HW #3 Of Mice and Men

HW #3 Of Mice and Men
Due - Wednesday 4/17 and Thursday, 4/18

What we will do in class
A) "Pastures of Plenty" by Woody Guthrie (sung by Odetta HERE)
B) discuss Slim, Curley, Curley's wife
C) In your journal, using the first paragraph of the novel as a model, write about a place using descriptive words.

HOMEWORK:
The American Dream

 Lenny and George talk about their American Dream, that in the land of America, everyone could achieve success through hard work and commitment, no matter what their background was like. The belief was founded on the lack of a clearly defined class system and sheer size of America. A person seeking fortune would be advised to "Go West" and due to the vast scale of the country, they would be able to find land that they could work. 

a) Read Chapter 3

b) It seems that all the characters are holding onto dream, hopes and plans. Make a list of the following characters and what their dreams are...

1. Lennie
2. George
3. Curley
4. Curley's wife
5. Crooks
6. Candy

c) Now read  Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse" written in 1785, with summary and footnotes, click HERE  

*Write a well-developed paragraph discuss the poem and its connection to the novel. Why is Burns comparing mice to men with the line "The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men / Gang aft agley"? Why might this allusion be appropriate for a novel set during the Great Depression? In your paragraph, you must refer to the events and meaning of the poem, connecting what happened to the mouse to what is occurring in the book.