Of Mice and Men Revision

Here are some useful revision resources I have sourced for you.
When you revise Of Mice and Men:

1. Use the whole of this blog - you will find many older posts on Of Mice and Men (and An Inspector Calls) from previous years and all are relevant to you
2. Make sure that you know the text.  It is a short novel and can be read in one sitting.  Look through this blog (click on Of Mice and Men from the list of entries on the right hand side) and you will find a link to a website where the whole text is available on line.  Read it.
3. Follow the links on previous posts to great websites which are full of revision ideas and useful information.  I also hugely recommend this website: Schmoop.  Have a look and see what you think.

Of Mice and Men - Events from Mister Connor


 

Of mice and men from bmiller7210

Of Mice and Men - Language analysis from hunwix

Of Mice of Men - Animals from Mister Connor

Of Mice And Men Powerpoint from Barbara McQueen

Od Mice and Men - Animals/ Lennie from Mister Connor

Revision: OF MICE AND MEN by John Steinbeck and INSPECTOR CALLS by JB Priestley

The big date in your diary should be our second English lesson after half-term - YOUR MOCK GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE EXAM UNIT 1: Modern Texts (that means An Inspector Calls and Of Mice and Men for you).

This is a 1 hour and 30 minute exam and you will be asked to answer two questions.  When you open the exam paper:
1. Read the instructions and then look for the question on An Inspector Calls (there will be a choice of 2) (5 mins)
2.Choose the question on An Inspector Calls that you have the best knowledge to answer.
3. Flick through the exam paper and find the questions on Of Mice and Men.  Read them and then go back to your question on An Inspector Calls,
4. Spend at least 5 minutes planning your answer (mindmap your plan or just list 4-6 points and a few key details)  This bit is essential and you are in danger of failing if you do not plan.  You can also be awarded marks for your plan if you do not manage to finish your essay.
5. Spend 35 minutes writing your essay answer.  Stick to the tried and tested winning formula:

•  Introduction:

• Name of the play and who wrote it and when (1946)
•  Priestley's purpose in setting the play in 1912 in an upper middle class Edwardian household 
• Gist of the play (J.B. Priestley’s 1946 play, “An Inspector Calls” is a drama which features a dramatic turning point. The play charts the disintegration of a family’s relationships after each member is accused of being responsible for a young woman’s death)
• Address the question using key words from the question (ie Throughout the play tension begins to emerge under the glossy veneer of the wealthy Birling family and this is evident even in Priestley's stage directions for the setting of the play and introduction of the characters.

 

• Main Body of Essay: 4-6 points which all address the question.  Each point will have the following:
• Evidence from the text to support each point (remember embedded quotations will get higher marks)
• Close analysis of the evidence - use technical language and focus on particular words or dramatic effects (eg ...this use of exaggeration develops the idea that...  this example of dramatic irony works to show Birling's blinkered vision, the word 'never'...)
• Evaluate how this effects the audience  (the audience would begin to see Birling as an opinionated idiot...)
• Link each point to Priestley's purpose (ie Priestley used Sheila as a symbol of hope...)
• Link each point back to the question  (...in this way tension continues to build.)

 

• Conclusion
• Finish you essay by drawing your points into a final direct response to the question.
• You can make your conclusion powerful  by introducing one final point or even just a short quote that works to reflect your ideas.  (ie Inspector Goole's words 'I find the young are more impressionable' emphasise how Priestley believed the hope lay with the young in post war Britain.)

6. Now go on the the Of Mice and Men question, which is a two part question and both parts need answering

• You will be given a text extract to analyse in relation to a particular aspect of the novel's context and Steinbeck's purpose. Spend about 20 mins on this section.
• Highlight or underline the sections of the text that best suit your answer
• Plan you answer
• Write a detailed analysis, focusing on specific words or phrases (use terminology ie adjective, the superlative, the dynamic verb etc)
• Evaluate how these words/phrases effect the reader and link to context and Steinbeck's purpose)

7. The second part to the question is your chance to link the theme to the whole novel and you must show knowledge of the whole novel.  Spend about 20 minutes on this question.  A few minutes planning and then writing a mini essay answer.

Last year's English Lit Unit 1 Modern Texts exam

Here is a download of the January 2011 English Literature Unit 1 Modern Texts exam to remind you of what to expect on Tuesday 22nd May.

AQA Lit Modern Texts H Jan 2011

View more documents from WMarauder.

GOOD LUCK for 22nd and 24th May

With your first exam speeding towards you, it is essential to say calm.  Prioritise your revision.  At this stage, it is too late to try to go over everything.  Make sure for both An Inspector Calls and Of Mice and Men you know:

• Context
• Priestley's and Steinbeck's intentions - the effect they hoped their writing would have on audience/reader
• Plot
• Themes
• Characters linked to themes (memorise some key quotes for each character)
• Some key literary and dramatic techniques (AIC: lighting, entrances and exits, dramatic irony, dialogue) (OMAM: setting, dialogue and dialect, character description, symobolism, foreshadowing)

MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL:
CALMLY LOCATE THE QUESTIONS ON AN INSPECTOR CALLS AND OF MICE AND MEN in the exam paper  AND...

Read the questions and read them again - then aim to use the key words in  the question in your answer.

HOW TO SOUND LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT?

• Use verbs such as:  suggest, infer, present, articulate, demonstrate, creates, builds, determines when commenting on writer's techniques
• Use modal verbs such as:  could, should, may to show you understand that you are putting forward an opinion
• Use pronouns such as one, we or the reader instead of 'I'
• Always link your comment to the question
• Aim to mention the technique as part of your comment (ie metaphor, alliteration)

Remember to always stick to the paragraph formula: 

1. Point
2. Evidence/Quote
3. Technique
4. Analyse/Comment/Explain
5. Link to question

OF MICE AND MEN

Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck's depression novella, was published in 1937.  It tells the story of George and Lennie, two itinerant ranch workers in 1930s California.  The Wall Street crash and drought conditions have laid most of central America to desert and brought about a harsh depression - even California, the 'Golden Valley', is affected.  Prejudice, loneliness and the curse of the American Dream make ranchers' lives tough.  

Read and re-read this novel until you are absolutely certain of the themes, plots, characters and how the novel is structured in a cyclical way, with the opening and closing of the novel both being set at the Salinas river pool and George and Lennie's dream (note the differences between Steinbeck's description of the setting in the final section and the opening section). 

Context is key to the AQA exam questions, so be certain that you fully understand the impact of the depression on 1930s California, the extent of racism, sexism and other prejudices, the lives of migrant workers and the backdrop to all of this, the American Dream - the mirage which gave so many people something (false) to live for.

Steinbeck's use of symbolism (the colour red - red dress- red feather; rabbits; mouse; ranch (microcosm of 1930s Californian society; the Salinas river; the pool; Candy's dog etc) and the constant use of foreshadowing (both through speech and actions - Carlson's killing of Candy's dog foreshadows George killing Lennie) and the emphasis on the four settings (Salinas pool, bunkhouse, Crook's room, barn) underpin the novella and you should make sure you research these, if you do not already know and understand them.

There are useful web resources for understanding OMAM.  First stop could be BBC Bitesize, which is great for key themes, character, plot and structure points and has amazing context film footage.  Next, Sparknotes is useful for analysis and Universal Teacher is also excellent. 

You can find the whole text on line.  Type Of Mice and Men whole text into google search or just click on this link.

KEY WORDS: INJUSTICE, ISOLATION, loneliness, responsibility, misogynist, hierarchy, MICROCOSM, SEXIST, ageist, RACISM, segregation, DEPRESSION, SYMOLISM, foreshadowing, NATURE, CONTRASTS