Theme Analysis

Theme Analysis

In last week's blog response, I asked you to select a theme that "hit home" with you the most.  Now that you have set your sights on a theme you would most like work with some more, it is time to test your skills of analysis.  Scan through the last chapter (6) in Of Mice and Men and see if you can pull out a moment from the text that, upon close reading, says something about your selected theme.

For example, imagine that I am a student who was most interested in the theme of "The American Dream."  When scanning chapter 6 I came across this moment in the text:

 "A water snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting its periscope head from side to side; and it swam the length of the pool and came to the legs of a motionless heron that stood in the shallows.  A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically." 

Next, try to analyze how this moment is somehow connected to the theme you have chosen.  It mights sound something like:

One of the final images of setting that Steinbeck offers us in Of Mice and Men involves a snake being eaten unexpectedly by a taller, silent bird.  The snake "gliding smoothly up the pool" is similar to an American citizen in the 1930s attempting to work their way towards a goal of prosperity.  The snake moves its way around obstacles as it sees them, just like a hardworking citizen has to jump some hurdles in the pursuit of their dream.  However, the unfortunate truth of the matter is that "The American Dream" is beyond the grasp of most people because of unforeseen enemies to their progress.  The tall heron might be a symbol for the more powerful upper or dominant class of society silently waiting in the shadows.  The heron ultimately swallows the snake, and in the same light, many Americans dreams are snatched from American people in ways that they do not suspect.

"For two bits I’d shove out of here. If we can get jus’ a few dollars in the poke we’ll shove off and go up the American River and pan gold. We can make maybe a couple of dollars a day there, and we might hit a pocket." 

(Said by George)

In Of Mice and Men, dreams, hopes, and plans are the very foundation of what makes life worth living, but they are also double-sided. This sentence says that if the work hard enough to find gold, they will be rich. This says the closer one comes to making a dream happen, the closer one comes to potentially being fufillid. In this novel, dreams, hopes, and plans are not about realistic ambitions, but about finding a way to survive the Great Depression, even if it’s just filling your mind with dreams and hopes that may not come true. Dreams don’t escape the fact that seems to describe this time of American history.

Chapter 4 in Of Mice and Man, paints a very realistic portrait of racism in the 1930s.  Discuss at least two ways in which racism is explored in this chapter.  Include quotes and your own analysis of key moments in this chapter that clearly demonstrate the racism that existed in the American 1930s.  What do readers understand about racism as a result of reading this chapter?

Check out this article titled, "Racial Segregation in the American South: Jim Crow Laws"  to gain a better understanding of the timeline of racial segregation in America.  
Racism is explored in this chapter when Crooks is telling George and Lenny to get out of the barn when they are present inside. The other form of racism is when Curley wont let crooks talk to his wife. This is displayed in chapter 4. This is understood because it is from the 1930's and a time of segregation.

Investigating Themes in Of Mice and Men

Investigating Themes in Of Mice and Men

Choose one of the following questions that interests you most to respond to in this week’s blog post:

1.)  What different forms of power exist in Of Mice and Men?  What kind of power does Lennie have?  What kind of power does George have?  What kinds of power or powerlessness do other characters possess? 

2.)  What kind of relationship do George and Lennie have?  Is their relationship a friendship?  How does this relationship express Steinbeck’s position on the individual versus the community?

3.)  Is the American Dream a real possibility in the story?  If yes, what characters, symbols, events, or other details from the story confirm that the American Dream is within reach?  If not, what characters, symbols, events, or other details from the story represent the American Dream as out of reach? 


Check out the info History.com has to offer about the American 1930s!  Who had power in the 1930s?  Who did not?  What kinds of power existed then?  What important relationships were formed in the 1930s?  Was the American Dream still alive in the 1930s? 

     Well, for starters the power in Mice and Men is all over the book. It is filled with it. The power that Lennie has is none, because he is dumb and does not know how to function in society. Lennie also does not know how to handle his emotions  based on the way he acted when the mouse died. George, even though smaller then Lennie, is smarter, and has the last word in every argument. He is the leader of the pack, so to speak He has power over Lennie.

    George and Lennie have a non-well established relationship because of the way Lennie is treated by George and even though they bond in certain ways and manage to stay together, they dont share the same love a brother with a brother would have.

     The American dream is possible in the story, but extremely unlikely for anyone except stock brokers and textile manufacturing CEO's back in the 1930's. George and Lennie dont seem like the two brothers who would stereotypicaly strike it rich coming from  poor and malnourished neighborhood to caviar and tea for lunch everyday. If they were to, which is kind of like saying cacti grow in the ocean, they would be the next Beverly Hill's Hillbillys. They would have no idea what to do with the money and would be out of place in a rich and aristocratic society like that.

Picturing the History Behind Of Mice and Men

Picturing the History Behind Of Mice and Men

Think about this section from the beginning of the book:

     For a moment the place was lifeless, and then two men emerged from the path and came into the opening by the green pool.
     They had walked in single file down the path, and even in the open one stayed behind the other. Both were dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls slung over their shoulders. The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely.

     The first man stopped short in the clearing, and the follower nearly ran over him. He took off his hat and wiped the sweat-band with his forefinger and snapped the moisture off. His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself. (1.2-4)

Sound familiar? Kind of like the pictures, right? In writing, compare and contrast this opening section from Of Mice and Men to the pictures you analyzed in class. What does the text and the photographs show us about the 1930s?  Be specific!

        The description reminds me of the pictures we saw in class. The emotions on the peoples faces were sad, and very lifeless without any heart. The clothes are simpler to the ones worn in the book and described about the characters. They are also a sign of poverty, hard times and the struggle to raise a family in a normal and well funded house hold where the family does not have to worry about what they are going to eat for dinner tomorrow.

        The text and photographs show us that the times experienced during the great depression were tough, and many people were living in intolerable conditions  that would be hard to survive in today.