Of Mice and Men Response to Literature Essay

1. Of Mice and Men Response to Literature Essay How to Write an Introduction Paragraph How to Write Topic Sentences

2. Basic Outline of an Introduction Paragraph A. Attention-Getter B. Summary Statement C. Thesis Statement

3. Thesis Statement: What is it? • Your thesis is the answer to the writing prompt. • It should preview your three body paragraphs.

4. Thesis Statement:A Few Things to Remember • Keep it focused • A single sentence • It’s the last sentence of the introduction • A road map for you and your audience—everything in your essay should prove your thesis statement

5. Thesis Statement: Analyze the Prompt • Prompt #4 • Examine the dreams of different characters. What does an individual’s dream reveal about his/her VLAMIF? What does it reveal about life during the Great Depression?

6. Sample Thesis • Crooks, George, and Curley’s wife’s dreams are vastly different from their realities. • What’s missing from this thesis statement? Does it fully address the prompt?

7. Sample Thesis • Crooks, George, and Curley’s wife’s dreams are vastly different from their realities because • What do you think is going to come next???

8. Sample Thesis • Crooks, George, and Curley’s wife’s dreams are vastly different from their realities because of their desperation for companionship and a sense of belonging. • Are we done yet? What is still missing?

9. Sample Thesis • Crooks, George, and Curley’s wife’s dreams are vastly different from their realities because of their desperation for companionship and a sense of belonging as a result of the harsh conditions of the Great Depression. • How else can you write this? Change the order of ideas, but stay true to the message.

10. Topic Sentences • What are you trying to prove in your thesis statement? • Stark contrast between the dreams of each character and their current reality • What then do you have to discuss in each body paragraph? • BP #1: Crooks’ dream vs. reality • BP #2: George’s dream vs. reality • BP #3: Curley’s wife’s dream vs. reality

11. Topic Sentences • Write a sample topic sentence below for one of the body paragraphs. • BP #1: Crooks’ dream vs. reality • BP #2: George’s dream vs. reality • BP #3: Curley’s wife’s dream vs. reality

12. Begin with a passage from an outside source. Passage must be relevant to thesis. Explain how your passage connects to the novel/thesis. Ideally, your attention-getter should lead into your summary statement. Attention-Getter:

13. “Hope is necessary in every condition. The miseries of poverty, sickness, of captivity, would, without this comfort, be insupportable.” --Samuel Johnson “Extreme hopes are born of extreme misery.” --Bertrand Russell “The miserable have no other medicine/ But only hope.” --Shakespeare Sample Attention-GettersChoose one passage below and explain how and why it is true about the characters’ dreams in Of Mice and Men.

14. Sample Attention-Getter • “Hope is necessary in every condition. The miseries of poverty, sickness, of captivity, would, without this comfort, be insupportable.” Samuel Johnson’s convictions mirror the sentiments of the powerless characters dreaming of a better life in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.

15. Title Author Setting—what do you need to mention? Main Characters—who do you need to mention? Conflict Summary Statement