Please take some time to post two responses to Of Mice and Men before you return to class on January 4. Each post should be at least 100 words long and should include direct references to the text you are discussing. Even if you are responding to a quote in the prompt, you should bolster your own response with other references. Those references should include internal citations to note where you are in the book (p. #). When you make a post, please read all other posts for that question so that you are participating in a conversation. Please do not repeat what other students have already said. There are many questions from which to choose, so you should be able to discuss your ideas somewhere without being redundant. Remember to make some post-it notations about symbols and archetypes, along with any other ideas you would like to discuss when we get back to class.
Feel free to respond to as many prompts as you would like. If you respond to more than two, please asterisk the responses that are NOT for evaluation. Be sure your name appears on each comment, so I can see who you are. I think you will need to log in to your Google account as you work. If you can, please post with your school Google identity. If you post as "Anonymous" without your name, you will not be able to receive credit for your work, so be sure your name appears within the comment if you do that.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Carlson's Last Line
What is the significance of the last line of the book,
spoken by Carlson?
After the heartfelt ending of the novel, the reader is bombarded with Carlson saying, “‘Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?’” (Steinbeck 107 ). His statement is rather casual which is shocking in contrast to Lennie’s death; and this casualness is exactly why it is significant, as it shows how common death occurred at the time. Throughout the novel, death was brought up over and over, from Candy’s dog to Curley’s wife, and no one really cared unless it affected them personally. George had to shoot his best friend, as he did not want Lennie to have the same fate as Candy’s dog, who was shot by some strangers. George’s emotional trauma would then live with him for the rest of his life, however Carlson would remain unaffected. This all ties into the relationship of George and Lennie, as they said that, “ Guys like us got no fambly… They ain’t got nobody in the worl’ that gives a hoot in hell about ‘em… but not us,” (Steinbeck 104). Carlson’s last line is the perfect example of the “guys like them”, and it really shows how special George and Lennie’s relationship was.
After the heartfelt ending of the novel, the reader is bombarded with Carlson saying, “‘Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?’” (Steinbeck 107 ). His statement is rather casual which is shocking in contrast to Lennie’s death; and this casualness is exactly why it is significant, as it shows how common death occurred at the time. Throughout the novel, death was brought up over and over, from Candy’s dog to Curley’s wife, and no one really cared unless it affected them personally. George had to shoot his best friend, as he did not want Lennie to have the same fate as Candy’s dog, who was shot by some strangers. George’s emotional trauma would then live with him for the rest of his life, however Carlson would remain unaffected. This all ties into the relationship of George and Lennie, as they said that, “ Guys like us got no fambly… They ain’t got nobody in the worl’ that gives a hoot in hell about ‘em… but not us,” (Steinbeck 104). Carlson’s last line is the perfect example of the “guys like them”, and it really shows how special George and Lennie’s relationship was.
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