Of Mice and Men

1. Of Mice and Men Mini Essay

2. Lesson Aims • To identify key words from the essay question • To learn how to use the essay question to plan your response.

3. Essay Question • Choose a novel or a short story or a piece of non-fiction in which there is a person towards whom you feel a strong emotion such as sympathy or hatred or admiration. • Say how you feel about the person, and explain why you feel this way.

4. Essay Question • Choose anovel ora short story ora piece of non-fiction in which there is a persontowards whom you feel a strong emotionsuch assympathyorhatred oradmiration. • explain why you feel this way.

5. Choose anovel ora short story ora piece of non-fiction in which there is a persontowards whom you feel a strong emotionsuch assympathyorhatred oradmiration. Explain why you feel this way. “Of Mice and Men” George We feel sympathy for him He has to look after Lennie who has learning difficulties. Kind to Lennie and cares for him Using the Essay Question The word sympathy in essay questions does not just mean you feel sorry for someone. It can also mean that you find them likeable or that you admire their actions or attitudes.

6. Critical Essay Structure • However!!! This is a mini essay so we will only have 2 key points!! • Even better – I’ve done the first point for you!!! Critical essays always have the same structure. (Essentially a beginning, a middle and an end). Introduction 3-5 Key points Conclusion

7. Key Points – For this essay our key points will be reasons we feel sympathy for George. • Firstly, the reader would feel sympathy for George because looking after Lennie is frustrating and it causes him problems. • Additionally, Steinbeck encourages the reader to feel sympathy for George because he is kind to Lennie despite the difficulties he causes and feels guilty when he upsets him.

8. Title Author Reference to Essay Question Task Overview Summary of Plot (Must be brief and mention theme) Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck Novel in which there is a character that I feel sympathy for. I feel sympathy for George because… Of Mice and Men is about… (no more than 3 lines) Introduction – Start with T.A.R.T.S

9. Exemplar Introduction • “Of Mice and Men” written by John Steinbeck is a novel in which there is a character that I feel great sympathy for. George Milton is an itinerant worker in California during the Great depression and I feel extremely sympathetic for him because he has to look after Lennie who is misunderstood because he has severe learning difficulties but despite the problems this causes him, he is kind and caring towards Lennie. “Of Mice and Men” is about two men who travel together looking for work and through George and Lennie (as well as the other characters that we meet in and about the ranch) Steinbeck explores the theme of Loneliness and the need to have a dream.

10. Learning Intentions • To learn how to structure a key point of a critical essay • To learn how to write topic sentences that refer to the essay question

11. Your essay will have three main sections. (Don’t worry this is only a mini essay and you are only required to write one point!!!) You will use the PEAR formula for each section. • POINT Topic sentence with an opener/linking word. It tells the examiner what your paragraph is going to be about. • EVIDENCE You must remember to explain the context (what is happening in the part of the story from which you have taken your quotation or your example) as well as write down your example or quotation. • ANALYSIS Explain how the quotation supports the point you are making (e.g what the quotation or example tells you about difficulties George faces or how George is feeling) and/or what it tells us about the theme of the text. • RESPONSE Explain how your evidence RESPONDS to the question. For example, why do you feel sympathy for George here.

12. Writing Topic Sentences (Points) • Topic Sentences are very important because: • They make it clear what your point is going to be about. • They help you to respond to the question in a relevant way. • They help you have a line of argument through your essay.

13. Writing Effective Topic Sentences (Points) • Start with a link word/opener. • Make it clear what point you are making. • Refer (include words from) the essay question.

14. Key Point 1 • Firstly, the reader would feel sympathy for George because looking after Lennie is frustrating and it causes him problems.

15. Exemplar Key Point Using P.E.A.R Firstly, the reader would feel sympathy for George because looking after Lennie is frustrating and it causes him problems. This can be seen early in the first section of the novella when Lennie and George are travelling to the farm that they are due to start work on and enter a clearing where Lennie starts to drink from a pond: “Lennie!” he said sharply. “Lennie, for God sakes don’t drink so much.” George started to warn Lennie about the water because Lennie had made himself sick from drinking water that was unclean before. The fact that Lennie doesn’t pay heed to George’s warning and goes ahead and drinks from the pond like an animal would explain to the reader that Lennie doesn’t always listen to George’s instructions. Also, Lennie has clearly not learned a lesson from his previous experience and this demonstrates his child-like nature and how George’s attempts to educate Lennie are ultimately futile. Later in the first section, the reader can also see why George would be frustrated by having to look after Lennie when he has to take a dead mouse from him: “ George’s hand remained outstretched imperiously. Slowly, like a terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball back to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again.” Lennie has no understanding of why he shouldn’t have the dead mouse; he doesn’t know that George takes it from him because it is unhygienic and could spread disease. Steinbeck illustrates how George has to constantly be like a parent to Lennie because Lennie is vulnerable and can not look after himself. I feel sympathy for George because it must be very frustrating to have to take full responsibility for Lennie, who is a grown man, and particularly because Lennie is incapable of following George’s instructions or learning from his experiences.

16. Exemplar Key Point Using P.E.A.R Firstly, the reader would feel sympathy for George because looking after Lennie is frustrating and it causes him problems. This can be seen early in the first section of the novella when Lennie and George are travelling to the farm that they are due to start work on and enter a clearing where Lennie starts to drink from a pond: “Lennie!” he said sharply. “Lennie, for God sakes don’t drink so much.” George started to warn Lennie about the water because Lennie had made himself sick from drinking water that was unclean before. The fact that Lennie doesn’t pay heed to George’s warning and goes ahead and drinks from the pond like an animal would explain to the reader that Lennie doesn’t always listen to George’s instructions. Also, Lennie has clearly not learned a lesson from his previous experience and this demonstrates his child-like nature and how George’s attempts to educate Lennie are ultimately futile. Later in the first section, the reader can also see why George would be frustrated by having to look after Lennie when he has to take a dead mouse from him: “George’s hand remained outstretched imperiously. Slowly, like a terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball back to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again.” Lennie has no understanding of why he shouldn’t have the dead mouse; he doesn’t know that George takes it from him because it is unhygienic and and could spread disease. Steinbeck illustrates how George has to constantly be like a parent to Lennie because Lennie is vulnerable and can not look after himself. I feel sympathy for George because it must be very frustrating to have to take full responsibility for Lennie, who is a grown man, and particularly because Lennie is incapable of following George’s instructions or learning from his experiences.

17. Key Point 2 – Your Turn • P Write a topic sentence with an opener which states that you feel sympathetic for George because, despite the difficulties, George is kind and cares for Lennie. He protects Lennie against other people. • E Give an example of a time when George shows that he cares about Lennie. Explain what is happening at the time, then give a quotation to prove your point. • A Explain how this example shows how George feels about Lennie. (For a more developed point, you could give another example and analyse this before moving on to your response as I have done in the exemplar) • R Explain why this makes you feel sympathetic towards George. (Again, try to give more than one reason.)