英語演講素材OfMiceandMen課件

1、Of Mice and MenBy John SteinbeckJohn Steinbeck One of The Great American Writers of the 20th Century A Look at the AuthorBorn February 27th in 1902 in Salinas, California, John was the third of four children, and the only son.During his childhood, Steinbeck learned to appreciate his surroundings, an

2、d loved the Salinas countryside and the nearby Pacific Ocean; it would be this appreciation that would later come out in his writing.Steinbeck worked during his summers as a hired hand in nearby ranches.The Fields of Salinas, CaliforniaThe Beauty of Salinas Rich, fertile soilAt the age of 14 he deci

3、ded to be a writer and spent a lot of time writing in his room.In high school, Steinbeck did well in English and edited the school yearbook.From 1919-1925 Steinbeck attended Stanford University to please his parents, but only chose courses that interested him, classical and British Literature, writi

4、ng courses, and an odd science course.However, Steinbeck did not receive a degree because he would drop in and out of school, sometimes to work with migrant workers and bindlestiffs on California ranches.Whats a Bindlestiff?A hobo, especially one who carries a bedroll. During the late 1920s and 1930

5、s, he concentrated on writing and wrote several novels set in California.Steinbeck gained great success byreaders and critics.In 1929, he published his first novel, Cup of GoldIn 1930, Steinbeck married Carol Henning, and theymoved into his familys home. His father helped support the struggling coup

6、le, but unfortunately, they divorced in 1942.In 1935, he won his first literary prize,Commonwealth Club of California Gold Medal for Best Novel by a Californian for his novel, Tortilla Flat.In 1936, Of Mice and Men was published, and was so widely accepted that Steinbeck began a book tour that led h

7、im to Europe.In 1939, The Grapes of Wrath was published and became an instant best-seller; in 1940 it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world.This novel, just like Of Mice and Men, stemmed from his experience working among migrant workers. Steinbecks

8、experiences in the fields researching migrant workers led him to have more compassion for these workers,and stirred up his concern for social justice.In 1943 he married Gwendolyn Conger who would father him two sons before their divorce in 1948.In 1943 Steinbeck worked as a war corre-spondent for th

9、e New York newspaper, Herald Tribune.While living in Monterey, California, Steinbeck said that he felt unwelcome as no one would rent him an office for writing, and he was harassed when trying to get fuel and wood from a local wartime rations board. Steinbeck wrote that his old friends did not want

10、to be around him, partly because of his works, and partly because he was so successful: “This isnt my country anymore. And it wont be until I am dead. It makes me very sad.” He left Monterey the next year and moved to New York.In 1948 he moved back to Monterey. A year later he met Elaine Scott, who

11、in 1950 became his third wife.Although he continued to write and publish, he never felt at ease in his life, and once wrote to an aspiring writer from Salinas: “Dont think for a moment that you will ever be forgiven for being what they call different. You wont! I still have not been forgiven. Only w

12、hen I am delivered in a pine box will I be considered safe. After I had written the Grapes of Wrath the librarians at the Salinas Public Library, who had known my folks remarked that is was lucky my parents were dead so that they did not have to suffer this shame.” One of Steinbecks two sons fought

13、in the Vietnam War, while Steinbeck himself was in Asia covering the war for Newsday, a Long Island newspaper. Steinbeck lost a number of friends during the anti-war movement due to his open support of the war and Americas involvement.Steinbecks last two books were nonfiction.Travels with Charley in

14、 Search of America was an account of his trip from Maine to California with his poodle, Charley.His final book, America and the Americans, was about his belief that in time, America would once again feel united.John Steinbeck died on December 20, 1968, at his apartment in New York City.His wife took

15、 him home to Salinas to be buried near the land that he spent his life writing about. Mural overlooking The National Steinbeck Center in Salinas The BookOf Mice and Men was originally called Something That Happened. When Steinbeck first thought of the idea for the book he intended it to be for child

16、ren. Steinbeck told a friend that he was experimenting with a new “dramatic form.” In May 1936, he wrote a manuscript, but his puppy (a setter called Toby) ate it!He said of the book: It is an experiment and I dont know how successful.Of Mice and MenThe novel deals with the issues dear to Steinbecks

17、 heart - poverty, homelessness, the exploitation of itinerant workers, the failure of the Dream, Americas general moral decline.Main Characters: Lennie & GeorgeLennie SmallLennie is a large, lumbering, childlike migrant worker. Due to his mild mental disability, Lennie completely depends upon George

18、, his friend and traveling companion, for guidance and protection. The two men share a vision of a farm that they will own together, a vision that Lennie believes in wholeheartedly. Gentle and kind, Lennie nevertheless does not understand his own strength. His love of petting soft things, such as sm

19、all animals, dresses, and peoples hair, leads to disaster. George MiltonGeorge is a small, wiry, quick-witted man who travels with, and cares for, Lennie. Although he frequently speaks of how much better his life would be without his caretaking responsibilities, George is obviously devoted to Lennie

20、. Georges behavior is motivated by the desire to protect Lennie and, eventually, deliver them both to the farm of their dreams. Though George is the source for the often-told story of life on their future farm, it is Lennies childlike faith that enables George to actually believe his account of thei

21、r future. IntroductionGeorge and Lennie go to a ranch near Salinas, California, to work. George is Lennies keeper, and Lennie imitates everything that George does. Lennie previously had been kicked out of a town for grabbing a girls dress. He simply liked to touch soft items. That is also the reason

22、 that he has a dead mouse in his pocket: Lennie petted him too hardly. George promises Lennie that some day they will have their own farm and raise rabbits as well as other animals.The setting in Of Mice and MenThe novel is set in the farmland of the Salinas valley, where John Steinbeck was born.The

23、 ranch in the novel is near Soledad, which is south-east of Salinas on the Salinas river.The countryside described at the beginning of the novel, and the ranch itself is based on Steinbecks own experiences. Soledad, CaliforniaCalifornia in the 1930sWhy Migrant Workers?Before technology created farm

24、machinery, humans had to do a lot of the farm work by hand.Between the 1880s and the 1930s, thousands of men would travel the countryside in search of work.Such work included the harvesting of wheat and barley.Migrant WorkersThese workers would earn $2.50 or $3.00 a day, plus food and shelter.During

25、 the 1930s, the unemployment rate was high in the U.S., and with so many men searching for work, agencies were set up to send farm workers to where they were needed.In the novel, George and Lennie (the two main characters) were given work cards from Murray and Readys, which was one of the farm work

26、agencies.Chasing the American Dream“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” ( Emma Lazarus)Written on the base of the Statue of Libert

27、y The American Dream You can be successful if you work hard and live morally.America is the land of opportunity.Freedom to work hard and be happy is enshrined in the Constitution.The Dream assumes equality of opportunity, no discrimination, freedom to follow goals and freedom from victimization.The

28、American DreamFrom the 17th Century onwards, immigrants have dreamed of a better life in America.Many people immigrated to America in search of a new life for themselves or their families.Many others immigrated to escape persecution or poverty in their homeland.Immigrants dreamed of making their for

29、tunes in America. For many this dream of riches became a nightmare. there were horrors of slavery, there were horrors of the American Civil War,there was a growing number of slums that were just as bad as those in Europe,there was also great corruption in the American political system which led to m

30、any shattered hopes. The idea of an American Dream for many was broken when in 1929, the Wall Street crashed, marking the beginning of the Great Depression.This era affected the whole world during the 1930s, but even in the midst of hardship, some peoples dreams survived.Thousands of people made the

31、ir way west towards California to escape from their farmlands in the Midwest that were failing due to drought.The characters of George and Lennie dreamt of having a “l(fā)ittle house and a couple of acres” which was their own dream. Is the American dream possible in the historical context of the novel?D

32、reamsGeorge and Lennie have a dream, even before they arrive at their new job on the ranch, to make enough money to live off the fat of the land and be their own bosses. Lennie will be permitted, then, to tend the rabbits. DreamsWhen George goes into a full description of the dream farm, its Eden-li

33、ke qualities become even more apparent. All the food they want will be right there, with minimal effort. As Lennie says:We could live offa the fatta the lan.When George talks about their farm, he twice describes it in terms of things he loved in childhood: I could build a smoke house like the one gr

34、anpa had.George yearns for his future to reflect the beauty of his childhood. An wed keep a few pigeons to go flyin around the winmill like they done when I was a kid. Meet the Other CharactersCandyCurleyCurleys WifeCrooksSlimCarlsonCandyCandy is an aging ranch handyman, Candy lost his hand in an ac

35、cident and worries about his future on the ranch. Fearing that his age is making him useless, he seizes on Georges description of the farm he and Lennie will have, offering his lifes savings if he can join George and Lennie in owning the land. The fate of Candys ancient dog, which Carlson shoots in

36、the back of the head in an alleged act of mercy, foreshadows the manner of Lennies death. CurleyCurley is the bosss son, Curley wears high-heeled boots to distinguish himself from the field hands. Rumored to be a champion prizefighter, he is a confrontational, mean-spirited, and aggressive young man

37、 who seeks to compensate for his small stature by picking fights with larger men. Recently married, Curley is plagued with jealous suspicions and is extremely possessive of his flirtatious young wife.Curleys WifeCurleys wife is the only female character in the novel, Curleys wife is never given a na

38、me and is only referred to in reference to her husband. The men on the farm refer to her as a “tramp,” a “tart,” and a “l(fā)ooloo.” Dressed in fancy, feathered red shoes, she represents the temptation of female sexuality in a male-dominated world. Steinbeck depicts Curleys wife not as a villain, but ra

39、ther as a victim. Like the ranch-hands, she is desperately lonely and has broken dreams of a better life. CrooksCrooks, the black stable-hand, gets his name from his crooked back. Proud, bitter, and caustically funny, he is isolated from the other men because of the color of his skin. Despite himsel

40、f, Crooks becomes fond of Lennie, and though he derisively claims to have seen countless men following empty dreams of buying their own land, he asks Lennie if he can go with them and hoe in the garden. SlimA highly skilled mule driver and the acknowledged “prince” of the ranch, Slim is the only cha

41、racter who seems to be at peace with himself. The other characters often look to Slim for advice. For instance, only after Slim agrees that Candy should put his decrepit dog out of its misery, does the old man agree to let Carlson shoot it. A quiet, insightful man, Slim alone understands the nature

42、of the bond between George and Lennie, and comforts George at the novels tragic ending.Other CharactersCarlson- A ranch-hand, Carlson complains bitterly about Candys old, smelly dog. He convinces Candy to put the dog out of its misery. When Candy finally agrees, Carlson promises to execute the task

43、without causing the animal any suffering. Later, George uses Carlsons gun to shoot Lennie.The Boss- The stocky, well-dressed man in charge of the ranch, and Curleys father. He is never named and appears only once, but seems to be a fair-minded man. Candy happily reports that he once delivered a gall

44、on of whiskey to the ranch-hands on Christmas Day.Aunt Clara -Lennies aunt, who cared for him until her death, does not actually appear in the novel except in the end, as a vision chastising Lennie for causing trouble for George. By all accounts, she was a kind, patient woman who took good care of L

45、ennie and gave him plenty of mice to pet.Themes in Of Mice and MenThe Nature of DreamsIn essence, Of Mice and Men is as much a story about the nature of human dreams and aspirations and the forces that work against them as it is the story of two men. Humans give meaning to their livesand to their futuresby creating dreams. Without dre