Objectives
By the end of today's lesson you will be able to:
·Discuss the possible
interpretations of
the ending of the
novel.…read more

Chapter 6
Page 140…read more

Echoes of the first scene
Steinbeck makes this last scene echo the first one, by
using phrases and images that are similar in both.
Find some instances of this technique and write them
on the board. Here is one example to help you.
Section One Section Six
'A water-snake slipped along 'A water-snake glided
on the pool, its head help up smoothly up the pool,
like a little periscope.' twisting its periscope head
from side to side.'…read more

Echoes of the first scene
Why do you think Steinbeck uses this technique in
the last section of the novel?
It strengthens the sense of the novel having come full
circle. Just as in nature, where animals are born, live
and die, so too do humans. Throughout the book, we
have seen animal images used in connection to
Lennie. Now, like Candy's dog, Lennie is `put out of
his misery'.
Steinbeck chooses to finish his story in the same
place that it started. The novella has shown us the
brief life, and death, of one man.…read more

The title
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promised joy!…read more