Of Mice and Men - Chapter 6

Photo:


In the story Lennie gets a vision from this big rabbit telling him that he didn't deserve George's kindness.

Personal Response:
I think that the director chose not to put the scene with Lennie talking to the rabbit and his aunt Clara because it would make the movie just slightly less realistic. Also i think it would take a really long time. In this last chapter Lennie did a lot of bad things and he knew he did so he was really scared. The reason Steinbeck put the big rabbit yelling at Lennie was to make us really realize the graveness of the situation. In this chapter Lennie gets shot by George with Carlsons gun. This was when I realized why Candy's dog was shot. Candy's old, worn out, useless dog symbolized poor Lennie. Both of them got shot right in the back of the head, the reason being something they both couldn't control. The dog didn't mean to be old and smelly and Lennie didn't mean to kill Curley's wife. I felt really bad for George because he had to shoot someone he really cared about. I think that Sinise (the director) really rushed the ending scene, while in the book it took a really long time (there was a lot of hesitation being described). At the end it is also when we realize that Slim and George really are equals because Slim understands what happened between them while Carlson and Curley really don't understand.

Of Mice and Men - Chapter 5

Song Lyrics: It's Like Moving Mountains

It's like whatever I say
Ooh
I Just can't get through you
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, oh

Now, now she loved me, shawty I loved her
Used to jump up in the maybach and roll out
Used to care, she used to share
The love that she used to give me can't be found
I lost my way, she said she'd stay
And lately I've been sleeping with a ghost
My stock is down and out, I used to be worth my weight in gold
That was before the great depression kicked in and rocked us
And that was before the hurricane came in and stopped us
I told you to leave, but you lied to me
When you said that, baby no worries I promise to get us back

I know sorries, just wouldn't do it
Her heart is obliterated, I'm trying to travel through
But it's like moving mountains...
It's like moving mountains... hey
But I keep climbing and hoping things would change
And the sky turns grey, and the water from the rain washes progress away
It's like moving mountains...
It's like moving mountains...
Why just leave me, just leave me, be
Just leave me, just leave me, be
Why you just leave me, just leave me, Be
Why you just leave me, just leave me be ooh

She, she don't touch me, I don't touch her
We aint really even ever say a word.
I really want to give her everything she deserves
But, the bad took away the good
She thinks that I'm full of it, arguments, always pissed, man I'm tired
Every kiss, that I missed, girl you know I'm trying
You never believe me when I say, and I never believe it when you say
I love you, and I shouldn't complain about it
I should take it like a man and walk up out it
Cause we will never be the same ooh
I've been standing in gas, and you have been the flames

I know sorries, just wouldn't do it
Her heart is obliterated, I'm trying to get through
Gotta move this mountain, yeah
It's like moving mountains... hey
But I keep climbing and hoping things would change
And the sky turns grey, and the water from the rain washes progress away
It's like moving mountains...
It's like moving mountains...
Well baby why you just leave me,
Just leave me, be
Just leave me, just leave me, be
Why you just leave me, just leave me, be
Why you just leave me, just leave me be ooh

[Background singing]
This must be a slow death,
that i'm travelin' on.
It feels so wrong, i'm
barely holdin' on
See, no matter what it takes
i've gotta get it together.

And these hills that im travelin' up
She ain't showin' me love
I'm down on my love

I know sorries, just wouldn't do it
Her heart is obliterated, I'm trying travel through
But it's like moving mountains...
It's like moving mountains... hey
But I keep climbing and hoping things would change
And the sky turns grey, and the water from the rain washes progress away
It's like moving mountains...
It's like moving mountains...
Well baby why you just leave me,
Just leave me, be
Just leave me, just leave me, be
Why you just leave me, just leave me, be
Why you just leave me, just leave me be ooh
By: Usher

I chose this song because I felt like they related to the way a lot of characters felt in the book. They all are missing something something or someone in their life and it is so hard to find someone, just like it is hard to move mountains. Curley's wife is lonely because she cant talk to anyone because of Curley, and Candy, Crooks and Lennie are all shunned because they have some sort of disability.

Personal Response:
I think that there is no one to blame for the tragic events in the book. Lennie does all the bad things because he doesn't understand what he is doing wrong. Also he is very big, and strong and doesn't know how to control his own strength. In the movie the scene between Lennie and Curley's wife is played a little differently because in the book it isn't Curley's wife who says "oh that's nice", it is actually Lennie. I think the way she is killed by Lennie is pretty right. He shook her so hard that it snapped her neck. The thing that is different is that in the book Georges lies to Curley where he thinks Lennie would go, while in the movie he did no such thing. In this chapter we also realize how lonely Curley's wife is. It shows how much she is longing for someone to talk to.

Of Mice and Men - Chapter 4

In the book "Of Mice and Men" the author John Steinbeck really plays up the image of loneliness because of being different. In this picture we see a girl sitting on a dock by herself shows kind of how Crooks and Curley's wife had to feel.

Personal Response:
In this chapter Lennie gets a talk from Crooks about how lonely he is because he has a different color of skin. Lennie of course doesn't understand what he is talking about so Crooks decided to scare him by saying that George is not coming back. Lennie gets scared and starts threatening Crooks, he gets scared and says that he was just supposing. This kind of proves how lonely he is. Steinbeck really shows how racist people are. Crooks had to even sleep in a different room (actually the stables) from the other ranchers. In the book Steinbeck really talks about racism while in the movie version the director chose to down play the scene where Crooks talks about racism. Instead there were a lot of scenes where Curley's wife tries to talk to the workers because Curley doesn't give her enough attention. I think they up played the scenes with Curley’s wife because that’s what audiences enjoy watching, while if the whole movie was about racism people would shy away from it. Not many people want to be talked about racism because it is a hard subject to talk about. I think that both in the book and the movie loneliness because of being different is still the major theme.

Of Mice and Men - Chapter 3

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Crooks:















Crooks is the stable buck who everybody picks on because of his skin color. He is very lonely and puts up a protective/mean shell so he can't get hurt by the derogatory terms some of the other men call him. Oddly enough he becomes fond of Lennie and finds out about their dream of getting their own place.

Whit:



















I imagined Whit kind of young. He was just an ordinary worker who had no dream. He worked just to get his pay at the end of the month and then spend it on women and alcohol.

Curley's Wife:











In this book everyone was very tense around Curley's wife. They were all scared that they would loose their job if Curley caught them looking at her. The characters in the book say that she is a rat trap, a jail bait... She is kind of on the same level as Crooks in the book because the workers wont talk to them. She is very lonely and that's why she goes looking for attention.

Personal Response:
When Carlson influenced Candy to kill his dog I felt really bad for the dog and Candy. Candy really changed after the shooting of his dog, he seemed lost and uncertain. In the third chapter was when the action started. We also got introduced to a couple of new characters : Whit and Crooks. Whit was just the stereotypical rancher and Crooks was the guy who everyone looked down upon because of his different color of skin. In this chapter we also got to see who was higher raked than whom. For example Slim is the respected one because once when he went to leave Carlson let him go first and then he followedhe left. Also everyone listens to what Slim has to say. Oddly enough I get the sence that even Curley is scared of Slim. There was this one time where Curley goes to ask if Slim had seen his wife and Slim gets really mad and Curley apologizes a lot. Then because Curley knows he cant fight Slim he starts a fight with Lennie, where he gets totally beat up. Steinbeck really likes to put a lot of description when he writes. There was a lot of light images whenever there was a change of setting. It made me see exactly what he was trying to show. There was some sound imagery too which made me feel as if I was in the story.

Of Mice and Men - Chapter 2

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Boss:












The Boss was a fat, well dressed man. He was in charge of the ranch. To prove that even more he wore spurs just to show that he wasn't a working man.We didn't see him a lot in the story, I think only once. But he seemed like a kind man. Also his son was Curley.

Candy:



















Candy was an old worn out rancher whose only job was to sweep. He had one of his hands cut of in a machine. The only thing he cared about was his dog. When it gets shot he becomes depressed and doesn't know what to do with himself.

Candy's dog:













Candy's dog is an old worn out sheep dog that gets shot pretty early in the book. It gets shot because the men in the cabin are saying that he is smelly, worthless, and say that it is just bad to make him keep living.

Curely:



















Curley was a mean guy. He was the bosses son and acted like the world should do everything he tells it to. Also he used to be a boxer. Curley had something against big guys that was why he didn't like Lennie at all. Curley also wears high helled boots to distinguish him from the field hands.

Carlson:



















He complained about Candy's smelly dog and asks for permission to shoot him. In the end he wins and shoots it. I noticed that he always went to Slim for some advice, it seemed like he really looked up to him.


Slim:



















Slim was a tall, jerk line skinner with long black hair. Whenever he walked into a room he did it gracefully even for his size. Whenever he talked everyone listened, and not only did they listen they believed what he was saying. In the end he and George are really close friends, equals.

Personal Response:
This chapter really had me interested because there were a lot of new characters being introduced. There was some dialogue that really showed the way the people talked. The dialect was really interesting, it's something I am not used to. The moment Steinbeck introduced Curley I didn't like him. He had no right to be so mean to Lennie. There also was a lot of tension between George and Curely's wife, he was so mean to her but I understand it was because he didn't want to get into trouble with Curley. I didn't figure out the theme yet but I have a feeling that Lennie will do something wrong as he ussually does.

Of Mice and Men - Chapter 1

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Steinbeck:

When I first read the book Of Mice and Men I really liked it. John Steinbeck was a really good author, he really liked to describe things.

George:
















This is one of my favorite actors, Dean Martin. When I read Of Mice and Men for the first time this is how I thought George looked like. George was a small man, with a pointy noes. Throughout his time with Lennie he keeps on talking much better his life would be with out him. Even though we still see that he is motivated to protect him.
Lennie:












The way Steinbeck described Lennie in the book I pictured this really big man. I always felt bad for Lennie because he was kind of disabled. Lennie was a big guy with a mind of a young child, because of this he relied on George completely.

Setting:















The setting was in the country on the outskirts of Soledad. I imagined there being a feild, and also the murky water with the trees was kind of where Lennie had to go if he did something wrong.

Personal Reflection:
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is one of my favorite books. I usually don't like books that have too much description and no action at the beginning. This time I was wowed by his wording and descriptions of characters. I enjoyed the way I could see all the pretty pictures in my head. At the beginning he described the place the characters were in explicit detail.There was also a sort of mystery with a few of the characters like Slim and Curley. We read people talking about them and learn somethings about them but we don't get to meet them. Also the characters were very human-like and believable. The way Gary Sinise interpreted the book is also really good. There were a lot of the same things, but also there were a few things that were totally different. He also put the right actors in for the characters.