Personal Study Tasks. Year 9 Term 2

Transcription

1 Of Mice and Men Personal Study Tasks Year 9 Term 2 There are six tasks in this booklet; complete one each week, spending between 30 and 45 minutes, and hand in the booklet to your class teacher at the end of term with all of the tasks finished. The purpose of these tasks is to encourage you to think independently, and to work ideas out for yourselves; this is much like being in an exam, so every task you complete is a form of exam preparation, helping you to build and practise the skills that will make you really successful. There is a word bank at the end of this booklet; if you see a * by a word then look in the word bank to see what it means.

2 Independent Study Task 1 Using a pen and ruler, match up the statement on the left with the statement on the right. The idea of the American Dream is the streets are paved with gold. America has always been *perceived as a place where that it is something unrealistic and *intangible. During the 1920s and 1930s, through a combination of hard work, courage and determination, *prosperity can be achieved. Some say the American Dream is impossible because the Depression was a cause of major hardship. The word dream suggests many trade union figures who were championing the rights of workers. The American Dream does not take into account The area George and Lennie fled was commonly referred to as the Dust Bowl The novel is set in the Salinas valley the Robert Burns poem To a Mouse about how things don t always go according to plan. because a series of dust storms in the 1930s caused major damage to agricultural land in some states. not everyone can gain prosperity through only hard work and determination. Steinbeck was heavily influenced by that family and wealth have a *potential bearing on success. The title of the novel is drawn from where John Steinbeck was born, and a place of major immigration.

3 Independent Study Task 2 The Dream These quotations all come from the first chapter when George and Lennie first recount their dream for the reader. 1. We got a future. 2. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. 3. We don t have to sit in no bar-room blowin in our jack jus because we ain t got no place else to go. 4. Some day we re gonna get the jack together and we re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an a cow and some pigs and Nuts! I ain t got time for no more. Which of the words in the box below are shown by these quotations? Courage determination hope hardship loneliness family realistic unrealistic *optimistic bad tempered *pessimistic EXTENSION TASK: you might want to get a thesaurus and add to this list with your own ideas Explain your answers, the first one is done for you: 1. We got a future shows hope and optimism by the speaker, he also sounds very definite, very sure so you could also say that he is determined. 2. We got somebody who gives a damn about us could mean We don t have to sit in no bar-room blowin in our jack jus because we ain t got no place else to go..

4 Some day we re gonna get the jack together and we re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an a cow and some pigs and Nuts! I ain t got time for no more.... What do you think it feels like to belong nowhere? Use a thesaurus and write a couple of complex sentences explaining your ideas.

5 Independent study task 3 Society in Of Mice and Men Steinbeck s novel was written and is set in the 1930s. The society he shows us in Of Mice and Men is different from the society we live in because it s a different place, with different environmental, social and economic conditions from the UK. This society is not just America in the 1930s, but a particular place in America. Wealth Jobs Education Gender Race Community Welfare Law and order Freedom How prosperous are most characters? What proportion of characters own their own home or land? How much job security do characters have? What is their work like? How much job satisfaction is there for them? What access to education do characters have? How does their level of education affect their lives and their prospects? How are men and women expected to behave? How far do men and women have equal opportunities? How do men regard women, and *vice versa? How *integrated or *segregated is this society? To what extent are characters defined by their race? How supportive and co-operative are characters of one another? How much trust and friendship is there? How much distrust and hostility? How *hierarchical is this society? How does this society support its most *vulnerable characters? How are the elderly treated, or the sick, or people with physical disabilities? How law-abiding is this society? How is crime dealt with? How far can characters expect justice? How much control do characters have over their own destinies? How far can they choose how they live? To what extent are they able to speak their minds? Do they have freedom of speech? Using these headings, spend minutes writing about the society described in Of Mice and Men. Try to group your ideas into 3 or 4 paragraphs (for example, community, welfare and wealth might be in one paragraph), begin each one with a topic sentence and try to describe an event or example from the text to support your description.

6 A description of society in Of Mice and Men

7 Independent Study Task 4 Slim He moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen the prince of the ranch. There was a *gravity in his manner and a quiet so *profound that all talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love His hatchet face was ageless His ear heard more than was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought. His hands, large and lean were as delicate in their action. Ain t many guys travel around together I don t know why. Maybe ever body in the whole damned world is scared of each other. George looked over at Slim and saw the calm, Godlike eyes fastened on him. Candy looked helplessly at him, for Slim s opinions were law. Slim came directly to George and sat down beside him, sat very close to him. Never you mind, said Slim. A guy got to sometimes. These descriptions of Slim and some of the things he says tell us a great deal about him and about the society of the time. Using Point, Evidence, Explain, take each quotation and describe what it tells us about Slim using the table on the next page. A wordbank is below to help you to start your task Extension task: use a Thesaurus and select other words too Compassionate dignified authoritative respected understanding thoughtful wise perceptive a strong leader highly skilled confident kind

8 Slim is POINT EVIDENCE (quotation) EXPLAIN Slim is a very masculine man in a society where masculine was valued. How masculine are the following characters give a mark out of 10 Curley Candy George Lennie Do you think being masculine in today s society is a good idea?

9 Independent study task 5 Crooks and Curley s wife Look at the list of characteristics below: Helpless Educated Intelligent Pathetic Victim friendly wants empathy/understanding enjoys talking to strangers had dreams that were shattered bully Decide which ones might describe Crooks, and which ones might describe Curley s wife; give reasons for your choice. You might find that they both share some of these characteristics Curley s Wife Characteristics Evidence Crooks Characteristics Evidence

10 Independent study task 6 Top ten statements 1. Below is a list of statements about Of Mice and Men. Read through them and add an extra point of your own if you like. 2. Now rank the statements from one to ten (or eleven if you have added your own point!) starting with the one that best characterises the novel for you as a reader. 3. For your top three statements, find evidence from the text to support and explain why you have chosen them. Of Mice and Men is a text which provokes a reaction about people is primarily about the pursuit of a dream shows how man s existence is purely about survival of the fittest presents controversial views about men and women is primarily about finding companionship is first and foremost about trying to understand human beings presents a microcosm of 1930s American society challenges racial prejudice in the 1930s emphasises the moral decay in society demonstrates parallels with life in Britain today Statements Evidence from the text 1. 2.

11 3. WORDBANK These words have appeared in this homework booklet; you might find these definitions to be helpful: Perceived = seen as, people might think that Intangible = can t be held on to, something imagined Prosperity = wealth and success Potential bearing = could affect the outcome Optimistic = looking on the bright side Pessimistic = looking on the dark side, always expecting the worst Vice versa = the other way round Integrated = mixed, merged, belonging to, joined Segregated = kept apart, isolated, excluded Hierarchical = in order, the top first and the bottom last Vulnerable= unprotected, helpless, weak Gravity = seriousness, importance Profound = deep, complete, intense