The essay question requires you to demonstrate your understanding of the text as a whole. You will choose one question out of a choice of two. You should spend forty minutes on your response. You should write at least two sides of A4.

In your essay response, you will be required to:

1. Respond to texts critically and imaginatively; select and evaluate relevant textual detail to illustrate and support interpretations;

2. Relate texts to their social, cultural and historical contexts; explain how texts have been influential and significant to self, and other readers in different contexts and at different times.

The essay questions are usually based on the following:

• How a character is presented.

• How a relationship is presented.

• A theme via a statement that you offer your opinion to.

Common themes include dreams, hope, loneliness, companionship, nature, isolation, innocence, freedom/ confinement, violence, prejudice, justice, weakness, women/ femininity and power. Please note that this list is not exhaustive.

How does Steinbeck use the character of Lennie to highlight aspects of 1930s America? [20]

Life for migrant workers in 1930s America was bleak and often very lonely. In the novel, Steinbeck presents, Lennie - a migrant worker – as a simple-minded yet violent man. Lennie’s friendship with George suggests that he is not as lonely as many of his contemporaries, though his animalistic nature portrays the harsh world of ranch hands. However, Steinbeck does give Lennie a dream for which to strive, as was the notion of the American Dream.

Firstly, Lennie could be thought of as lonely as he is a migrant worker. We know he travels around looking for work because at the start of the novel he is traveling to the new ranch from Weed. Often in the novel, because of his simple-mindedness, he is left out of the man’s activities. For example, he doesn’t go into town on the Saturday night and stays with Crooks. Additionally, he doesn’t join in with the game of horseshoes during chapter five, which ultimately leads to Curley’s wife’s death. Therefore, it could be argued that Lennie is lonely and Steinbeck is using him to highlight the lonely life of men forced to travel for work due to the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. However, because of his friendship with George, some people would say that Lennie is not lonely as he has a companion. It certainly doesn’t seem as though Lennie is sad in the novel. In fact, the only time he seems sad is when Crooks suggests that George won’t return. This idea prompts Lennie’s anger and shows the reader that he has the propensity for violence.

Lennie’s violent character is evident throughout the novel. For example, at the start of the novel, Lennie has killed a mouse by squeezing it. In itself this doesn’t seem too bad; however, Lennie goes on to kill a puppy and ultimately a person: Curley’s wife. Lennie could be called a killer. Yet, Lennie’s violent episodes are always accompanied with some kind of explanation that shows the reader that he isn’t intentionally violent. For example, he attacks Curley after Curley begins punching him, and only when George tells him too. When killing Curley’s wife, Lennie is frightened. Both of these examples link back to the notion of Lennie being simple-minded. Therefore, perhaps Steinbeck is trying to show that violence in the 1930s was a product of society or other outside factors, not entirely the perpetrator’s fault. It seems Steinbeck is blaming the harsh society on people behaving harshly.

Finally, Steinbeck gives Lennie a dream for the future and Lennie’s dream is very similar to the notion of the American Dream. For example, Lennie dreams of owning a little plot of land that can be used to grow vegetables and rear animals (rabbits in particular for Lennie!). This dream – humble and seemingly realistic – is the epitome of the American Dream. It’s a modest dream that means that migrant workers like Lennie and George are self-sufficient and see the product of their planting when they harvest their own crops. This was the dream of so many men during the 1930s. Because Lennie’s dream does not come true (or any of the other characters’ dreams), it appears that Steinbeck is showing his reader that the American Dream is futile. Moreover, the fact that Lennie dies while thinking about his dream suggests that Steinbeck has a very pessimistic attitude towards the American Dream. On the other hand, because all the characters have a dream in the novel, maybe Steinbeck is implying that dreams give characters hope in an otherwise desperate and cruel world.

In conclusion, Lennie is used by Steinbeck to highlight the lonely, desperate world of 1930s America. He helps show the reader the violent and despairing aspect of life for many migrant workers. Furthermore, Steinbeck uses Lennie to explore the idea of dreams – are they useless or useful?

WJEC bears no responsibility for the example answers to questions taken from its past question papers which are contained in this publication.

How does John Steinbeck use the character of Curley’s wife to highlight some aspects of American society in the 1930s? [20]

Curley’s wife, despite being the only woman on the ranch, gives the reader an insight into the attitudes towards women in 1930s America. Firstly, the fact that she is never given a name suggests to the reader that she is not worthy of an identity of her own and is defined in terms of her husband. The men treat her with contempt. Secondly, her dreams of being a movie star reflect the dreams of many young women in 1930s America. Finally, the way she treats Crooks reflects the prevalent racist attitudes of 1930s America.

Curley’s wife is viewed with contempt in the novel. For example, we are first introduced to her by Candy who calls her a ‘tart’. This makes his views clear and prejudices the reader against her before we even meet her. Throughout the novel she is called ‘jailbait’, ‘ratrap’, loo-loo’ and ‘bitch’ which are all derogatory monikers for women from the time. It is ironic that she is considered to be sexually provocative by the men, yet it’s acceptable for them to visit cathouses every weekend. This highlights the fact that in 1930s America, there was a dichotomy between the lives and expectations of men and women. Women were either housewives or sex objects and because Curley’s wife blends the two, she is condemned. The possessive apostrophe of her name further implies that she is not her own person, but a possession of Curley. This can reflect society because, as a housewife, she should serve her husband. In the novel Curley’s wife is never seen in the home, which suggests that she is not very domesticated thus rejecting the social expectations of women in the 1930s.

Curley’s wife’s dream is to be a movie star. This is shown when she confesses to the men in Crooks’ room and again to Lennie just before her death. During the 1930s, Hollywood was experiencing its ‘golden age’ and Curley’s wife would have shared her dream with thousands of young women yearning for glamour and escape from the difficulties of Depression-era America. She married Curley because she thought her mother had prevented her from pursuing her dream by stealing her letters and it could be argued that Steinbeck is suggesting that once women are married, they must leave their dreams behind. This dream also helps explain why she dressed so incongruously for ranch life: she is emulating her idols by wearing lots of make-up and inappropriate attire for a farm. Moreover, the colour red that she so often wears reflects her passion for her dream. On the other hand, red can symbolise danger, which is exactly what she poses to the men on the ranch.

Curley’s wife is at her most threatening in Crooks’ room. All the men apart from Crooks, Lennie and Candy have left the ranch. It is as if she spies an opportunity to be powerful because she doesn’t have the chance in her everyday life. She actually calls these men ‘weak ones’, which is ironic because as a women in 1930s America, she could also be classed as weak. Perhaps because she views herself as powerful in this situation, she ‘whips’ on Crooks when he dares to ask her to leave. The use of the verb ‘whips’ reminds the reader of the treatment suffered by black people during the slave era in America. Although slavery had been abolished many years previous, the Civil Rights Movement was a long way off and characters like Crooks would have been cautious of Curley’s wife because of her threat of lynching: ‘I could get you strung up in a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.’ This threat reflects the attitudes of some white people in 1930s America, and helps the reader understand how black people could have been living in fear.

In conclusion, Curley’s wife help Steinbeck show how women were expected to be housewives and leave their dreams behind once they married their husbands. She also help show that racist as well as sexist attitudes still prevailed at this time also. Overall, the treatment of ‘the other’ in 1930s America was not acceptable by today’s standards and Curley’s wife helps Steinbeck show this.

WJEC bears no responsibility for the example answers to questions taken from its past question papers which are contained in this publication.