To a mouse vs. of mice and men

To a mouse was a poem about how anything that one works hard at can be destroyed, whether it is a mouse's home or a country's economy.  I think in Of mice and men, several things were worked hard on and got destroyed, which is why Steinbeck named his book of mice and men.  I think one of the things George worked hard on was Lennie, who eventually died.  George took care of Lennie, made sure he had food and work and made sure he was safe.  George had done that for so long and worked so hard but when he shot Lennie, all his hard work was kind of for nothing.  I think the title suggests how mice and men are similar in a few ways and maybe in the 1930's, that title made people think about their own lives.  I think in general, Steinbeck was trying to say to value life, even when times are tough like in the great depression.  I think he was trying to say when the thing that you worked hard on gets destroyed, you have to move on. 

alternate ending

The sun was slowly setting as Lennie ran from the barn.  Lennie looked at the Salinas River, dreaming of the cold water running down his dry throat, but he kept running.  "Gotta run to the spot", Lennie said, keeping himself determined, "or else George won't let me tend those rabbits".  Lennie turned left of the road onto the forest path and started to slow down.  The sun had finally set behind the mountains and a cool shade fell onto the forest.  Lennie spotted a heron, standing calmly on a rock and stared at it for a while.  He walked closer to the heron but it flew away.  Dissapointed, Lennie kept on walking down the path alongside the river, listening to bird's wings flapping and the sound of the waves of the river crashing.  Lennie found a calm pool of water suitable for drinking and put his hands in the water.  Satisfied with the temperature, he dipped his head in the water, letting the cool water go soothe his throat, face and lips.  He walked out onto the path again and started to jog, feeling less tired. 

George followed behind Curley, eyeing his shotgun.  "Come on Curley, the big bastard probably didn't mean to hurt your girl, and what good would shooting him do anyways"? 
"It would get my respect back" Curley said without turning around to face George.  "Ever since that bastard broke my hand, i'm nothing, i don't get no respect no more."  George didn't reply.  A twig snapped to his left and he saw Lennie, rocking back and forth, murming to himself, out of view from Curley.  He looked down in his coat pocket at the stolen luger.  Looking once more at Lennie, he turned back to Curley and shot him, right in the centre of the back.  George ran through the bush to where Lennie sat on the chair.  "George, i didn't forget, i would never forget what to do George".  "I know, you big confused bastard, i know".  "Can we still get the farm George?"  Lennie said, "and can we still get the alfalfa for the rabbits and live of the fata the land"?  "You know what, i think we can"  George said.  "We gonna get out of this forest, grab Candy, Slim and that stable buck and we gonna go South.  They started to walk back towards the road, parallel to the Salinas River.  The heron was back on the rock, standing calmly and Lennie spotted a water snake smoothly slipping into the water.  They entered the road and walked towards the barn.  "Your my brother George"  Lennie said.  "Your the only person i got". 
George paused, unsure of what to say.  George put his arm around Lennie shoulder and looked up at the clear night sky.  He stopped walking and gazed at the bright stars and the moon.  "We're family Lennie" George said, and they continued walking.  In a world where everyone was on their own, George had Lennie, and Lennie had George.   

Crooks-what he shows on the ouside and the inside

Crooks', unlike some other characters, feelings that he shows on the outside and his feelings on the inside are different, and quite opposite.  On the outside, because he is dissed because he is black, he is mean, tough and tries to not like people.  However, on the inside, he feels lonely, seperated and jealous that everyone has other people to talk to, unlike him.  He doesn't want to show people he feels lonely so he is mean and tough to other people. 

My Perfect Life

A mixture of close friends, a good education, a fun job and free time that i could spend either by myself or with my family would be my perfect life.  If i could play sports or music for my job, that would obviously be my dream job because it would be fun and well paid.  However, the chances of that happening are quite slim, but this blog isn't about reality.  I think it would also be fun to be a prosecutor for criminal law or an architect.  An education in america would be my dream university/college because there are more opportunities there for some reason.  Also, in my perfect life, i would not want to be working so hard that i couldn't spend time with my friends or family. 

Slim

"He might  have been thirty-five or fifty."

This quote showed how his face might of given off the impression of old age but because he was so strong and such a good worker, he could be much younger. 

"His tone was friendly.  It invited confidence without demanding it"

This quote shows how he is gentle yet strong willed.  He can get things but by talking and not using violence or bullying.  Basically, he is an all around good guy. 

"He was capable of killing a fly on the wheeler's butt with a bull whip without touching the mule"

This quote shows how is a skilled worker.  He has no real authority over anyone but because he is skilled, people look up to him. 

Characterization....of Curley's wife

"She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up."

This quote shows that this women is definitly not a worker with her heavy make-up and she is probably higher class than most people. 

"Jesus, what a tramp."

This quote was said by George after Curley's wife left.  He was saying how she was very flirtacious.

"She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown for-ward." 

This quote showed how she is probably outgoing and flirtacious, even if she has a husband.  Also, in that setting, there were many workers, all men, in that room so "throwing her body for-ward" towards all the men definitly shows her flirty side. 

Section 1 Reflection

 Section one was similar to my expectations because it started out by describing George and Lennie's relationship.  George is obviously the dominant leader while Lennie is the calm, and slighlty confused partner.  Their dream is to own land and stop having to work but to get there, they have to work extra hard.  I think being the type of book that it is, it will have a happy ending with George and Lennie reaching their goals.  However, to make it interesting, I predict there will definetly be a few problems to try and stop them from reaching their goal.  So far, I like the language and the imagery it gives off, not too much detail but just enough so we can make the imagery ourselves.  The plot is still unclear but it is only the first section.  There are few questions that have arised so far in the book.  One, how did George and Lennie form their odd relationship in the first place?  Second, does Lennie have a mental disorder or some sort of reason to explain why he relies on George?   Finally, does George actually enjoy taking care of Lennie?   

 

Novellas

Novellas are quite unheard of compared to regular novels.  Novels, such as all the books in the Harry Potter series or the books in the James Bond series are quite popular compared to novellas.  However, some novellas are very popular.  But first, what even is a novella?  Well, a novella is a short story.  There are acutal definitions that define what a novella is. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000 while others say the minimum number of words for a novella is 10,000 and the maximum is 70,000.   Other ways to know wheter it is a novella or a novel is the number of problems.  Generally, novellas have less problems and they are not divided into chapters.  Instead, they are supposed to be read at a single reading.  I never knew how to define a novella, or even that there was such a thing as a novella so I didn't know I had actually read very famous novellas before.  Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde by Louis Stevenson and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens are very famous novellas that I have read.  Of course, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a very famous novella, although I have not read it yet.  Hopefully, it is a good read.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novella