Of Mice and Men Essay Prompts
Find the prompt that has been assigned to you. read the prompt carefully, and ask me for any clarification that you might need. Please cut and paste your prompt from this document to the top of your essay. your finished draft should be 2-4 pages, typed, double-spaced, 12 point font. due date: Friday, November 2, 2012
1. Of Mice and Men was written more than 75 years ago. Explain why this book continues to be a novel of interest and value today. Be sure to discuss important elements of the novel, especially the themes.
2. Analyze Steinbeck's portrayal of Curley's wife as the lone female on the all-male ranch. How is her character developed? How should the reader feel about her?
3. Paying attention to the long descriptive passages at the beginning of each section, discuss the ways in which the novel is similar to a theatrical play. Do these similarities strengthen or weaken the novel? How?
4. Discuss George's actions at the end of the novel. How can we justify what he does to Lennie? How can we condemn it?
5. Discuss Steinbeck's descriptions of the natural world. What role does nature play in the novel's symbolism? How do these images from nature create a structure for the novel?
6. Analyze the characters of Slim, Crooks, and Curley. What role does each character play?
7. How does Steinbeck create a sense of insecurity in the novel?
You should write about:
·Why some characters may feel insecure
·Uses of language
·The contribution of the settings
·Other features which create a sense of insecurity.
8. Of Mice and Men ends where it begins, with George and Lenny, alone by the pool.
What is your response to the ending of the novel?
Write about:
·Your feelings about George’s decision to shoot Lenny
· Ways in which Steinbeck prepares us for this ending
·Why the writer chooses to end the story in this way
·Whether the ending suggests that the friendship between George and Lenny was
pointless.
9. Hopes and dreams help people to survive, even if they can never become real.
How true is this for characters in Of Mice and Men?
10. Show how Steinbeck explores the complex relationship between George and Lennie.
You should write about:
·What keeps them together, and the difficulties they each have
·How the writer brings out differences between them
· How they are different from other people on the farm
·What you think Steinbeck’s purpose was in writing about this relationship.
11. Reread the description of Lennie’s fight with Curley.
What is the importance of this passage in Of Mice and Men?
Write about:
·The different aspects of Lennie shown in the passage
·What is revealed about the relationship between George and Lennie, and about Curley
· How this passage links with other parts of the novel
· The importance of the passage in the novel as a whole.
12. Many characters in Of Mice and Men are shown to be lonely.
Write about loneliness in the novel.
You should write about:
·Characters who are lonely
·How the author shows their loneliness
·The differences and similarities between lonely characters
· What you think the author is saying about loneliness
13. Find the passage in the novel where Lennie kills Curley’s wife, from the description of the barn to the point when Lennie leaves to go to the brush.
Write about:
·Why the writer begins this passage with the dead puppy
·Why Lennie and Curley’s wife behave in the way they do
·How the writer makes the death seem unavoidable
·Whether you were surprised when you first read about her death, and why.
14. Of Mice and Men shows us that people can be cruel, or kind, or sometimes a mixture of both.
Compare and contrast three characters.
Write about:
· The ways in which the different characters are cruel, or kind, or a mixture of both
· Why they behave as they do
·How you respond to them
·How Steinbeck writes about them to make you respond this way.
15. In your own words, describe what happens when Candy’s old dog is killed. Why do you think Steinbeck includes this scene with the killing of the old dog in the story? Discuss how the killing of the dog foreshadows what happens in the novel. What comparisons of relationship does this scene allow? Be sure to discuss the role of the various characters in the development of this scene.
16. Many critics consider this one of the greatest short works of fiction of all time. Why do you think they say this? Write about or discuss some of the important themes Steinbeck addresses in this short book: The importance of relationships, responsibility to others, the nature of home, respect for old age, the difference between right and wrong, and the evil of oppression and abuse. Discuss how he uses the story and characters to address the theme. What can we learn about the theme from Steinbeck’s book?
17. Steinbeck was going to name his story "Something That Happened." Instead, he named if Of Mice and Men. Why did he change his mind? To what does the title Of Mice and Men allude? Which title do you think is more appropriate to the novel as a whole? Explain your answer.
18. Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men in a play format, using a circular pattern of locales, condensed narration, minimal action descriptions, dramatic lighting, and foreshadowing to connect his plot. Discuss the structure of the novel, focusing on the details above. Explain, in detail, how the novella could be adapted easily into a play format.
19. What does Steinbeck seem to be saying about the role of fate in our lives? Explore the idea of fate as it relates to the following characters in the novel: George, Candy, Curley, and Curley’s wife.
20. What are the primary conflicts in Of Mice and Men? Discuss each of the following types of conflict: physical, moral, intellectual, and emotional.
21. Of Mice and Men is a novel that is often challenged and sometimes banned. Why is the novel so controversial? Do you think the book should be censored or banned? Elaborate.
22. How essential is the setting to the novel? Could the story have taken place anywhere else?
23. The novel has a very condensed time structure – with it beginning on Thursday evening and ending on Sunday afternoon. What is the impact of this structure on the novel as a whole? How does it affect us as readers.
24. George and Lennie are obviously committed to each other, yet they often criticize each other or threaten to leave. Examine the negative aspects of this relationship, and then consider why they stay together in spite of all of this. Contrast the language of each, their threats and complaints, with what they really feel. What is it that so strongly binds these two together?
25. Write a character profile of Lennie and George. In addition to describing their physical characteristics, focus on their personalities, their hopes, and their dreams. How is each character different, and how do they complement each other?
26. It seems very unusual for two people in this work, which presents the reader a real slice of life, to have established companions. Consider the pairs presented in this chapter: George and Lennie, Curley and his wife, Candy and his dog. Discuss the relationships involved in the various pairings. What is the basis for each relationship? What are the positive and negative aspects of each?
27. Loneliness causes many characters to be willing to make sacrifices in the novel that they might otherwise not have made had they not been lonely. Discuss this idea in terms of the following three characters: George, Candy, and Curley’s wife.
28. Several characters have suggested a need to have a companion or just a person who will listen. What evidence is given here that this is a strong desire of many of the characters? Consider, too, the effect that having a companion gives to Candy and Crooks as they confront Curley’s wife. What is Lennie’s role in all of this?
29. When George shoots Lennie, is this a sign of the strength of his love or the weakness of his love for Lennie? Has he finally followed through on the threat to abandon Lennie? Why does he shoot Lennie in the middle of their imagining the farm one last time?
30. Murder is a crime, in some states, punishable by death. By all definitions, George plans and carries out the murder of his best friend. However, in the novel, there seems to be no concern for taking a human life. Why do you think this is so? When, if anytime, do you think it would be justifiable to take a human life?
31. Of Mice and Men is often studied as an example of "foreshadowing" in literature. How does Steinbeck foreshadow the pivotal events of the book? What does this effect do for the tone of the book?
32. Consider Curley's wife. Steinbeck is sometimes accused of being sexist in his portrayal of this character. Is she a sympathetic or an unsympathetic character? Does his depiction of her change over the course of the novel? Would you characterize Steinbeck's portrayal of her as fair, or do you detect misogyny in his depiction?
33. Discuss "the rabbits," the dream of a farm that George and Lennie share and repeat aloud. How does this story of "how things will be" function in the novel? What does it reveal about George, Lennie, and their relationship? What other evidence from the novel supports this explanation of their relationship.
34. Consider the scene in Crooks' room. How does Steinbeck characterize Crooks and the others, and how does the conversation in the chapter play out in the context of the novel as a whole? What themes are developed in this scene. How does Steinbeck use foreshadowing and irony in this chapter?
35. In a novel with a sad ending, the reader often wants to place blame. Who, if anybody, is responsible for Lennie’s death at the end of the novel? Obviously, George is the one who pulled the trigger, but should we blame him?
36. Many of the characters in Of Mice and Men are loners or outcasts. Select at least three characters from the novel. Discuss how and why these characters are regarded as outcasts. What is the ultimate price that each pays for wearing this label.
37. Steinbeck develops a pattern of death through the course of the novel – describe this pattern in detail and explain the significance of the pattern in terms of the plot and thematic development.
38. How are the notions of power and shifts in power important to Of Mice and Men? Who has power and why? Are there different types of power? Explore these ideas in terms of at least three characters.
39. Once Candy announces he has the money for the ranch, the narrator declares, "This thing they had never really believed in was coming true." Is that a fair declaration? Did George and Lennie never really believe they'd get the ranch? Why does George tell the “dream story” to Lennie over and over?
40. Consider the scene in which Candy hears the “dream story” for the first time – what is the mood in the bunkhouse before, during, and after the story? How do these three times compare and contrast with one another? How do the shifts in mood impact the reader?
41. Find and discuss the several examples of symbolism from the novel. Write about how Steinbeck uses and develops each of these symbols over the course of the novel.
42. Aside from George and Lennie, the rest of the characters in the novel are somewhat flat “types” or caricatures of portions of American society. Use this idea to discuss the characters of Curley, Crooks, and Candy. Who/what does each of these characters represent? What themes does Steinbeck develop around these characters?
43. Discuss Lennie’s interaction with each of the following characters: Crooks, Curley’s Wife, and George. Compare and contrast each of these interactions, their impact on each of the characters involved, and the end result of the interaction.
44. What is the role of Curley's wife in the novel? How does Steinbeck develop her as a character – what are his methods of characterization for this character? What role does she play in the development of plot and themes of the story? In the end, how should we, as readers, feel about her?
45. How is the theme of loneliness developed in the novel? What characters are lonely? Why are they lonely? What is the impact of this loneliness?
46. What is the purpose of Candy’s dog? What do you learn about Candy, Carlson, and others from the old dog? How does Candy’s unwillingness to shoot the old dog relate to the ending of the story'?
47. What does the dream of owning their own piece of land mean to each of these four characters individually and collectively: George, Lennie, Candy, and Crooks. Why, after Lennie’s death, can the others not go on to fulfill the dream?
48. Isolation is an important idea in the novel. What does Steinbeck seem to be saying about isolation? Which characters best embody his ideas about isolation? How?
49. Discuss each of the following characters George, Slim, Curley, Carlson, and Curley’s wife in terms the contrast between mercy and cruelty. How would you categorize each person and why? Be sure to support your opinion with evidence from the novel.
50. How does the setting of Of Mice and Men influence the book's thematic development? In answering, consider the connection between the novel's setting and the characters' vocations. Also, how does Steinbeck signal the importance of setting in his choice of place names? (i.e. Soledad)