445 Jevoni Holdsworth by Jevoni Holdsworth https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1 Let's pool our knowledge about the 4 main themes in this novella en-us 2018-10-04 13:23:02 UTC 2018-10-14 17:48:16 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Bigthunderstorm.png Dreams: a double-edged sword? 3604709 https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289116077 In Of Mice and Men, dreams, hopes, and plans are the very foundation of what makes life worth living, but they are also double-edged. What does this mean?
 
The word "dream" is never used in the book in reference to anything like a hope or aspiration.
The characters never regard their hopes as impossible things to
fulfill. Instead, they see them as concrete and realistic plans.

GEORGE said, "O.K. Someday—we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and ...." (Steinbeck, ##)
]]> 2018-10-04 13:23:02 UTC https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289116077 Racism, sexism, ageism: just parts of our human nature? 3604709 https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289116078 Of Mice and Men deals with many of America’s age-old, hot-button issues, including sexism, racism, ageism, and discrimination against those with disabilities. Most importantly, this prejudice isn’t ever explicitly noted or fought against – those who are discriminated against accept the prejudice against them as a way of life. 
 
Prejudice is a fact of life on the ranch because it was a fact of life everywhere in America at
that time.
 
Crooks said darkly, "Guys don’t come into a colored man’s room very much." (Steinbeck, ##)
]]> 2018-10-04 13:23:02 UTC https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289116078 3604709 https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289116080 2018-10-04 13:23:02 UTC https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289116080 Which to choose? Friendship or Isolation... 3604709 https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289116081 In this novella, George and Lennie represent THE ideal male friendship.  They don’t talk about how they feel about each other or why they should stay loyal – they just stand by each other, and that’s that. 

In contrast, everyone else is isolated from one another.  Everyone seems to get along quite well together by talking about how isolated they are, even though the men on the ranch are constantly together and chatting.

Although they are always together, George and Lennie are isolated from the rest of the world. Friendship is a negative relationship in the novella; every time any character gets close to any other, something goes wrong. 
 
LENNIE exclaimed, "But I wouldn’t eat none, George. I’d leave it all for you. You could cover your beans
with it and I wouldn’t touch none of it." (Steinbeck, 93-95)

VS.  

LENNIE whined, "If you don’ want me I can go off in the hills an’ find a cave. I can go away any time." (Steinbeck, ##)
]]> 2018-10-04 13:23:02 UTC https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289116081 The American Dream: a reality or an illusion? 3604709 https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289116083 Of Mice and Men captures the feel of rural America during the Depression. Different outlooks are presented: 
--the never-will-be starlet trying to make it to Hollywood, 
--the isolated black man born and raised in California, 
--a ranch full of men that like to go to whorehouses, play pool, and drink away their earnings
 --men that are constantly bouncing from job to job just shy of making ends meet. 

The America of Of Mice and Men is populated with dreamers who are constantly struggling to achieve their dreams.
 
This novella argues that there is no single America. Rather, there are many different groups
(women, blacks, farm workers, farm owners), each with their own unique struggle.
 
Quote:
GEORGE complained, "…If I was bright, if I was even a little bit smart, I’d have my own little place, an’ I’d be bringin’ in my own crops, ‘stead of doin’ all the work and not getting what comes up outa the ground." (Steinbeck, ##)
 
]]> 2018-10-04 13:23:02 UTC https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289116083 Quotes 3604709 https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289124691 1) "No-look! I was jus' foolin', Lennie. 'Cause I want you to stay with me." p. 31
2) "I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ, somebody'd shoot you for a coyote it you was by yourself." p.31
3) "God, you're a lot of trouble,' said George. "I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn't have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl." p.24
4) "But not us! An' why? Because... because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why". p.32]]> 2018-10-04 13:35:04 UTC https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289124691 Quotes 3604709 https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289149690 1)"With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us." p.32
2)"O.K. Someday—we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and—"
"An' live off the fatta the lan',"p. 32
3) "I remember about the rabbits, George." "The hell with the rabbits. That's all you can ever remember is them rabbits." p.22
4)  "God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want. Why, I could stay in a cathouse all night. I could eat any place I want, hotel or any place, and order any damn thing I could think of." p. 29]]> 2018-10-04 14:09:46 UTC https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289149690 Quotes 3604709 https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289151130 1)" Dive the stable buck hell?" he asked. "Sure. Ya see the stable buck's a nigger."
2) Yes sir. Jesus, we had fun. They let the nigger come in that night. Little skinner name of Smitty took after the nigger. Done pretty good, too. The guys wouldn't let him use his feet, so the nigger got him. If he coulda used his feet, Smitty says he woulda killed the nigger. The guys said on account of the nigger's got a crooked back, Smitty can't use his feet." p. 41
3) " This is just a nigger talkin', an' a busted-back nigger. p.103
4) Crooks said darkly, "Guys don't come into a colored man's room very much." p. 107-108]]> 2018-10-04 14:12:01 UTC https://padlet.com/3604709/55fot28c8jb1/wish/289151130