Lil Man’s Blog

“But you get used to goin’ around with a guy an’ you can’t get rid of him”(41).

This is an example of indirect characterization because of the dialogue. In the beginning George describes Lennie as mentally retarded and it seems like a punishment to him. However through this quote we can characterize him as having a sense of friendship and a deeper relationship with Lennie. This is seen by how George says that you get used to goin’ around with a guy an’ you can’t get rid of him. George can get rid of him if he wished all he would have to do is prove he was nuts and they would send him away however he likes Lennie so he won’t do it.

“Feel right around there and see how soft it is” (90).

Lennie has been known to get carried away with what he pets or feels such as the woman with the dress, the mice, and the puppy not to long earlier. From knowing this we can see that this quote is showing foreshadowing. We know that something is going to go wrong just like the last thing that happened when he touched something on a woman. From this foreshadowing is shown greatly through this quote. 

“Right in the back of the head” (107).

At this point George is explaining to Slim how he killed Lennie. This quote is a great example of dramatic irony by how the opposite of what I at least thought would happen occurred. After Lennie had killed Curley’s wife it seemed that something bad was going to happen I believed they were either going to have to start over again or Curley was going to kill Lennie. However neither of that happened George shot Lennie in the back of the head and the book ended. Therefore this quote shows that dramatic irony had occured.

“You hadda, George. I swear you hadda.” (107).

This quote I believe shows the theme of the book. The theme I believe Stienbeck is portraying through this book is that sometimes what you have to do isn’t what you want to do but it is the best. From this quote we can tell that Slim is noticing that George is hurt from what he did however Slim knew just as well that it was the best thing. George knew that if they got Lennie locked up it would be torture to him and Lennie would have rather been away from that and if he killed him at least he wouldn’t have any more problems and Lennie couldn’t be torture or even get in more trouble than what he was already in.

This year seemed to go by fast for me unlike last year. I think this happened because I have applied myself more this year than last. In this class I have learned alot. Mainly about books though. Through this class my experiences have been good and have changed my outlook on a lot of things. Such as how read books mainly. When I used to read books I would always get done and say forget this its stupid, but now I can use ways to get back on track and keep going on and actually understand what i am reading. Personally about this class however i like the way you teach and how you kept us on topic and understanding. I liked the blogs expecially at the end when we got to look at other peoples blogs. This really helped understand and stir up questions in my mind. The thing that i didnt like however was how when we started out you challenged our mind when we read it was a huge jump for me however after doing it once i was able to do it with ease afterwards.

            This book I feel was easier for me to understand because of the dialogue. I personally mainly liked how the described the people indirectly through the dialogue such as in what I just read about the stable buck: “Long as you won’t get out and leave me alone, you might as well sit down” (69). This quote told me how he was he was lonely and wished to have company as much as he could but didn’t want to act like he wanted it. He seems to act sarcastic enough that others may guess it but might not always be sure.

            One thing I liked about the book was how you could notice foreshadowing and know what is going to happen next such as when Lennie was talking to Curley’s wife: “Feel right around there and see how soft it is” (90). Curley’s wife just told Lennie to feel her hair and in the past when Lennie pets things like mice he killed.

            However the end seemed to be sudden I knew Lennie was going to be killed however I thought it would be Curley instead of George. “He pulled the trigger” (106). It seemed to happen unwillingly and the reason behind it didn’t seem to click. After reading the book I asked the question why? It didn’t seem to have a reason behind why George killed Lennie.

While reading of mice and men chapters two and three I found a few things interesting.

1. How Lennie is decribed as an animal throughout the book. I never noticed this in the beginning.

2. How Curley’s wife is starting to cause problems in their job and causing Lennie to fall for her it seems.

3.  Also the irony between Lennie and George. How Lennie is the big and strong man while George is the leader between the two.

I find that the graphic organizer helps piece together what our discussion was. It give us a chance to see what was all discussed. It also helps understand the book when we can see the facts and relationships going on in the story.

            Chapter three in Of Mice and Men revealed the relationship between Lennie and George. Along with this my prediction of something occurring between Curley and Lennie actually took place in a fight. In specific there were a few things from the book that interested me.

“Jus’ tell Lennie what to do and he’ll do it if it don’t take no figuring” (39)

            This quote struck me because of how important George is and how lost Lennie would be if George wasn’t there. However if you think of how lost Lennie would be it brings the question up of where and what would Lennie be if George was not around to give orders and guide him using his brain. This quote I believe is important because it shows that George is the leader to Lennie.

“Well I ain’t done nothing like that no more” (40)

            This quote proved to me that George does care and tries to watch out for Lennie. This proved it to me because this was not said to Lennie it was said to a friend and it showed that after it struck him that he could have lost Lennie then and there so George jumped in and saved him.

“But you get used to goin’ around with a guy an’ you can’t get rid of him”(41)

            This quote raised up a question that kind of puts George on trial. This quote made me wonder if George is being sarcastic or if he is fighting with his own conscience that he really wants to get rid of Lennie but he is too attached now that he can’t.

            In chapter two the relationship seemed to be stronger than I had thought at first. In relating to chapter one the thought of Lennie getting into trouble is becoming more and more certain in my mind. In reading there were several passages I came across that stuck out in my mind.

“Well I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest it?”-22

             This passage was interesting to me because it showed to me that the boss can see the relationship between the two and so it showed to me that George is attached to Lennie in an emotional way. Also to me it may be showing a little bit of foreshadowing by the way the boss said it. The boss could have said that in a way that it didn’t seem like it was trouble, but by the way it says that I never seen one guy take so much trouble just kind of hinted there may be more trouble coming.

 “If I was a relative of yours I’d shoot myself.”-24

            This passage stuck out by how he was talking to Lennie after lying. However it seemed to me to be a cover up that. George expressed himself in such a rush that it kind of seem like he was trying to hide is true feelings. If this statement is true though then this may bring up What will he do when he can’t take anymore of Lennie?

“Curley is one of those guys that hate big guys.”-26

            This passage seemed to show what kind of trouble Lennie is in. He has to somehow keep his job but in order to do this it seems that he is going to have to deal with Curley. This also struck me because sometimes I feel the same way however I don’t judge them right away or at least I try not to.

“Look Lennie, you try to keep away from him will you?”-29

            This passage seemed to have shown foreshadowing to me. I believe that this passage is hinting that something is going to happen between Curley and Lennie and it won’t end well knowing that Curley is the boss’s son. This passage is interesting because it makes the reader think about what is going to happen next and how it will end?

            So far this book to me is turning out like Thoreau with all of the descriptions. I do not understand one thing that of what is wrong with Lennie. Why can’t he remember anything? Another thing is if George is annoyed by him why he doesn’t ditch him it’s not like Lennie is going to remember. One quote from the book that I feel is important is:

“You remember about us goin’ into
Murray and Ready’s, and they give us work cards and bus tickets?” (5)

            I feel that this quote is important because it sets up a setting and plot of what is occurring. It shows that they are in need of work. Especially because of them running away from the last job because of something Lennie had done. Mainly though this is important because it sets the scene of what is going on.

“When I think of the swell time I could have without you, I go nuts. I never get no peace” (12).

            This quote is important because it show the mutual relationship between the two friends. Even though one is mental and the other one is annoyed because his friend is. There is still a bond between the to and it seems that later on it will be challenged because of how much one has to watch out and remind the other about what to do and what not to do.

“Well, look. Lennie – if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an’ hide in the brush” (15).

            Finally I believe this quote is important because of the consistency of how much it seems that Lennie gets in trouble. This quote shows that chances are he will get in trouble and George can’t always be there. It shows that Lennie is consistent and forgetful about what goes on and what will happen. I feel this is the most important because of this and that because George says he probably will get in trouble that the author may be foreshadowing a problem later in the book.

                When I worked at McDonalds I had a manager that was always on a power trip. She thought of herself as the boss the one who has been there longer than most and knows what goes on while there. She had a habit of yelling at every little detail that someone did. However I was one of the few who stood up to her and sometimes proved her wrong. Doing this however put me on a short leash with the store manager. This relates to Abigail in the story when she was using the power to see the witches in salem which never existed, but because at this time people believed they existed she was easily believed and she used this power unwisely. Such as when they were in court she had Mary Warren and John Procter on a short leash. All she had to do was say there name and they would be taken away. She had the ability to scare Mary and had Procter with lechery if she didn’t get what she wanted.

         A lot of times in arguments with my parents my emotions clouded my judgment and made it harder on myself to get out of the trouble I got into. Particularly one time when my room was a mess because of my younger brother I remember getting into trouble because of it even though my mom knew it was my brother. Although he is younger he wasn’t that young. Since I was the first born of my mother I started chores when I was 4 or 5 and with my younger brother he never started chores until he was about 8 or 9. I believe since he was late he got an attitude with my parents about it. Anyways I got blamed for his mess for the thousandth time, but this time I got tired of it and gave an attitude back by arguing which then led to me being immature and trying to fight my dad. This all happened by my anger getting in the way of my judgment. Now that I look back it would’ve been easier if I talked to mom before I got in my dad’s face about it. Because of this I got grounded twice as long as I would’ve been.

                This relates to the crucible in which I believe when John Procter’s wife was charged with witchcraft. Instead of trying to prove she was innocent in court he threw a fit in front of Reverend Hale. Which at this time he was questioning about their religion, if he wouldn’t of disobeyed the warrant of the court and damn them to hell for there false accusation then maybe it would have been easier to get away with his wife by proving the charge wrong in the court. Although there was more mistakes that the Procter family had done in the past that may have made the accusation harder to prove innocent this incident, I believe toped the accusation off. Because of this I believe there is a lot more that will happen to the Procter family than what could’ve happened if this didn’t happen, especially during the times of the Salem Witchcraft trials.

Arthur Miller

            Arthur Miller was born in New York on October 17, 1915. He is of a Jewish religion. Arthur was involved in many things throughout his life. He was in all kinds of literature programs and organizations. Arthur married Mary Slattery in August 1940. Mary was of a catholic background and religion. For 61 years he was a prominent figure of American Literature and Cinema. After his death, many respected actors, directors, and producers paid tribute to Miller, some calling him the last great practitioner of the American stage, and Broadway theaters darkened their lights in a show of respect. Miller’s alma mater, the University of Michigan opened the Arthur Miller Theatre in March, 2007. Per his express wish, it is the only theater in the world that bears

            In June of 1956 Miller divorced Mary Slattery, and on June 29, he married Marilyn Monroe. Miller went to college at the University of Michigan. He was a night editor for the Michigan daily. Miller received his bachelor’s degree in English. In the 1950’s he had trouble with congress because of his marriage. Miller married photographer Inge Morath on February 17, 1962, and the first of their two children, Rebecca, was born that September. Their son Daniel was born with Down Syndrome in November, 1966.

            Miller’s career as a writer spanned over seven decades, and at the time of his death in 2005. One of the most famous stories was The Crucible.

“Arthur Miller(1915-2005).” Books and Writers. 2003. 8 Apr. 2008

<www.kirjasto.sci.fi/amiller.htm>.

“Arthur Miller.” Wikipedia. 8 Apr. 2008

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Miller#Legacy>.