An example from chapter 6 of discrimination was on page 101 was when Lennie had pictured his Aunt Clara saying " All the time he coulda had such a good time if it wasn't for you. He woulda took his pay an' raised hell in a whore house, and he coulda set in a poolroom an' played snooker. But he got to take care of you." This quote that Lennie had imagined his Aunt Clara saying shows that in his mind, he believes that George has done everything good for him when George really treated him like trash sometimes.
The quote above shows how Lennie has the idea put in his head that George has treated him the best that he could but in reality he really treats Lennie like trash sometimes. This could be brought back to the idea of discrimination; and how Lennie is excluded from all activities that the other guys do because of his mental issues. Then Georges offensive attitude against Lennie gives him the idea that George deserves better when really he could've took better care of him as well as treating him in a better way. After all of the criticism that Lennie got from George it lead to this thought in his mind. If George had treated Lennie as a normal person maybe the outcome of the novel would've been different. That is how the quote above has a direct connection to the theme of discrimination.
The topic in this book that I have found most interesting is the theme of racism. I have always found the topic of racism to be very interesting and I've always wondered the actions that provoked whites and blacks to hate each other. How Crooks is treated like trash and he is just is supposed to take it really gets me thinking. It makes me think how twisted the world was back in the 1900's and how hard it was on the black people.
I would say that the topic of racism would connect to me the most from the novella. Being that I play sports and I'm Asian, people would rather want the more athletic black player then they would choose an Asian. When I was younger I used to be discriminated from playing sports in my summer camp. No one would let me enjoy myself in any physical activity. Now that I'm older I do play on several basketball teams but I still have a chip on my shoulder.
Questions
Some questions that I have to this chapter are why would Lennie be mad at the puppy for dying when hes the one who killed it? Does Lennie notice that when he is pulling Curlys wifes hair that he is doing the wrong thing? What is George going to do to Lennie after he has done such a horrible thing? Where did Lennie go to after he killed Curls wife? Is Curly going to kill Lennie?
Summary
Basically in this chapter of the book Lennie kills the puppy that he sought to take care of. He spends some time trying to figure out what he is going to do about the puppy and thinks about what George is going to do with him. Curlys wife soon joins him and they start to talk about why people don't like her. As thy go on Lennie tells Curlys wife that he likes to touch soft things so she tells him to feel her hair. He does and he winds up killing her by breaking her neck. The guys on the farm find her and they also discover that Lennie has ran away. Curly has a vengeance for Lennie and everyone except for Candy goes out to find him.
Prediction
I predict that the George will be split up from the group and will find Lennie. He asks him why he has done what he has done to Curlys Wife and Lennie responds as if nothing happened. As they are talking Curly finds both of them and he believes that they both worked together to kill his wife. So he tries to kill George with his gun but before he can shoot George kills him first. Lennie thanks George for forgiving him and George then kills Lennie too.
In this chapter there were many examples of racist acts. One example was when Curlys wife threatened to have Crooks lynched. This was a very racist act by Curlys wife because she didn't allow Crooks to tell her to get out of the room just because he is black. Crooks cant do anything about that because he knows that if he retaliates then he will be deeply punished. A second example from the story of racism is when Crooks tells Lennie to get out of the room because he believes if he as a black man isn't allowed in the white quarters then the white people aren't allowed in his. Even though Crooks is being treated very bad this is still a racist thing to do.
In the result of this chapter the readers understand that in this time whites have power over the blacks and if black people try to fight back against the white people they could be seriously punished. Also the black people have no control over their lives as this chapter displayed when Crooks was telling Curlys wife to get out of the room she threatened Crooks that she would have him lynched. Anyone could walk into his room no matter what because of his skin color as well. Clearly at this time there were many racial issues already.
Connection
I could connect this picture to Crooks and his anger with the racism that had been going on. Its like a boxer trying to defeat its enemy and the fight keeps on going back and forth. In this chapter you could tell that Crooks wants to fight back with Curly's wife but he know that he cant because she has a lot more authority than he does. Just like in the picture how the taller boxer is larger and stronger then the other boxer but in Crooks case, he is taller and stronger than most of the white men at the ranch but it is his skin color that gives him less power in the story.
Summary
In chapter 4 it starts out with Lennie entering Crooks' room. Crooks in the beginning starts to play with Lennies mind about George telling him that George might not return from the town. The Lennie gets angry and offensive; that is when Crooks takes back everything that he had said. Lennie starts talking about how it is Georges and his dream to have a farm and Crooks doesn't believe a thing. Soon after Candy and Curlys wife walk into the room and Curlys wife talks about how bad her relationship with Curly is and how she doesn't like him. Then Crooks gets annoyed and tells her to leave. Curlys wife then threatens to lynch him which is when Crooks shuts up. The everyone in the room tells her that the guys were back to get her to leave but before she left she thanked Lennie for hurting Curly.
Prediction
I predict that from this point Curly is going to somehow find out what his wife said and get a divorce. Also Crooks is going to start to stand up for himself more and retaliate against any racist comments or bad treatment. Curly is going to get into another fight with Lennie but this time George is going to help Lennie out and I think that they will both get fired because of that.
CONNECTION
I could connect this picture to the beds that George and Lennie have to sleep in because of the reaction that George had to Candy when he showed them their beds. When George saw the beds he acted as if the beds were made of trash but in reality they weren't that bad. He was very dismayed when he found a jar of lice powder on his bed but Candy assured that it wouldn't be any danger. Then Candy started going on about how the person who used to sleep their was a very clean guy.
SUMMARY
George and Lennie make their way to a ranch to find a job. When they get there a guy named Candy shows them their beds. At first George had a problem with his bed and he started complaining to candy about the condition of the beds. After that both Lennie and George meet with the boss of the ranch. The boss is a little suspicious because George didn't let Lennie talk at all. Then he yelled at Lennie for no reason telling him that because he didn't talk they could've lost the job: When George is the one who told Lennie not to. Later on George and Lennie are assigned to one of the grain teams under a guy named Slim.
PREDICTION
I predict hat later in the story Lennie is going to do something that will get both George and him fired. Also, that the problem with Curly will have to be involved with them getting kicked out since Curly doesn't like large guys. I also predict that when Candy said that the boss was a nice guy that he was lying and that the boss is actually a really nasty person. At the end of the book, I believe that George will finally have enough of Lennie and will abandon him.
Connection
I could connect this novella to the cartoon pinky and the brain.
You could relate the story to them because pinky is taller but
not as smart just as Lennie is in the story. The Brain is smaller
yet is a lot smarter than Pinky just as George is with Lennie.
Without them two together they wouldn't be able to function.
Prediction
I believe that Lennie and George will find a job farther down the road. They will get in trouble there and have to run away again. Lennie and George will reach California and they will fulfill their dream of having a farm with all of the animals that they wish for. Both of them will finally be happy and will get to rest.
Summary
In the first chapter of the novella Lennie and George are kicked out of town
because Lennie is accused of sexually assaulting a little girl. So they make their
way to California to look for work. They ask a bus driver how much farther
they have to walk and he tells them that California is just right
ahead; but it really is 5 miles ahead. They stop for the night near a creak and
George finds a mouse in Lennie's pocket; he throws it into the woods.
So, Lennie and George stay for the night at the creak eating cans of beans.
