Introductory Bag to John Steinbeck and "Of Mice and Men."

This is a great video that discusses how the social context of the 1930s played a great role in impacting "Of Mice and Men." You neednt take notes on it, as the video indicates, but mentally note some of the important elements and take heed of their significance as you construct initial ideas about the book.

This is an introductory lecture from Professor Sweets on"Of Mice and Men."

This is a simple Google search of the different book covers for "Of Mice and Men." What recurring images do you see in the different book covers?

This video does a great job of including discussion about the American Dream and the book. The last sentence really is profound and can help you understand what you are about to read.

This 60 second recap talks about how the setting of American History plays a vital role in what you are going to read. Pay attention to how the setting plays a role in the book. Pay also special attention to the "painstaking detail" and "the experimental novel." Don't worry about the freaky picture here. She is a fairly intense gal about Steinbeck, but she does make sense.

The basis for the Steinbeck novel is the Robert Burns' poem. Read the poem and its English translation from Scottish. It's tough, but if nothing else, try to focus on some key lines and images. Steinbeck was fascinated with the poem, enough to name his novella from a line of this poem. Given what you know so far about the work, what is the connection between the two? If you want to hear a fairly authentic Scottish reading of it, go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wye0LqV_dAU&feature=related

I am not sure where Steinbeck would go with this, but the ideas from "Of Mice and Men" have been appropriated by modern music. Exhibit A: Megadeath.

Exhibit B: Katy Perry's "Pearl"
I think that you could probably catch the references to Steinbeck's work. If you can relate this to another character that we just read about, it will help set up "Of Mice and Men" and what these characters are like. Steinbeck might go for this, except for the optimistic ending. (In entertainment news, was this song written before or after the divorce between Katy and Russell?) Special thanks goes out to Lip Gloss, who suggested this to me for homework.

Tex Avery is a cartoon genius. He did most of the "Tom and Jerry" cartoons and his knowledge of Steinbeck is evident here. Notice how his characterization of Lennie is dead- on. It set the standards for how Lennie is seen for decades. (Also, notice what particular song is in the background more than once.)

Watch and let me know your thoughts.