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
The Rabbit Speaks
Why does Steinbeck use Aunt Clara and a rabbit to
speak at the end?
Throughout the book there are many references to both characters. Steinbeck refers to Aunt Clara at the beginning as the only female mothering role for Lennie, "'An' you ain't to be trusted with no live mice. Your Aunt Clara give you a rubber mouse and you wouldn't have nothing to do with it'" (p.10). No other females were ever mentioned compared to the sheer repetition of this supposedly "not introduced" character. This almost scolding and punishing role of Aunt Clara in Lennie's hallucination was used solely to visually bring to life all of Lennie's fears, and in the case of Aunt Clara, it would be the fear of disappointing her and George by him doing "Bad things". In the case of the Rabbits, however, the rabbits seem to be the only thing which Lennie seems deeply attached to and drawn to. All of Lennie's actions seem to be questioned by Lennie himself, as he is afraid that George won't let him tend to the rabbits. As Lennie sits in the barn and grabs Curly's Wife's hair and she screams, but Lennie begs her to stop as if he is unable to stop himself, "'Oh! Please don't do none of that... George gonna say I done a bad thing. He ain't gonna let me tend no rabbits'" (p.91). The rabbit in Lennie's hallucination can be described as a symbolic character of himself, after all, Lennie's own voice comes out of the rabbit when it talked in the dream. The rabbit is Lennie himself, as the softness of it's fur can be directly related to the softness and sweetness of his intentions, but the harsh words which the rabbit punishes Lennie with in the dream can also relate to the harsh reality of Lennie and his actions. Both characters are live versions of Lennie's fears, and they both bring a sense of depth to Lennie as a whole. Madison R. (I can't change the post from unknown unfortunately)
Throughout the book there are many references to both characters. Steinbeck refers to Aunt Clara at the beginning as the only female mothering role for Lennie, "'An' you ain't to be trusted with no live mice. Your Aunt Clara give you a rubber mouse and you wouldn't have nothing to do with it'" (p.10). No other females were ever mentioned compared to the sheer repetition of this supposedly "not introduced" character. This almost scolding and punishing role of Aunt Clara in Lennie's hallucination was used solely to visually bring to life all of Lennie's fears, and in the case of Aunt Clara, it would be the fear of disappointing her and George by him doing "Bad things". In the case of the Rabbits, however, the rabbits seem to be the only thing which Lennie seems deeply attached to and drawn to. All of Lennie's actions seem to be questioned by Lennie himself, as he is afraid that George won't let him tend to the rabbits. As Lennie sits in the barn and grabs Curly's Wife's hair and she screams, but Lennie begs her to stop as if he is unable to stop himself, "'Oh! Please don't do none of that... George gonna say I done a bad thing. He ain't gonna let me tend no rabbits'" (p.91). The rabbit in Lennie's hallucination can be described as a symbolic character of himself, after all, Lennie's own voice comes out of the rabbit when it talked in the dream. The rabbit is Lennie himself, as the softness of it's fur can be directly related to the softness and sweetness of his intentions, but the harsh words which the rabbit punishes Lennie with in the dream can also relate to the harsh reality of Lennie and his actions. Both characters are live versions of Lennie's fears, and they both bring a sense of depth to Lennie as a whole.
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