Of Mice and Men

FOCUS:

How to use quotes in PEED format

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• In your books write the themes which these pictures suggest to you.

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•QUOTE:

•“I ain’t nothing to scream about but, but that big bastard there can put up more grain alone than most pairs can.

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Theme

•Migrant Workers

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PEED• When George describes Lennie to Slim – “I

ain’t nothing to scream about but, but that big bastard there can put up more grain alone than most pairs can.” - we can see the pride he takes in Lennie’s work output. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s was partly responsible for the economic decline which resulted in the Great Depression and was certainly the cause of millions of men travelling from their homes in the American mid-west to California in search of work, just as George and Lennie do. George’s referral to Lennie as “that big bastard” is one of many examples of Steinbeck’s use of venacular language in the direct speech which conveys much of the plot.

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Theme

• American dream

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PEED• George and Lennie have their own version

of the ‘American Dream’; they want to earn sufficient money to buy themselves their own ranch. In the harsh economic environment of the 1930s being fit for work was essential as so many workers were chasing so few jobs. We can see the fatherly pride George feels when he tells Slim: “I ain’t nothing to scream about but, but that big bastard there can put up more grain alone than most pairs can.” ……

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