Of Mice and Men

Lennie Small from the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a large guy; that is too strong for his own good. He is the big, stocky character that is the follower because he is mentally a little slow. Well in this case he is a little more than a than slow, he is mentally challenged. His mental ability clashes with his physical structure several times in this book. His mind just can not control his body. Throughout the whole book, all he wants is to be able to take care of rabbits; his obsession with soft things overtakes him numerous times. He runs into problems when he is trying to make this dream a reality because he has to work for the money to buy land for his rabbits. He becomes impatient for his rabbits and he ends up being accused of rape on a woman who had on a soft dress, kills mice, kills his puppy, and ultimately kills Curley’s wife. These are great examples of how mentally limited Lennie is. He always overcomes these conflicts with the help of his great friend George comforting him. He goes from a sweet, sensitive guy to a killing machine many times in this novel because he loves the soft things, but when they get away from him, he becomes angry and kills them. I did not make any personal connections with the character, Lennie, because he does not relate to me at all. However, I spent the entire book feeling bad for him because even though he can’t control himself, he doesn't even understand that what he does wrong is bad until it is too late. Lennie Small makes this book what it is because he causes all the foolish conflicts because of his mental ability, and no matter how bad it becomes his good friend, George, always takes care of him.

Book Review: Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck wrote the Grapes of Wrath to tell about America during the reconstruction from the Great Depression. Steinbeck gathers up all of the evils and troubles in America and puts them into this book. He talks about the filthy children, the labor conditions, and the desperate need for everything in this time of history. He talks about the move to the west and makes it more realistic with all the dialect in the book. This book is extremely popular, and there are movies and plays that were made because of this book.

Born in Salinas, California, in 1902, Steinbeck had amble opportunity to succeed in being a writer with his mother being a teacher, Olive Steinbeck, and his father being the County Treasurer, John Steinbeck Sr. His mom helped him along with his love of reading and writing. After high school, he attended Stanford University with an English major. Not long after college, he married his first wife, Carol Henning. His first book to make him famous was Tortilla Flat, and then he later wrote Grapes of Wrath where he won the Pulitzer Prize. John Steinbeck ended up winning the Nobel Prize for Literature. Steinbeck had a hard time at first when trying to make some of his books popular so he pretty much kept to himself as a person. Steinbeck died in 1968 and had his ashes put into the Garden of Memories Cemetery.

I really like this books writing style because it uses a lot of dialogue to make it very easy for the reader to picture what is actually going on rather than just reading through the information. Steinbeck is very informative in this book to tell the reader about that time in history. He makes everything flow together in chronological order to help the plot. I like this book so much that I think many more people should read it no matter your age. It will tell everyone about the recovery period from the Great Depression. This book shows that no matter how hard things are families will stick together and pull through, which is rather inspiring for everyone.

http://www.steinbeck.org/Grapes.html
This website has a small summary of the book and tells about the awards that it received.
http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Steinbeck/grapes.html
This is a site that covers the complete book chapter by chapter, very informative.
http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=12&section=reviews
This webpage talks about the dilemmas Steinbeck had with the public when he published this book.
http://www.steinbeck.org/Bio.html
This site talks about John Steinbeck’s life and the books that he has written.

Stress

Stress seems to be the never ending story of our lives. Everyone has a million of things to do in such a short amount of time. No one every gets to enjoy life, they are too busy running around trying to get everything done. Everyone seems to want a little piece of you, but there is only so much to go around. People need to learn to enjoy their life, but we can't because everyone keeps pushing them for more and more. I wish people would back off so I could at least enjoy my life. I am always behind with the things I need to do; sometimes I feel like I can hardly take a breathe without being smashed to the ground because of all the weight on my shoulders.

Arthur Miller, The Crucible, McCarthyism and Witch Hunt Project

1. What was Miller's point in writing The Crucible?

http://summarycentral.tripod.com/thecrucible.htm
Miller wrote this book because he was found guilty of believing in communism along with some of his close friends. Even though the verdict was reversed, he wrote this book to show everyone what was really going on.

http://www.enotes.com/crucible/
This site tells how Author Miller wrote The Crucible to pass judgment on the moments in history were clouded by other things in society.


2. How are McCarthyism, the Red Scare, Arthur Miller, and The Crucible interrelated?

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/SaccoV/redscare.html
This web page talks about the Red Scare and how McCarthy followed this. Everything followed the Red Scare, it was the big picture.

http://warren.dusd.net/~dstone/Resources/11P/M_NY.htm
This above site is written by Author Miller himself, therefore, I found it very informative. He talked about why he wrote the play and how McCarthyism and Communism play a part in his play. He talks about the Red hunt and the Soviet plot in Salem. It also gives you an informative biography of Author Miller.


3. Document other times in American history when 'witch hunts' were conducted and discuss the outcomes of the Salem witch hunt and the other witch hunts you find. What do they all have in common?

http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/homosexuals.arrested.9497.html http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761580651/Segregation_in_the_United_States.html
The first web page talks about the separation of homosexuals from the world, and how people in the United States deal with the difference in opinion. The second site talks about the separation of blacks during the Civil War.

The Start of Something Great

Do you ever get the feeling inside of you that you are starting something great? Is it the warm blood running through your body or the tingling sensation that overtakes you? Not to mention, the butterflies in your stomach. This feeling just makes you eager for more. It makes you want go do something great. The anticipation keeps you going all the time. When you lay in bed at night or in school during a boring lecture that is all you can think about. This feeling overtakes you like nothing you have ever experienced before. It makes you want to bottle it up and keep it forever. All you can do is smile or laugh at the stupidest things. This is the feeling of something great starting, I know it, and I can't wait to continue. I love this feeling, and I want to experience it everyday of my life. Some of you out there know about this feeling because you have experienced it before, but for the rest of you, I suggest you go out there and find this unforgettable feeling.

Bad Days That Never End

Have you ever had one of those bad day that nothing seems to go your way. School is lasting way too long, crabby teachers are piling on way too much homework, and no matter how long you spent getting ready this morning you still look crap. I seem to have annoying people all around me: people that think they are funny, teachers that complain that they have too much work too do while they pile on more work for us, and people are inconsiderate and ask you for help even when you don't have it done yourself. The day will never end! After an excruciating day at school, there is the volleyball practice to follow. When I think my worst day of my life is done with, I realize I have a hour and a half of dance and homework to do yet in this day. When I get done with all of that at 11:00 pm I go into your disastrous room. There is one tiny path that leads to my dresser, and thank god my bed is right by the door otherwise I would not find it. I lay in bed thinking about one of the worst days thanking god that it is over, knowing that tomorrow right away in the morning I will know whether the next day will be a repeat or not.