Of Mice And Men Oral Presentation

Front 1

introduction

Back 1

In the book Of Mice and Men there are four main settings; the clearing by the pond, the bunkhouse, Crooks’ room and the barn. The settings in the book are one of the most important elements to help us understand what is happening in the book, without the expression of the settings we wouldn’t know why people were where they were at certain times throughout the book. Also, the setting helps us understand what time the characters were living in and the conditions they had to live in during that time. At the beginning of each chapter of the book Steinbeck introduces and new significant setting or surrounding; the pond, Crooks’ room, the Bunk House and the Barn. All of these settings represents a different symbol whether its loneliness, alienation or just somewhere the characters like to go, all of the settings have a specific meaning to the novel. The settings in the book give us a better understanding of what the characters are doing and the way they feel. They also set certain moods for

Front 2

the pond

Back 2

"I want you to come right here and hide in the brush" (15). This quote said by George shows how important the brush is, later in the novel when Lennie kills Curley’s Wife he remembers to go into the brush by the pond. The quote also shows that Lennie constantly gets into trouble. "The deep green pool of the Salinas River was still in the late afternoon. Already the sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan mountains, and the hilltops were rosy in the sun." (99). This quote is from the last chapter of the book where George is forced to make a horrible decision. The description of their surroundings sets up a somber and upsetting feeling which leads us into the death of Lennie.

Front 3

crooks' room

Back 3

"And scattered about the floor were a number of personal possessions; for, being alone, Crooks could leave his things about..." (66). This quote shows us that Crooks is a lonely man, due to his skin colour he is left out and doesn’t have to worry about anyone coming in his room because he is discriminated against. In Crook‘s room people show who their true selves are. For example, Crooks shows that he is sick being treated like an outsider when really he’s no different to the other ranchmen. When Lennie talks to Crooks he doesn’t care that he’s a different skin colour, he just wants someone to talk to and someone that will listen. Curley’s Wife shows that she isn’t a very nice person when she calls Crook’s a nig and that she could get him strung up on a tree in chapter 4.

Front 4

the bunkhouse

Back 4

"And these shelves were loaded with talcum powder, razors and those Western magazines ranch men love to read and scoff at and secretly believe." (17). This quote shows that the men have very little to live for. They rely on little things like magazines and dreams to keep them going, also it shows that the ranch doesn’t have much supplies for the men because they are forced to travel a lot and move around.

Front 5

the barn

Back 5

When the barn is first presented in the novel it is seen as a place for the characters to escape to. Lennie goes there to see his puppy that he was going to keep as a companion before he accidentally killed it, he feels like no one will judge him when he’s in the barn and he can’t hurt anyone else. Curley’s Wife uses the barn as an escape from her house because Curley expects her to stay in the house all day looking after him but she wants to be out and about and she does this by going the barn pretending to look for Curley. The barn is Crooks’ home and it is where he feels safe, where he can go and won’t be discriminated against and he knows that the other men won’t go in there while he is in there because it is like they are scared to interact with Crooks.