Dreams

[YOUR QUOTATIONS HERE]

Nature

[YOUR QUOTATIONS HERE]

Foreshadowing

[YOUR QUOTATIONS HERE]

Hands

[YOUR QUOTATIONS HERE]

Migrant Farmers

Added to the man-made financial problems were natural ones. A series of droughts in southern mid-western states like Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas led to failed harvests and dried-up land. Farmers were forced to move off their land: they couldn't repay the bank-loans which had helped buy the farms and had to sell what they owned to pay their debts.

Many economic migrants headed west to 'Golden' California, thinking there would be land going spare, but the Californians turned many back, fearing they would be over-run. The refuges had nowhere to go back to, so they set up home in huge camps in the California valleys - living in shacks of cardboard and old metal - and sought work as casual farmhands.

The Great Depression

On October 29 1929, millions of dollars were wiped out in an event that became known as the Wall Street Crash. It led to the Depression in America which crippled the country from 1930 - 1936. People lost their life savings when firms and banks went bust, and 12 - 15 million men and women - one third of America's population - were unemployed.

There was then no dole to fall back on, so food was short and the unemployed in cities couldn't pay their rent. Some ended up in settlements called 'Hoovervilles' (after the US president of the time, Herbert C Hoover), in shanties made from old packing cases and corrugated iron.

John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California in 1902. Although his family was wealthy, he was interested in the lives of the farm labourers and spent time working with them. He used his experiences as material for his writing.

He wrote a number of novels about poor people who worked on the land and dreamed of a better life, including The Grapes of Wrath, which is the heart-rending story of a family's struggle to escape the dust bowl of the West to reach California. Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, six years before his death in 1968.

PowerPoint - The American Dream

http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AXNdhY-08ZNQZGNmdm0zZjNfNzI4M3EyYmZmcQ&hl=en

Notes - Key Character Quotations

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AXNdhY-08ZNQZGNmdm0zZjNfNzFmbXIzMjRweg&hl=en

Notes - Isolation and Loneliness

Notes on 'Isolation and Loneliness' in the novel.
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AXNdhY-08ZNQZGNmdm0zZjNfNzBkNnIyM2pjdg&hl=en

PowerPoint - 1920s & 1930s

PowerPoint from lesson 1:

• What were the Roaring 20s?
• What is a stock market?
• What was the Wall Street Crash of 1929?
• What were the effects of the Crash?

http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AXNdhY-08ZNQZGNmdm0zZjNfMzZmZGRzcjJmMg&hl=en

Crooks Presentation

A presentation on Crooks' character and the historical context surrounding black people at the time.
http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AXNdhY-08ZNQZGNmdm0zZjNfMHpmOHhyMmRx&hl=en

George and Lennie's Character

What do the opening passages tell us about George and Lennie's characters?
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AXNdhY-08ZNQZGNmdm0zZjNfMzVua2d0cDN2eA&hl=en

Exam board mark scheme

This is a massive document but you only need to look at p51 & 52 for this exam.
http://store.aqa.org.uk/qual/pdf/AQA-3702-W-SP-09.PDF

Past Papers

Past papers from 2006-2008 can be found here (note also the pages with examiner comments)
http://web.aqa.org.uk/qual/newgcses/english_med/new/english_lit_a_materials.php?id=02&prev=02&tabid=2

GCSE Bitesize - Plot summaries & revision videos

GCSE Bitesize - has plot summaries, revision videos, character analysis, theme discussions etc.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/prosemicemen/

Light and dark

The contrast between light and dark is significant because it helps to build tension in the novel...

Adding a main picture or introductory text to the top of your page

To add a picture or text to the top of your page: click on the LAYOUT tab then go to ADD A GADGET. Select the option to add a picture or text. Once you have done this you can move it about the screen by dragging it to where you want it.

Making a contents for your site

To create a contents so that you can scroll easily to each topic: Go to the LAYOUT tab. Click on ADD A GADGET. Select LABELS.

Whenever you add a new post you will need to type in the category heading at the bottom of the text box where it says 'Labels for this post'. This will then automatically appear on the top of your blog page.

Curley's character

The son of the ranch owner.

'Wore high-heeled boots' (p26)

'Alla time picking scraps with big guys' (p26)

'Curley's pretty handy' - (p26)

Curley starts on Lennie in Chapter 3 - After Curley has punched him a few times George tells Lennie to 'let 'im have it' so Lennie crushes his hand.

Curley's dream - to be a boxer 'Curley's pretty handy' His dream is destroyed when his hand is crushed - comment on the American Dream.

Slim's Character

Candy's character

Curley's wife

Key scenes - Appearance at the door (chapter 3), appearance in Crooks' room (Chapter 4), death in the barn (Chapter 5)

Dream - to become a Hollywood film star

Physical description - 'full rouged lips' (p37), red nail varnish (p38)

Inserting pictures

To insert pictures: click to open a new blog post. When the text editor comes up, select the picture icon from the toolbar (third icon from the right).

Either - browse through files on your computer to add a picture you have saved.

Or - find an online picture you would like to use. Click on it till it comes up in the screen on its own and copy the web address for it. Simply paste this into the option box and your picture will appear.

Inserting videos

To insert a video: (either one you have made yourself in MovieMaker or one you have downloaded from Youtube). Open up a new blog post. When the editing screen comes up, find the video icon at the top of the text box (looks like a roll of film - second icon from the right). This will open a box allowing you to browse your files and make your selection.
To download from Youtube: this cannot be done on the school computers. To download videos at home you first need to download Realplayer. When you install it you will be given an option to enable downloads. Select this, then whenever you watch a clip and hold the cursor over the screen, an option to download will appear.

Linking to Youtube

To put in a link to Youtube: click on the option to add a new blog post. When the editing screen comes up look at the icons at the top of the text box (Font/Bold/Italics etc). You will see a little green ball icon (next to colour). Click on this then simply copy the link into the box that pops up.

Wall Street Crash

Movie links - Curley's hand is crushed

Link to movie where Lennie crushes Curley's hand (approx 5 mins in)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuxVKReKDm4

Loneliness

Solitaire is the game played by George throughout the novel. This is one way in which Steinbeck characterises him as a lonely person. It is significant that when the dog is shot the men gather around the table to play 'Euchre' instead.

Chapter 1 Summary

The story begins by the Salinas River. George and Lennie have been chased off the ranch where they were working before because Lennie grabbed the dress of a girl there, making her think he was trying to rape her.

After the characters have been introduced, the two arrive on the ranch where they are going to work...

George's Character

Plays solitaire - demonstrates his lonliness

Stays with Lennie - promised Aunt Clara

Lennie's Character

'Strong as a bull' - p8

'Like a terrier' - p8