Marks Final English Exam
Candy
old ranch worker, represents "sweet" hope, the "swamper" (does odd jobs around the ranch), disabled (hand cut off in a work accident), laments that he wasted his life working, fears being abandoned when he becomes completely useless (he wont get shot like his dogs, he'll get thrown on the streets), intrigued by G&L dream and almost makes it a reality w his savings but then Lennie kills CW and ruins everything-- he even remains optimistic ab the dream's reality in that moment
The Boss
owns ranch, thinks G&L relationship and sudden leave from Weed is fishy (L isnt allowed to talk- but he ends up saying "strong as a bull" repeating what G said, foreshadows that his forgetfulness and mistakes are not over) but is content with the excuses they give ("traveling partners" and "the job was done"), father of Curley, we never learn anything else ab him (but he seems very different from Curley in his fairness towards G&L- and keeping Candy on)
travesty
poor representation or imitation; distortion
politic
prudent or shrewdly tactful
stolid
showing little or no emotion
succor
something that gives relief or aid
Horizon
symbolizes quest for understanding the world, developing herself, pushing boundaries, finding happiness, constant struggle for something you can't ever reach, Quest for autonomy
hurricane
symbolizes the power of nature, opposes the pear tree in that it shows the chaos and uncontrollability and destruction of nature - their eyes watch god while he destroys them - does he really care?
Pear Tree
symbolizes womanhood, quest for perfect harmony
Doctor, Nurse
take Blanche away to mental hospital
SOUTHERN gothic eccentricity
tears down the culture that hides its flaws and puts forth the socially appropriate and accepted behaviors to reveal what goes on underneath that facade
Clara
the "bad whorehouse" owner
Suzy
the "good whorehouse" owner, personable, emobodies the impossibility of the repression of carnal feelings, her business causes many of the men to spend all of their money and get stuck in the cycle of poverty
Shep Huntleigh
the married Texan millionaire that Blanche met in Miami, she develops a fantasy that Shep is coming to save her from New Orleans which ultimately gets her institutionalized
Mexican Woman
"flowers for the dead" - the dead foreshadows Blanche's fate in mental institution later which marks the virtual end of her life
grotesque characters are, who defined this
"people who base their entire lives around one single truth. the pursuit of that truth eventually warps and isolates them " - Sherwood Anderson
Southern Gothic Literature traits
1) presence of horror and violence 2) ominous houses, gothic architecture, rural houses, gloomy settings 3) acknowledges evil as a real force 4) focus on death 5) twisted endings 6) women oppressed by/controlled by men - oppression in general 7) everything not as it seems 8) dreams/hallucinations/experiences outside reality/supernatural 9) grotesque characters lured to violent or wicked acts
influx of migrant laborers in CA caused by:
1. Farmer's Blues (recession after mainly but also before WWI) 2. worsened by Black Tuesday 1929 and Great Depression 3. over-farming of the Great Plains land to make up for losses= dust bowl (erosion, 7 yr drought 1931) result= farm foreclosures and unusable land= millions out of work fled to Calif for jobs
Governing Themes in OMAM (to name a few)
1. aloneness vs. fraternity 2. shattered/lost dreams/ dream vs. reality 3. cycle of poverty/economic futility
what does Goldhurst consider the three biggest questions that Steinbeck intended to raise via OMAM?
1. the consideration of man as a creature alone or as a brother and companion to others 2. the futility of the all-too-human attempt to recapture Eden 3. exploration of the human psyche and its weaknesses
____ % unemployment rate among farmers in OMAM era
30
Stella Kowalski
denies reality just as much as her sister, just in a less dramatic way - chooses to believe that her husband did not rape Blanche when she knows he probably did deep down - the way she explains the reason that she forgives Stanley for beating her is that their love is just stronger than that ...
intractable
difficult to manipulate or govern
The attainability of heaven in OMAM
dream (farm) = heaven-- they can't achieve then can they reach heaven?
what is the American Dream? (3 parts)
dream of money/prosperity, yes, but much more than that. dream of social order of which we are all capable of regardless of situation you are born into (unfortunately this is not true for many people-- many can't escape the class they were born into, and even when they do, do they really?-- ex: will gatsby, who came from rags in ND, ever be an east-egger?) 3 parts of American Dream: 1. admiration for America as a land of beauty, bounty, and unlimited promise 2. optimism (a result of the ceaselessly growing sense of opportunity/hope) 3. importance/ultimate triumph of the individual-- independent, self-reliant person
Nunkie
firsts with Tea Cake over and over, causing Janie to become jealous until Tea Cake reassures her that there is nothing between Nunkie and him
e
from/out
Curley's Wife
nameless to suggest she is treated as Curley's possession, beautiful and sensuous woman who is called a slut because of her desirability, really she is just lonely just like all the others (were supposed to feel sorry for her and get frustrated with her-- she is a victim of a society that treated women horribly), hates Curley because "he aint a nice fella," she represents temptation, is killed by Lennie accidentally
was Calif the answer to the migrants' dreams/prayers?
nope, Depression affected CA too and there was a shortage of jobs wages were so low that they had to travel around the state following the harvest to make ends meet/ a steady income
Gender Criticism
- "examines how sexual identity influences the creation and reception of literary works" - central precept of feminism: patriarchal attitudes that have dominated western thought have resulted, consciously or unconsciously, in literature *full of unexamined 'male-produced' assumptions* - *examines how "images of men and women in literature reflect or reject the social forces that have historically kept the sexes from achieving total equality"* questions to consider: 1) role of women/ how that role fits into time the novel was written/ how that work would be received now? 2) role of gender in power relations 3) sexual stereotypes reinforced or contradicted? 4) role of marriage as an institution? prominent exs: 1) Daisy from the GG 2) Cat in the Rain etc 3) the yellow wallpaper, drusilla etc 3) the awakening 4) their eyes were watching god - women have little power to make choices
Logan Killicks
- Janie's 1st husband - Nanny arranges their marriage when Janie is way too young, bc she tricks Janie into believing that she needs a man and Logan is best available (still not good, Janie doesnt find him attractive and gets depressed) - financial security - treats Janie like a farm animal - destroys her hope for romantic love -
frame story, what, how is TEWWG one
- begins and ends with someone telling a story (would really be told through flashbacks in conversation, but told as if it were a regular story on paper) - Janie is telling her story to Phoebe from start to finish - the story that she tells Phoebe is what has occurred since they have seen each other
biographical criticism
- begins with the simple but central insight that "literature is written by actual people and that *understanding an author's life* can help readers more thoroughly comprehend the work" - focuses on explicating the literary work by using the insight provided by the knowledge of the author's life - not every part of a text is directly associated with an event in the author's life; text analysis>> bio info, with bio info only included to amplify meaning of text (you're not supposed to delineate every year of author's life) questions to consider: 1) what effect did the writer's experiences have on his/her work? 2) how does info about the author's life enhance understanding of text? 3) how are the author's values reflected in the work 4) are characters and events in the work versions of the writer's own experiences? prominent exs: 1) LOST GEN - Hemingway, Fitzgerald often modeled situations in their works after their own experiences - ex topic: what influenced Hemingway to create the code hero? how is Fitzgerald's obsession with class similar to Gatsby's?
Jody Starks
- builds Eatonville from the ground up, confidence attracts Janie but turns out to be narcissism and he objectifies and beats her - he does not consider women equal to men - makes Janie keep quiet and wear her hair up - needs a "big voice" - he gets liver sickness and dies but Janie forces him to realize how selfish he had been throughout their marriage literally just before he dies
Archetypal/Mythological Criticism
- deals with "the recurrent patterns underlying most literary works" - "explores the artist's common humanity by tracing how the individual imagination uses myths and symbols common to different cultures and epochs" - look at works in a broader context according to archetypes terms to understand: 1) archetype= "a symbol, character, situation, or image that evokes a deep universal response which recurs enough in literature to be recognizable as an element of one's literary experience as a whole" 2) archetypes trigger the "collective unconscious" - "primal memories common to the human race (feelings about heat, water, etc)" questions to consider: 1) what incidents in the work seem common or familiar enough as actions that they might be considered symbolic or archetypal? similar story lines, code heroes, antiheroes, etc 2) stuff such as religious traditions that the elements of a story might be associated with
Psychoanalytical Criticism
- examines *unconscious desires and feelings which affect a person's emotions and behavior* - symbolic meaning of events and analyzes *motivations of characters* - analyzes *writer's motivations* questions to consider: 1) psychological theories and/or conditions present in the characters? - oedipal complex, OCD, sexual repression, narcissism, bipolar disorder, clinical depression, denial, guilt 3) repressed material expressed through symbols or imagery? 4) weather etc reflecting mental states of characters? prominent exs: 1) Jay Gatbsy - narcissist
Marxist Criticism
- examines ideological *assumptions made by novel about class, power (money), and culture* - goal: *correct social injustice* questions to consider: 1) who has money and thus the power and who does not? what is the significance of this? 2) role of power, money, class? 3) what happens has a result of differences in power, money, class? prominent exs: 1) Of Mice and Men -brings to light the disadvantaged (poor and mentally handicapped) who are disenfranchised by the American Dream
Nanny Crawford
- former slave - raised Janie - dies but manages to arrange Janie and Logan's marriage first - kind of selfish on her part bc she wanted to be at peace that she had tried her best with Janie before she died so that Janie didnt end up like her mom or worse - but Nanny truly believes that women are entirely dependent upon men, another factor in this - financial security = goal for nanny - Janie later hates her grandmother for restricting her independence but acknowledges that Nanny was just trying to help
Formalist Criticism
- literature= "a unique form of human knowledge that needs to be examined on its own terms - *all the elements necessary for understanding the work are contained within the work itself* - *study of FORMS*- style, structure, tone, imagery, etc questions to consider: 1) relationship between form and meaning? 2) purpose of diction, imagerym metaphors, syntax, irony, sumbols, etc? 3) interaction of words, figures of speech, symbols (tone, etc)? prominent exs: 1) Great Gatsby symbols (colors, green light, valley of ashes, eyes of TJ Eckelberg) 2) Hemingway's iceberg 3) Hurston motifs - the pear tree, horizon
Blanche Dubois
- obsessed with the idea of keeping Belle Reve alive but it dies due to epic fornifications of men in family - Blanche marries Allen; Allen cheats on her with a man; Allen shoots himself after Blanche tells him he is disgusting - Blanche never gets over this but does not talk about it - she is found often having conversations with herself and is unstable throughout - Blanche becomes an English teacher - Blanche has an affair with student and gets fired - Blanche turns to prostitution (allegedly) for money at the Flamingo hotel - Blanche comes to New Orleans because she is broke but pretends to be rich with meretricious things (which fool Stanley) and reveals nothing about her actions except that Belle Reve has fallen, and she is angry at Stella for leaving Belle Reve (which seems to have happened long ago) - compulsive liar - hypocrite - unappreciative - can't control her sexual DESIRE - she kisses a young boy who comes to the door - she wants to seduce Mitch, but her chances are ruined when Stanley reveals her promiscuity - the reason Stanely hates her is that she annoys him, is unappreciative, he believes he is robbing him of his right to Stella's fair share of Belle Reve profit (to which he is entitled according to New Orleans code)- really Belle Reve was foreclosed- then, Blanche talks about how Stanley is animalistic and disgusting in his own house behind his back- he overhears and vows (not outright however) to ruin her life - which he succeeds in when she is sent off to mental hospital in the end after she claims that he raped her - which he did - but Stella choose to not believe her sister because it's more convenient for her to believe that Stanley would never do something like that
Janie Crawford
- protagonist - defies gender and racial stereotypes, desires autonomy - has pear tree dream of a perfect man - fights with Nanny - fights with Logan, he is pathetic she wants excitement, says he will beat her but she doesnt believe it - fights with Jody, he is excitement and wealth but she is trophy wife - Jody dies and she is happy - gets along with Tea Cake - he is funny, nice, good intentions, exciting, RESPECTFUL, fights with once or twice but they make up, he treats her well but has nothing, beats her but they make up, he dies when Janie has to shoot him when he picks up a gun while infected by rabies at end - marries 1) Logan Killicks, leaves 2) Jody, leaves 3) Tea Cake, dies
historical criticism
- the relationship of literature to its historical period - "seeks to understand a literary work by investigating the social, cultural and intellectual context that produced it- a context that necessarily includes the *artist's biography* and milieu" - *key goal*: understand the effect of piece upon ORIGINAL readers questions to ask yourself: 1) what is social/political/economic/cultural/intelletcual climate of the time? 2) what is the *RELATIONSHIP* between prevailing attitudes and assumptions *of* the *time period to* the meaning of the *text* prominent examples: 1) LOST GEN stuff (The Great Gatsby, Hemingway) 2) Harlem Renaissance stuff - ex: how social concerns reflect the legacy of slavery
where does the allusion of the OMAM title come from? how does this reflect the plot structure of the book? why mice (why, specifically, does Lennie carry around dead mice)?
-"To a Mouse" poem by Robert Burns 1785, stanza "But mouse you are not alone/ in proving foresight may be vain/ the best laid schemes (of mice and men) [the dream for L&G outlined in ch 1 in New Eden river area)/ go often askew/ and leaves us nothing but grief and pain [the ultimate tragic aftermath in ch 6 again in New Eden river area]/ for promised joy" -cyclical nature of dreams=cyclical nature of this novel -mice are then declared as blessed above humans bc they lack reason, just as Lennie lacks reason for the most part (thats the metaphor behind his mice)
Allen Grey
Blanche's closeted gay husband who kills himself after Blanche finds him having an affair with another man on their honeymoon and proceeds to call him disgusting
The Parable of the Curse of Cain in OMAM
Cain= George, Abel= Lennie (Cain kills naive but strong Abel); Cain curse= he must live alone for the rest of his life-- Cain was the only one to have children, so we all bear Cain's curse today-- L&G try their hardest to live in fellowship, even adding Candy and kind of Crooks to their family, but ultimately, one ends up dead and the other one ends up alone just like every other character; also Cain cannot farm successfully= economic futility of the migrant laborers; G&L= "experiment in fellowship, as we know the aloneness of man's essential nature;" social confines (class immobility, homelessness, economic futility)= cain's curse counterpart today
true climax of the novel?
George's acceptance speech (after he finds CW's dead body and connects the dots to Lennie) of his destiny to be alone/economically dependent-- he realizes his dreams were never a reality and that he is stuck in the cycle of poverty
Slim
God figure, wise, level-headed and fair (although maybe a bit sexist when he scolds Curley for not being able to "control his woman"), respected by the other farm workers, his opinion is "law," "the prince of the ranch," he gives Lennie the puppy that Lennie kills, sides with G&L in the altercation btwn Lennie and Curley and instructs Curley not to get them fired bc of it, George tells Slim ab their time in Weed (Lennie and red dress girl, hiding in gutter from lynch mob) (i.e. God figure), he is the only one who can understand G&L relationship (others cant make sense of it and accuse G of taking advantage of L strength+ignorance, or that the two are sexual partners), also is the only one who understands why G had to kill Lennie (avoid insane asylum, they cant run forever, L cant learn from mistakes)
Teen Collector
comes to Stanely and Stella's door while Blanche is at home alone, Blanche tries to seduce him unsuccessfully and basically rapes him when she kisses him anyways, Blanche is getting ready for a date with Mitch when this happens ...
plenary
complete in every way; full
Tea Cake
Janie's first real love - he steals her $200 and beats her a couple times but they make up; she is jealous of Nunkie hitting on him - respects Janie - has no money - dies when Janie has to shoot him when he picks up a gun when he has rabies, result of attempt to save Janie from a mad dog in hurricane - tea cake encourages her inner development/personality unlike her other husbands - catalyzes Janie toward her goal of autonomy
Lamp Post
Jody as a god figure - let there be light, twisted lust for power, the corruption which a lust for power causes (narcissism, Janie's depression and restlessness and anger etc)
hezekiah potts
Jody's delivery boy, wants to be Jody when Jody dies - repeats stuff he had said
Mr and Mrs Washburn
Nanny's nice employers after she was emancipated, they helped raise Janie, which the kids at school make fun of Janie for
Why did so many of the refugees pin their hopes for a better life on California?
No dust bowl and Calif's mild climate= diversity of crops with staggering harvest times (more constant profit)
Stanley Kowalski
beats wife, tries to ruin wife's sister's life, objectifies women, sees women through sexual lens, animalistic, selfish, not very intelligent but does not let this compromise his dominance, not remorseful, drunkard, rapist
tendentious
biased in perspective; preferring one view over another
Of Mice and Men setting
Soledad, CA (solitude in spanish), Great Depression era; river, bunk house, crooks room, barn, river; friday--sunday (Jesus's resurrection)
TEWWG
TEWWG
Curley
boss's son, small and insecure, napoleon complex, known as being "handsy," thinks of his wife as a possession and is constantly searching for her/cursing her/supposing her infidelity while he is also constantly at the whorehouse, he picks a fight with Lennie who crushes one of his prized hands, cannot comprehend Lennie's mental disability
Steve, Pablo,
brutes, violent, loud, disrespectful
xeric
characterized by or adapted to a dry habitat
sinecure
a job that provides income but requires little or no work
plutocrat
a member of the controlling upper-class
potboiler
a poorly done artistic work, often for quick profit
vignette
a short, descriptive literary sketch
bon mot
a witty remark or saying
in
against/not
what does Goldhurst suggest is the main thing keeping G&L from achieving their dreams?
animal appetite that cannot be suppressed completely (Lennie, the men in the whorehouses) vs. reason (the economic sense, aspiration toward goals)-- the sad fact is that both have to exist for men, thus an imperfect balance is all that is possible (futility)
redoubtable
arousing fear
MLA Quotes
full sentence: "quote" [said verb] that "quote" [said verb], "quote" - ex: when he says, "hello" ; according to John, "quote" weaving= treat like a regular sentence (only put a comma if reg sentence grammar stipulates one) - ex: Frederic thinks that Cat is "probably a little crazy" (30). John Steinbeck says, "hello" (130). - don't put Steinbeck in (), bc his name was in lead up BLOCK QUOTES= 4+ lines - xxxxxxxxxx: tab-->xxxxxxxxxx. (author #) xxxxxxxxx *period goes before () for block quotes* "John, while he untied his shoe, said, 'hello'" "John [...] said, 'hello'" "John [Sally's brother], while he untied his shoe, said, 'hello'" "John, while he untied his, [sic] shoe, 'hello'" Paraphrasing
Crooks
grew up rich (not a former slave or anything-- his books imply he is educated-- he has pride) and got caught in the cycle of poverty (which treats blacks worse than whites of course), compares his life now to his then, got kicked by a horse and now has a crooked back, loneliest of all of these loners bc he is the only black, pessimistic until Lennie's naivety warms him heart but then pessimistic again when CW chills it with her domineering statement of power, wants no trouble but is not innocent himself (bullies Lennie-- shows that all men need to feel power over others in some way), shares the same dream as the rest but is frustrated because the dream is so unattainable for him and so much more attainable for the other white ranch workers who waste all their money on whorehouses, he hates everyone on the ranch bc of this
motor boat
guy who never leaves Everglades during storm and survives flood and hurricance
misogyny
hatred of women
Janie's hair
her power- men fall head over heels for her hair, individuality, freedom, her initial refusal to tie it (which was scandalous) shows that she will challenge norms, symbol of whiteness which is another source (and symbol) of power, when Jody forces her to tie it up she is unhappy and it symbolizes oppression of women
Sam Watson, Leafy Crawford, Amos Hicks
humorous Eatonville porch-sitters who talk all day long
im
in
pre
in front of/before
Carlson
insensitive ranch hand, kills Candy's beloved dog (Candy is afraid to stand up for his feelings bc he might be perceived as unmanly), owns the gun which kills Candy's dog and that Lennie steals and George kills Lennie with
"Okies"
is what migrants were called bc 20% of them were from OK, very conservative beliefs that conflicted with different Calif beliefs when they got there
johnny taylor
janie's first kiss when she first feels sudden sexual desire at age 16 - prompts Nanny to marry off Janie
TEWWG themes
language vs silence, power struggle, love vs. independence (janie wants both, but can she have both?), community, racism, race power, white vs. black, light vs. dark
furlough
leave of absence
domin
lord/master
clandestine
marked by secrecy
Lennie Small
mentally challenged (never explicitly stated but implied) man who George takes care of, has inhuman strength which gets them good jobs, has inhuman kindness, forgetful, incapable of learning from his mistakes, likes to pet soft things (mice, dresses..., hair...), accused of rape in Weed when he petted a girls soft red dress and then she screamed so he panic and held on until she broke free-- then G&L had to flee the town and ended up in Soledad, he dreams of he and George's future farm that they would own, where he could tend to the rabbits and pet them all day long, crushes Curley's hand accidentally (cant control his own strength) in self defense, kills a puppy on the ranch, shortly after kills Curley's wife when she screams after inviting him to pet her soft hair and he held on too long, killed by George (mercy killing much like putting a dog down who is in pain, out of honor for Lennie, George must be the one to kill Lennie), instructed by G to return to the river where the pile of brush is if he does another "bad thing"
Mitch
most sensitive and genteel of the poker players, which is why Blanche is attracted to him - he and Blanche start a relationship but it quickly ends when Stanley enlightens him of Blanche's sexual history - Mitch's mother is dying and Blanche lost her husband - they bond over this
mr and mrs turner
mrs turner prides herself on looking white and laments darker black people and tries to act white - wants to introduce Janie to her brother, who is lighter than Tea Cake mr turner "cannot control his wife" and Tea Cake and other criticize him for this and mess up his restaurant
why could G&L dream have never truly become a reality?
they wanted to return to Eden from the fallen world, they were being impractical in their wishes
vince/vict
to conquer/defeat
digress
to deviate from the original subject or course
disseminate
to disperse or scatter
plic
to fold
com/con
together
George Milton
travels with Lennie, much smaller but capable of hard labor, burdened by Lennie's ignorance/carelessness/general hindrance but he promised Lennie's Aunt Clara that, after she died, he would look after Lennie as she had, he loves Lennie as a brother and promises him that once they make their "stake," they will get a ranch of their own, says that migrant laborers are the loneliest guys in the world but that it is different for them (G&L) bc they have each other, when he kills Lennie he kills his hopes of escaping the cycle of poverty/not being alone for the rest of his life, George is a dreamer and a realist in that he both creates these elaborate plans for the future but also foresees everything that could go wrong and how to avoid those things/he measures the possibility of the dream and realizes that it will be a stretch, but when Candy presents the money he becomes more and more optimistic until Lennie kills CW and he realizes its all over and it always was over
Whit
unimportant ranch hand
Eunice
upstairs neighbor, takes Stella in when Stanley beats her, she and her husband also have a violent relationship
peon
various laborers who are generally landless
dialect, what, what is nature of it in TEWWG, purpose of it in TEWWG
way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain group/area -nature in TEWWG= black AND southern purpose in TEWWG= give further insight into characters- who, origin, level of education, common language reveals relationships between friends, family -*characters dialogue= dialect; narration= formal*
Annie Tyler and Who Flung
wealthy widow and younger man who she married who stole all her money and disappeared one day - Janie fears that something like this may happen with Tea Cake and ruin her hope for love (esp when he "borrows" her $200)
Phoebe Watson
who Janie tells her to - Janie's bff in Eatonville