American Literature Summer Reading
Of Mice and Men
Dialectical Journal
Thank you for doing your summer reading assignment! You will be reading a book that continues to challenge our thinking about friendship, kindness, and the value of life. Of Mice and Men is a Steinbeck classic that brings us to California at a time when the west was still a bit wild. You'll meet ranchers of all kinds. Most of them use rough language that should not be repeated in our classroom. Despite the use of foul language, the book accurately portrays the challenges of making a living, the difficulty of caring for someone who is special needs, the injustice of segregation, and the contrast between dreams and reality. The book forces us to evaluate our own relationships and prejudices. As you meet various characters, you will see that they represent whole segments of society. Watch for how people treat each other. Wonder about what motives folks to act as they do. Get upset about things that don't seem right! Determine how this book challenges us to stand up against injustice, to bear one another's burdens, to care for the outcast and marginalized people in society, and to care about life itself. I am not sure that the book teaches us a lesson - it doesn't necessarily give us any answers, but it begs us to think! We must think about how our actions impact those around us. As Christians, we are called to care for the least of these. In this book, we see the least of these represented by three characters: Lennie, Candy, and Crooks. Who do they represent? How do people treat them? How should people treat them? What should Christians learn here? These questions will be important to discuss in class.
For the summer reading assignment for Of Mice and Men, you will be taking notes as you read in a specialized format called a dialectical journal (often called a multiple-entry journal). You can print out multiple copies of the journal template from the library website. You will use this journal to record your thoughts and analysis as you read. This should be hand-written and given to your English teacher on the first day of school.
There are 6 chapters in the book. It is required for you to choose 2 significant quotations from every chapter for a total of 12 journal entries. (Of course, 12 is the minimum number of journal entries that you need. If you wish to have more, I would be thrilled! However, quantity doesn't impress me if there is a lack of quality! Keep that in mind!
The first column should contain a significant quotation from the novel. The second column will contain the context of the quotation and will explain what is happening in the book at that moment, and the last column is the most important one that will hold your analysis (the “so what?”) of the quotation. This "so what" analysis is weighty! I don't want weeny little weak statements that demonstrate hasty thinking. Go deep! Therefore, there is an expectation of an average of 100 words per analysis. Aim for a 100 word analysis! Show me that you were thinking as you were reading.
· First Column- significant quote (word for word) including page number
· Second Column- Context of the story - what was happening in this portion of the book?
· Third Column- Analysis - 100 words! No weak little thoughts!
My suggestion would be to take notes in the margin as you read and return to your comments at the end of each chapter. At that time, you will be able to choose the two most significant quotations. This assignment is not intended to torture you! This assignment is meant to train your brain to be continually engaged in the reading making observations and connecting to the material. Readers often have eyes that gloss over words, but minds that are not fully there! We must battle this tendency in American Literature!
I am particularly curious to hear your thoughts and observations about friendship, dreams vs. reality, caring for people with special needs and outcasts, bullying, courage, cowardice, and the value of human life. Even if you don't include all of your thoughts about these topics in the dialectical journal, be prepared to discuss these things in class. Mark your margins with things that would make for good discussions!
Here's a sample of the analysis you might make in Of Mice and Men:
- This quotation show the caring nature of George….because….. This quotation demonstrates the how Lennie is mentally challenged….because…… This quotation touches my heart because…. This upsets/angers me because… This reminds me of when…because… This made me sad because…. At this point in the book, I just wanted to tell her/him……because….. This character angers me when….. because… When I read this, I was shocked because… I feel some tension here because... This character (…) seems to represent this group of people because… The parallel structure of (…) and (…) is significant here because… The author's use of repetition here (…) and there (…) seems to be important because…. The author’s tone/attitude about … (specify) is revealed when. . . because…. These details show / reveal. . . (explain) The author’s use of diction (word choice) demonstrates. . . The purpose of the (repetition, simile, allusion, statistic, etc.) is to. . . This reveals the theme of ________ because. . . This reminds me of another specific incident (text-to-self, text-to-world, text-to-text) when . . . I infer / conclude that. . . because Based on this line, I predict. . . (expound) I am confused here because. . . I like how the author uses ______ to show… These words/actions reveal _____ about the character because. . .
Please vary your responses. These third-column responses should average 100 words each, so please select quotations you can really discuss, break apart, and use to see a greater significance. You should have 12 entries. Please contact Mrs. Haan if you have any questions: *****@***org
Example of what your dialectical journal should look like:
Quotation | Context | Analysis (100 Words) Average |
1. “He said it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out” (Lee 3). | The narrator, Scout, is casually discussing how her brother broke his arm and is relating that incident to the summer that her friend Dill came to visit. | The repetition of the pronoun “it” three times in this paragraph creates suspense and serves as a lead in to the flashback of three years ago. The reader questions how Jem “got his arm badly broken” and wonders what the “it” is that began when Dill arrived. The reader questions what events from three years ago led to the accident. The mystery further intensifies with the children’s antics of touching Boo’s house and culminates at the end of the chapter with the “flick” of a shutter. Why is Boo a “malevolent phantom” and why are the children afraid to touch the house? But more importantly, how does “it” lead to the breaking of Jem’s arm? By provoking these questions, Harper Lee sets the mysterious tone of the novel. |
