Theme Character Plans for the Exam WALT Planning

Theme/Character Plans for the Exam

WALT Planning out 3 paragraph exam plans for the various themes/characters that may come up in the exam for OMAM and AIC

WILF AO 1 – Understanding of Task & Understanding of Text (12 Marks) AO 2 – Analysis of Language and Structure (12 Marks) AO 3 – Context (6 Marks) AO 4 – SPAG (4 Marks)

What’s a Theme? Themes are the fundamental, and often universal, ideas explored in a literary work

OMAM - Theme #1 – Loneliness and Power Characters are often lonely and cannot trust each other They will settle for a friendly ear to listen to George and Lennie are an exception in a world full of mistrust

OMAM - Theme #1 – Strategy The Norm ◦ Guys like us that live on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world The Evidence ◦ Crooks “A guy gets so lonely he gets sick” ◦ Curley’s Wife moving into progressively more dangerous situations CH 2 – In the Bunkhouse (stays in doorway) CH 4 – In Crooks room (stands over Crooks) CH 5 – Sits beside Lennie and puts her hands on him, ignoring dead puppy and Curley’s hand ◦ The bunkhouse – nobody has friends The game of whist breaks down – Solitare is the game of choice The Exception ◦ Lennie and George “We travel together” – Short declarative sentence. Pronoun we.

Theme #2 - The Idealized Male Friendship The idea that the selfishness (selfpreservation) of the ranch can be put aside and the men can come together to secure themselves a better tomorrow

Theme #2 - The Idealized Male Friendship P 1 – Lennie & George ◦ I got me to take care of you ◦ We travel together P 2 – No-one else gets it P 3 – Lennie’s reaction when it’s threatened to be taken away

Theme #3 – The American Dream The idea that if you work hard enough, you can secure yourself a better life For Lennie and George, that’s the farm What is it for other characters?

Theme #3 – The American Dream P 1 – George & Lennie P 2 – Crooks (Equality) & Candy (Security) ◦ To live off the fat of the land ◦ To be self-sufficient and non-dependent ◦ Lennie’s dream is to take care of something the way he is taken care of ◦ The misconception that everyone else has camaraderie Whist breaks down, solitare is their game Use of ellipses when asking to join the dream ranch shows his tentativeness to ask for something Candy just wants a place that won’t turf him out when he’s too old to help P 3 – Curley’s Wife (Fame) ◦ The dream of ◦ Coulda had all them nice clothes Modal Auxillary Verb – Coulda and Past Tense verb Power & Possibility ◦ As unlikely as everyone else’s dream is – she’s trapped due to the confining rules of society

Theme #4 – Light and Dark Light imagery is often used to connote positive/moral behaviour/characters In contrast, darkness if often used to connote negative/immoral behaviour/characters Light also represents dreams/opportunities

Theme #4 – Light and Dark Slim’s light Crooks’ light Curley’s wife and the light ◦ The room becomes brilliant with light (Ch 3) ◦ God like figure ◦ Meagre yellow light Represents murky moral ground and lack of opportunity ◦ Cuts off the light in Ch 2 ◦ When she dies she’s bathed in light ◦ Suggests underneath all her aspirations, she’s just a lonely, but moral girl

Theme #5 – The Strong vs. The Weak The strong always overpower the weak. ◦ Sometimes it can be done intentionally (Curley) ◦ Sometimes it can be done accidently (Lennie killing the mice)

Theme #5 – The Strong vs. The Weak Curley bullies Lennie Crooks’ Wife bullies Crooks bullies Lennie George bullied Lennie kills weak things ◦ After failing to bully Slim and Carlson who stand up to Curley ◦ Stands over him as though she was to whip at him again ◦ Threatens him with the removal of his camaraderie, family, and security ◦ Threatens that they’ll put him in a cage ◦ Made him jump in the lake ◦ Mouse, Puppy, Curley’s Wife

Theme #6 – The Individual Represents The Whole Curley’s Wife – Only woman Crooks – Only black man Candy – Only old man Lennie – Only handicapped man These characters represent how Steinbeck feels each of these demographics was treated in the U. S. at this time.

Question on Curley’s Wife Lack of Agency ◦ ◦ ◦ Society tells her what to do, Curley tells her what to do Use of passive voice “her body was thrown forward” Passive voice suggests lack of control She’s a possession both in the story and grammatically Lack of a name (Curley’s Wife – Role of the apostrophe) Use of the colour red ◦ ◦ Cuts off the light Stands over Crooks so she can ‘whip’ at him again ◦ Makeup, dress, shoes (Sexual availability) Lips are rouged (something different) Dum-Dum, nigger, lousy old sheep ◦ ◦ It’s unconscious thought due to her only way to get a man to pay attention to her “Twitched”, “Bridled”, “Her body was thrown forward” Curley’s wife is dangerous Curley’s wife is immature Curley’s wife uses sexuality because she has to

Question on Slim God/Christ-Like Figure Decides who lives and dies ◦ Puppies, Candy’s Dog, Lennie The use of light Hears George’s “confession” (Chapter 3) Absolves George of his sin (Chapter 6) ◦ “You had to George, you had to” Only one to pay attention to Curley’s Wife in public ◦ “Hey good-lookin” (All CW wants is a little attention) ◦ Similar to Christ’s friendship with the prostitute Mary Magdalene in the Bible

Question on Crooks Educated ◦ ◦ Mauled California Civil Code (30 years old) and dictionary He knows his rights. Must be tragic that he knows what they are but sees how they won’t happen Lonely ◦ ◦ ◦ Used to live on his father’s chicken ranch Implied that things went badly He’s the only black character Shares a room with the animals Contributes to his own isolation “demanded” others kept their distance ◦ Meagre yellow light Lack of Identity ◦ ◦ ◦ “You’ve got no right to come in a coloured man’s room” Although he’s not a possession he is defined at best by his disability (Crooks) or by his race ( Nigger) Both are derogatory Says it about himself “It’s just a nigger saying it” Segregated ◦ ◦ Thinks everyone else has fun playing cards in the bunkhouse Withdraws from society Presses against the wall when threatened (Lennie & Curley’s Wife) His eyes are deep set and his face is pain-tightened

Key OMAM Contextual/Literary Terms Racial segregation Social segregation Great Depression American Dream Passive Voice Separate Spheres Foreshadows The Structure mirrors the Content (at times even enhances it? )

Questions on Sheila The little girl ◦ Described as a girl (connotes juvenility and materialism) pleased with life (ignorant of the rest of society) ◦ Dazzled by her ring (look Mummy) The independent woman ◦ SD – Half playful, half serious ◦ Gives back Gerald’s ring and doesn’t accept it back when everyone else hits the reset button The inspector ◦ Asks questions ◦ Questions about sensitive subjects ◦ Uses hard sounds that mirror the Inpsector She is JBP’s hope for the post-war generation

Questions on Gerald (See Gooda’s Exemplar) Birling’s Parrot He sees the light He solves the problem and loses his redemption ◦ Re-dehumanizes Daisy Renton by transferring her from a real human being to a photograph

Questions on Sybil The social superior ◦ Corrects Birling on thanking cook Dehumanization of the working class ◦ After Goole’s lack of credentials are exposed the stage directions list her as speaking “(triumphantly) Didn’t I tell you? Didn’t I say that I couldn’t imagine a real police inspector talking to us like that? Sybil the judge ◦ “Girls of that class…” ◦ Irony that her job is to determine who are the “deserving poor” ◦ Rejects Eva/Daisy because she uses the surname Birling Outrage that a working class girl would violate her station… which she doesn’t as she’s asking for assistance Sybil the liar ◦ Only character to consistently lie to Goole ◦ I can’t believe it. I won’t believe it Implies the truth is a pliable construct that can simply be ignored

Question on Eric the disruptor Eric the cowardly aggressor Eric the flawed social conscience Eric the forgiven ◦ His giggling disrupting the nice appearing dinner foreshadows the disruption of the nicely constructed dinner they have ◦ Half-shy, half-assertive (foreshadows his aggressive persuasion of Daisy Renton for sex) ◦ Likes to run away (to his room, outside, to the bar, heavy drinking is another form of escape) ◦ Although he supports Daisy, he does it with stolen money from his father ◦ We forgive Eric because of the psychic distance in report vs. action ◦ He is still a member of the ‘famous younger generation’ with Sheila at the end of the play Therefore we need to associate some of Sheila’s goodness to Eric

Questions on Birling the Muppet/Capitalist Birling the bully Birling the Tempter of Fate ◦ Dramatic Irony ◦ Long speeches combined with his provincial accent ◦ Because the Titanic speech precedes this we know that the Capitalist viewpoint is one we are to disagree with ◦ Tries to intimidate IG with his connections and massive physical stature ◦ Arrogance and pride Before IG brags that he’s in for a good life as long as they avoid police inquiry and scandal He then phones the hospital/police to see if the story holds up

Questions on Goole Walks softly with a big stick The Social Conscience The soothsayer ◦ Small man (Compare to Birling) ◦ He uses truth to establish size ‘cutting in massively’ ◦ Uses hard vowel sounds to cut through the soft façade of the Birling house ◦ Public men have responsibilities as well as priviliges ◦ Discusses the importance of a fair working wage where management can still make a profit ◦ Is all-knowing (omniscient) ◦ Fire and blood anguish ◦ Is the voice of Priestly ◦ The Manifesto are the instructions for the post-WWII world

2 Responses to Gender Role of women ◦ Sybil – The privileged traditional woman ◦ Eva/Edna – The powerless traditional woman Dehumanization of the working class ◦ Sheila – The trailblazer Role of men vs. women ◦ A man’s world – Gerald and Birling ◦ The woman’s world – Sybil and Flashback Sheila ◦ The Exceptions – Eric runs away and Sheila barges in

Question on Conflict/Contrasts The living room ◦ Comfortable and Significant not cozy and homelike ◦ Represents the Birling family Wealthy and appears homelike but is not. There is no family intimacy or genuine sentiment Stage directions that appear as opposites ◦ Sheila (half serious, half playful) ◦ Eric (half shy, half assertive) ◦ Size (Birling is big, Inspector is small) Old vs. Young, Male vs. Female Hiding conflicts in the family ◦ Sheila asks about Gerald’s whereabouts last summer ◦ Gerald says he’s been trying to get Sheila to accept for a while ◦ Sheila tells her mother that she won’t get used to business taking her husband away ◦ Eric disrupts the dinner

Question on Social Responsibility Those in power ◦ ◦ ◦ Birling fires Eva Smith for rallying the workers Gerald agrees Sybil refuses help to Daisy Sybil ‘girls of that class’ Gerald puts up Daisy until he’s done with her Those without power ◦ Eva Smith ◦ Daisy Renton ◦ Edna/Cook The new voice ◦ Eric – Why shouldn’t they ask for higher wages? ◦ Sheila – They’re not cheap labour, they’re people ◦ Goole – Public men have responsibilities as well as priviliges