Georgina Stratton 11.

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Of Mice and Men Revision Guide (Novella Short Novel) AO2 Language, Structure and Form
y y y (P) Point (E) Evidence (A) Analysis Explaining how language, structure and form contribute to writers presentation of ideas, themes and settings (T) Technique sensitive to the techniques used by the author to help shape meaning (L) Link to Question shows focus on task/question at hand

Promise Land/The Golden State California was called the

Promise land because of: The mild climate Diversity of crops Over exaggerated promise Job opportunities People generally came from the dust bowl region as well as Mexico

y y

American Dream AO4 Social, Cultural and Historical

y (C)Context Explains how context relates/is important to the section. The key here is whether or not you relate and explain the connection of context to the question. y (IR) Importance to reader Explains the significance of the text to readers in different contexts The Roaring 20 s y Lots of new jobs y Culture change e.g. Fashion, music y Women could vote/they had more rights y Women could do more in society e.g. drink, smoke, drive cars y Lots of production mainly cars y People began to consume more y Jazz music became popular y Alcohol became available again y Black people became more confident y y y y y High quality of living Money/success Better future Liberty and freedom Lots of consumption The belief that in America, where ordinary people could create a better life for themselves. America was seen as the land of opportunity. People went there to escape the dust bowl, the weather, persecution and poverty.

Steinbeck s Themes
y y y Power Ownership Control (Effect on ordinary people)

Wall Street Crash (1929)

y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y Collapse of infrastructure Poor investing lead to the stock market crash End of the American dream People took their money out of banks as nobody trusted them anymore Banks shut down Factories shut down People lost their homes and built shacks to live in People lived in tent cities More unemployment People living on the streets and in hoovervilles People were farming poorly Not a lot of production Lots of dust storms Suicides went up Surplus depression lots of surplus in the 1920 s Less people went to college/have kids or get married

Steinbeck came from a well off family but spent a lot of time with farm labourers copied their speech, sometimes using actual events that had happened in his novels.

Impact of agriculture in America

y y y y y Consumption increases even though the economy gets worse Technology advances more machines used for farming More capitalist approach to farming Everything has a purpose if someone wasn t pulling their weight they would be replaced George and Lennie survive by being together they equal each other out.

Lennie Created by Steinbeck to represent someone he once knew. Holds significance to him personally. His and Georges dream is the representation of American way of thinking after the Wall Street Crash. When he dies, this implies how the dream became a nightmare for most people because of aspects such as the dust bowl and the fact that there were not enough jobs for everyone. George Both him and Lennie work together equal each other out.
Presented as the mature character who keeps them out of trouble. When he kills Lennie, this could suggest that most people s failures were their own faults and that you can only ever rely on yourself. Candy/Slim Typical migration worker travel alone but remain hopeful of fulfilling the American dream Curley s wife Represents how women were treated even though they were beginning to gain more recognisation. They were treated like objects and not respected. Crooks Shows the typical treatment of a black man at that time period seen as inferior and treated that way.

Dust Bowl Caused by bad weather and poor farming methods. Fertile soil was blown away by storms and left the remaining land baron, useless and worthless. People who one owned land were left with nothing. The New Deal Aimed to get the unemployed back to work by setting up work projects. Microcosm Focusing o something smaller e.g. Steinbeck focuses on two characters Lennie and George.
WW1 Economic Boom Post War Slight Recession 1. Produce more goods quicker 2. Farmers obtained less money for goods (mechanical industry and farming) Dust Bowl Migration to the Promise Land Too many people = Less money/Low wages/Less work