Part 2 questions.


We meet several new characters. Choose one to discuss. What did we learn about them -- physically and their disposition?  HOW did we learn about them? What do you think the character's role is in the story is?

The new character that I am choosing to discuss is Crooks. We learned that he is an African-American stable-hand, we learned that he got his name from his crooked back, we learned that he is a nice guy, and we learned that he loves to read. He has a crooked back because a horse kicked him.The old man was telling a story to Lennie and George about how the boss was very mad because they were late to their new job, and he when he gets mad, he gets mad at the stable buck (Crooks). I think he will soon become Lennie and George's friend.

Part 2 Curley's Wife

     I learned about many characters in part 2 of Of Mice and Men, but the character that I found most interesting was Curley's wife. We are first introduced to Curley's wife when the swamper talks to her. The swamper says that Curley's wife has got the eye (meaning that she flirts with other men). After a while, Curley's wife comes to George and Lennie looking for Curley. Here is a description of her: "She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers. 'I'm lookin' for Curley,' she said. Her voice had a nasal, brittle quality." I noticed that Curley's wife was wearing mostly red. I wonder if Steinbeck purposely did this, since red is the color of love.
     Curley's wife gives me an impression of a flirtatious woman and an attention seeker. This is because she's dressing up when she doesn't have to (she doesn't really have anyone to impress). However, from what I've seen from George and Lennie, Steinbeck doesn't create one-dimensional characters. I think that there might be something more to Curley's wife. I also wonder whether she really likes Curley or not (since Curley isn't really a nice person)
     I believe that Curley's wife would play an important part in Of Mice and Men. Lennie seems to really like her, and even though George told Lennie to stay away from her, she might find her way to him when he's alone. I think that either Curley or her will be the cause of the conflict of the story. Lennie also got in trouble because of a girl back in Weed, and maybe that will happen again.

Foreshadowing Part 2

 "Curley popped into the door way again and stood looking into the room. The  dog raised his head, but when Curley jerked out, the grizzled head sank to the floor again."

I think this quote shows foreshadowing because the way the Steinbeck is talking about the dogs head, I think Lenny might try to 'pet' the dog (or any of the other dogs) and accidentally kill it. The language that Steinbeck is using in this paragraph is very gruesome sounding. Examples: jerked, head sank to the floor. It is very obvious that Candy cares for this dog ( or other dogs )very much because it is described as " Got no teeth, damn near blind, can't eat." He clearly cares for all animals if he is willing to feed a dog milk just to help it survive. I think that if Lenny accidentally kills a dog he will get in a lot of trouble. This is just a guess but the language hinted at something might happen.

Part 2 Foreshadowing

On page 37, I think the foreshadowing is represented in the following quotes.

"Ya know, Lennie, I'm scared I'm gonna tangle myself  with that bastard myself I hate his guts."
"Curley popped into the doorway again and stood looking into the room. The dog raised his head, but when Curley jerked out, the grizzled head sank to the floor again."

I don't know what happens throughout the book, except for what I have read, so I don't know exactly that this is a example of foreshadowing. But I think Curley and George  may get into a fight later in the book. It said that Curley likes to pick on larger guys, like Lennie, so I surmise that Curley will try to pick a fight with Lennie, but George will hop in and try to protect Lennie because George is like Lennie's father, protector man. On the other hand, this could just be another line in the book like a lot of other lines.

The second quote may be a foreshadowing for finding what happened in the past. As mentioned in class, Candy has lost his hand and he has a very old dog. I think that Curley may have been the cause of Candy's missing hand and the dog "knows" Curley did it and so know he gets kind of aggressive in a protective kind of way.

Part 2 Foreshdowing

There is one moment of foreshadowing that I saw that I just couldn’t ignore. On page 30, George says something that he’s said before and will probably be very important in the future. This was “Look, Lennie, if you get in any kind of trouble, you remember what I told you to do?” George is referring to the spot by the river that they slept at in chapter one. He has said this before and I have no doubt that he will say it again.

I think that the reason he might get into trouble could be due to Curley’s wife. I think this because Lennie was looking at her in a way that made George afraid of Lennie getting in trouble. Also, Curley already hates Lennie because he hates people that are taller than him, so if Lennie was to even look at her in a way that he didn’t like, Curley would get very angry and probably get him fired because he is the boss’ son. It seems as though Curley is very proud of having a wife, so he would be very angry to see her hurt or near another man. While I feel like it is nice that Curley seems to treasure his wife, I think he forgets she is her own person and objectifies her.

Overall, my prediction is that there will be a situation involving Curley’s wife that gets Lennie in trouble and he runs to the spot by the river as instructed.

Part 2 Characters

Throughout this second part we meet many characters. Each one is extremely different and each one's personality seems to foreshadow something for George and Lennie. Some, such as Curly, are hostile to the newcomers. Others, such as Slim and Carlson are friendly and curious.

Slim is a Skinner who is well liked by everyone. He has a natural air of authority and everyone looks up to or respects him. He is fairly friendly towards George and Lennie and seems fairly trustworthy. He seems like the type who may stand up for or help Lennie. Although, based on the information I am getting from this book about the personality of a rancher, I am doubtful as to how far he'd go to help someone whom he doesn't know, I do think he will not be the cause of whatever conflict occurs for George and Lennie.

There isn't that much information about the boss, but he seems fair. The only thing is that because he is Curly's father he would take his side if he fought against Lennie. He does not seem like an extremely important character but I suspect Curly will be the cause or part of the cause of the conflict and the boss's authority plays a big part in Curly's misdeeds.

There isn't much about Carlson but he seems like a neutral character and I suspect he won't have much of a part in the conflict. He is friendly towards George and Lennie but I don't think he would help them. On the other side of that, he hasn't been hostile towards them so he won't purposely hurt them unless people with higher authority (such as Curly) commanded him to.

The swamper gives the impression of an old gossip. He doesn't seem the type to take any action. He seems afraid of everyone else and seems to prefer spying and hiding. He enjoys talking about people behind their backs and likes to think he knows a lot. Although he does seem like he has been at the farm for a while and knows his way around. Other that, perhaps being the source of valuable (probably not) information, he doesn't seem that important.

Curly, almost as soon as you meet him, gives the impression of a villain. He clearly hates Lennie and is planing to tangle with him. Also, George has made him his enemy by defending Lennie. He is definitely planing something for them in which he will abuse his father's authority.

Curly's wife doesn't seem hostile but she is almost surely going to take advantage of Lennie and cause him to incur Curly's wrath. She seems like a very dislike able woman and I understand George's opinion about her almost completely. I also understand why he fears for Lennie.

WALSH Part 2 Qs (optional)

Part 2:

(REMEMBER: These questions are OPTIONAL; you can respond to them in a post, or just used them as direction for what to focus on while you read)

1. We meet several new characters. Choose one to discuss. What did we learn about them - - physically and their disposition? HOW did we learn about them? What do you think this character’s role in the story is?
 2. Of the new characters that were introduce, does anyone stand out to you as different from the others? How so? What do you think Steinbeck’s rationale (thinking/planning) was here?
 3. Steinbeck often reveals important information at the end of each section. Reread p 37 again closely. Analyze what is said about George and/or about Candy’s dog. What foreshadowing and/or symbolism is being addressed here?

Part 1 Q's

        Part One Questions 
      In part one of Of Mice and Men, We are introduced to two new characters. The first one is Lennie, Lennie is very big but short minded. The other character is George, he is rude to Lennie and is basically a father to Lennie.
        The author quickly foreshadows that something will happen in the story that revolves around Lennie being short minded. He does this by showing that George is angry that he can't do anything when he has to always deal with Lennie. We know this because in the story George says "... If I was alone I could live easy. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble...". By saying this George made it clear he would rather leave Lennie then to deal with him. Although he said quickly after he was just kidding and that he needed Lennie, I think he was saying that just to make Lennie feel better because Lennie really was no help to George.
        I think that farther in the story Lennie will cause a problem because George wants to live a perfect American Dream. They have to start this dream by first finding a place to settle. It is hard to settle insomehwere if Lennie is not helpful and is just considered by George as another mouth to feed.

Part 1 Blog Post

     The author uses very different words to describe George and Lennie in Of Mice and Men. George is described as "small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose." Lennie is described as the opposite of George: "a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely." The book states that "even in the open one stayed behind the other," meaning that George was obviously in charge.
     I wonder what history George and Lennie had together. I am curious about whether they knew each other as children or not. Even though George is a little harsh to Lennie at times, it is shown that they are both very loyal to each other. George could probably have a decent life without Lennie, so I wonder why he's taking so much trouble for him. It could be that George is just a nice guy, but I think that there might be something more to that. During his outburst, George stated that Lennie lost them every job that he got, and when Lennie got in trouble, he had to get him out of it. However, he also said that he wanted Lennie to stay when Lennie told George that he could just leave if George wanted him to.
     Finally, I wonder what Lennie and George think about the American Dream. They seem to believe that they are special because they have someone who cares about them. George and Lennie want to have a little house, some pigs, some rabbits, some chickens, and a stove. Basically, they want to have a "perfect" life. I think that George and Lennie will try to work towards this goal during the story, but I'm not sure whether they'll make it or not.

Part 1 Q's

I like how Steinbeck describes characters, Gearge and Lennie, in part one of OMAM. The author describes Lennie as this big man, shapeless face, large pale eyes, wide, sloping shoulders, with dragging feet, and arms that hang loosely. To me, this sounds like someone who takes charge, is a leader, and maybe even in the army. On the other hand, George is small, quick, dark faced, restless eyes, and sharp, strong features. I picture George as someone who follows orders, not the one who gives them.

Part one shows irony because George, the small guy, is the 'leader' in my words. He takes charge of where they go, and doesn't like when Lennie messes around. This is ironic because after hearing how Steinbeck describes Lennie, you would think that he was in charge. He tries to be smart and understand, but sometimes it is hard for him. For example, when Lennie asked George where they were going, and George got mad for forgeting. But, as Lennie said," I tried not to forget. Honest to God I did, George". He really wants to please George.

It must be hard for George to have to watch Lennie all the time, and make sure he doesn't get into trouble. It is almost like George is Lennie's babysitter! Just imagine, trying to find a job while having to watch over someone who needs to be taken care of. Lennie is very loyal to George. He does everything that George tells him, and tries to obey him. George may seem hard on Lennie, but he is also loyal to Lennie. This shows when Lennie offers to go, and George keeps begging him to stay.

Would you let Lennie work for you? Even if it was a big responsibility?

Part 1 Questions

There are examples of symbolism, foreshadowing, AND irony within just this first section! Identify one of these and explain.

I think the symbolism is the rabbits that Lennie keep talking about. I think the rabbits symbolize the place they are trying to go. Lennie wants the rabbits so bad, and George wants to get to the destination.

List some words that Steinbeck uses to describe Lennie. List some words that Steinbeck uses to describe George. How do these descriptions compare and/or contrast to one another?

The author describes Lennie as someone who thinks he understands, and is smart, but just can’t. He tries very hard but can’t. He also seems very loyal. He wants to do everything george says, and tries to obey him. George is described as a smart character, not only how he handles situations, but how he handles Lennie also. For example, when Lennie says that he wants to have colorful rabbits, George goes along with it, telling him that they will have red and blue rabbits, even though he knows it will not happen. If he would have told Lennie, he would be sad and keep talking about the imaginary colorful bunnies.

Part 1 Q's

The things I found ironic were...

1) One of the things I found ironic was the description of Lennie and George. Lennie is a huge man, slopping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, and his arms hung loosely by his sides. However, George is a small with strong hands, slender arms, and a tiny and bony nose. My point is, Lennie's disability makes him act like a kid but looks more like he is in the military but George is skinny but is the adult in the situation.

2) The last piece of irony that really stuck out to me was Lennie. On page 13 it says, "Lennie had avoided the bate. He had sensed his advantage." Lennie is supposed to be really stupid and act like a child but when George was trying to play him.

Even though Lennie has a disability, why could he figure out George's 'plan'?

3. List some words that Steinbeck uses to describe Lennie. List some words that Steinbeck uses to describe George. How do these descriptions compare and/or contrast to one another?

After reading part 1 and getting to understand the characters better, I truly see the difference and at the same time, the same type of trait in both George and Lennie. George was described as small and quick, strong features, compared to Lennie who's was who was very big and walked heavily with a shapeless face. However both were wearing the same thing: shapeless hats, wearing black, and carried blanket rolls slung over there shoulders. As people might be able to see they are complete opposites, you have the tall bulky guy, with the short little "dinky" type of guy. In this so called "friendship" its obvious that Lennie is somewhat a dog obeying his master who is George. "Slowly like a terrier who doesn't want to bring a ball to its master." 

Characterization for Part 1 of Of Mice and Men

List some words that Steinbeck uses to describe Lennie. List some words that Steinbeck uses to describe George. How do these descriptions compare and/or contrast to one another?

Lennie is described as a huge man, shapeless of face, with large pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing a his sides but hung loosely. George is described as small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes, and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small strong hands, slender arms, thin and bony nose. The two descriptions are so different it even says "Behind him walks he opposite".

Lennie's description gives the reader the impression of a huge, strong, dumb man. It makes you think he is extremely brawny but lacks brains. George's description makes you think of a cunning little man who is not very strong but gets out of tough situations with his braininess. You can tell just by the way and position they are walking in that George is the leader and although he may be small his presence isn't. They way Lennie slouches and drags his feet makes you think of a wandering child. And once they start speaking you see George as the annoyed parent.

George's first impression is a little misleading because he seems like a cunning person who can get away with anything and is planning on cheating Lennie or a man who is forcing Lennie to do his bidding by tricking him. This is completely wrong because George turns out to be very kind and compassionate. He could have abandoned Lennie a while ago. Lennie is also a little misleading because to me, at first, I thought he might be a thug. As soon as he started talking though, it was clearly not true.

This book goes deeper than your average book. Most books would have a couple of workers be side characters or villains. Most people, at least I, have never thought of workers as the book has you think. Most children's books have workers thinking of just money or nothing else. They don't do deep into a person you don't think of much and have them be as three dimensional as they are in this book. In just this first part, you can see George's kindness, Lennie's innocence, and both of their joy in small things.

Part One Of Mice and Men: the Mouse

Part One Of Mice and Men: the Mouse

One thing I found quite interesting was the mouse and how it related back to Lennie. The way Lennie feels about the mice is really heartbreaking because you can tell he loves to pet things and he doesn’t meant to kill them. Sometimes his love of petting things gets him in trouble, like when he felt the girl’s dress and had to hide. I predict that his love of petting things will get him in trouble in the future because of how George told him to always come back to the place by the river if the ever got in trouble and we have already been told that Lennie will, in the future, do something to Curley's wife.

Even though George won’t let Lennie keep the mice that he accidentally kills, you can tell that he still wants his friend to be happy. He wants to give Lennie a puppy so Lennie can pet something and be able to keep it for a long time without killing it. I wonder why Lennie loves to pet things. Maybe it calms him because the world is confusing to him and petting things soothes him. I remember reading something once that said that with people with mental disorders, a familiar feel sometimes calms them down. Either way, I predict that Lennie’s love of petting things will get him in trouble and George will have to get him out.

Part One Blog Post

Something that really stood out to me during the first section of OMAM was the creative characterization. Especially when used with Lennie. The way Steinbeck  creates Lennie, especially with the scenario with the mice, both tie into the title, and make me understand Lennie completly. He is a mentally disabled man, who is living during the Great Depression - what a setback. Even smart able bodied men were struggling to find jobs in those days, what hope does Lennie have? But countless times in the first section,  Lennie displays selflessness. What really stood out to me was when he offers his imaginary ketchup to George. "I'd leave it all for you. You could cover your beans with it and I wouldn't touch none of it."

He reminds me of a Golden Retriever. Very sweet and eager to please, but not the smartest. Not quite aware of just how big he is.

In contrast, seeing how challenged Lennie is, gives me a huge appreciation for George, (which I assume will grow as the story unfolds.) Here is a man, struggling to find a job, but pursues it with someone who he contantly needs to take care of. The stress! Although a couple times he complains about having Lennie there, I know that deep down he is gratefull for someone to spend time with, and feels the needs to care for Lennie.

If you were living during the Great Depression, and someone like Lennie approached you wanting to look for a job together would you accept? Would you let that person hang around even if it meant more responsibility?

Part 1 Qs

Part 1:

(REMEMBER: These questions are OPTIONAL; you can respond to them in a post, or just used them as direction for what to focus on while you read)

1. There are examples of symbolism, foreshadowing, AND irony within just this first section! Identify one of these and explain.

2. We know that the story takes place in Salinas Valley, California during the 1930’s. Do some outside research and share with your classmates something that you learned about this setting (time and/or place). Then discuss how that might affect the plot of the novel.

3. List some words that Steinbeck uses to describe Lennie. List some words that Steinbeck uses to describe George. How do these descriptions compare and/or contrast to one another?

Anticipation Guide #3

Of the many feelings that hurt – grief, anger, jealousy, loneliness – loneliness hurts the most.

     I strongly agree with this statement. A lot of feelings can make people hurt, but no feeling could make a person hurt more than loneliness. When you feel angry, jealous, or sad, you could always rely on a friend or family member that you really trust to help you. They could share a few kind words, try to help you out, and even make you forget about the bad feeling that you are experiencing. However, loneliness is felt because of the lack of your friends or family. For example, if you’re experiencing some hard times (such as getting bullied), and for some reason, your friends and family aren’t there to help you out, you feel lonely. You feel helpless because there is no one for you to tell your troubles to or to rely on.

     Some people would argue that loneliness feels so much better than emotions such as anger and grief. I see their point, but I disagree with that. Sure, anger and grief can feel pretty awful sometimes, but they can eventually be cured over time with the support of your friends and family. Even if one of them were to betray you, the others would still help you get over it. When you feel lonely, it’s like you shut yourself out from the rest of the world. You feel like you’re trapped in your own little cell and no one is there to help you. Even though I’ve never really experienced true loneliness before, I have experienced loneliness briefly and I feel like it’s the most painful of all emotions in the long run.

Ant Guide Q8

Life today is more difficult than it was in the 1930's.

I think  that this statement is incorrect because in the 1930's people were going through the great depression and they were losing their jobs and not getting payed. Today is a lot different, lots of people have jobs and are getting payed for their work. Back then there wasn't a whole bunch of technology and now there is lots and lots of technology like cell phones that we use to call and text people when ever we want to. Then people used type writters, news papers, and wired phones to get info.

Anticipation Q1

PEOPLE THAT ARE POOR SHOULD GET A JOB RATHER THAN RELYING ON FRIENDS, FAMILY, OR CHURCH FOR HELP.

I think that people that are poor need a little help and support because without a support system, people might not have self-esteem or confidence. There are many different reasons why people don't have a job. Even if you do have a job, it might not pay you enough so you might have to still rely on your friends, family, etc. Some might have dropped out of college or someone doesn't have enough money to go to college.

There is a man that I see on the street and I don't know his story but he doesn't even have a place to live. He doesn't have any clean clothes. On your job interview, the first thing they look at is your appearance and people judge you, making up their own stories that they think in their head about you.

Some people might agree while others might disagree. Many people do it but don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

Do you guys disagree or agree with my opinion in the blog? If not, tell me why. If you were in this situation, what would you think?

Anticipation Guide Q6

"Being rich is more important than having close friends."

I do not agree with this statement! In my opinion, I would rather have close friends, and not have as much money. For example, say you just won the lottery and have 1 billion dollars. You would be rich! You could buy a mansion, or buy anything you wanted. Sometimes when people get rich, their personality changes and they might become snooty or rude. When they act like that infront of other people, the people might not want to hang out with them anymore. That could lead to no friends, and loneliness. So, you could have everything you wanted and still be lonely. 

“You can’t buy friends” is a good lesson that represents this topic. This is a good lesson because you can’t pay someone to be a true friend. It is always important to remember that a friend is worth more than anything in the world. 

But there are people who would do anything to be rich, they might even give away their friends for it. Those people could still be happy, just maybe not as happy as people who have close friends. What do you think about this statement? Do you agree? Or is friendship more important?

AG #10

Dreaming is for dreamers, and dreams go nowhere. Be real.

I really could disagree more. All my life parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends have told me to never stop dreaming. To never stop believing in what power I have to do great things with my life. I'v been the daughter, granddaughter, and niece of hearing the short three words of "never give up" or "always believe in yourself" or "never stop dreaming". Yes some of my dreams have been a little spontaneous like, ride a unicorn to space or be an alien. But what I say the most is, once we stop dreaming we stop believing and once we stop believing we stop believing in ourselves, and once that happens we lose all of the power and hope we can hold. Once we lose that hope we become blind and start to think very little of ourselves, and begin to live the most 'typical' life we think we can have. Thats why its important to always hold on to your dreams no matter how out outrageous, spontaneous, and crazy they may seem. You have to hold onto those dreams because someday somehow our turn to make those dreams come true will happen. When this day comes the people that held onto their dreams will make them happen. When the people let go of those dreams will have noting to say or do because those dreams are long gone, and no matter how far they rate they wont be able to catch them. 

Considering this topic, I could not think of my life without dreaming. Every night, day every breathing second we get I hope we all get the chance to dream. Dreaming is the best way to get out of reality. I dream dreams that are too crazy for this world, but they can happen and I hope they will happen. I think everyone should get the chance to dream to get the chance to hold onto something that isn't there, but soon will become true. I think dreamers have the chance to get away from reality, its a way for them to believe in themselves and what they can do.

Considering the other side of this topic, I can see why people believe they need to be 'real'. Some people think that going to outer space is far out of reach. I understand that some dreams are too spontaneous. Some people like to be real because they believe that that the only way they will get somewhere. The only way they will get a job, or home is to wake up and be real. They know whats too far out of reach for them and they can tell the difference from reality and dreams. I can see why some people think its better to keep their life in the right perspective of being realistic. 

AG #3

Of the many feelings that hurt-grief, anger, jealousy, loneliness-loneliness hurts the most

I am undecided about this. I have not experienced these myself but I have read plenty of first person novels in which these are depicted. The reason I am undecided is that all of these emotions seem equally heart wrenching depending on the conditions in which they are experienced.

The three reactions in books I have observed most to loneliness most are a sense of numbness, shutting oneself off from the world and giving everyone the cold shoulder, or a sense of self-pity. To me, neither of these seem as awful as grief. At least in loneliness you can usually change it but as for grief you can't usually reclaim what you have lost. Or jealousy, if you're a nice person and you feel jealous then you may feel terrible that you are having such emotions towards someone. If you're not a nice person, then the jealousy may fester and eat away at you. Anger is the type of emotion that comes out in everything you do and in most cases it is something that comes in little bursts and goes away fast.

Although, it seems to be less extreme than the other three, loneliness has its own form of torture. It is a creeping feeling that sticks with you. And there are several types. There is the feeling or loneliness that results in not being with your own kind, in which having friends is an easy cure. Another one is loneliness from a specific person or thing. For example, your pet may have recently died and your lonely for it. There is also, when you are surrounded with people but you feel left out. Either you're among strangers or you're not feeling like your self.

Through all this I have concluded that each of the emotions are all different and although some many be more unbearable to certain people, I do not believe that loneliness hurts the most.

What does everyone else think? Do you think loneliness hurts the most? If not which one?

Ant Guide Q4

Women today are more often treated by men as equals rather that objects.

I agree to some extent. Most women are treated as equals and respected as such. Women aren't treated as much as objects but are treated as less than men. Although some women today are still treated as objects. Women are sometimes expected to be housewives and have the man care for them. While many women care for children and the household, women who work are frowned upon (sometimes). 

Women still get payed less than men for doing the same jobs. There are also some jobs that women aren't as respected in such as doctors, many people don't trust women as doctors. Jobs such as scientist, CEO, doctor, engineer, and mechanics. Women are almost expected to be an assistant to men in many jobs such as dental hygienist (dentist) and nurses (doctors). Many of those jobs the women do most of the work while the men take the credit.

Ant Guide Q4

Women today are more often treated by men as equals rather than objects.

Many woman are treated as equals, but many woman are not. 

There are still incidents where women are getting abused, catcalled, and bought. Every 9 seconds, a woman is being assaulted or beaten. They are being treated as animals that are to be tamed rather than the human beings they are. 

There are still giant wage gaps in such industries as music and acting. Take Jennifer Lawrence as an example. She wrote this long essay about how her profits were much less of what the men made while making a movie. Jennifer and her costar Amy Adams only received about 7 percent of the movie profits while the men, Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale, were getting almost 10. This is not an example of objectification, but it is an example of gender inequality. In other jobs, such as doctors, scientists, and engineers, women aren't expected to be working there. When they do work there, they are not paid as much and are treated like a group of kittens. (For anyone who doesn't that comparison I mean they are treated like they are fragile and cannot do much). Women are usually only treated equally when they are in a higher position, even then they are still not treated as a man would be if he was in that position. 

CeCe

Ant Guide Q5

Mentally impaired people are worthless, and cannot function like "regular" people. 

This statement hits a little too close to home for me. Because I was diagnosed with "petit mal" (little big in French) seizures when I was 8, I guess you could say that I am "mentally impaired". This trait runs in my family, my mother was diagnosed when she was young my brother as well, and then me. Luckily it is something that is outgrown so neither my mom, nor my brother are still affected. Even though I am lucky to have such a mild diagnosis, (compared to the Grand Maul seizures, which is probably the scary image that comes into your head at the word seizure,) In fact my family does not like to call them seizures, that word is kind of scary, we refer to them as "space outs". But they are not nothing. I still have to take medicine for it twice a day. About once a year I have to go to Children's Hospital for an EEG, which is basically where neurologists, (brain doctors) look at my brain while I sleep to see if there is any seizure activity.  

So how does all that background information tie into the question?  (I promise it does)

This Thanksgiving, I was doing a lot of thinking about what I was grateful for, and while some things where obvious, (good friends and family, house, education etc.) one I had away mentioned struck me: Heath. It is easy to say that you are thankful for your health, and normally when we say that (or at least when I did) I was referring to my gratitude of not having the flu, or catching a cold, catching whatever bug was going around the school, or that my older grandparents are all in good heath. However, a family member (I don't remember who) pointed out to me, what if I was not able to take my medicine, Zorontin, twice a day. What if I lived during a time when it had not yet been invented? What if my family was in a different financial situation and was not able to afford the medicine? I would be incredibly limited because although the seizure itself does not harm me, it just looks like I am distracted, or looking somewhere in the distance for a little while, if I could not take my medicine so much would be different. I would not be able to ride a bike: What if I spaced out and fell? I could not drive: What if I spaced out and hit someone? The limitations would be endless.

So, although I do not know when my medicine was invented, I do know that if I lived in a time when it was not, my life would be incredibly challenged. I would be "mentally impaired". People would stereotype me and maybe some would be scared of me. That is why I think it is important to make a conscious effort to see past someone's looks, or the first odd thing that you notice about them. Give everybody a chance. Easier said than done but remember: nobody is worthless.

Think about your life, do you take any prescribed medications? Does someone you love? How would your/their life be different if that was not available?

Of Mice and Men Anticipation/ Reaction Guide

Question 10

"Dreaming is for dreamers, and dreamers go nowhere. Be real."

       I disagree with this statement wholeheartedly. First of all, dreamers go much farther than any other type of person. If no one in this world had dreams, the human race would be nowhere. We need dreams. They create and fuel our passion to accomplish things, they light the fire in our hearts to aspire for greater things, something just beyond the horizon. If we didn't have dreams, we wouldn't have America. America and its culture is based on the idea of manifest destiny, which is the idea that it is every American's right to want to expand their land. Also, it is known as the American Dream to want to have as much land as possible. And what do you think made all those people want to brave unknown lands? It was their aspiration, their dream from they themselves to complete.

      Secondly, without the dreamers of this world, we would have no inventions, for inventions come from people's dreams to help themselves or other people. And where would we be without inventions? Would we have air conditioning and heating? No. Would we have more comfortable ways of transportation? Nope. Better filtered water and cleaner food? Nada. Without inventions, we would be struggling as a species. And inventions come from inventors, which get the ideas from the inventions from their dreams.

          Thirdly, the phrase "Be real," in this quote makes absolutely no sense. Be real about what? Be real about the fact that dreamers can't accomplish anything and go anywhere? But that's no true. So I disagree, and firmly say that dreamers go extremely far, and that is true. 

          

Ant Guide q. 4

Women Today are more often treated by men as equals rather than objects.

I agree with this statement to an extent. While I do believe it has gotten better in the United States, it isn’t like we aren’t objectified at all. In fact, with many pop and rap songs of today, women are seen as objects above anything, sometimes as a man’s property. Sexism is so common in the world today, it is hard to believe it could have been any worse sometimes.

One way it has improved is the fact that women can have jobs. If you go back even one-hundred years, it was very uncommon for a woman to have a job. They were thought to belong in the kitchen and take care of the children, and that was all. Now, while women get paid a lot less for the same job as a man, around $.75 to the man’s dollar, women still have jobs.

For example, I once saw a political cartoon of two construction workers of both genders. The man was carrying a heavy box and the woman a substantially lighter one. The woman was complaining about how it was unfair that they be paid different amounts. This was supposed to counter the complaint of inequality on payment as I mentioned in the last paragraph. This is untrue because you won't get less work just because of your gender.

Also, women are now allowed to vote, in comparaison to not.

This is not every situation, this is just in general, and in all, the situation has improved a lot.

AQ#8

I believe that this is a false statement.

In the 1930's the great depression had first hit United States. Many people lost their job which led to people losing homes, health, family's, and sometimes even lives. To this day everyone is wanting more money and more clothes and new phones, but imagine not knowing where your next meal is coming from and even if you were gonna have one. This statement leaves me to decide that 1930's were tougher times than currant day.

While many people might believe that currant day is worse for reasons such as war, ISIS, Social media, ect., they are right, all of those things are bad. Although those are bad now many wore worse in 1930. War was raging and many lives were ended for the people on the United states side of the army. Social media was so rare that it was hard to communicate with one another unless you were to go to someones home to meet with them. In conclusion I believe that 1930's had many more problems and conflicts then current day United states.

AG#5

Mentally impaired people are worthless, and cannot function like "regular" people.


                        I personally had a hard time with this answer, I have a cousin who is mentally impaired. It was hard to choose from disagree and mixed emotions. I had mixed emotions because, I disagree with the statement that they're are worthless. Yet, I agree with the statement that some cannot function like "regular" people, and it was hard to choose between the two. The answer is based off of personal experience or opinion, and I'm still choosing between the two statements.

AGQ3

Of the many feelings that hurt- grief, anger, jealousy, loneliness- loneliness hurts the most. 

Loneliness, in my opinion, hurts more than any feeling. You can feel grief, anger, or jealousy and still have someone to talk to and be there for you. When you are lonely, you are alone. You have no one to talk to and no one to comfort you. Although, grief, anger, and jealousy hurt very much, you can always have help from people to make you feel better. Sometimes when you are lonely it brings on many other feelings that hurt. When you feel lonely, you feel like you are trapped in a way. You can't help yourself out of the situation in one way or another. 

I do not know how I would function being alone. I talk to my friends and family about everything. Not being able to share my experiences and thoughts with others would make me feel very, very sad. Having all of those thoughts in my head waiting to be shared would be like torture. I would try to do everything I can to try to get myself out and away from the loneliness. 

AG Q4

Women today are more often treated by men as equals rather than objects.

I would have to disagree to this statement. This is because even though on the positive side of things, women do get more respect than in the early 1900s, but in media, not so much. Women, celebrities especially, aren’t really respected, or don’t portray themselves in a respectful manner. Yes, there are well-known women such as Oprah Winfrey or Ellen DeGeneres that actually do good for others and themselves, but that typically doesn’t get the limelight. It’s typically the newest love story that makes the headlines of the media.

It isn’t just celebrities either. Women are supposed to be a fair equal in society, but yet, they don’t even get paid as equal as men. If women are as equal as men, why can’t they even be paid the same? I mean, women have to get paid too, and it should be no different than the men. I think this sort of goes back to the idea of men are supposed to do all of the work while the women stay home. Even though society has improved the fairness between men and women, I find that the US hasn’t really gotten rid of sexism. It has just been hushed. Once again, it is getting better, it’s just not as abolished as everyone portrays it to be. Do you think that women are equal in society now? Or is it just less of an issue?

Ant Guide Q6

Being rich is more important than having close friends.

Wow. I could not disagree more! Given the 1.5 billion dollar lottery that was just up for grabs, this statement is quite fitting. I, just like everyone else, had fun dreaming about winning that insane amount of money. However, you have to also consider the horror stories of people who have won in the past and ended up losing everything. And by everything, I don’t mean the money. They invested well and spent responsibly, BUT… surely it caused strife amongst family and friends who suddenly needed to borrow money. No amount of money is worth replacing the support of friends and family.

Considering friends specifically, I could not function without them. I love my family, but there is something different about the support of a friend. I am so lucky to have many amazing friends in my life – some of them are people I work (or have worked) with, some of them are people I met back in college, and some of them are people who have been in my life for as long as I can remember. I have two life-long friends whose friendships date back to 3^rd grade! We went to school together from 3^rd grade all the way through college. We were in each other’s weddings, and even though we live in three different states, we talk often and visit when we can. Sometimes months go in between visits, but when we’re together it’s like no time has passed. Those are the best kind of friendships, where you know each other so well that you don’t have to explain and justify things; you just get each other.

I think there are definitely people who would take the other side, who believe that money trumps everything. Surely you can maintain (or create) happiness if you are rich… money provides big houses, fancy cars, and amazing trips. But again, I disagree. If you don’t have friends to share your big house, fancy car, and especially those amazing trips with, what’s the point? I argue that it is true friendship that brings about joy, confidence, adventure, support, and all-around happiness.

What do you guys think? Does money ultimately trump all things? Or do you hold the greatest value on your friendships?

Welcome!

Hey Wolverines!

Welcome to our Blog J   

I'm so excited to get this going! You ladies blew me away with your commitment to class discussions throughout Chains, so I wholeheartedly believe you are ready to take it to the next level - - putting your thoughts out into the blogging world. With this comes a bit of added responsibility, but I know you all will meet and exceed expectations (and we will talk much more about this in detail in class).

LOGISTICS: Instead of submitting answers to Walsh-created discussion questions on Canvas for each section of our novel Of Mice and Men, you all will be engaging in discussion here on our blog! But here's the catch... this means I need YOU to spur discussion. This could be done by posing profound (ding!) questions, by writing a thoughtful reflection that encourages your classmates to respond, and/or by writing a insightful response to a classmate's post. You will find more information about the requirements below.

***Confession: I will still post some discussion questions J This will be to get your mind focused on certain ideas & topics as you read. You are welcome to respond to them, but you are also encouraged to create your own questions to pose to your classmates. 

TIPS for Blogging:

• Please use professional font (style, size, color)
• There is a spell check option (use it!) and be sure to reread your post before publishing to make sure it reads fluently and professionally.
• Unlike your google docs, blogger does not auto-save! Be sure to click save several times while you are working on your post.
• When your post is finalized, you must publish in order for your classmates & teacher to view/comment.

Grading (4-point scale):

To receive full credit, you will be expected to complete one blog post or comment per section of the novel (there are six). Please note: the requirements for comments are the same as blog posts – comments on a classmates’ post should be just as long and thoughtful as the blog post itself. Posts & comments should be at least one paragraph in length and should include profound thinking that serves to further your own understanding of the book as well as your classmates’. While blogging certainly has a more casual feel and tone, you must remain professional in language (no technology slang - - i.e. LOL, OMG, u instead of you, etc.)  Blogs will be graded on thoughtfulness & effort as well as grammar and conventions. **Please see my example posts for clarity. 

4	3	2	1
Meets all expectations. This is shown through a complete post/comment that shows deep thinking that is fully explained. Professional language is used.	Meets most expectations. This is shown through a complete post/comment that shows deep thinking, but may not be fully explained. Professional language is used.	Meets some expectations. This is shown through a blog post/comment that shows signs of deep thinking, but a lack of explanation leads to the reader with questions. Some slang is used.	Not meeting expectations. This is shown through an incomplete blog post that lacks signs of deep thinking. Slang is frequently used.