Thursday, October 24, 2013

Day 4 (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 Day 4 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.

19 comments:

  1. On page 77, Curley's wife remarks, '"They left all the weak ones here..."' What do you think she meant by "the weak ones" when later on, you see that "the weak ones" were arguing and standing up against Curley's wife (at least for the most part)? What do you notice about each character in their conversation with Curley's wife?

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  2. I think that Curley's wife called them all "weak" because they all had some sort of hinderance. Crooks has his crooked spine, Candy only has his left hand, and Lennie has a mental disability. During the conversation, Candy is the one who initiates the argument, and continues to be the one who supports the others. Even though Candy wants to throw everything he has at her, he still quiets down at times. For instance, on page 78, "There was an embarrassed silence. Candy stole a look at Lennie. Then he coughed.". This shows that Candy knows that it was actually their fault and something he can't use to fight against Curley's wife. Lennie tries to stay out of the conversation as much as he can, and when he needs help, he stares at Candy just like he stares at George when he needs help. Crooks, in the end, tries to help out by trying to get Curley's wife to leave, but because of racism, he is treated as inferior and has to retreat. All three of these "weak" characters are able to stand against Curley's wife, but mostly because of their injuries or disabilities, they are unable to win in their argument against Curley's wife.
    -Ryan T.

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  3. On page 83, Crooks calls out to Candy right when they turn to leave and tells him, "Member what I said about hoein' and doin' odd jobs? Well jus' forget it. I didn' mean it. Jus' foolin'. I wouldn' want to go no place like that."
    Do you think Crooks actually meant what he said? And why do you think he suddenly changed his mind?

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    1. I think Crooks is didn't really mean what he said just maybe a little afraid that something would go wrong. He must not want to put Candy, George, or Lennie in any danger. After the encounter with Curley's wife, Crooks may have realized that if he might put other in danger. However, I also believe Crooks will become part of George and Lennie's dream by building a friendship with them.

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  4. Why did Crook not believe Lennie when Lennie started to babble about their dream? Is it because of Lennie's illness?

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    1. Crooks did not believe Lennie because he has been at the ranch too long. He has heard many people with the exact same dream, none of them who actually achieved the dream. And, with Lennie with his mental disability, it seems even more unlikely that Lennie will be able to achieve his dream.

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    2. Crooks did not believe Lennie because he thinks it's just those typical dreams that most people have. Adding on to what Jeffery said about Lennie's mental disability, many people might don't take people like that seriously.

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    3. Crooks did not believe Lennie because his dream was so far out of line for people like them that they simply cannot imagine such a grand thing. For example, if I went to a starving child in Africa and I offer him $1 trillion dollars, do you think he will believe me? No, because he must scavenge for food; he simply will not be able to believe in a life fill with riches, with luxuries, but most of all, a full belly and a nice place to sleep in.

      --Joshua Soong

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    4. I think Crooks did not believe Lennie because Lennie's dream is too hard to get for people like Lennie. I agree with Rachel and Jeffrey that because of Lennie's mental disability, they may not take him as seriously and believe that he will actually achieve his dream.

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  5. Crooks did not believe Lennie when he started to talk about his dream because Crooks probably has not seen any of the men on the ranch find their own place before, so he thinks that it cannot be done. Crooks says to Lennie, "'I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an' on the ranches, with their bundles on their back an' that same damn thing in their head... An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it'" (74). This shows that Crooks has been at the ranch for quite some time and during that time, everyone thinks about getting their own land, but no one actually gets it. He probably has seen people try to afford their land, but it is just too expensive for them. I do not think that the men got much pay from farming. This is not because of Lennie's illness because it is not only him who dreamed about this dream.

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  6. Why do you think Candy never visited Crooks room before? Is it because of racism or just that he doesn't bother seeing him?

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    1. Candy probably doesn't visit Crooks because Crooks gives off the impression that he doesn't enjoy people around him in general. In the description given of Crooks, the author say, "He kept his distance and demanded people to keep theirs." (67) There may have been some feelings of racism, such as the ones felt by many on the ranch, but Candy seems to respect Crooks and his need to have his own space. On pages 74 and 75, after having been told by Crooks that Lennie is in the room, Candy made no attempt to enter and talk to Lennie, but instead remained situated and continued to start a conversation with Lennie outside. Candy only later steps into the room when he is specifically given permission by Crooks to.

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  8. In reality, does Crooks actually like being alone? If not, why does he pretend to like it?

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    1. I think that Crooks doesn't actually like being alone but makes a big show of telling people to respect his space. You can see that Crooks was happy because Lennie stayed in his space, even after Cooks said to respect his space.

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    2. I also don't think Crooks enjoys being alone a lot. Crooks is pressured into pretending not to like company partly because of racism, because if it was the other way around and he was always inviting people into his room, then he wouldn't be treated very nicely at all. Crooks even complains to Lenny about the loneliness he sometimes feels.

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    3. "'Come on in. If everybody's comin' in, you might just as well.' It was difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger." (75) In this statement, it is evident that Crooks does not enjoy being alone and likes more company. He pretends to like solitude because of the mens' difference in skin color. Having white men in a 'black man's room', as Steinback put it, can be very tense and result badly because of the racism of that time period.

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  9. On pages 67, 74, 82, and 83, Steinbeck writes variations of "... the halter chains rattled, and some horses snorted and some stamped their feet." Why do you think this was mentioned so many times?

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  10. When Lennie tells Crooks about his dream, Crooks was doubtful that they could reach it. He says, "'An' where's George now? In town in a whore house. That's where your money's goin'. Jesus, I seen it happen too many times. I seen too many guys with land in their head. They never get none under their hand'" (Steinbeck 76).
    Do you think George will waste all of his money and never be able to purchase a piece of land, or do you think George can manage his money well? Do you think Lennie and George will ever own a piece of land?

    Irene Han

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