Hi everyone,
I've just come across a fantastic podcast that was on www.flo-joe.co.uk - which is about the book we read in the first semester, John Steinbeck's classic Of Mice and Men. In it, Fiona Joseph talks about an overview of the plot, the main characters and exam-type questions.
When describing the plot of the story here are some useful words/collocations that are mentioned.
obey
taunt
lynch mob
And here are more when describing the main characters.
savvy
a wiry physique
snappy
fiercely protective
sense of moral duty
a lumbering giant
petting small animals/stroking the puppy
utterly defenceless against the...
a handy man
old and frail
a flirtatious encounter
When talking about an exam-type question, Fiona goes through some dos and donts, while talking about the idea of friendship, which is key to understanding the book.
She mentions that the question about this book in the CAE exam could be an article, essay review or report.
The podcast is about 12 minutes long and clicking here will take you directly to the link.
I hope this podcast will make you feel better prepared to tackle such a task in December.
Have a great week,
Steve
hello! Yesterday I made a sort of tapescript from the podcast that was very usefull for my at the moment of doing the writing tasks. It's not perfect but the general idea is there.
ReplyDeletehope you find it useful!
TRANSCRIPT OF THE PODECAST
PLOT/OVERVIEW
• Clasic tail about friendship and loyalty
Two men, George and Lenny, are on their way to a ranch in California, in search of work. They have no money and they have being forced to leave the town were they lived because Lenny was accused to asault a young woman.Lenny has learning difficulties and long simply to touch nice things, including the pet mouse tha the accidently kills not knowing his own sthength.
Before they arriveded at the ranch, they spent the night at the river. George tells Lenny to over him at all time so he can stay out of trouble. They talk about the wonderful dream they have about owning a pice of land of their own, a little house, keeping their own animals.
George and Lenny arrived at the bunk house and immediately get into confrontation with the boss for arriveing a day late. Curley, the boss’s son also shows his nasty side by tonting Lenny. Whe he leaves, Curley’s wife arrives and starts to behave provocatively. Lenny thinks she’s pretty but George reminds him that he has tostay out of trouble. Slim, whose dog has just given birth, and Carlson arrive. Carlson suggest that slim gives Candy, the old handyman, one of the puppies and then Carlson shoots the old dog to put it out of its misery. Meanwile Slim agrees to let Lenny have one of the puppies wich Lenny is delighted about.
George tells the background of his relationship with Lenny, and slim is impresed by his loyalty. When the men are playing cards, Curley appears in a rage because he thinks wrongly that Slim is flitering with his wife, and picks a fight with Lenny who doesn’t fight back at first, buteventually crushes Curley’s hand powerfully. Lenny is frightened.
The following Saturday night, Lenny goes to Crooks room for company. Crooks, a black man, ends up tonting Lenny but he’s impresed by the dream of having a farm, specially when Candy says he’s part of it. Curley’s wife appears and tonts the three men, Lenny, Candy and Crooks.
The next day we see Lenny alone in the barn strowking the puppy he’s being given. Like the mouse before, he kills it unaware of his own strenght. Curley’s wife comes into the barn and starts talking to Lenny. She invites him to touch her hair but that’s when the tragedy ocures. Lenny holds too tight. She resists. Lenny holds toghter and shakes her until the neck snaps and she’s dead. Lenny goes to hide in the bushes, wich George told him to do if he was in trouble. The other men find the body and George guesses what happened. A linch mob gadders, which George pretends to be part of. Meanwile he runs to find Lenny with Carlson’s gun on his pocket.
At the river bay Lenny is having unpleasant fishens that helps him out understand the trouble he’s in. George arrives and speacks calmly to Lenny, telling him the dream what’s more. This will be the lasr time because George, wile Lenny is distracted by the day dream, shoots him in the back of the head. The others arrives and George pretended that Lenny threatened him with the gun and he had to shoot him. Slim leaves George away.
CHARACTERS
ReplyDeleteGeorge:
• Smart and saddy (sad act)
• Knows what to do in most situations.
• Short with a wiry phisic
• Appears to be short tempered qith lenny but he’s protective towards him.
• Shows strong sence of moral duty by taking care of Lenny.
• Idealistic
Lenny
• Lumbering giant (awkward in movement)
• Unable to control his strength when he’s petting small animals.
• Simple and not very intelligent. Like a child.
• Trusts George to be his protector agaenst nasty people.
• Belives in George’s Dçdream.
Candy
• Handyman
• His dog is a paralel to Candy’s condition, and he lives in fear of becoming useless and got rid of by the ranch owner
• Wants to be part of George’s dream
Curley
• Arrogant and bad-tempered
• Rancher’s son
• Married to a flirtatious woman
Curley’s wife
• Likes to hang arround
• Has unfulfill dreams
• Crooks
• Black stable man with a crooked back.
• Victim of racism and loneliness but mantaining his dignity.
• When he’s sorrounded by Candy and Lenny there is an enviroment of fraternity and friendship.
ABOUT FRIENDSHIP
George and Lenny
• Intensebly loyal. Lenny copies every George’s gesture.
• Close relationship
• Throw the dream they sheared, they created a bond.
Candy, Crooks, Lenny and George
• Potential friendship
• Candy falls for their dream and led they his saved money. This underlines Candy’s desire of male company at his old age.
• Crooks ask for a part of the garden he can lent.
• He showa his deep desire for friendship after a life time of being left aside because of his color.
The tragic events kill the posibility of friendship
That's fantastic Pau!!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for doing this, I'm sure that it'll be useful to all Adv 2 sts.
Have a great weekend!
Steve