Of Mice and Men Descriptive Essay

Step 1: Choose a character from Of Mice and Men Step 2: Find evidence to help explain why this character was included in Of Mice and Men Step 3: Write a thesis Step 4: Create an outline Step 5: Write my 5 paragraph essay

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Step 1: Choose a character from Of Mice and Men

The character I’ve chosen to write about is ______.

He/She was included in the novel to show/represent ______

______. Step 2: Find evidence to help me explain why this character is in Of Mice and Men

Page Evidence Quote Step 3: Write a Thesis A thesis is a statement that states exactly what and how you’re going to prove in your essay

+ + = Thesis

Specific Precise Blueprint Topic Opinion     Why the character 3 examples from the A character from was included in novel that support your THESIS! the novel we’ve read + + = the novel opinion

EXAMPLE #1 In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the character Lennie is important because he represents how dangerous it can be to treat people as outcasts, which is evident through his physical movements, response to Curley beating him up, and Curley’s wife yelling at him.

EXAMPLE #2 Through his physical movements, response to Curley beating him up, and Curley’s wife yelling at him, the character Lennie, in John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men represents how dangerous it can be to treat people as outcasts

Write your own thesis:

______Step 4: Write an Outline Don’t be overwhelmed—you may not realize it, however, you’ve already done most of the work necessary to create this outline.

I. Paragraph #1: Introduction--An introduction should tell your reader what they will be reading about. a. Start with a general statement called the HOOK. This is the first sentence and should catch your reader’s attention b. The next 2-3 sentences need to introduce the novel and the character you’ve chosen. c. The last sentence in this paragraph is your THESIS.

II. Paragraph #2: Body paragraph-- This paragraph will be entirely about evidence #1. a. Start with a topic sentence about the evidence. b. Explain briefly what is happening in this part of the book. c. Support your explanation with evidence in the form of a quotation. i. Introduce the quote ii. Insert the quote (using the correct format!) d. Explain how this quote supports your opinion.

III. Paragraph #3: Body paragraph-- This paragraph will be entirely about evidence #2. a. Start with a topic sentence about the evidence. b. Explain briefly what is happening in this part of the book. c. Support your explanation with evidence in the form of a quotation. i. Introduce the quote ii. Insert the quote (using the correct format!) d. Explain how this quote supports your opinion.

IV. Paragraph #4: Body paragraph-- This paragraph will be entirely about evidence #3. a. Start with a topic sentence about the evidence. b. Explain briefly what is happening in this part of the book. c. Support your explanation with evidence in the form of a quotation. i. Introduce the quote ii. Insert the quote (using the correct format!) d. Explain how this quote supports your opinion.

V. Paragraph #5: Conclusion—this paragraph reminds the reader of the thesis and that you’ve proved it! It also can connect to the reader or a group of people in general. a. DO NOT SAY “IN CONCLUSION.” Do restate your thesis in a new and interesting way—1-2 sentences b. Explain the importance of the theme you’ve proven to exist. c. Connect this character and the book to the reader, the class, teenagers, or the world! Sam Jones

Ms. Miller

English I, P. 2

09-29-07

John Steinbeck is famous for writing about the way things really were. He never sugar coated anything; neither did he write about romantic fantasies. Instead, he wrote about the real problems that real Americans had. One great example of this type of realism is Of Mice and Men. He used the characters in the novel to show how people were suffering through life due to unequal distribution of wealth and rights throughout America. One of the characters in the novel, Lennie, suffered because his caretaker, George, could not afford to keep him safely at home, but had to take him from job to job as a migrant worker. In fact, it wasn’t only hard for

Lennie, but dangerous for the people he was around. Through his physical movements, response to Curley beating him up, and Curley’s wife yelling at him, the character Lennie, in

John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men represents how dangerous it can be to treat people as outcasts.

As the novel begins, Steinbeck introduces the main characters, George and

Lennie. While George is small and quick, Lennie is huge and animalistic. Steinbeck describes

Lennie’s hands as being paws. When Lennie takes a drink from a pond, he “flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool…snorting into the water like a horse” (2).

Steinbeck includes this detail to show the reader that Lennie is not a normal man. He different, and in fact, he’s a bit like an animal. In this way, Steinbeck separates Lennie from other people at the very beginning. By making Lennie different, Steinbeck sets him up to play an important role as an outcast in the novel.

In chapter 3, Curley and Lennie get into a terrible fist fight. Curley storms into the bunk house, and as usual is looking for his wife. Lennie, who was thinking about his puppy, laughs quietly. Unfortunately, Curley thought Lennie was laughing at him. Curley begins to viciously attack Lennie. Because Lennie is mentally inferior, he doesn’t realize that he can fight back, even though he’s much stronger. It takes George yelling at him saying, “Get him

Lennie. Don’t let him do it.” to make him fight back (60). This is how Lennie completely destroys Curley’s hand, thus crushing all the bones. Steinbeck uses Lennie’s ignorance of his strength to show that just because Lennie is different, doesn’t’ mean he isn’t powerful; in fact, he is more powerful than Curley, who is viewed as “normal.”

Lennie’s final act of strength occurs in Chapter 5. Lennie kills Curley’s wife.

Because she is lonely, Curley’s wife lets Lennie sit with her and chat. She wants company more than anything. She knows that Lennie loves soft things and she suggests he touch her hair, which is silky smooth. Lennie does, and is pleased. When he becomes excited, she gets upset and begins to yell. Lennie panics and says, “I don’t want you to yell. You gonna get me in trouble jus’ like George says you will.” (86-7). While trying to quiet her down, he accidentally breaks her neck. Steinbeck uses Lennie to show the reader that, when pushed, a marginalized person can become dangerous. Lennie’s mistake is an example of how any person who is treated unfairly could react.

Using Lennie, Steinbeck is pointing out that when people are shoved aside by those with more power, anger can occur. Furthermore, that angry people can be dangerous.

Through Lennie’s physical movements and his interactions with Curly and Curley’s wife,

Lennie represents the outcast in society. Steinbeck’s work reinforces the ideal that all men are equal, and should be treated as such.