of Lennie in a way as Candy says that he ought to have shot his dog and George ends up shooting Lennie, giving a form of mercy

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An "Ah Ha" moment for me was foreshadowing. When George took the advice of Candy, he didn't want someone else to kill Lennie because of their amazing relationship with one another. This interprets how George knew that this dream would be over the moment he saw Curley's wife.

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One thing that stuck with me was that Candy's dog foreshadowed Lennie's death. Candy told George that he wished he had killed his dog instead of letting other people do it. This foreshadowed how George killed Lennie instead of letting the other people do it.

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An ah-ha moment for me was when I realized that Curly's Wife was a symbol of injustice in how she was always suppressed from reaching her dreams, similarly to Crooks.

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An "ah ha" moment for me was when it was talked about how Candy's dog dying was a foreshadowing of Lennie dying.

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Something that resonated with me was when somebody (Robert, I believe) pointed out how the story starts and ends at the brush

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It really stuck with my when people in my group talked about how Slim doesn't talk about his "dream"much because he has lost hope that it could ever be successful. He has seen so many people move from workplace to workplace chasing the American dream, and he knows they all never succeed.

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An aha moment was when the discussion was talking about the American dream and how it relates to Lennie and George and the path of their dream.

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The contrast between George and Lennie and Curly and his wife!!!

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My AH-HA moment was when the idea that the loneliness of curley's wife along with crooks, to be particularly interesting as it showed loneliness in 2 different perspectives, and the effects of it in 2 different perspectives.

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Photo of me during the Socratic Discussion in 2004

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My lightbulb moment was when we talked about the "American Dream" and how it related to Foster's "Every Trip Is A Quest". It was interesting to realize that everyone had their own dream that drove them during this time of Great Depression, and it was the last thing Lennie heard before he died.

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An "ah ha" moment for me was with the development of the American Dream and people being unable to fulfill it, like when Crooks says that he's seen hundreds of people with the same dream as George and Lennie and none of them ever achieved it

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My ah ha moment was when we drew the parallels between Crooks's loniliness and Curley's wife's loniliness. Up until that point I hadn't really thought about how they were connected, but as we began to talk more about how both were restrained by the norms of society at that time, I started to get a deeper understanding of the story and how different character's personal experiences were related.