English Literature mind map

basically a HUGE mind map on everything in my english Literature GCSE.

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  • English Lit
    • of mice of men
      • plot (left to right)
        • in the introduction George and Lennie sit by a pool and discuss their dream. we also find out about who the pair are.
        • George finds lennie stroking a dead mouse and throws it away
        • we learn about what happened in weed
        • arrive at ranch and are shown around by candy
          • George is concearned about the de-loucing powder by his bed
        • George and Lennie meet curley and George tells Lennie to stay away from him.
        • The pair of them meet Curleys attractive & flirtatious wife who George tells Lennie to also stay away from
        • the other men shoot candy dog and Lennie is given a puppy from Slim. Curley also starts a fight with lennie who crushes his hand
        • the pir discuss their dream, candy hears and almost immidiately joins their group
        • lennie and candy talk to a reluctant crooks in his room while the other men go into town
          • curleys wife interrupts and threatens the group, she also discovers the truth about Curleys hand
        • Lennie accidentally kills his puppy
        • Curleys wife and Lennie start talking and while lennie strokes her hair he kills her
        • lennie is found by george who shoots him with Carlsons Luger in an emotional scene
        • the other men find George and assume he shot lennie in self defence, only slim understands why.
      • themes
        • each character represents a member of the American society
          • eg. Curleys wife = the women of society
          • eg. Crooks = the black people of society
        • the farm is a  microcosm (a miniature world)
          • each character represents a member of the American society
            • eg. Curleys wife = the women of society
            • eg. Crooks = the black people of society
        • name
          • poem "of mice of men"
            • about a mouse that builds a nest in a wheat field only for it to be destroyed by a plow
              • this is like the dream that George and Lennie have that looks like it will work only for it to be destroyed
        • lonliness
          • several characters in the book are lonely and have nothing to live for
            • crooks
              • never really had a friend and is one of the only black people in the area, also he is picked on and has to live separately from the other men
            • candy
              • only had one real friend on the ranch that was his dog, the other men then shot the dog and now Candy feels life has no meaning or purpose
            • George and Lennie
              • both of them are avoiding and hiding from an inner loneliness by journeying with each other, George is clearly lonely though as he wishes Lennie was a bit less difficult to live with - he clearly longs for a normal man to be friends with.
            • Curleys wife
              • curleys wife is obviously bored of being with such a violent man like curley and just wants to talk to someone else that is a bit like her. she also is not very happy as she always thinks she could have done better in life.
      • characters
        • George
          • George is a small, quick witted and inteligent man who spends most of his time looking after Lennie. Geoge wants to get rid of Lennie but has an attatchment to him. George also has a dream of having his own land so he dosent have to look for work
        • Lennie
          • Lennie is a large strong but dimwitted man that doesn't really know ho to look after himself. He has a dream that has become and obsession in which he looks after the rabbits on Georges farm and never has to be told what to do again. he also has a way of speaking that makes George feel sorry for him but he does understand what an irritation he is to George.
        • Slim
          • Slim is the most respected man on the ranch and a good friend of Georges. he is a natural leader and has a assertive trait that immediately gives him the highest authority in the ranch . when George shoots Lennie later in the book he is also the only person who understands why he did it.
        • Curley
          • Curley is the Bosses son and is a violent and angry man that has time to kill because he doesn't work on the ranch. he is always suspicious of the other ranch hands because of his flirtatious wife and later gets his hand crushed by Lennie because of this
        • Curleys Wife
          • she has no name and is purely Curleys "property", she is very lonely, flirtatious and is always trying to talk to the other men. she is sad because she dosent like Curley and thinks she could have done better in life
        • Crooks
          • Black stable buck with a spine injury, spends his time tending to horses and reading the "California state book of ***** rights 1907
        • Candy
          • oldest man on the ranch, lost his hand in a ranch accident, had an old dog that was shot by Carlson, very lonely and has a hope f buying a farm with Lennie and George
    • poetery (Relationships)
      • the manhunt
        • Subject
          • The Manhunt is written from the perspective of the wife of a soldier who has sustained serious injuries at war and has returned home. The poem explores the physical and mental effects of living with injuries sustained when on active service in the armed forces
        • Structure
          • The poem is made up of a series of couplets, mostly unrhymed. This creates a sense of fragmentation, which matches the feelings of the soldier's wife as she seeks to understand the man her husband has become.The poem describes the phases of a wife's search for answers from her injured husband who has recently returned from a war zone. The poem ends when the search is brought to a close.
          • The title puns on the idea of the 'manhunt', meaning literally a hunt to capture a man, often a criminal. Here the wife's search is for the husband she knew so well but who seems lost to her, metaphorically, after his experiences at war.
        • Themes
          • The Manhunt is about the patience and care of love. The wife in the poem is methodical and thorough in her search, exploring her husband's injured body with love and care.
          • The poem also explores the cost of war on those serving in the armed forces. The man has a "grazed heart", perhaps literally from an injury caused by "the metal beneath his chest", but also metaphorically. He is unable to connect with his wife, unwilling to speak of his experiences, and so their loving relationship is affected. The image of the metal bullet still inside him as a "foetus" suggests that, like having a baby, the couple's relationship will be forever changed by what he has gone through.
      • Hour
        • Subject
          • Hour is about the feelings that arise from spending time with a loved one. The poem suggests that to be with a loved one, even for just an hour, is precious and valuable. It also presents the traditional idea of time as an obstacle to lovers.
        • Themes
          • The poem is about enjoying the intimacy of a moment in time rather than thinking about the world beyond. The simple nature of the experience is a reminder that material possessions cannot replace something as magical and powerful as time spent with a loved one.
        • Structure
          • Hour has many references to money and riches, contrasting the concept of material wealth and possessions against love and time spent with a loved one.Line three puns on the word "spend", and is typical of the way in which the poem investigates the themes of love and money:We find an hour together, spend it not on flowersOr wine, but the whole of the summer sky and a grass ditch.
          • Hour follows the structure of a Shakespearean sonnet: it has fourteen lines and apredictable rhyme scheme (a-b-a-b-c-d-c-d-e-f-e-f-g-g). Sonnets often use a final rhyming couplet to offer a 'turn' in the meaning; however, Duffy only offers a partial turn, which is confirmation of the idea that love will always triumph by finding unlikely sources of value.
      • prasie song for my mother
        • Subject
          • The poem is about how mothers guide their children through their lives even after death.
        • Themes
          • The main idea of the poem Praise Song... is that parents - specifically mothers - are a source of nourishment for children, consistently providing them with the essential basics that are needed in order to flourish into adulthood. The key word in the poem is"replenishing", repeated to reinforce the reliability of the mother in providing what the daughter needs to develop and overcome life's challenges.
          • The poem stresses the importance of staying in tune with nature and natural rhythms. Water, the moon and the sun are all elements that create a timeless quality to the relationship.
        • Structure
          • The poem is based around the first three stanzas of three lines each, which are very similar in format. The fourth stanza begins in the same way as the first three but is extended, bringing attention to the poem's final line about the daughter'sexpanding horizons and moving towards "wide futures", as if reflecting the way in which the mother's care for her has allowed her to grow and move on.
          • The use of the past tense - for example the repeated "You were" - anchors this poem, making it clear that it is written as if the speaker is looking back on childhood and the influence of her mother.

Comments

shamima begum

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this  is so amazing, really useful !

Edward Cullinane

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thanks

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