Of Mice and Men

Essential Questions:

1. What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically, socially, or psychologically) of patriarchy?
2. How is the relationship between men and women portrayed? What literary and narrative techniques are instrumental in developing the aforementioned portrayal?
3. How does text develop and treat cultural privilege, marginality, and intersectionality? How does the works treatment of privilege, marginality, and intersectionality inform the text’s themes?

Electronic Version of the Novella

Assignment Handouts:

Pre-reading mini-project

Dream a Little Dream (this is your ongoing assignment and final project; character index and examination breakdown; ongoing homework rubric; )

Varying Perspectives of America: Task Description; checklist on elements of literary style; Venn Diagram Template; Assignment Rubric;"I Hear America Singing"; "I, Too"; "On the Pulse of Morning")

Symbols, Characters, and Point

A varied point of view (retell a scene from a different character’s point of view)

Final Discussion Questions

Supplemental Reading:

"I'm Not a Tart" (what does the article imply about the nature of misogyny and its impact on women's opportunities, relationships, and identity?)

Letter to Miss Luce (small group exercise)

"Friendship in the Age of Economics" (what is the article's main argument? What type of rhetoric and evidence does it use to develop its argument? How does the article's main argument compare to the novella's argument about friendship or relationships? How do the novella's types of evidence and techniques compare to the article's evidence and techniques? Which piece is more resonate? Why?)

Commonlit.org Materials

Website: https://www.commonlit.org/user/login

1. Excerpt from the Harvest Gypsies

1. we will read and discuss the article as a class. When we finish, you will search online for support to the post-reading questions.
2. Read the article and complete the guide questions along with the assessment
3. Post-reading question: How would you characterize Steinbeck’s style?
4. Post-reading question: In Steinbeck’s article, he describes the experiences of migrant workers in the early twentieth century. How has migrant work changed in America over the decades? How do you think the experiences of migrant workers today compare to John Steinbeck’s depiction in the text? Cite examples from the text, your own experience, and other literature, art, or history in your answer.
5. Post-reading question: According to Steinbeck’s article, how are some workers treated in the United States? How should we define what it means to be treated fairly at work?

2. "To a Mouse" (commonlit)

1. How does Lennie resemble an unprotected mouse in winter?

2. How does George's tone compare to the narrator's tone?

3. What is the thematic connection between the novella and the poem?

3. “The Myth of Daedalus and Icarus”

1. What events serve as foreshadowing in the myth?
2. What events serve as foreshadowing in the novella? What may they foretell?

4. “The Newly Married Lady”

1. What are the motivations for and consequences of wives stifling their desires and acting obediently?
2. Can the advice to the newly married lady also be applied, at the times of the novella, to people of color, such as Crooks?
3. What are the causes and consequences of Crooks and Curley’s wife’s loneliness?

5. “Men and Women Use Different Scales to Weigh Moral Dilemmas”

1. According to Rutsch’s article, some people rely on weigh in possible outcomes or consequences to make a decision while others focus heavily on ideas of what is right and wrong. Some evaluate context on their choice, while others believe a decision is not situational. Analyze the findings of the study and then, focusing on the costs and benefits of moral decisions as indicated in the article, debate the morality of George’s decision.

Final Project

Final synthesis project and rubric

Resources for Creating Effective Audio-Visual Elements to your Final Project: