Of Mice and Men - The death of Curley's wife and Lennie are shocking events - How convincing and predictable do you find the last two sections of the novel?
Chloë Baylis 5th December 1999 GCSE English Coursework Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck The death of Curley's wife and Lennie are shocking events. How convincing and predictable do you find the last two sections of the novel? The last two sections of the novel are what the whole story is leading up to - the death of a fellow human being (Curley's wife) caused by Lennie and then finally, the death of Lennie himself. These two events are both tragic but the killing of Lennie most probably would have been impossible to avoid, and therefore the reader believes it to be realistic. Quite soon into reading the book you could take an educated guess that Lennie would die at the end of the story. Lennie is childlike in some ways in his personality, for example, at the start of the story when he is madly drinking from the pool like an animal. He is unknowingly powerful and has a very short memory. When Curley's wife comes into the story it is also rather predictable and inevitable that Lennie would either scare, harm or kill her, by accident. We know this because you find out early on in the story that that an incident similar to this had already happened. George and Lennie are running away from Weed because Lennie had frightened a girl by touching her dress. There are other clues that are preparing us for the event of Curley's
Examine the idea of games and rituals in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.
Examine the idea of games and rituals in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf is a play about the emptiness that comes with regarding a material lifestyle as a fulfilling one, and the cruelty associated with people who suffer from a lack of more spiritually rewarding pursuits. For example Martha and George's inability to have children, and her corresponding harsh comments to George on the subject of their son, "who could not tolerate the shabby failure his father had become". The games and rituals George and Martha are so obsessed with are in many ways an outlet for raw emotion they cannot vent in more meaningful ways, Martha simply a woman with too much time and George a 'bogged down' History lecturer. However, the games George and Martha play often serve to reinforce the love in their marriage - the ability to simply allow these comments to run off shows how comfortable they are with one another. These games mean clichéd demonstrations of cute affection are not required to show their love, which would in some ways romanticise the play, and cut through the true nature of their relationship. Albee's customised Genre attempts to contradict the popular notion of faultless marriages and living happily ever after. A quote from Albee himself said he was trying to break away from the Broadway productions of the period, which were simply, "A
Was Lloyd George a better leader during times of war thantimes of peace?
Was Lloyd George a better leader during times of war than times of peace? Lloyd George's record tells a story of a remarkably better leader in times of war than in peace, but you have to look beyond the facts to see the real story. Although he did win a war, and do nothing notable after that, he is a victim of circumstance as he wasn't really able to do much else due to the split in his party, and having to join the Conservatives in a coalition. David Lloyd George took over as Prime Minister of Britain after Asquith had shown he was unable to lead the country during times of war - or that was the feeling of the country at the time at least. This caused a bitter split in the Liberal party to which Lloyd George belonged to, with most party members staying loyal to Asquith, and some following Lloyd George. At the next general election after the war, the so called 'Coupon Election', the divided Liberal party were easily defeated by the Tories. However, Bonar-Law realised the public support for Lloyd George was sky-high as he had just won the war, and so asked Lloyd George to form a coalition with him. This is a good move for the Tories as it meant they had the public support on their side and were still able to run the country. This move was the only move that a man in Lloyd George's position could make. He had no party and the only way of staying in power was to form the
Chapter 7 As the dull evening sun started to fade the two men, Slim and George, started their way back along the dusty track, followed shortly by the slow footsteps of Curley and Carlson
Chapter 7 As the dull evening sun started to fade the two men, Slim and George, started their way back along the dusty track, followed shortly by the slow footsteps of Curley and Carlson. Slim broke the awkward silence between them both. "You o.k.?" Slim asked. "Yeah," replied George. "I didn't want to do that." "You did what you needed to." said Slim sympathetically. "Better that I did it, instead of them evil bastards. They only wanted to do it 'cause they were excited by violence," said George with watering eyes. "Lenny wasn't like that. He hated violence. He only did that thing to Curley 'cause I told him to, he didn't want to. He didn't deserve it." "It's o.k. now, its over." answered Slim. As they approached the bunk house, Candy came to meet them. Candy said, "What happened? They didn't get him first, did they?" "No, I found him first. He died painlessly," replied George. "Must've been difficult," reasoned Candy. "T'was," said George. "I nearly couldn't, but I had to, for him. Sorry - I don't want to talk anymore." "Yeah, o.k." said Candy. "Night," said George. George started to go in, and Slim left to go to the barn. "Wait George, we might still be able to set the thing up with the ranch, mightn't we?" called Candy. "We've got the money to do it." George turned slowly on his heel and thought for a moment, and then a gentle smile broadened across his
Examine the overall plot for 'Of mice and men'
George and Lennie are two migrant American labourers, who share a dream; that one day they may buy a farm, and Lennie will be able to take care of the rabbits. Although Lennie is physically very strong and has the body of a man, he has the mind of a child. The two men arrive on a ranch near the town of Soledad, where they are about to start work as barley buckers. On arriving there, they meet Candy, an old one-handed man who mops the floor, and Curley. Curley is the Boss' son, and immediately hates Lennie because of his impressive size. George realises that Curley will undoubtedly cause trouble for them. After the two men are hired by the Boss, they meet Slim, a jerkline skinner. He has a lot of authority and has earned much respect from the men. They also meet Carlson. Later that night, after dinner, Slim gives Lennie one of his puppies. Lennie is delighted by the gift, for he loves to pet things like rabbits, puppies and even mice, although he sometimes accidentally kills the creatures, not knowing his own strength. George confides in Slim, telling him about how Lennie has caused many problems before, like in Weed. A girl thought Lennie was trying to rape her, and they had to flee. Later that night, Candy overhears George and Lennie talking about their dream, and he asks if he could join them. He has quite a bit of money saved up, and they realise that if they combine
Of Mice and Men diary entry
Of Mice and Men diary entry 9th June 1931: I sat on a broken down tree log, thinking of the good years, the swing of Hollywood, the extravagant theatres with their gold furnishings and the warmth and happiness of every stranger who walked by on the street. As I sat on the broken tree I noticed the sound of trickling water "splish, splash, splish". It soothed my mind, but it brought me back into the reality of my miserable life. I had already walked 8 miles in the baking hot heat, but it felt more like 80 miles. As I got up and carried on walking the tree log seemed familiar, but not to a particular place or scenery, but more of my life, it had once stood tall and proud, it looked beautiful and majestic, until one sudden lightning bolt had hit it and had sent it crashing down to reality. I turned back round and carried on up the dusty long windy road, I could see nothing else expect the road and the harsh landscape of the desert. I heard a loud rumbling in the distance, it sounded like thunder, but there were no clouds in the sky, everything about the day was beautiful except my misery. The rumbling got louder, I couldn't fathom out where it was coming from but it sounded even louder now. Then I turned round and saw a coach drawing towards me. I signalled it, but it carried on towards me, until it was close enough for me to see the driver, he looked quite old, probably in
The Pearl - a brief review.
. The title of the book we read was The Pearl. 2. The Pearl was written by John Steinbeck. 3. John Steinbeck wrote The Pearl in 1947 4. Kino is one of the major characters in the story. He is a young Mexican man and fisherman with black hair, tan skin, and a mustache that is thin and coarse. His personality is satisfied with what he has until he finds a pearl that makes him greedy and selfish. His character is very dynamic. The main object in the story that motivates Kino is the pearl. It causes him to act differently than the way he usually acts. Juana is another main character in the story. She is kinos faithful wife. She has dark eyes and follows Kino in his decisions. Her personality is very mellow but she can see the evil of the pearl. Unlike Kino, who is blind to see the bad about the pearl, Juana can see and is always looking for ways to get rid of the pearl. Unfortunately Kino does not see things the way Juana does so when Juana tries to get rid of the pearl she gets hit. Coyotito is a main character. He is Kino and Juana's first-born son who is stung by the scorpion and started the whole madness of the pearl. He is a baby and is not much of an inconvenience. He obeys his parents very well, when he cries, Juana gives him food and he is quite. Over all Coyotito is a character who is quite except when he cries and obedient. 5. The doctor is a minor character
Was it right to shoot Candy’s dog?
Was It Right To Shoot Candy's Dog? It is in the second chapter that it is first brought up about Candy's dog being shot. It is Carson that initiates the argument. His first reason for killing Candy's dog was that it smelt saying "it stinks like hell" and "I can smell that dog a mile away." He then backed this up by saying "got no teeth, damn near blind, can't eat." Although Carlson says there are other things in favour of Candy's dog being killed you get the impression that his main reason was that the dog smelt and he wanted it out of the way. One of the ways this is given away is that there is repetition of Carlson complaining about the smell of the dog and the exaggeration of saying "I can smell him for two or three days." This was very selfish of him but did recognise that Candy would miss his dog so Carlson suggested to Slim that he "give him one of those pups to raise up" because Slims dog had just had some pups and he didn't want all of them. The conversation is dropped when they go to lunch and wasn't mentioned again until part of the way into chapter three. This is where there are arguments for and against killing the dog and the persuasion and peer pressure on Candy to let them kill his dog begins. It is again Carlson that begins the persuasion to kill the dog and again his first reason is that it smelt saying "God almighty that dog stinks." Candy doesn't think
Why did George shoot Lennie?
Why did George shoot Lennie? Was he right? I think George shot Lennie because he was in a way, protecting Lennie. I think this because George knew that Curley would kill Lennie anyway so maybe he felt that it was better that Lennie died happy, unaware of his fate. From the beginning of the story, it was inevitable that Lennie would do something that would get him in deep trouble. Also killing things appears to be an unfortunate habit of Lennie's, Lennie's puppy is one of the several symbols that represents the victory of strong over weak. Lennie kills the puppy accidentally as ha has killed many mice before, by virtue of his failure to recognize his own strength. Although no other character can match Lennie's physical strength, the huge powerful Lennie meets a similar fate to that of his puppy. Like an innocent animal, Lennie is unaware of the vicious predatory powers that surround him. The final scene between George and Lennie is suffused with sadness, even though Lennie retains his ignorance until the very end. To reassure Lennie, George forces himself through their habitual interaction one last time. He recites the story of their farm. For George, the final description of life with Lennie is a surrender of dreams. George realizes that all of his talk and plans have amounted to nothing. He convinced himself that he was not one among a legion of workers that can't and
The Pearl - a chapter review.
The Pearl: Chapter 1: The first chapter introduces the main characters: Kino the father, Juana Kino's wife, and Coyotito the son who is a baby. By clues from the story like," the roosters had been crowing for some time", and "outside the brush house", you can tell they are farmers and are poor. They also live near the ocean because they can hear the "splash of morning waves". The plot to this chapter is that Coyotito was in his hanging box when suddenly a scorpion stings him. Kino and Juana go to the doctor to get help, knowing that the doctor would probably not help them since they were poor, and that's just what the doctor did. Chapter 2: The second chapter takes place on the beach inside of Kino's canoe. Kino and Juana had to dive into the water to find a pearl to sell so they could pay for the doctor to help coyotito get healthier. When Kino dove he found a large, ancient, oyster, he picked it up and brought it to the canoe. They opened the shell and found a pearl as big as a sea-gulls egg. Chapter 3: The third chapter talks about how the whole town is talking about "the pearl of the world" which is the nickname for the pearl Kino found. With this pearl Kino has decided to do many things. He plans to get married, have his son go to school and learn to read. Somehow the news of this great pearl came around to the doctor because now the doctor wants to help out