Monday, October 21, 2013

Day 3 (Period 2)

Make it count this week folks! Since I'm out and you have a sub, we'll track a lot of our discussion here. I'll be checking the comments while I'm away.

Instructions if you need them:

1. Each student needs to post at least once in the comments section of their period's blog post.
2. Posts should be about Days 1, 2, or 3 reading, and can be either a discussion question, or an answer to someone else's discussion question.
3. Try to keep questions and answers roughly equal... if you see there are more questions than answers, add a question. If you see more answers than questions... pose a question!

Some additional suggestions:
  • include page numbers if you're asking a question
  • make sure it's clear who you're answering- either reply directly to a question, or state in your comment which question you're referring to

-Mrs. L.

25 comments:

  1. Do you think Curley's wife will get Lennie or George in trouble? On page 32, George says, "Don't even take a look at that b*tch. I don't care what she says and what she does. I seen 'em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her." This kind of foreshadows that something bad might happen. If you do think that she'll do something, what do you think she will do?

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    1. I think Lennie will get in trouble because of the wife. I think a similar situation that happened with the skirt of the other woman may occur. Lennie may be sent to jail because of this and it may also cost them the job. It may be Lennies fault and not the wife's if he is sent to jail. George knows that Curley's wife may cause trouble but Lennie does not undertand that so it may land him in trouble.

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    2. It seems pretty obvious that some trouble will come from Curly's wife (who I've noticed, by the way, has not had her name revealed yet). Agreeing with Pallavi, the skirt incident may yet reoccur, but I think this rather unlikely. I think that Lennie has learned his lesson from last time, even if he does keep forgetting what he did wrong and all that. For some reason, I just have a really strong feeling that someone's going to end up severely injured or dead due to Curly's wife... Maybe Curly will lose his temper and a real full-blown fight will occur?

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    3. I think Lennie will do something similar like what he did in Weed, except probably a little less severe. However, I think Curley's wife will overreact and this time, Lennie will not be so lucky and be able to hide in an irrigation ditch and get away with it. I disagree with Jason, I still think that Lennie hasn't realized what he has done incorrectly yet. What I think is going to happen in the story, is that Lennie will eventually get kicked out of the ranch because of something stupid he does, and George will stay at the ranch.

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    4. I think Lennie will do something that will cause George and him to leave just like they did in Weed. I feel Curley's wife will overreact (as Jeffery said) and most likely make a big deal out of it, but since George and Lennie are companions I think George will go with Lennie if he is forced out of the ranch.

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  2. On pages 56-60, George tells Lennie more about their piece of land and house that was revealed earlier. We find out that Candy also gets involved, and that he plans on joining them by pitching in part of the money needed to buy the land. Also, George already knows where to find this land, and in the end, they all seem to have their plan set. However, this plan seems to be all too good to be true. What factors or people do you think will affect their plan? Do you really think that they will be able to establish their dream land?
    - Ryan T.

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    1. While the three men have already planned what they will do, I think there are several things that could go wrong. Curley, whose hand was just crushed by Lennie, may recover from his shock and get Lennie fired thus forcing the three to either give up the dream or search for a new job. Another possibility is that Lennie could get in trouble with Curley's wife and get himself fired yet again. Yet another possibility is that the land could be sold to somebody else in the first place! These are only a few of the possibilities that could hinder or completely destroy their dream. With an amazing amount of luck they could achieve their dream, but George and Lennie have never had any in the first place.

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    2. I also think that their dream will not become actual for two main reasons. One, Curley's wife is portrayed as a troublemaker, and normally authors don't include completely unnecessary characters. Therefore, there is still a high likelihood that Curley's wife could get in the way of their dream. Secondly, there is still a lot more of the book to read, and usually the conflict of the story isn't solved in the middle of the plot.

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  3. Why do you think George would let Candy in on his and Lennie's plans for the future? Does George trust Candy or does he just wants to use his money? (59)

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    1. I think that he just wants to use Candy's money for the most part, because as we all know it, times are pretty desperate during the time in which the book takes place, and people are trying to do everything that they can to the best of their abilities to plan for the future. The chances that he trusts Slim is very minimal in my opinion.

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    2. The chances he trusts Candy... typo

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    3. Like Kishen, I believe the main incentive for George to let Candy in is because he has a good chunk of money. I think that George wants to get the money fast because he fears someone else is going to buy the place before him. George, in my opinion, does trust Candy as Candy cannot really "hurt" George (both physically and mentally).
      This is good for Candy because he gives him a future; his disabled hand renders him useless as a working man. However, buying a stake in the property would allow him to make a decent living.

      --Joshua Soong

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  4. On Page 63, When Lennie is fighting Curly, why does George not help Lennie when Lennie is crying for help? And why does he stop Slim from entering the Fight?

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    1. I think that George was so sick of Curly's attitude that, even though he was the son of the boss, he wanted some revenge for the way he treated the workers. That is why he wanted Lennie to fight back. As for stopping Slim from getting into the fight, I think that this was a little more on a personal level because George knew Lenie could inflict more damage to Curly than Slim could.

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    2. I believe, as Lennie was practicing to become a more decent man (in the terms of being an average person), that George was trying to do him a favor. By learning how to solve this conflict at least partially on his own, Lennie learned how to defend himself properly. This makes him a more independent person that maybe when George is not around to help him out in the future, Lennie might know what to do.

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  5. After Carlson shoots Candy's dog, "the men looked quickly at the old man. Every head turned toward him" (49). Why was everyone so quiet? From what the story shows, pretty much everyone encouraged Candy to let Carlson shoot the dog.

    Sharon Wang


























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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. It is probably because everyone knows that Candy has raised the dog since it was a puppy, and he has a good attachment to the dog, since the dog has been his sheepdog and companion for a while. Although all the characters want to get rid of the dog, they probably know what the dog means to Candy, and want to give a moment of silence.

      This is the response to Sharon W.'s question.

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    3. This is a response to Sharon W.'s question.
      I agree with Wesley. I also think that because Candy raised the dog since it was a pup, there is a strong connection between him and the dog. After they all heard the gunshot, they kept looking at Candy because they know how much the dog means to him. They decide to keep quiet and not disturb Candy because they know this is very hard for him.

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  6. On page 41, George was talking to Slim about how Lennie isn't bright but he can do a lot of things. He accidentally started talking about what happened in Weed. So before George told the story, he questioned Slim, "'You wouldn't tell?... No, 'course you wouldn''" (41). What kind of person do you think is Slim? Will he tell? Will "their secret" be spread out to the public and eventually to the boss?

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    1. I think Slim is reliable enough and can be trusted for the most part but something could occur to cause Slim to change his views on Lennie and George. On page 39, before George tells his story of what happened Weed, Slim compliments Lennie, "Say, you sure was right about him. Maybe he ain't bright, but I never seen such a worker." This shows that Slim values Lennie as worker so maybe he wouldn't want Lennie to leave because he would be a good addition to the team. On the other hand though, Slim may spread the story if Lennie's skills are too great and create some sort of competition among the workers.

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  7. Response to Elisa Tu's Question:
    I think Slim is one of those people that stays true to their word and is dignified enough that he would respect other's secrets. As described on page 33, when Slim is being described for the first time: "There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love." (John Steinbeck). Slim, from the start, has a manner which everyone respects and shows that he is not one that is heartless, nor of a lowly kind. When George said "'...No, 'course you wouldn','" on page 41, it shows that George knows that Slim is a kind of person that wouldn't leak information or is a snitch. As for "their secret," I don't think it would be leaked out because Slim is the only one who knows what happened in Weed besides George (and Lennie, who doesn't remember but was there). And as already said, Slim wouldn't leak the information so I don't think the "secret" would get out to the public and eventually the boss.

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  8. On page 65, after Lennie's fight with Curley, Lennie asks George, "'I can still tend the rabbits, George?'" (Steinbeck 65). Why does Lennie care so much about tending the rabbits? What do the rabbits symbolize in this story?

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    2. Rabbits represent freedom and happiness since Lennie knows that once they have rabbits and a farm they will be free from working under people and he will be able to pet them as much as he likes.

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