Themes Surrounding The Title Of "Of Mice And Men"

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Of Mice And Men Title:In this presentation I will talk about the title “Of Mice And Men”, and the significance of various themes incorporated into the story in relation to how they associate to the title, such as the subject of Lennie’s treatment of the mouse in the beginning, and how the animalistic deaths that transpire throughout the novel could be seen as an admonition to later events, in which Lennie is killed by George and conclude by answering if the title is effective in indicating the themes that are prominent in the novel. The title of the novel “Of Mice and Men” is an intertextual reference as it is a quotation from a poem written by Robert Burns, in which he speaks of a homeless mouse which is in fear following the destruction of its house.  A quotation from the poem, “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley” means that everything, no matter how well deliberated or considered, is questionable to failure. Steinbeck took the title of the novel from this quote, as the two pieces of
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text are easily comparable in their matters, as in the novel, Lennie and George’s plan to find a little place, how they wanted their dream, and yet it never materialized. On Page 7, George makes the discovery that Lennie is carrying a dead mouse in his pocket. Lennie wanted to keep the mouse because he loves to pet small, soft things. Sadly, such is his brute strength, this often tends to kill them. George found that Lennie had the mouse in his pocket and demanded to know what it was. Lennie acted reluctantly as he wanted to keep it anyway ...

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The Quality of Written Communication here is very good. The candidate makes a good use of their English skills to from an interesting and insightful answer with good, clear vocabulary shown. There is no cause for concern with regards to grammar, spelling or punctuation either.

The Level of Analysis shown here is entirely indicative of an A grade, possibly A* grade answer. There is a sensitive handling of the themes and symbols from Steinbeck's novel. There is also evidence of contextual appreciation (with regard to the title - an excellent way of boosting marks as it shows the candidate has incentive to conduct their own external research).All of it marries together well to form a brilliant analysis which shows confidence and initiative, linking the question topic with the representation of animals and foreshadowed and actual death in the novel.

This is an excellent essay. It is confidently written and retains a consistent focus on the question proposed at all times. The candidate begins with a very precise and very clear introduction, which points out the intentions of the essay and the means by which the candidate wishes to go about satisfying the question. They then progress to make very clear page references during their analysis, incorporating more the one explanation for some symbols, motifs and themes (this is an excellent way to score extra marks - saying a lot about a littler; examiners love that the ambiguity of symbols can be appreciated as there is no one right answer for a lot of things).