Mice and Men John Steinbeck

Mice and Men John Steinbeck

Mice and Men – John Steinbeck

Complete the following activities in full detail in order to complete your understanding of the text. Do not take short cuts. If you do then you will be required to re-submit. Complete the activities in an ongoing manner while reading the novel. Alternatively, finish reading the novel then begin the following tasks.

1. Characters Task

Fill in the table for the following characters. You may use the space provided or create more room in your work book. If you want to write more per character then make more space in your work book.

Character / Physical description, age, personality / What do they do or what is their relationship to others?
Lennie Small
George Milton
Candy
Curley
Curley’s wife
Slim
Carlson
Crooks

2. Vocabulary Task

The following fifteen words include the slang of the time. They are defined for you. Another list of 25 follows. In your work book define each of these on your own.

  1. bindle: a bed roll and/or pack of personal belongings.
  2. jack: money
  3. graybacks: lice
  4. tick: mattress
  5. buck: a man
  6. buckler: those who move or load heavy objects (sacks of grain, for example)
  7. skinner: a driver of a draft (team of animals)
  8. tart: prostitute
  9. mules: shoes or slippers
  10. found: free food and lodgings in addition to wages
  11. hoosegow: jail
  12. hame: part of the collar for a draft animal
  13. booby hatch: insane asylum
  14. floozy: cheap, immoral woman
  15. snooker: a variation of pool played with 15 red balls and 6 balls of assorted colors

derogatory / indignation / dutifully / morosely / pugnacious
wry(ly) / disarming / contorted / mottle(d) / scourge(s)
profound / contemptuous(ly) / belligerent(ly) / brusque(ly) / crestfallen
brindled / earnest(ly) / writhe(d) / imperious(ly) / ominous(ly)
scuttled / scornfully / console(d) / scudded / mollified

3. ChronlogTask

Copy each incomplete sentence into your work book and then fill in the blanks to complete the plot summary. The incomplete sentences are in chronological order.

  1. George and Lennie leave Weed because…
  1. Lennie likes to pet…
  1. They are going to work…
  1. George and Lennie want to buy…
  1. On the farm, Lennie will tend…
  1. George and Lennie clash with…
  1. Curley jealously guards…
  1. Slim gives Lennie…
  1. Carlson shoots…
  1. Candy offers to help pay for…
  1. Lennie crushes…
  1. Curley's wife threatens…
  1. Curley's wife discovers…
  1. Curley's wife invites Lennie to…
  1. Lennie breaks…
  1. Lennie hides…
  1. Lennie is tormented by...
  1. George steals Carlson's…
  1. For the last time, George tells Lennie about…
  1. George kills…

4. Extended responses to the novel task

Copy each of the following prompts into your work book being sure to leave sufficient space under each, then write a full paragraph (100-150 words) on only 2 of the topics. Be sure to make reference to the novel in support of your ideas. This must also include quotations from the novel.

  1. Why do we have friends? What makes a friend?
  1. How important is it for human beings to have a place where they belong, where there are people who know them and love them?
  1. Why do dreams sometimes fail?
  1. Define euthanasia. Then defend or condemn the practice. Justify your belief.
  1. Who is your favorite character in this book? Give your reasons for choosing him or her.