‘Five things about the lake’, Flora de Falbe

1. The lake is no slave to fashion, but she is proud of her frothy skirt of trees. Her dark, svelte figure.
2. She doesn’t want to talk. The air rushes over her, whistling how have you been? – and she responds with a glassy stare.
3. The lake raises an eyebrow when she is speckled with rain. She doesn’t do anything else but the rain takes the hint.
4. When the lake picks out her foliage she does so with impeccable taste. Even the fallen leaves have agreed on a colour scheme.
5. The lake enjoys being looked at (though she wouldn’t admit it). She likes that I’m writing this.

‘In Flanders Fields’, John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Book Recommendations for the Easter Holiday

What your classmates are reading:

Animal Farm, George Orwell

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

Between Shades of Grey, Ruta Sepetys

Black Lands, Belinda Bauer

The Butterfly Room, Lance Dow

Delirium, Lauren Oliver

Divergent series, Veronica Roth

Finders Keepers, Belinda Bauer

Gone series, Michael Grand

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien

Human Traces, Sebastian Faulks

Hunting Lila, Sarah Alderson

The Hunger Games series, Suzanne Collins

If I Stay, Gayle Forman

Life of Pi, Yann Martel

Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert

The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern

Over Hill and Dale, Gervase Phinn

Percy Jackson series, Rick Riordan

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

Scar Tissue, Michael Ignatieff

Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut

Warm Bodies, Isaac Marion

Other great books that you might like:

1984, George Orwell

The Book of Negroes, Lawrence Hill

The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak

Brick Lane, Monica Ali

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louise de Bernières

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer

The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood

The Help, Kathryn Stockett

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini

Maus, Art Spiegelman

Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden

My Sister’s Keeper, Jodi Picoult

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

Pigeon English, Stephen Kelman

The Road, Cormac McCarthy

Room, Emma Donoghue

Still Alice, Lisa Genova

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks

For our Latinists:

Cattus Petasatus, Dr Seuss and Jennifer Morrish Tunberg

Winnie Ille Pu, A. A. Milne and Alexander Lenard

Happy Reading!

Literature Essay Outline: Shattered Dreams (student work)

Introduction:

• ·         Dreams thwarted by the natural tendency to provide for oneself – context of Great Depression – competitive environment – dreams shattered by the selfish actions of others (sexualisation of CW) (including discrimination, which is a form of self-preservation - eliminating the competition).

Lennie/George/Candy – the Dream Farm

• ·         It is the only tangible dream in the novel – brought closer by Candy’s monetary contribution.
• ·         Source of hope and purpose throughout the novel -‘each mind was popped into the future when this lovely thing should come about’. Necessary as it brings the characters together with a common goal that motivates them in the hostile environment of the Great Depression.
• ·         It offered potential for security and independence in a time of great economic and emotional unrest 
• ·         Motivates Lennie to ‘stay outta trouble’ and fulfil his dream of tending the rabbits. Motivates George to abstain from drinking and visiting the whorehouses – ‘I ain’t putting out no two and a half’.

• ·         The dream rejuvenates Candy – he is described as ‘grinning with delight’ at the prospect – shows that dreams have the potential to free people from the constraints of a judgemental society.
• ·         When the dream is shattered through the death of Curley’s wife, the characters are condemned to their lonely, disappointed lives as migrant workers
• ·         ‘Old Candy lay down in the hay and covered his eyes with his arm’ – shows the way that shattered dreams can reduce a person and condemn them to their situation ‘the halter chains rattled’. Covered his eyes with his arm – he is left to face his own redundancy as a crippled ‘old’ swamper.
• ·         The shattering of this dream was inevitable (Lennie’s lethal combination), and shows the dangers of investing hope in the future and other people in such a volatile environment (GD)
• ·         The dream was based in an idealistic world, not in reality. This realisation – George ‘tiredly’ accepts a drink – demonstrates the futility of having aspirations when the ‘best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley’.

• ·         As the dream subsides in the last pages of the novel and resignation takes over, the reader is left with a sense of the despair and pain caused by the Great Depression.

Curley’s Wife

• ·         Curley’s wife’s shattered dream justifies her vindictive nature – she is bitterly disappointed by her failure to become an actress in a male dominated, misogynistic society.
• ·         Her dream demonstrates how vulnerable women were in a time where people were ‘machines’ used by one another for work and selfish gain. Her dream was never a possibility, simply the result of her role as a gullible, ignorant woman who was manipulated into believing she could have been successful.

• ·         This shows the desperation of those who have been displaced by the hostile environment they are living (that of the Great Depression) – CW clings on to the idea – ‘I coulda been in the movies’ because it is better than admitting her own insignificance.
• ·         It absolves her character from any blame that may be placed upon her – ‘all the meanness and the planning and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face’ after death. This shows that her negative characteristics were a result of the environment she lived in, rather than any real malice. She was just a confused young girl – a victim of her situation.
• ·         This shows how disappointment can embitter a person and cause them to act destructively in an attempt to cling on to their dreams. ‘After a long time they get mean’.

Crooks

• ·         Crook’s shattered dreams demonstrate the injustice in a society where minority groups are marginalised – racial discrimination ‘They don’t want me in the bunk house…cause I’m black’.
•  His dreams of being educated and independent ‘-tattered dictionary’ -never have the potential to be fulfilled – he is a victim of cruel, selfish environment which suppresses minority groups in ‘survival of the fittest’.
• ·         He takes a stand of independence against Curley’s wife, but is instantly ‘reduced to nothing’ by the social threats associated with his voice being heard (lynching, etc.) This shows how social prejudices allow people to be manipulated and their personalities and dreams to be crushed. Context of GD – millions of people from minority groups would have been treated with the same disdain and dismissed – Crook’s shattered dream is not that of an individual, but one that millions would have experienced.

Conclusion

• ·         Significant because outside the microcosm of the story, it underscores the hopeless desperation many thousands of people faced during the Great Depression.
• ·         Offers potential for characters to develop throughout the story as they come to terms with their own failings and accept the inevitability of their situations. 

Literature Essay Outline: Anger (student work)

·         Anger is the most significant theme in the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ because it is the only theme that affects all the characters throughout the text. This is seen with all the main characters in the book.

·         Anger affects George as he becomes frustrated and angry at Lennie when he has to repeat everything and most of the time it doesn’t have a significant impact on his memory. ‘I gotta tell you again, do I? Jesus Christ you’re a crazy bastard!’  This shows how George is affected by anger because he gets angry at Lennie because in a way he is angry at himself and Lennie provides a scapegoat on which to place his blame. This is also seen when George points out that he should have left Lennie a long time ago. Racism is not as important a theme as anger as it does not affect George it only separates him from crooks but they talk to each other civilly when Lennie intrudes into Crook’s hut.

·         Also angry that he has to keep on moving the whole time and that his dream is unreachable that is why he blames Lennie

·         Anger affects Curley because: anger at humiliation, CW anger prevents them if wanted to from a proper relationship they are always looking for each other, Georges anger towards him makes everyone else feel anger towards him for example slim ‘I’ll get the rat myself’. Inferiority complex creates anger towards bigger men such as Lennie creating anger towards himself ‘come on ya big bastard’. Friendship does not affect him

·         Anger affects Curley’s Wife because: Angry at herself, angry at her mother, angry she is married to Curley ‘the girl flared up ‘sure I got a husband’’, angry Lennie messes up hair, ‘she cried angrily, ‘You stop it now, you’ll mess it all up’’ always seems angry and when dead her usual anger doesn’t show. Angry when men don’t tell her things

·         Anger Affects Crooks because: anger that his rights are not significant, ‘a black man’s gotta have some rights even if he don’t like them’, he is separated from other men, ‘they play cards in there, but I can’t play cause I’m black’, Angry his race is different, his rights that he has aren’t being respected ‘ you got no rights comin in a colored man’s room’

·         Anger affects Candy because: Dog killed because of anger, anger he didn’t kill it himself ‘I shoulda done it myself’

·         Anger affects Carlson because: Anger towards dog and kills it, doesn’t feel friendship and could be seen to be a predominately angry character. ‘Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys’

·         Anger affects Lennie because: affected by G’s anger towards him, anger at puppy and CW when they die blames it on them, ‘God damn you! Why you got to get killed?’

·         Anger however is not shown with Slim’s character. Steinbeck does not directly articulate that Slim feels anger. It is implied in the final pages that slim feels anger. On the contrary ‘I’ll get that rat myself’ anger reciprocal of Curley’s anger

·         This has shown how anger is the most important theme because of how it directly and indirectly affects all the characters.

Literature Essay Outline: Candy (student work)

Candy is a significant character in the novella Of Mice and Men. Although he starts off as a more minor character, as the novella progresses his marginalised character grows and he becomes more interactive with other workers and more involved with the theme of best laid schemes.

Candy is an old, disabled man who works as a swamper, showing his low position in the hierarchy of authority on the ranch. We learn Candy lost a hand while working on the ranch, “He pointed with his right arm, and out of the sleeve came a round stick-like wrist, but no hand”, in the time of the great depression there was a lot of competition for jobs and the fact that Candy is disabled puts him at a disadvantage to the other working men. Fortunately for Candy the Boss continues to employ him however when Candy is no longer able to work he will be fired and have to find someplace else to go. This is significant because it shows the injustice of his situation and it represents human fragility. It becomes evident that humans seem to have no control over how things turn out in the grand scheme of things. Many other migrant workers would have experienced a sense of human fragility when their crops and livelihoods were destroyed through no fault of their own but due to the weather.

Key events that Candy is involved in are:

·         Dream with L+G

o   Candy becomes involved in a common American dream at the time of the great depression, of being able to live independently and off their own land.

o   Candy aspires to the dream that he will one day be able to work for himself, “I planted crops for damn near ever’body in this state, but they wasn’t my crops”

o   From joining with L + G Candy’s dream becomes reachable and with this comes a new sense of hope and stability for candy.

·         Dog’s Death

o   Candy cares for a very old, well loved dog that is his only companion. When Carlson bullied Candy into letting him shoot his dog Candy is shown as weak and vulnerable. “He looked helplessly “.

o   It is quite a significant event for Candy because consequently he realises that he should not have let people push him around and he should stick up for what he believes which he later does against Crooks and Curley’s Wife. He says to George he wished he’d shot his own dog.

Themes

·         Vulnerable

o   Candy is vulnerable because he has no stability in his position on the ranch, he has no backup plan. However his confidence grows when he joins the dream farm with Lennie and George because he does have a future.

·         Dreams

o   The fact that Candy wants to join in with L+G shows he still has aspirations and when they become reachable he is determined to make them happen.

Conclusion…

Literature Essay Outline: Human Fragility (student work)

Introduction

·        The theme of human fragility is significant in this novel as all of the characters are fragile in different ways. As all the characters are living in the great depression times were hard for all of the migrant workers and people on the ranch, however they all have their own specialised weakness.  

 LENNIE: 

·        Lennie lacks intelligence and is dependent on George, this means he is vulnerable to people, such as Curley, taking advantage of his total dependence on George.

·        Doesn’t understand how strong he is- fragile as it means that he is unreliable and viewed as unsafe by the end of the novel “they’ll lock him up? He’s nuts, Slim”

 

CURLEY’S WIFE:

·        Curley’s wife is fragile as she is a woman and the only woman on the ranch and so is viewed as a sexual object by the men on the ranch. She has no name- described as Curley’s wife- Curley’s property

·        Attention seeking ------ goes to Lennie for attention – neck broken—weak spine

CROOKS:

·        Skin colour seen as below everyone else on the ranch- defined by his colour “ the negro stable buck”

·        Most marginalised on ranch- separate room- Curley’s wife “ I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it aint’ even funny”

 

CANDY:

·        Only friend in the world is a dog- shot

·        One hand

·        Old and weak – swamper--- worst job on ranch

·        People view him as old so they don’t think he is very useful “ the old man”

·        Other people can bully him into things – dog being shot

 CARLSON:

·        Arguably he is not weak or fragile because he is not swayed by emotions and has no emotional attachments to anyone so in the end he comes out on top “ what the hell ya suppose is  eatin’ them two guys”

·        However he is a stereotypical migrant farmer so he is lonely and friendless

“Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world”

SLIM:

·        Slim is a character with few weakness as he is respected by all and although he is not in a position of authority he is respected for is skills and seems to have more power than Curley

·        However  Curley’s wife likes Slim so Curley doesn’t like slim

 GEORGE

·        George’s weakness is his unrealised dependence on Lennie, and his use of Lennie a reason to why his life is a failure.”I could get along so easy and nice if I didn’t have you on my tail”

·        Also George does not seem able to accept his situation as a migrant worker – he is always talking about what his life will be like or what it would be like without Lennie.

 CONCLUSION

·        Human fragility is a main theme in this novella as each of the characters weaknesses have a major part to play. They shape the characters and thus shape the story as each of the characters weakness are the main source of their problems, for example

·        Lennie’s not being able to recognise his own strength lead to the death of Curley’s wife and ultimately his own death.