The first man…(to the end of the paragraph) his arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely.”(2)  

To start my use of literary terms I must use the best and first device of analogy. Steinbeck uses great description and an anology of two opposites, George is a short guy with a quick temper and smart. Lennie is the opposite. He is tall and strong but very stupid and forgetful of things. This is an analogy because it is a great comparison of the two being opposites. Steinbeck wants this opposite to show how people can be different but friends.

foreshadowing in the book happens a ton in the book. 
        “Shes purty,” Lennie said(32)
You can only guess that with Lennie not having common sense that something between the two will eventually happen. lennie likes her and she seems to be very outgoing and interested in him. This is good foreshadowing considering how Lennie likes her and has a fettish with touching things. Early in the book we are told how Lennie had ripped a womans dress because he liked velvet.

metaphor-”He stood crying, his fist lost in lennies paw.” (64)

 This is a great metaphor. It doesn’t use like or as, but earlier in the book it does i just cant find it. Lennie has a huge hand and just crushes Curly’s in a matter of seconds. That is one strong hand that I would consider a bears paw. Steinbeck uses around 5 or 6 animal metaphors for characters in the book. He describes Curly flopping around like a fish during this scene in the book.

theme, “The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger.”(106)

 The end of the book shows a major theme of true friendship. George could have let the others kill him or maybe made a run for it. Instead George stood up and killed Lennie to have the least pain as possible. This theme is ran throughout the book with George looking out for Lennie most of his life. George had basically adopted Lennie when his Aunt Clara passed away. The two have been together for years and worked in several places together. They seem to always have eachother’s back. They even have a little song for their future, which Lennie LOVES.

repitition-  “The next minute Curly was flopping like a fish on a line.”(63) “He stood crying, his fist lost in lennies paw.”(64)

Steinbeck uses all kinds of comparisons with animals. He compares Lennie to a bear and Curly as a fish. This to me says that Lennie is like a bear getting a fish who is Curly. I can see it in my mind. It sets a very good visual for how strong Lennie is compared to Curly.This is repitition though because of how Steinbeck always reminds his readers about how characters are related to animals. I see it as another shorter version of what happened. Every time a comparison was made i could visualize a bit farther seeing it. Lennies paw a I can see along with Curly flopping like a fish in Lennie’s fist.

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the final part of the book….huh?

page 86- lennie says, “no sir. i aint gon talk to you”

lennie and curly’s wife are talkin and lennie doesnt want to being afraid he will do somethin bad or somethin bad will happen. it is sad how she brings him into touching her saying her hair is like velvet.

page 90- just feel right around here and feel how soft it is.

curly’s wife had asked lennie to feel her hair. and with lennie not having common sense he was pulled into her act. lennie was a sucker for good soft feeling things. he loved mice and rabbits fur. velvet was his most favorite texture.

page 106- the hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. he pulled the trigger

george was so sad to pull the trigger on lennie. but he wanted to make lennie’s death as easy as possible and save as much pain for lennie as possible. it takes a ton of strength to make a choice like this. i would be shaking quite as bad. i have respect for george to pull the trigger to ease the pain of his dear friend. after years of putting up with lennie i think if anyone had to kill lennie it should be george for taking care of him and keepin him outta trouble as much as possible

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i have learned more about books this year than any other year of my life. i dont like to read but i had no choice. i read books that seemed to have no meaning and found a meaning after studying them. it took a while to understand some of them. i just dont like reading so i dont have a favorite book. i liked being in your class and i like how you speak up in the class and have common sense. you get to the point and have fun. i like it.  the most challenging part of class would be the reading of the short stories back to back and having the blog articles. i like the fact of how everything is computerized. i love technology and have a passion for it. i have learned this year mostly new vocabulary and how to understand stories better. for future i think the most important will be digging out clues in text to understand a story better. in college i am sure there will be plenty of reading and research. i dont think anythin has really changed in me. i hope the best for you in the following years. and have fun with your kids… im having a kid sometime in december so it will bring me new challenges along with harder classes and more challenging education.

My favorite thing would have been the crucible or poetry. i like poetry and have wrote some songs. if you dont know i am now adding to my blog to you. i know you like reading things your students write. well i like talking to people with a mind and understand where im coming from. i liked the crucible best because of how ironic it turns out. It is also somewhat based on a true story, but of another story. i liked writing blog article because it was quick and effective. it helps students remember what they read. the only bad thing is the last week when you had us pick lines from the text. its easy to just pick out lines and describe them. i would of rather explained whats happening in the book. although then other students would look off of others and retype it. This class was fun though and i enjoyed it about as much as math. math is my favorite subject and this is the first year i have had to work hard to get a decent grade. i have never had a C in any class untill this year. this tells me i need to work harder for next year and the years coming. While its on my mind, The Reaping is a movie that is sort of like the crucible but more religious. i have watched it a few times. it has many points of foreshadowing that are stamped out right on the screen. although this is not a very suitable movie for kids it is for adults. i saw many points in the movie that i have never seen after being in this class. i picked up on them right away and noticed what was happening. your teaching helped me figure out the end of the movie. if you get bored its a good movie. Great having you as a teacher Mr. Sheehy. good luck with them red sox.

Your student
Zach Ashlin

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chapt 3 was an interesting chapt.

page 39- just tell lennie what to do and he’ll do it if it don’t take no figuring. he can’t think of nothing to do hiself but he sure can take orders.

this text shows that george likes being in charge. he likes to tell others wat to do and be the big boss. he and lennie seem to get along well cuz george just tells lennie what to do all the time. lennie seems to be smart enough though to realize what is good and what is bad.

curly sat down on the floor, looking in wonder at his crushed hand page 64

this shows lennies true strength. how many people can jus crush a guys hand with one squeeze. it is amazing how much strength he has. i would defintely not want to pick a fight with him.

page 59, candy said, i aint much good with only one hand…how’d that be

candy has asked to go live with the two men. george thinks about it and candy convinces him witha bribe of his will. candy offered to put in his pay check of 350 to move in and tend what he can with his one hand. george gets a little excited cuz his dreams were actually coming true. im curious to know if it will really happen in the book. and if george will let candy come or if he is just playin candy for money.

my only oter question is if curley will agree and stay true to not saying a work when lennie crushed his hand and george and lennie get canned or not.

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chapt 2

page 17, near one wall there was a black cast iron stove, its stovepipe going straight up through the ceiling.

the description of the bunk house seem weird. why would there be a stove if they are served food. i think the stove has another purpose in the book

page 22,  then why dont you let him answer? what you trying to put over?

the boss questions george why lennie dont speak. and george does a ton of lying. he tells the boss that lennie dont talk much and how great of a worker he is but how dumb he is.  george defends lennie also quite a bit through the text on down the page. the boss thinks george is tryna hide something from him.

page 22, well, i never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy.

This is another question the boss asks george. george defends it by sayin lennie is his cousin and he was asked to look out for him. i think it might be true that george is his cousin since he calls lennie’s aunt, aunt, also. and lennie asks him later if it is true and george right away denies it and says it was a good damn thing they were not cousins.

page 25, at that moment a young man came into the house; a thin young man witha brown face, with brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair.

when curly comes into the book he is told to be a mean little guy. he is kinda like george and quick fused. he starts to pick up that lennie is stupid and possibly an easy target to show how tough he is. he says how he hates tall lean guys and lennie fits that description. george tells him that he is dumb but is sure strong and would kick curly’s butt easily. he tells lennie not to pick a fight with him because he is the boss’s son and he would probably get away with what ever he wants. i think in the end curly will end up being a reason why curly and lennie leave the ranch.

page 31, lennies eyes moved down over her body, and though she did not seem to be looking at lennie she bridled a little.

lennie is in awe at this young lady. he likes her and she is curly’s wife. i think a fight will hapen and i hope lennie kicks his butt. the only bad thing is that if they fight the two george and lennie will probably get kicked out of the ranch.

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  • “In front of the low horizontal limb of a giant sycamore there is an ash pile made by many fires; the limb is worn smooth by men who have sat on it” (2).

    This line of text tells me that many people have taken the same road they are on to get to the ranch or somewhere else near it. the ash pile signifies many have had fires and the limbs being worn smooth with plenty of men on it.

  • “The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely” (2).

    this text describes each man. the two men are total opposites from each other. one works hard as you can tell by being well defined with a slender body. the other is tall and lanky with problems. he has less self esteem and is not a leader.

  • “You remember about us goin’ into Murray and Ready’s, and they give us work cards and bus tickets?” (5) this tells the reader that the two men are going for a new job on a ranch. the bus dropped them off a while away though so they had to walk.  this also is saying how lennie cannot remember hardly anything. he has a very short memory span.
  • “Awright. You got that. But we’re gonna sleep here because I got a reason” (7). georges reason to stay out that night is to enjoy the freedom of no work one last night. also he is tired of lennie and repeating everythin to him
  • “I’d pet ‘em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead – because they was so little” (10). lennie is trying to understand why george doesnt want him to have a mouse in his pocket. lennie continually kills the mice. he picks them and starts petting the fur and eventually the mouse doesnt like it so it bites him and he kills it by pinching the mouses head.
  • “When I think of the swell time I could have without you, I go nuts. I never get no peace” (12).
    george is losing his patience with lennie more and more every day and is tired of repeating his self over and over. he goes on about how life would be better without lennie following him and causing trouble at every job so they have to find another job.
  • “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. . . . With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. . . . because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why” (14).

    georges song is simply sayin that even though they are bums who work on ranches and all they have each other at least which most other people who work on ranches dont. they have each other to talk with and look after.

  • “Well, look. Lennie – if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an’ hide in the brush” (15). george is already preparing for the worst for the new job at the ranch. he thinks lennie will screw up so he plans out where he want lennie to go to if he does get in trouble or kicked out. he also tries to make lennie remember this more and more along with other things and helps appreciate it when he does remember

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In the crucible  john freaks out when he realizes that cheever is coming for his wife. he goes balistic and says she is inocent. after argueing for a while cheever takes her and puts chains on her and john goes off again. this is a bad reaction to having your wife arrested for witchery. he demanded the truth right there in their presence and he pretty much got it. i remember a time when my gf had surgery to her feet to have her bunyon on her foot removed. she had to be off her feet. one day her mom left her home for like 9 hours without any food or help in the house. well i came over to feed her after like 5 hours. i already was not happy that she was left alone to take care of her self days after having surgery. then when her mom came home she told ginny she needed to clean her dog and the kennel cuz it smelled. well i said in a calm tone, “how is she supposed to do that?” Her mom instantly started on me, “Dont start with me ive had a long day and its none of your business.” so i stood up and walked outta of the house. But as soon as i stood up she continued more and it unraveled from there only getting worse. now im not allowed over there and dont wanna be cuz i know it’d be a bad situation. John has now created a bad situation by making the arrest of elizabeth more difficult than it was.

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Arthur Miller

            Arthur Miller was born in New York on October 17, 1915. He is of a Jewish religion. Arthur was involved in many things throughout his life. He was in all kinds of literature programs and organizations. Arthur married Mary Slattery in August 1940. Mary was of a catholic background and religion. For 61 years he was a prominent figure of American Literature and Cinema. After his death, many respected actors, directors, and producers paid tribute to Miller, some calling him the last great practitioner of the American stage, and Broadway theaters darkened their lights in a show of respect. Miller’s alma mater, the University of Michigan opened the Arthur Miller Theatre in March, 2007. Per his express wish, it is the only theater in the world that bears

 

            In June of 1956 Miller divorced Mary Slattery, and on June 29, he married Marilyn Monroe. Miller went to college at the University of Michigan. He was a night editor for the Michigan daily. Miller received his bachelor’s degree in English. In the 1950’s he had trouble with congress because of his marriage. Miller married photographer Inge Morath on February 17, 1962, and the first of their two children, Rebecca, was born that September. Their son Daniel was born with Down Syndrome in November, 1966.

            Miller’s career as a writer spanned over seven decades, and at the time of his death in 2005. One of the most famous stories was The Crucible.

“Arthur Miller(1915-2005).” Books and Writers. 2003. 8 Apr. 2008

<www.kirjasto.sci.fi/amiller.htm>.

“Arthur Miller.” Wikipedia. 8 Apr. 2008

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Miller#Legacy>.

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My point in having the naturalist story is about a guy named Sky who is a good fisherman and went to a challenge course thats like a tournament. in the middle of the tournament a severe storm is announced on his radio and he gets caught up in it. he has no clue what to do after the storm or how to contact anyone. so he uses a compass and heads north back home. the storm sends his beautiful boat in circles and knocks his antenna off. Sky has his life at risk with the storm and no communication. this puts him one on one with the fierce waters and high winds.

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In a good man is hard to find, a family goes on a trip to
Florida. I have taken many trips on my life but none to
florida or anywhere in the south. The farthest south ive been is
Arkansas. The family going to
florida consists of 3 kids, mom and dad, and a grandma whos only son is the father. Recently before the trip a criminal going by the nickname “The Misfit”, was on the run from the cops. The grandma is scared about possibly running into this Misfit guy.
“The Misfit”, was on the run from the cops. The grandma is scared about possibly running into this Misfit guy.                 

 

Grandma says “What would you do if this fellow, the Misfit, caught you?”

 Well on their way to florida from

Georgia, or in any trip, there is always someone wanting to eat. Well they stop at Red Sammy’s Famous BBQ.  I have been to restaurants on trips before with dancing and music going on at all times. 

The grandma put in a dime in the machine and “the Tennessee Waltz” played.

I remember the old juke boxes in some places we ate on our way back too. They were pretty cool. We ate in a diner in

Silver

City that was set up old fashioned and people sang to the juke box. It was pretty awesome.             

After Red Sammy’s the grandma tells some stories to help keep the kids quiet. One story was about a plantation she remembered. I remember seeing the old plantations on my way to

Arkansas. The fields were full of corn and wheat with barns and some animals. One story the grandma told consisted of a house with a secret panel. The dad didn’t want to waste time though. 

The children began to yell and scream that they wanted to see house with the secret panel. 

I remember times my brother would whine about wanting to see something and cry and pout about it. Down the road though they wreck and some guys show up to help them. Well the grandma realizes the one of them is The Misfit. When she realizes this she begs to be spared and let go. 

The old lady screams “You’ve got good blood! I know u wouldn’t shoot a lady! I know you come from nice people! Pray! Jesus, you ought not to shoot a lady. I’ll give you all the money I’ve got!” 

Well the misfit ends up shooting them all and that ends the story.   

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