Theme final

/in /by

Of Mice and Men

Theme Final

For this assignment, you will need to examine the plot and characters of Of Mice and Men to extract a theme. A theme is a complete sentence of topic and opinion, a judgment about life. Themes should be complex and not obvious statements. In a short essay, you will introduce your theme and support it with evidence from the novel.

Necessary components:

  • Introduction
    • Discuss history context
    • Introduce the novel
    • Introduce theme (CLAIM)
  • Body
    • Each paragraph focused on claim
    • Separate ideas into paragraphs
  • Conclusion
    • Summary of claim and support
    • Implications for how we live

You will need:

  • 4+ substantial quotations
  • Correct punctuation
  • Paragraphs

To help arrive at the theme, complete the graphic organizer:

Topic: Responsibility

(Examples: oppression (racism/sexism), workers, friendship, responsibility, loneliness

1. Which characters exhibit this topic?

George,

Candy

2. How is the topic being demonstrated?

George is responsible for Lennie

Candy – the dog.

Slim is responsible for the ranch and its workers

2a. Quotation that shows how a character acts, thinks, or feels about the topic

“An’ whatta I got…I got you!  You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get.  Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time.  An’ that ain’t the worst.  You get in trouble.  You do bad things and I got to get you out…you keep me in hot water all the time”.

3. Incorporating all the above ideas together, what is being said about the topic? 1 Complete sentence. This will be your theme

In Of Mice and Men, the theme of responsibility keeps men from unraveling is shown through George, Candy, and Slim.