By now you should have finished and/or revised/asked questions about your first essay about Of Mice and Men. For that one, I gave you a topic and lots of direction/assistance. That essay is now overdue. Now you will be required to write another essay and my feedback on your first essay will help you to do better on your next one!

This next essay one will involve finding details from the book, but it will also require a fair bit of creativity and insight. This one you will write ON YOUR OWN – I won’t guide you nearly as much. You’ll have to come up with a thesis and an outline/structure on your own. You should do those BEFORE you start writing/researching anything! I will be glad to look over your thesis and outline/structure to see whether you’re on the right track, but it’ll be up to you to ask questions, seek help, and take advice.

Your topic:

Choose one of the main characters from the book and describe how they would act and be treated if they transferred here to St. James Collegiate now. What kind of classes would they take? How would students react? Teachers? What kinds of sports/clubs would they be interested in? You’ll have to really understand the character and respond appropriately, based on what you’ve read. You’ll have to use quotes and references to the book in your essay to back up your ideas. 

You’ll have to write a minimum 5 paragraph essay (you might choose to do more!) on this topic. It needs to be organized and understandable. Remember, you’re writing an essay about the book, not writing a story.

You’ll also have to accurately reflect our school and its culture, and how accepting we are of new/different people, and what the interactions would be like between this new ‘student’ and other students/teachers.

As mentioned before, you’re marked on content (is it clear, understandable, does it make sense, does it answer the question, does it demonstrate a real knowledge/understanding of the book, etc.), format (does it look like the essays that we’ve talked about), and yes, spelling and grammar. 

This is another important assignment that will impact your mark a fair bit, and one that will get you prepared for your final exam, which isn’t all that far away!

Remember, this essay is based on THE BOOK, not the movie! The movie may mislead you a bit!

Chapter 6 (Word document)
Chapter 6 (pdf)

Following our in-depth look at the plot of the book, take some time to dig up some details about the characters. Fill in the following chart with as much detail as possible: Of Mice and Men Character Chart

1. Check out these lyrics: 1_plot-elements-lyrics

Watch this great video from Flocabulary

Fill out those lyrics!

2. Fill this out:
Word Document: 3_Plot_ToMapaStory
.pdf: 3_plot-elements-activities

3. Take this short quiz about events in Of Mice and Men

4. Fill out this chart of plot events in the book: 5_Of Mice and Men Plot Chart

Man vs. Nature:

Man vs. Man:

Man vs. Self:

Man vs. Society:

Chapter 5

Chapter5-6_Extension (Word Document)
Chapter5-6_Extension (pdf)

Chapter4_FollowUp

In varying degrees, many of the characters in Of Mice and Men reveal their loneliness. Go back through the chapters we’ve read so far and fill out information about the following characters. Find examples of narrative details or dialogue revealing the characters’ loneliness. Be prepared to add on as we complete the book. Include sufficient details with quotes and page numbers.

• George
• Lennie
• Slim
• Curley’s Wife
• Crooks
• Candy

Chapter 4

Chapter4_Extension

Choose one or more of the following topics for your journal. Your journal should be at least 200 words in length.

• How do you react so far to the story? What do you like about it? What do you not like?
• Which of the characters is most interesting to you? Why? Which of the characters do you like the most? Dislike? Why?
• What questions do you have in mind at this point in the story?
• What do you think will happen in the rest of the novel? What are your predictions for George, Lennie, and Candy? (DO NOT ANSWER THIS ONE if you’ve read ahead or know what will happen)

Again, this must be in complete sentences with proper capitalization and punctuation. Write on paper, or in a Word or Google Document.