Saturday, 30 March 2013
George
The next character representing part of American society in
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is George. George represents the parental
figures in society as he has to take care of the childish Lennie and keep him
out of trouble as much as possible (unfortunately, this doesn't work out for
him). George has to put up with Lennie's antics without getting overly angry or
upsetting him in the same way that a parent has to keep their kids happy. It is
also George that has to complete the mercy killing of Lennie at the very end of
the book to ensure that he does not get lynched in the same way that a parent
has to look after their children and ensure they do not suffer any pain.
Lennie
The next character that represents a section of American
society in Of Mice and Men is Lennie. Lennie is the character that represents
the innocent children of the era, as well as the more liberal people that did
not accept the segregation against black people, such as Crooks in the story.
Firstly, the childishness. The first incident of Lennie being childish is when
he wants ketchup with his beans in the first chapter, fully knowing that the
likelihood of George actually having ketchup for their beans was virtually nil.
Even when he finds out that George does not have the requested ketchup, he
still persists about how he "likes ketchup with my beans" in the same
way that a child cannot take no for an answer. However, George does not get
particularly angry with Lennie's persistence in the same way that adults very
rarely get particularly angry with their children when they do something wrong,
hence the innocence that Lennie has. Secondly, Lennie can see past skin colour
and is mystified at the way Crooks is segregated against by the ranch's boss
and Crooks' co-workers in the same way that many younger people are open to
change, whereas the older members of society (represented by characters such as
Candy) are more fixed in their ways.
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Crooks
Right then, it's time for the first "proper" post to this blog. Armed with literally no blogging experience and a recently-found lost copy of Of Mice and Men, we can finally get things underway...
OK, so this first post is all about what the characters represent. The entire ranch is a cross-section of american society. If you want, it is like an orange. Each character represents a different segment of American society (or, in this case, a different segment of orange).
Let's start with Crooks. Crooks represents the minorities in America and is treated accordingly, suffering with segregation that was accepted in the USA at the time of writing. The name "Crooks" also shows how the minorities were treated with distrust by their fellow Americans, hence his name. Crooks lives in a separate outbuilding to the rest of the ranch workers, again highlighting how the minorities were segregated against, as they had to use different seats on the bus, different taxis and even different toilets in the Pentagon! However, Crooks is also suspicious of the other ranch workers, as he keeps "a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905" and also says to Lennie that "I know my rights" when Lennie inadvertently walks straight into Crooks' room. This shows that Crooks expects trouble from the other workers on the ranch and therefore keeps a reference of his rights to use in his defence should such trouble arise.
You can read a digital copy of Of Mice and Men by clicking here
OK, so this first post is all about what the characters represent. The entire ranch is a cross-section of american society. If you want, it is like an orange. Each character represents a different segment of American society (or, in this case, a different segment of orange).
Let's start with Crooks. Crooks represents the minorities in America and is treated accordingly, suffering with segregation that was accepted in the USA at the time of writing. The name "Crooks" also shows how the minorities were treated with distrust by their fellow Americans, hence his name. Crooks lives in a separate outbuilding to the rest of the ranch workers, again highlighting how the minorities were segregated against, as they had to use different seats on the bus, different taxis and even different toilets in the Pentagon! However, Crooks is also suspicious of the other ranch workers, as he keeps "a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905" and also says to Lennie that "I know my rights" when Lennie inadvertently walks straight into Crooks' room. This shows that Crooks expects trouble from the other workers on the ranch and therefore keeps a reference of his rights to use in his defence should such trouble arise.
You can read a digital copy of Of Mice and Men by clicking here
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Introduction
OK, so with my first post underway, I can tell you some things that you may want to know. Firstly, I have got absolutely no idea what is going on as I have never blogged (is that even a word?) before, never read a blog, never wanted to make a blog and never wanted to read one either. So I have no idea on what sorts of things people say in these blogs (so just imagine what was going through my head in the English Language exam in year 10, where 1/3 of the marks were for a blog of all things. Damn). Of course, that isn't the only problem that I face, oh no. Secondly, as mentioned before, my identity has been stolen by perhaps the ninth-least trustworthy site I have ever encountered's inevitable hackers and malware. Thirdly, I appear to have misplaced my copy of Of Mice and Men. Fourthly, I have no idea how often I am supposed to make these things. I also have absolutely no idea how long they should be. Or what sort of things should be in them. This could end badly...
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