Setting The Scene - The Clearing by The River: Language, Structure and Form: Setting

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 1
Setting the scene – the clearing by the

river
Language, Structure and Form: Setting
To identify, explore and analyse the
techniques Steinbeck uses in the novella’s
opening paragraph in his description of the
setting – the clearing by the river.
Task The Salinas River today
 Read the following list of words and then read the extract from the novella’s
opening paragraph. Working in pairs, copy the adjectives into the extract.
strong green golden warm crisp

spread
yellow close sandy twinkling
pads
split-
lined evening night rocky
wedge
green mottled fresh great deep
recumbent deep narrow white damp
A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in ________ to the hillside bank and
runs ________ and ________. The water is ________ too, for it has slipped ________ over
the _______ sands before reaching the ________ pool. On one side of the river the
________ foothill slopes curve up to the ________ and ________ Gabilan mountains, but on
the valley side the water is ________ with trees – willows ________ and ________ with
every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding; and
sycamores with ________, ________, ________ limbs and branches that arch over the pool.
On the ________ bank under the trees the leaves lie ________ and so ________ that a lizard
makes a ________ skittering if he runs among them. Rabbits come out of the brush to sit on
the sand in the ________, and the ________ flats are covered with the ________ tracks of
‘coons, and with the ________ ________ of dogs from the ranches, and with the ________-
________ tracks of deer that come to drink in the dark.
Copyright © 2010 TES English www.tes.co.uk/ofmiceandmen

Setting the scene – the bunk Ranch life and migrant
house workers
 The bunk house is an important setting in the
novella; a number of important and dramatic
Language, Structure and Form: Setting events take place there.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
To identify, explore and analyse the techniques Steinbeck uses in his

description of the setting – the bunk house. Steinbeck’s description of the bunk house gives us
many clues about ranch life and the wider issues
Task affecting the lives of the migrant farm workers.

 Read the opening paragraph of chapter two. In it, George and
Lennie have arrived at the ranch and go to the bunk house.
 Using the details in the description, draw a plan of the layout in

the bunk house - a bird’s eye view, like a set design. Label your
drawing with relevant quotes from the text.
 Life for migrant farm workers was not easy. Some of the
often lonely existence on the road.
problems they faced were linked not just to the difficult work but also
moment together away from their rootless and
to ranch lifestyle.
carrying his ‘bindle’ and the other a guitar, find a
1930s Depression Era migrant farm workers, one
2
The bunk house

The description of the ‘decoration’ in the bunk house highlights the fact that the room is plain and
practical.
Furnishings, too, are provided for practical reasons only – there are no luxuries. Boxes are used
both as shelves and as chairs.
Storage is unsophisticated and limited – a reflection of the fact that the men travel lightly and have
very few personal possessions.
It is a basic building that meets the basic needs of the men. We get the sense that it is a dark and
gloomy room, built cheaply and quickly.
The bunk house is described as a very functional place with one main purpose. It is a place for the
men to sleep after long days working in the fields.
The emptiness of the bunk house reflects the emptiness of the men’s lives. There are not many
things that they can do to entertain themselves in the bunk house.
The men’s belongings relate to health and, for some, small items of clothing. This highlights the
sadness of the men’s’ plight as they seem, in spite of all of the hardships they suffer, desperate to
maintain some form of dignity and wellbeing in hygiene, health and dress.
 Cut out these comments about the bunk house. Find a quote from the text to go
with each. Glue the comment next to the quote you have identified.
The dream
 Reread the extract where George first describes the ’dream’ in Chapter one.
 In pairs, make a list of aspects of the dream that are in complete contrast to their
lives as migrant ranch workers.
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Grabbing the reader

Language, Structure and Form: Novel Openings

To explore the techniques Steinbeck uses in the novella’s opening pages and to
assess their effectiveness.
 Read the opening of the novella again and then read the following list of
techniques that Steinbeck uses to grab our attention as readers.
Techniques used by Steinbeck Evidence from the text
Includes description of real places
Describes an interesting, unusual

setting
Written in the present tense
Uses vivid, descriptive language
Describes interesting characters that

you want to find out more about
Describes the actions of the
characters
Describes the personality of the
characters
Uses dialogue to portray character
Portrays interesting character

relationships
Describes moments of drama and
tension
Gives clues about events that have
happened before the novel’s opening
Drops hints about what might happen
in the future
Work in pairs to:

 number and rank the techniques used by Steinbeck. Place what you consider
to be the most effective technique at the top, and the least effective at the
bottom; *
 explain and make a note of your decisions and reasons in the space below;
*(Hint: you might want to give some techniques equal weighting.)

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Dialect
In Of Mice and Men the characters use different a non-standard dialect.
Accent: the specific way words are pronounced according to geographical

region. For example, Geordie.
Dialect: the language variety of a geographical region or social

background. Different forms of grammar, lexis, phonology and semantics affect
dialect.
Standard English: This is a dialect which has acquired the status of

representing the English language. It is the ‘proper’ or ‘correct’ way to speak.
In Of Mice and Men the characters use a different, non-standard dialect. Steinbeck
writes in Standard English in his descriptions, but why does he use non-standard
dialects when the characters are speaking? What effect does it have?
 Make note of your thoughts below:
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 Read the dialogue on the first two pages (3-4). See if you can pick out the non-
standard features of dialect. Write both the non-standard feature and the standard
way to write it. The person with the most features wins! You have 6 minutes.
Common features of the non-standard American Vernacular dialect

 Elision - combining the main word with the preposition e.g. ‘going to’ is ‘gonna’
“Gonna be sick like you was last night.” and “we hadda walk”
 Multiple negation
“Now you listen and this time you got to remember so we don’t get in no trouble.”
 Using ‘ain’t’ instead of ‘isn’t’
“No, ‘course I ain’t. Why ya think I’m selling him out?”
 Deletion of consonants at the end of a word (e.g. ‘t’, ‘d’ and ‘g’)
“An’ you ain’t gonna do no bad things like you done in Weed, neither.”
 Non-standard use of the past tense verb ‘to be’
“Says we was here when we wasn’t.”
 Using the s-ending of singular third person (‘She goes to the store) and
extending it to all verb forms
“so I comes running…” and “Me an’ him goes ever’ place together…”
 Consonant cluster reductions (deletion of consonants)
“las’ Sat’day night” and “It’s on’y about four o’clock.”

 With a partner, analyse your assigned pieces of dialogue. Annotate your extract
for non-standard dialect features, and then make a note of your findings below. You
will be expected to feed back to the group.
Depending on your surname, analyse the examples that fall into your surname initial.
Work together with someone who is in the same category.
Surnames A-F  Quotes 1-2 Surnames G-L  Quotes 3-4

Surnames M-R  Quotes 5-6 Surnames S-Z  Quotes 7-8
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1. George, on the worker's dream:
"All kin's a vegetables in the garden, and if we want a little whisky we can sell a few eggs or
something, or some milk. We'd jus' live there. We'd belong there. There wouldn't be no more
runnin' round the country and gettin' fed by a Jap cook. No, sir, we'd have our own place
where we belonged and not sleep in no bunk house".
2. The Boss, on George and Lennie:
"Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what
your interest is"
1. George, on the worker's dream:
"All kinds of vegetables in the garden, and if we want a little whisky, we can sell a
few eggs or something or some milk. We'd just live there. We'd belong there. There
wouldn't be any more running around the country and getting fed by a Jap cook. No,
sir, we'd have our own place where we belonged and didn’t have to sleep in no
bunkhouse".
2. The Boss, on George and Lennie:
"Well, I have never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I would just
like to know what your interest is"
3. George, on loneliness and Lennie:
"I ain't got no people. I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain't no good.
They don't have no fun. After a long time they get mean. They get wantin' to fight all the
time... 'Course Lennie's a God damn nuisance most of the time, but you get used to goin'

around with a guy an' you can't get rid of him".
4. Crooks, on a black man's loneliness:
"S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy
'cause you was black. How'd you like that? S'pose you had to sit out here an' read books. Sure
you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain't no
good. A guy needs somebody to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't
make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too
lonely an' he gets sick"
5. Crooks, on George and Lennie's dream
"I seen hunderds of men come by on the road an' on the ranches, with their bindles on their
back an' that same damn thing in their heads. Hunderds of them. They come, an' they quit an'
go on; an' every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God
damn one of 'em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Everybody wants a little piece of lan'. I read
plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It's just in
their head. They're all the time talkin' about it, but it's jus' in their head"
6. Crooks, on human rights
“Maybe you guys better go. I ain't sure I want you in here no more. A colored man got to
have some rights even if he don't like 'em.”

7. Curley's wife, on men
"If I catch any one man, and he's alone, I get along fine with him. But just let two of the guys
get together an' you won't talk. Jus' nothing but mad. You're all scared of each other, that's
what. Ever' one of you's scared the rest is goin' to get something on you"
8. George, on the lost dream
"I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we'd never do her. He usta like to hear
about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would"
What is the American Dream?

 Read the following definition of the American Dream, from James Truslow
Adams’ book, The Epic of America, which was written in 1931. He was the one to
first use the term.
“The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer
and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It
is not a dream of motor cars and high wages, but a dream of social order in which each
man and each woman shall be able to achieve the fullest stature of which they are capable
of, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the circumstances of birth
or position."
 Now, define, in your own words, what you think the term, ‘American Dream’
means.
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 America has always been seen as a ‘land of opportunity’ where, with hard work,
any dream can be accomplished. Immigrants from all over the world came to
America in the 1800s and 1900s to start a new life and gain new freedoms and
opportunities; freedom and opportunity were once foreign and unattainable to many
of America’s newcomers. However, although many people did achieve their dreams,
there were even more people who struggled to survive.
 Considering the historical context of the novel, do you think the American Dream
is achievable? Why or why not? Write your ideas below.
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 Some people still oppose the idea of the American Dream in today’s society.
Look at political cartoon A. What do you think the message is about the
American Dream?
 Others think that the American Dream is still attainable. Barack Obama has
been considered to achieve the American Dream. Why would people say
this? How is the message alluded to in political cartoon B.
Political Cartoon A

Political Cartoon B

Steinbeck’s characterisation
Learning Objective:
To find out how Steinbeck lets us know which characters are the good, the bad, the
good looking and the ugly …
Curley
 Read from “At that moment a young

man came into the bunk house…” to the end
of chapter 2 (page 46-60). In this section,
we meet Curley and his wife for the first
time.
 First impressions count. On your own, take 2 minutes to write down 3 adjectives
to describe your first impressions of Curley.
1. _________________ 2. ____________________ 3. ___________________
Now, swap your adjectives with your partner.

 Take 3 minutes to discuss your opinions and justify your impressions.
 Write down any new adjectives you come up with as a team. Use a thesaurus to
develop your ideas and expand your vocabulary.
1. _______________________
2. _______________________
3. _______________________

 Feedback your ideas to the rest of the class.

 Annotate the image of Curley below with the character traits you have discussed.
 How did you know Curley had those characteristics? What literary devices were
used to convey this personality? Picture Steinbeck digging into his writer’s toolkit,
pulling out ways to build his different characters.
On the next page, some quotations from this chapter are listed.
 Cut out these quotations and then glue them under the relevant headings.
These are the techniques used by Steinbeck to create character. Glue the
quotations in the space under the most relevant heading.

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“Seen my old man?”, he asked.
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‘…a thin young man with a brown face, with brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair.’
‘He wore a work glove on his left hand, and, like the boss, he wore high-heeled boots.’
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“By Christ, he’s gotta talk when he’s spoke to. What the hell are you getting’ into it for?”
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“An you won’t let the big guy talk, is that it?”
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“That’s the boss’s son,” he said quietly. “Curley’s pretty handy. He done quite a bit in the
ring. He’s a lightweight, and he’s handy.”
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“Curley’s like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys… kind of like he’s mad at ‘em because
he ain’t a big guy.”
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“Don’t tell Curley I said none of this. He’d slough me. He just don’t give a damn. Won’t ever
get canned ‘cause his old man’s the boss.”
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“Well, that glove’s fulla Vaseline”… “Curley says he’s keepin’ that hand soft for his wife.”
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“Know what I think?”… “Well, I think Curley’s married… a tart.”
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“Look Lennie… I’m scared. You gonna have trouble with that Curley guy. I seen that kind
before…”
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The character’s dialogue - including sentence length, use of slang,

repetition, questioning and accent.
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Physical images
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Association: who or what do they associate with that might tell us

about the type of person they are?
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Their reactions: how do they relate to others?

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Other characters’ opinions: what do others say about them?

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Their actions: what they do.

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Women and femininity
Learning Objective:
To understand the portrayal of women in Of Mice and Men in terms of the social and
historical context
Look at the words and references used to describe Curley’s wife below:
Curley’s wife
‘bitch’ ‘a tramp’ ‘tart’
‘GOOD-LOOKIN’’ ‘jail bait’
‘got the eye’ ‘purty’
‘rattrap’
 Having considered these words, how might you describe the role of women and
the nature of femininity in Steinbeck’s novella?
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 Share your ideas with the rest of the class.
 Research the role of women in the 1930s. Find information on the following
topics and influential figures.

The Role of Women in the 1930s

family roles Gertrude Stein wages
MRS WALLIS SIMPSON taboos for women
Margaret Mitchell the work place
Jane Addams fashion
Pearl S. Buck careers Amelia Earhar
1. Once you have completed your research and formulated an opinion, you will
organise your ideas and practice your speaking and listening skills by
preparing a class presentation on your research. A minimum of 3 sources
and 6 note cards are required per person.
2. Think of a creative way to present your information. Examples: PowerPoint,
role-play, poster, movie, etc. It is important to also consider necessary props.
3. Practice your presentation and time yourself.
4. Deliver your 5-minute presentation to the class.
 The following websites may be useful. You may also wish to visit the library to
find information in encyclopedias, biographies, newspapers and so on.
- http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/
- http://frank.mtsu.edu/%7Ekmiddlet/history/women/wh-educ.html
- http://frank.mtsu.edu/~kmiddlet/history/women/wh-rite.html
- http://frank.mtsu.edu/~kmiddlet/history/women.html
- http://www.historynet.com/topics/womens-history
- http://search.eb.com/women/

 Answer the following questions
1. What women appear or are referred to in the novella?

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2. According to the male view on the ranch, what limited roles / functions does this
show a woman can provide?
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3. Why do you think Curley’s wife is never given a name?

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4. Do you think the attitudes of the men on the ranch still exist today?
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5. Think of a recent T.V. advert you have seen. What part does the woman play?
Could this be evidence of the limited idea of women’s function in today’s society?
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6. What is the male equivalent of the word slut?

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7. Does your choice of word convey the same insult in general society that the word
slut conveys?
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8. What do you think might be the result of this double standard in both our and
Curley’s wife’s society?
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Steinbeck’s characterisation
Learning Objective:
To find out how Steinbeck lets us know which characters are the good, the bad, the
good looking and the ugly…
Curley’s wife
 Read from “Seems to me like he’s worse lately…” to “You see if she ain’t a tart”
(pages 49-50). In this section, we hear about Curley’s wife for the first time, before
we actually meet her.
1. Whose opinion of Curley’s wife does Steinbeck give us first?
2. What impression does he give us? Draw these impressions around this
character’s eye view on the image below:
3. Now match each impression with a quotation from the text. The first one has
been done for you.
Flirtatious and
unfaithful.
‘Well - she got the eye’
p. 49.

Steinbeck never uses his narrative voice to tell us what to think. Just like in real life
we are given the other characters’ opinions, and images of how Curely’s wife looks
physically. We are shown how she treats others, what she actually says and how
she says it. We are then left to form our own opinions.
 Might taking the first character’s ideas about Curley’s wife be unfair? Why?
In pairs, think of any reasons there might be that this character might be prejudiced
against Curley’s wife.
 What might influence his opinions?

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 Now read from “A brake screeched outside. A call came, ‘Stable – Buck. Oh! Sta-able
buck” to “An I bet he’s eatin’ raw eggs and writin’ to the patent medicine houses” (page 50-
55). In this section, we meet Curley’s wife for the first time.
 Below and on the next page, there are some quotations relating to Curley’s wife.
Cut out these quotations and then glue them under the relevant headings. These
are the techniques used by Steinbeck to create character. Glue the quotations in the
space under the most relevant heading.
‘A girl was standing there, looking in. She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes,
heavily made up. Her fingernails were red.’
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‘Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages.’
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She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of
red ostrich feathers.’

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‘She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was
thrown forward.’
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‘She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was
thrown forward.’
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“If he ain’t, I guess I better look some place else,” she said playfully.
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‘She smiled archly and twitched her body. “Nobody can’t blame a person for lookin’”, she
said.’
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“I’m tryin’ to find Curley, Slim”.
“Well, you ain’t tryin’ very hard. I seen him goin’ into your house.”
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‘She was suddenly apprehensive. “Bye, boys” she called into the bunk house, and she
hurried away.’
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“Jesus, what a tramp,” he said. “So that’s what Curley picks for a wife.”
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“She’s purty,” said Lennie, defensively.
“I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her
be.”
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“Well, you keep away from her, ‘cause she’s a rattrap if I ever seen one.”

The character’s dialogue - including sentence length, use of slang,

repetition, questioning and accent.
___________________________________________________________________
Physical images
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Association: who or what do they associate with that might tell us

about the type of person they are?
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Their reactions: how do they relate to others?

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Other characters’ opinions: what do others say about them?

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Their actions: what they do.

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 Arrange these five ways we first get to know Curley’s wife in order of
importance to your own opinion of her:
Rank order Point
(1-5)
She is never given a name – she’s referred to only as ‘Curley’s wife’
Her dress and appearance – she is out of place on a working ranch.
Her image suggests that the way she is living is not the way she
would like to live
Her provocative body language
Her reaction when Slim tells her where Curley is. Why do you think
she is here in the men’s bunkhouse? Look carefully!
George’s feelings about her and his warnings to Lennie after she
leaves and after Curley has been looking for her.

Curley’s wife
As we read on, it is possible to feel sorry for Curley’s wife. After all, as the only woman on
the ranch she is lonely and sad. She is the only female character who appears in the
novella. As a woman, and because she is a woman, she cannot live the life she dreams of.
Indeed, she has precious little control over her own life.
Arrange the points below in the Venn diagram in order to decide whether you think that her
actions are a reaction to how she is treated, or if her character is just petty, cruel and self-
obsessed.
1. Her marriage to Curley is rotten. He seems to care little for her, and is really more
interested in talking about himself than taking an interest in her.
2. She laments her lost potential; she details twice that she could have been a
Hollywood movie star and tells us that her mother took the chance from her.
3. Her only chance to escape her mother was marriage to Curley. She is presented
almost as a desperate captive of the ranch.
4. She flirts deliberately with the ranch hands and causes them to suffer Curley’s anger.
5. She does little to hide these flirtations from her husband, as if she is doing it to make
him feel small/er
6. She barges in on Lennie, Crooks, and Candy, calling them the weaklings of the pack.
She makes herself feel bigger by cruelly cutting down Candy for his old age and
meekness, Lennie for being "a dum dum," and most harshly, she threatens Crooks
with a lynching.
7. While she scorns and mocks Lennie, Crooks and Candy, they are the only ones she
has to talk to.
8. She has convinced herself that her mother stole the letter from the actor inviting her
to Hollywood when this could have been a pretty standard pick-up line.
9. She thrives on attention and is desperate enough to want Lennie’s praise for her soft
hair.
10. She frightens Lennie by screaming when he is stroking her hair. She loses her life
just because she didn’t want him to ‘mess up’ her hair.

Reasons to feel unsympathetic towards her

Reasons to feel sympathetic towards Curley’s wife

Casting Curley and Curley’s wife
typecast v. To repeatedly cast (an actor) in the same type of role because
their appearance is appropriate or they are known for such roles.
Work in small groups on this task. You are casting directors who have been asked
to cast actors to play the parts of Curley and Curley’s wife in a forthcoming star-
studded film adaptation of Of Mice and Men.
You must have very good reasons for choosing your particular actors – this is a big
blockbuster opportunity, the production team are very discerning and there is a lot of
money riding on the success of the film! You will be presenting your choices to your
board of producers (otherwise known as the rest of the class).
1. Write a brief summary of the both characters’ looks, personality, qualities

and actions. Use the Internet Movie Database – www.imdb.com to research
your choice of modern day actors.
2. Make a visual aid to present to your producers. This could be a poster,

PowerPoint or Moviemaker presentation. Stick on or paste in the picture of
your choice of a modern day actors that you think would perform the role of
the characters beautifully and match it to your summary of the character you
cast them to play.
3. Be justified: don't simply match actors' pictures to character names - show
that you have a clear understanding of each character and the demands that
the role requires. You may want to list previous roles played by the actor, or
write a few of the traits you see in your chosen actor that fit his or her
assigned character.
4. Be prepared to present your casting list to your board of producers – the rest
of the class - when it is finished.

Setting The Scene - The Clearing by The River: Language, Structure and Form: Setting

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Setting The Scene - The Clearing by The River: Language, Structure and Form: Setting

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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 1

Setting the scene – the clearing by the

Task The Salinas River today

strong green golden warm crisp

Copyright © 2010 TES English www.tes.co.uk/ofmiceandmen

To identify, explore and analyse the techniques Steinbeck uses in his

Copyright © 2010 TES English www.tes.co.uk/ofmiceandmen

 Using the details in the description, draw a plan of the layout in

The bunk house

Grabbing the reader

Copyright © 2010 TES English www.tes.co.uk/ofmiceandmen

Language, Structure and Form: Novel Openings

Techniques used by Steinbeck Evidence from the text

Includes description of real places

Describes an interesting, unusual

Written in the present tense

Uses vivid, descriptive language

Describes interesting characters that

Uses dialogue to portray character

Portrays interesting character

Work in pairs to:

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*(Hint: you might want to give some techniques equal weighting.)

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Accent: the specific way words are pronounced according to geographical

Dialect: the language variety of a geographical region or social

Standard English: This is a dialect which has acquired the status of

 Make note of your thoughts below:

Common features of the non-standard American Vernacular dialect

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 Using ‘ain’t’ instead of ‘isn’t’

“No, ‘course I ain’t. Why ya think I’m selling him out?”

 Non-standard use of the past tense verb ‘to be’

“Says we was here when we wasn’t.”

 Consonant cluster reductions (deletion of consonants)

“las’ Sat’day night” and “It’s on’y about four o’clock.”

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Surnames A-F  Quotes 1-2 Surnames G-L  Quotes 3-4

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1. George, on the worker's dream:

where we belonged and not sleep in no bunk house".

2. The Boss, on George and Lennie:

your interest is"

1. George, on the worker's dream:

2. The Boss, on George and Lennie:

like to know what your interest is"

3. George, on loneliness and Lennie:

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around with a guy an' you can't get rid of him".

4. Crooks, on a black man's loneliness:

lonely an' he gets sick"

5. Crooks, on George and Lennie's dream

6. Crooks, on human rights

have some rights even if he don't like 'em.”

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7. Curley's wife, on men

8. George, on the lost dream

about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would"

What is the American Dream?

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Copyright © 2010 TES English www.tes.co.uk/ofmiceandmen

Copyright © 2010 TES English www.tes.co.uk/ofmiceandmen

Copyright © 2010 TES English www.tes.co.uk/ofmiceandmen

1. _ 2. 3. ___