Of Mice and Men Past Questions

 

GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE                         HIGHER TIER

 

John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men

 

The Scottish poet Robbie Burns wrote:

 

'The best laid schemes of mice and men

Gang aft aglee and leave us naught

But grief and pain for promised joy'.

 

('gan aft aglee' means 'often turn out wrong'.)

 

1. Why do you think John Steinbeck called his novel Of Mice and Men?
   

Write about:

• Things which do not turn out as planned.
  
• Steinbeck's purposes in writing about failed plans.
  
• How Steinbeck presents plans and their failure.
  

 

 

1. How does Steinbeck use animals in Of Mice and Men?
   

 

1. Some people think Of Mice and Men is a novel without heroes or villains.
   

Choose three characters who could be seen as heroes or villains or a mixture of both.

Write about:

• Whether or not you think these characters are heroes, villains, or a mixture of both.
  
• How Steinbeck's presentation of them influences your response.
  

 

 

1. Of Mice and Men has been seen as a novel without hope, but it has also been seen as a novel which shows something positive.
   

How does Steinbeck convey his ideas about human nature and human relationships?

 

1. How does Steinbeck create the theme of insecurity in the novel?
   

Write about.

• Why some characters may feel insecure.
  
• How language contributes to a sense of the characters' insecurity.
  
• How the settings contribute to a sense of insecurity.
  
• Other features which create a sense of insecurity.
  

 

1. Of Mice and Men shows us that people can be cruel, or kind, or sometimes a mixture of both.
   

Compare three characters.

Write about:

• The ways in which the different characters are cruel, or kind, or a mixture of both.
  
• Why they behave as they do.
  
• How you respond to them.
  
• How Steinbeck writes about them to make you respond in this way.
  

 

1. Show how John Steinbeck explores the complex relationship between George and Lennie.
   

You should write about:

• What keeps them together, and the difficulties they each have.
  
• How the writer brings out differences between them.
  
• How they are different from other people on the farm.
  
• What you think Steinbeck's purpose was in writing about this relationship.
  

 

1. Hopes and dreams help people to survive, even if they can never become real. How true is this for characters in Of Mice and Men?
   

 

1. Of Mice and Men ends where it begins, with George and Lennie, alone by the pool.
   

What is your response to the ending of the novel?

Write about:

• Your feelings about George's decision to shoot Lennie.
  
• Ways in which Steinbeck prepares us for this ending.
  
• Why the writer chooses to end the story in this way.
  
• Whether the ending suggests that the friendship between George and Lennie was pointless.
  

 

1. Write about the importance of the different places in Of Mice and Men, real or imagined.
   

 

1. Several characters in Of Mice and Men are trapped or feel as if they are caught in a trap.
   

How does Steinbeck show the causes and effects of being trapped?

Write about:

• How and why different characters feel trapped.
  
• The different ways characters respond to being trapped.
  
• How Steinbeck makes the reader feel admiration, dislike or pity for characters who are trapped.
  

 

1. Look at the following pairs of relationships in Of Mice and Men:
   

Candy and his dog; Curley and his wife; George and Lennie.

Write about these three relationships, showing how Steinbeck explores the needs that keep relationships going, despite conflict and strain.