Luke Martiros

Luke Martiros

The Killing

Robert Muchamore

Action

Just Right

166

1. In my book, James just got a message from a friend that he made while he was on a mission. His friend is named Hannah, and she just invited him over to her house to play. James is on a mission to catch a man who illegally sells and steals cars and car parts. The man's name is Leon. Hannah is a girl that lives in the same town as Leon, and is friends with the kids of Leon. James has supposedly just moved into town, after he and his "brother" Dave left a foster home. They then moved to Palm Hill in a cheap apartment, and had little money to buy any furniture for their house. Hannah doesn't know that James is an undercover agent from CHERUB, and that he is on a mission to catch Leon and turn him in to the FBI. James and Hannah are already becoming good friends, and will probably maintain that relationship for the rest of the mission.

2. So far, I think my book is good, but not great. There hasn't been enough in the book to put it in that category. But, James and Dave have kept me entertained with their antics, and their actions. James and Dave constantly tease each other about everything: girls, CHERUB, and other everyday things. What hasn't made the book great is the plot. So far, I have only enjoyed reading when James played in the arena. James, and his other teammates took part in a game. You were put in an arena, with three other teams, and you tried to crack the other teams eggs. Each team had five kids, six eggs for each kid, so that made thirty eggs. Then the four teams battled in the arena for twelve hours trying to crack each other’s eggs. There were stun grenades, and other weapons used to disable the enemies. At the end and the twelve-hour session, Team C ended up doing the ten-kilometer punishment run, because they had the least amount of unbroken eggs left. This battle is my favorite part of the book so far, and I hope that there are more events like this to come.

3. A theme that I have noticed so far is fear of failure. I think that fear of failure is a theme because throughout the entire book, if something goes wrong, then the whole mission could fall apart. James and Dave have to be really careful what they say, because if a friend hears them saying something about the mission, they would have to cancel the mission and evacuate the area. The FBI has been trying to stop Leon's car dealing and sealing business for a long time, so it would be a letdown, if they had to bail the mission. Also this theme is shown through Leon. If one of Leon's agents screws up, his whole car dealing and stealing business could be down the drain. If he is caught once, the police could find out much more information about him. They could find out about the cars, his pub, and the incident at the casino. 

4. My favorite character is James. James is my favorite character because he is daring, confident, and caring. James is daring because he is willing to do anything that he is asked to do. James is always the person who will do the dares that nobody else wants to do. James is very confident and isn't bothered by what other people say about him, or think about him. James has been willing to go on any mission. Because of two outstanding performances, he has earned his navy t-shirt. A navy t-shirt is the second highest rank next to a black t-shirt. He is very caring, and reassures everybody around him. He is very nice and loving to his little sister, and manages to get a girlfriend on every mission. When he meets a new girl, they have a start to a good relationship right away. He is just one of those guys that has a special charm.

5. My least favorite character is Leon. Leon is my least favorite character, because he is a cruel, mean-spirited man, and is wiling to take advantage of anybody. Leon is involved in a lot of illegal activities. Leon, buys and steals cars illegally, and then sells them for thousands of dollars under their price. Leon sold a car to a woman that had a horrible value, but was being sold at a really high price. He knew he was being cheap, and got a great deal when she bought the car. The only reason she bought the car, was because he put a few touch-ups on the car, and made it look good. Leon doesn't care about anybody but himself. He earns money, but only for himself. All he wants is a successful business, and to make some side money selling and stealing cars. To get those cars, he hires people like James and Dave to do it for him. He pays them a cheap amount, but they will do it anyways. On the mission, James and Dave are pretending to be poor people that don't have any money. So they will steal the cars to make money to buy food and furniture they need. Leon takes total advantage of them, and will do anything for his car business, or for himself.

6. I think that James and Dave will catch Leon red-handed. Leon has had to many close calls with the police, and with one more he will hit the jail cell. Leon has employed James and Dave as people to steal the cars from wealthy people. James and Dave already have hacked inside Leon's computer, and they have found some files that involve his car dealing business. Also James and Dave have a woman on the police team for Palm Hill. She and a few other policemen have been patrolling Leon, and they have tried to keep a close eye on him. With a few more pieces of evidence, they could string it all together, and know a lot about Leon. 

Alex Martiros

Alex Martiros
Jacob I Have Loved
Katherine Paterson
Historical Fiction
Holiday
102

1. Right now in the book Jacob I Have Loved, by Katherine Paterson, Wheeze, or Sara Louise Bradshaw has just found Trudy Braxton, a community member from Rass Island, where they all live, on the floor of her house. Wheeze thinks she is dead, and she runs back to where she was hanging out with her best friend Call, and Captain Hiram Wallace. They had been doing work on the Captain's house when a cat, belonging to Trudy, or Auntie Braxton, wandered in. Wheeze volunteers to get the cat back to Auntie Braxton's house, so she carries it there. Wheeze thinks she can shove the cat through an open window when she sees a group of cats that also belong to Auntie Braxton, walking all over a body on the ground. Wheeze freaks out, immediately coming to the conclusion that Auntie Braxton is dead, and races back to Captain Wallace's house. She yells at him through heavy breathing that she found Auntie Braxton on her floor and she thinks that the older woman is dead. The Captain and Call run with Wheeze back to the old woman's house and Captain checks her pulse. He says she is still alive but she will need to go to the hospital. Wheeze runs home on the captain's command and gets her father, and he gets two other strong men. They put Auntie Braxton on a mattress, kind of like a stretcher and take her out to the ferry. The ferry is the only way to go to and from the island. So they take her to the ferry and off she goes to the hospital, with everyone praying for her safe and healthy arrival back to the island. 
2. I feel like the book so far has nothing happen really up until this point. The author is pushing me away as a reader more than she is pulling me in. I say that because I think the book is a good book, and well written. It has lots of detail. Too much detail. There is nothing that makes you want to keep reading. But I do think that there are some interesting factors that could lead to a very good ending. For example, I wonder what will happen to Wheeze. She seems to want to get off the island so badly, and be as far away from her sister as possible. I also wonder what is going to happen with the war, and how Auntie Braxton will end up. But those are some of the few only things that are keeping me reading. The book makes it like there are so many poor people on the island, too. I think that the fact that they are all so poor and that they all live in shacks and go to a 3 or 4 room school is kind of sad, and not really what I look for when I read a book. But I do like all of the characters, even though Call confuses me a lot. 
3. I think that the theme in this book is jealousy. I think this because of mostly Wheeze and her sister, Caroline. Wheeze thinks that Caroline is one of the luckiest people in the world because she is beautiful, smart, extremely talented and over all, better than Wheeze. At least that is what Wheeze thinks. Wheeze also thinks that Caroline is better than her because Wheeze never "gives her parents reason to worry". What that means is Wheeze, when she was born, she was fine, and never had any health problems. Caroline on the other hand, was smaller than normal and couldn't breath very well. She was taken to the hospital for a few days, and all the while her parents worried. Caroline was fine, but from then on wheeze was given all the harder chores and jobs. Wheeze is jealous of how much her parents care for and show more attention to Caroline. Yet another reason why Wheeze is jealous of Caroline is that Caroline has one of the most beautiful singing voices the entire island has ever known, and Wheeze can barely match pitch. Through Wheezes eyes, Caroline is the definition of perfect, and she is down right jealous. So jealous, she lets her imagination get away from her and sometimes dreams of her sister dying, and Wheeze then being the center of attention. But besides Wheeze and Caroline, I think Wheeze is a little bit jealous of how close Call and the Captain have become. Wheeze considered herself to be sort of a heroine for being Calls only friend and all of a sudden the Captain is being Calls "replacement" father. Wheeze is very jealous that Call is being taken away from her and she wants to be able to think that she is Calls "hero".
4. My favorite character in the book is Wheeze because I think she has an interesting view on things. I don't necessarily agree with a lot of her opinions but I think she is very determined and she has a lot of courage. I also think she gets the " big picture". What I mean by that is she understands that her family has to be fed and by catching and selling crabs, she is helping them survive. I also think she knows she will never really be successful on that tiny island and she knows that in order to fulfill her dreams that she will have to leave the island and her family and all that she has ever known. I think she is a lot like me in a way. She is stubborn, courageous and a leader. That's why she is my favorite character.
5. My least favorite character is Wheeze's grandma. I think that she is rude and disrespectful to Wheeze. I also think she is ONLY disrespectful to Wheeze because she thinks Wheeze isn't as perfect as Caroline. Wheeze's grandma never appreciates what Wheeze does for the family and she never realises that Wheeze is actually one of the main reasons why their family isn't starving and poor. Wheeze's grandma has a negative attitude and she seems to always look at things as half empty instead of half full. Shes a pessimist. I think she turns me away as a reader, because she is just really bossy and rude. I know that you have to respect your elders, and all that but I think Wheeze's grandma needs to have a lesson in how to respect others. That's why she is my least favorite character.
6. My prediction for what is going to happen next in the book is that Wheeze is going to either run away or  move off the island. I think this because Wheeze is always saying there isn't anything she can do on the island. I also think that something is going to happen to her father, Caroline or Call. I think this because the author always makes Wheeze think that every day her father could get stuck out to sea. I don't think the author would put in that she worries for her father is something doesn't happen. Another thing that I predict will happen is that Caroline might get really hurt or sick and Wheeze is going to regret everything she has thought about, from trying to get attention away from Caroline or that Caroline might die. I have a feeling also that Call has an important role in all this but I am unsure of what it might be. These are my predictions. 

Blog Week #4!!!!!

It's Blog Week!  Be sure to review your past grades and this week you will be posting about your current IR book.  Please review your theme handout before your write your theme prompt.  You can review your IR Blogging Instruction sheet to follow directions.  Your post is due by Saturday at midnight.  Happy Blogging!!!! :)  Ms. D

John Fulton

John Fulton
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Realistic Fiction
Just Right
Just Finished



1. I just finished the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The book ended when Lennie one of the main characters has finally gotten in enough trouble that his care taker George can't get him out so instead of watching the other ranch hands torture him he decides to put him down himself and so George goes out and finds and shoots Lennie finally ending the saga of siuations in which Lennie has made them move.

2. I feel like this book was a great edition to my reading list because of its great structure and great plot. I believe that John Steinbeck made a great novel and used a great scheme of two men of different walks of life helping each other live nice fufilling lives by holding onto a dream of a ranch together or defying the odds of usual ranch hand lives of constant movement and little money. Also its message of following the american dream no matter how long it takes in time of great depression.

3. My theme for the book was hope. I feel that the theme of this book is hope for one main reason the first being there dream of the farm. George and Lennie have a dream of one thing to own an acre of land to call their own with some livestock, rabbits, and alfalfa and just living by the day. Their dream is one routed in the American Dream which is a reoccuring theme in my reveiw and the book the Dream is all about hope and hard work two things shown throughout this book.

4. My favorite character was Lennie. I choose Lennie as my favorite character because of his outlook on his situation. He has been kicked out of a town because of his impairments and is sadly unaware of his strength and the fact that he has killed many of the pets George and others have given him and he has found those being the mice, and the pup then finally killing a human being in Curley's wife but he still perservers and continues to try and help everyone. Especially when he talks to Crooks the African-American worker who was alone and aging and Lennie didn' look at him differently he talked to him and even offered him a spot on the ranch and that is why Lennie is my favorite character.

5. My least favorite Character is Curley. Curley is my least favorite character because of the fact that he is an envious person. Like when he sees Lennie he is jealous of his size but he realizes he is stronger in wit and uses that to hurt Lennie. Also he is really self-consious which normally isn't such a bad thing but the fact that he becomes violent when it acts up he becomes violent and when Lennie smiles ate him its causes a fight between the two fueled by Curley's Jealous and Self-consious.

6. The ending to me was very suprising. When I started reading the book I thought that this was going to be a story of perserving and then finally getting to there dream but then the story took a turn when Lennie started killing things and I realized that would come to haunt him. Thwn finally when he killed Curley's Wife I knew for sure they weren't getting there dream and they needed to do something fast then when George shot Lennie to finally end the book I surprised but understood why he did it and how the story ended actually on a high note of bliss and hapiness.
   



                                         

Isobel Morrison

Isobel Morrison
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Realistic Fiction
Just Right
Finished


1.  The ending of the book surprised me very much.  I knew Lennie was going to be killed but I didn't think George was going to shoot him himself.  Lennie does bad things that he doesn't have control over.  For example when Curley's wife let Lennie feel her hair because he liked soft things it only lead to bad things.  Lennie killed Curley's wife and he knew that he was going to get in trouble with George and George wasn't going to let him tend the rabbits.  The same thing goes for when Lennie killed his puppy.  He was going to hide it and not tell George just so he could tend the rabbits, the thing he wanted most badly.  George immediately thought this was Lennie with know question when he saw the dead dog and the dead wife on the ground covered with hay.  George knows that Curley will go find Lennie and shoot him himself so before he does that George goes and finds Lennie.  They talk about their farm and how well Lennie will tend the rabbits and just the comfort and relief of owning a farm.  As George eases Lennie into a state of content he takes Carlson's Luger and shoots him right in the back of the head.

2.  I didn't really enjoy reading Of Mice and Men.  It wasn't the kind of book that intrigued me, it wasn't one of the books that you never wanted to put down.  I think that because there was a lot of unnecessary scenes in the book and the plot overall was just unusual.  Although I think Steinbeck did a good job writing it in terms of literature, I just wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.  As I was reading the book I realized that there was no big problem or obstacle George and Lennie had to overcome as well as there was no protagonist or antagonist.  I believe that the reader doesn't have anything that they learned or the was no real meaning or message to this book.

3.  I think there are many different themes in this book and one of those many is isolation.  One of the biggest things that isolates Lennie from everybody else is his mental disability.  He doesn't do anything with the guys because they never want him around because they automatically think he will mess everything or at least something up.  George usually tells him to stay somewhere and not speak to anyone because George knows that something will go wrong and Lennie will be in trouble with him.  The only person Lennie really talks to is George.  Curley's wife is isolated because Curley doesn't want her to talk to any other guys because she might flirt with them.  She flirts with people because Curley never gives her enough attention or spends time with her.  He is always with the guys or just never wants to be around her.  Crooks is isolated because of his race.  He is not allowed to go out with all the guys/workers.  Crooks can't play cards either also nobody ever really socializes with him because of his race and because of that he chooses to keep himself isolated.  Candy is also isolated from the guys/workers because of his old age.  Also because he is unable to do the things the other men do because he only has one hand to work with.

4.  My favorite character in the book was Lennie.  He was my favorite character because he was so unpredictable and you never knew what his next move would be.  At one point in the book Lennie stopped by Crooks and tried to make friends with him eve know during the time period of the book whites and blacks were not treated equally.  But, Lennie did it anyways.  Even know Lennie did many bad things I still think he had a big heart, especially for George.  He would always keep George in mind and he was so kind to him, he also would listen to everything George told him to do.   I always wanted him to succeed and have George be proud of him and to finally have George trust him. Even though this would have been hard to do because of Lennie's metal disability I always wanting Lennie to gain George's trust back.

5.  My least favorite character in the story was Curley.  He had a small temper and all he cared about was money not even his wife.  Curley assaulted Lennie because he was just being happy,  I have grown to realize that Curley does not like anybody with even the slightest bit of happiness.  Curley knew that Lennie had disablities but still chose to pick on him.  He would always take advantage of him and would never treat him like the other guys.  Again going back to the theme Curley was the biggest reason why Curley's wife was isolated from everyone.  He didn't want her talking to anyone because he wanted her all to himself.  His meanness made everyone start to not like him and made everyone realize he was a very rude short guys who discriminated and hated against anyone who was tall (Lennie).


6.  The ending of this book was not expected by most people.  I thought that George would go find Lennie before Curley did and they would go somewhere and hide.  Hide from the people that were coming to shoot Lennie and start their farm with rabbits.  I would have never thought that George himself would shoot Lennie.     I also think one of main reasons George killed Lennie was because he was the one who had the biggest connection with him throughout the book.  

Justin Sullivan
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Realistic Fiction
Just Right
Just Finished

 

 

1.      I was very surprised at the ending of the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. When Lennie kills Curley’s wife he knew I knew he was going to be punished but I would have never guessed that Lennie would get killed especially by George. After Lennie killed the puppy he becomes panicked and tried to hide the puppy right as he puts the dead dog down Curley’s wife appears in the door way she sees the dog and pretends not to notice. She starts to talk to Lennie and Lennie brings up the rabbits and how he likes soft things. Curley’s wife admits that her hair is soft and that Lennie could touch it if he liked. Lennie agrees and starts to stroke her hair and with each stroke he gets harder and harder. Soon Curley’s wife feels nervous and asks him to stop Lennie does not and she starts to scream. Scared that George might hear Lennie covers her mouth.  She starts to struggle and Lennie with his inhuman strength breaks her neck. He covers her up with hay and runs into the woods. When George hears that Curley’s wife was killed he immediately expects Lennie he knows that Curley will hunt down Lennie and kill him so he grabs Carlson’s Luger and finds Lennie. He talks to Lennie about the farm and when Lennie is happy and content he shoots him in the head.

 

2.      I think that Of Men and Men was a very well written book. Some parts were a little slow but I liked the whole concept of the book. The ending of the book was depressing yet it had a lot of meaning. I liked how they had a lot of great foreshadowing in the book. I also liked how the author made the characters so realistic he even included the accents in the book.

 

3.      I thought that the overall theme of this book was loyalty. In many situations there were examples of loyalty when Crooks was taunting Lennie and telling him that George was going to leave him and that George was hurt Lennie had to rely on his loyalty in George. Also George was very loyal to Lennie even though Lennie slowed George down in many ways he never really considered leaving him.

 

4.      My least favorite character was by far Curley. Curley was an insecure, hotheaded, selfish man. He knew that Lennie was disabled yet he decided to pick a fight with him. He was very insecure when Lennie smiled he punched him in the face. He did this with everyone on the farm. No one liked him and he was very mean to his companions. He also took a lot of things the wrong way like when Lennie smiled. That is why Curley is my least favorite character.

 

5.      My favorite character was George. I liked how he was king to everyone on the farm also I liked how he stuck with Lennie through out the novel. I liked how he had a dream and how he stuck with it unlike others. He got along with every body and showed respect for others to. When ever Lennie asked for something he tried his hardest to accompilish that like getting rabbits. He always talked to Lennie about the rabbits brought joy to him.

6.   Like I said before I was surprised with the ending. I expected them to go live happily on the farm with the rabbits but no George shot Lennie. It was very different from what I thought was going to happen. It was a way better ending then I thought and it left the reader with something to think about.

Jeremy Craig

Jeremy Craig

Of Mice and Men

John Stienbeck

Realistic Fiction

Holiday

Just Finished

1. At the end of this book there was a huge unexpected turn of events. After Lennie kills Curley's wife, he goes and hides in the brush where George told him to go. When George comes to find him, he talks to Lennie and tells him about how he was never mad at him for anything. Then, abruptly with no warning, George pulls out a gun, puts it on the back of Lennie's head and pulls the trigger. This made no sense at the time when I read it because there was no warning, but now I see that George was protecting Lennie from a much worse death.

2. What I liked most about this book were the characters. The author was very good at making the reader like or dislike the people he created. An example is how right from the beginning, I liked George a lot and I felt bad for Lennie. Also with Curley, how I disliked him for his attitude. The plot wasn't very adventurous, but it wasn't too bad because I got to get more detail about the one place they stayed in for the duration of the book.

3. In my opinion, the overarching theme was hope, because the characters and plot were based upon the hope of someday owning land. For the most part, George and Lennie were striving to earn enough money to buy some land and have rabbits. But this theme also encompasses all the other characters at one point or another, such as when Slim thinks for a moment that he too could be a part of their dream, and Curley has the hope to be respected despite his size.

4. My favorite character was Lennie because he seemed so simpleminded and also a good person. I liked how he always tried to do the right thing but he never could really control himself, and in the end this is how the plot was guided. It got to the point where he accidentally killed Curley's wife and then had to be put down by George so he wouldn't have to be killed in a more brutal way that he wouldn't have understood.

5. My least favorite character was Curley, because he was always so mean to everyone, including Lennie, who didn't understand why he was this way. Also Curley was mean to his wife and isolated her, then when he was away she would have to sneak out.

6. The ending of the book was very unexpected, but also reasonable because George saved Lennie from a lot of misunderstood pain. George was one of the nicest characters in the book and at first I thought I was wrong but then I thought about it and he was actually being a good friend and a humane person to end Lennie's life in a quick, painless way.

Mark McVeigh
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Just Right
Just Finished 107


1) I just finished Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The ending of the book was boring and didn't wrap the story up in any way to make it interesting. After a while of living on the farm Lennie finds himself in a situation with Curly's Wife that ends badly. Lennie began by petting her hair but she freaked out and started screaming. Lennie reacted to this by putting his hand over her mouth and shaking her violently to try and get her to shut up. He ended up breaking her neck and killing her because of his amazing strength and stupidity. He then realizes how bad the situation is and runs off to the bridge that the book started off at. Lennie recaps what he had done and through visions he decides that George will not be mad at him and they will get through this together. A few minutes later George arrives knowing what happened and starts to forgive Lennie for his actions and telling him everything is alright. Lennie asks him to retell the story of the rabbits and George did so. As he was telling the story George raises the pistol he had taken from the barn and shoots Lennie in the back of the head. Slim and Carlson arrive then to find Lennie's body but only Slim knows what really happened and so Slim and George walk away leaving the little town behind.

2) I did not enjoy Of Mice and Men at all. I felt that there was no real meaning to the book. There was no real obstacle that George and Lennie had to overcome nor was there a main protagonist or antagonist. I believe that there is nothing that the reader comes away with that they didn't have going into the book. There was no message or meaning.

3) The theme I have noticed the most in this book would have to be hope. This is expressed throughout the book many times. Both Lennie and George have hope that they will one day own the farm George is always talking about. Candy and Crooks also had hope for a new life. Candy was dreaming to get out of the farm and onto a new life and it was very realistic for him. Whereas for Crooks he knew that because of his race he had no chance of becoming more than he is now but he did believe that for one moment while in the barn with Candy and Lennie.

4) My favorite character is Lennie. This is because he is a nice person. He is always putting a smile on someones face and he always has one on his. Although he is mentally challenged he still can do everything a normal man can do and more. He has twice the strength of a normal person but that does not make him a monster because he is the complete opposite. He has twice the care and compassion for people than anyone in this book.

5) My least favourite character is George for one reason and one reason only. He is a murder. Some people make the argument that he killed Lennie out of care and compassion but I believe that no matter what Lennie does George should always be on his side. He had the choice of running away with Lennie but he was such a selfish person that he decided that Lennie should die just to make his own life easier. In my opinion I do not see any difference between him and any other murderer.

6) I think the ending was bad and not fitting. I say not fitting because it was not the sort of ending anyone expects, but it wasn't a surprise ending. It wasn't a book that the ending was completely different than you imagined so it makes the book a whole lot better but yet it just confuses you and leaves you wondering why would the author even write the book. It did not end the story in such a way that wrapped up the whole book but it just ended very abruptly and it seems to me like the author just wanted to stop writing.

Kate Sinclair

Kate Sinclair

Of mice and Men

John Steinbeck

Realistic Fiction

Just Right

Just Finished 107

1) The ending Of Mice and Men was defiantly upsetting to most people. Lennie is in the barn with his new pup. By mistake Lennie pets the puppy too hard and the pup bites him. To punish the pup Lennie hits him. When the pup doesn’t move afterwards Lennie realized he must have hit him too hard.  Startled by another mistake he is frantic scanning the barn making sure no one saw. In the moment all Lennie can think about is how if George finds out he killed the pup he will not be able to tend the rabbits. While Lennie starts to put himself down about killing the pup Curley’s wife sneaks in. Embarrassed she might see the pup dead he covers it with hay quickly. When Curley’s wife sees the pup she acts as nothing happened. George told Lennie to stay away from her so he tells her to leave. Next Curley’s wife starts venting to him about how Curley won’t let her talk to anyone and she does not like her husband at all. When she asks Lennie about the pup and rabbits he admits he likes soft things. She then admits she too likes soft things like her hair. She tells Lennie that he can pet her hair. Lennie strokes her hair harder and harder after every pet. Curley’s wife soon gets agitated asking him stop. Her asking turns to yelling making Lennie hold on to her hair even tighter. She then starts screaming nervous George might get upset he covers her mouth . Coving her mouth goes to breaking her neck by mistake. Next Candy comes in looking for Lennie and finds Curley’s wife dead. Candy get George and George knows what happened right away when he can’t find Lennie. He knows the other men would do much worse to him when trying to kill him. When they next find that Lennie stole Carlson’s gun they go to kill him. George goes and finds Lennie on his own and makes Lennie give him the gun then takes him to a happy place in his mind before he kills him. George tells him how much he cares about him and also talks to him about how Lennie can tend the rabbits. Then he shoots him in the back of the head and leaves with slim to go get a drink.

2) My over all thought of Of Mice and Men was that it was a very well written book. Although it had a very sad ending there was much meaning in the book. The relationship between Lennie and George was just such a great part of the book and made me happy for them and happy almost even at the end of the book because George had the heart to kill him himself instead of let Lennie suffer. I was so touched by the story and thought that it was very well written also in terms of detail and wanting to know the ending if they would ever live the American dream. The story was however a bit of a tricky to understand with all of the slang. I found sometimes it was hard to understand and I got confused by the dialogue. I enjoyed this classic and hope to read another one of Steinbeck’s famous books.

3) One key theme in the book is Isolation. It is shown with Lennie because of his disability. He is excluded from going out with the guys because they don’t want him around with them.  George tells him to stay in a certain place and not to talk to anyone. Lennie is mostly only talking to George all the time and is not as social because of his disability. Curley’s wife is isolated because Curley won’t let her talk to any men afraid she might flirt with them or anyone because he wants her all to himself. Crooks is also isolated because of his race. He also can’t go out with all the other workers and can stay with them either kept in the barn.  Nobody really talks to him because of his race and because of it he keeps himself isolated. The last main character in the book is Candy because of his age and because he has no hand.  He is already isolated because he can’t work with all of the men because some of the work he is unable to do because he has no hand and his age.

4) My favorite character in the book is George because he is a true friend and over all a really good person. He had the heart to kill Lennie to make sure he would not suffer through his death. He also took care of Lennie when he didn’t have to just because he was a great friend. He acted as a mother to Lennie staying with him through the hard times. He also was very smart knowing how to work out his life and Lennie’s.

5) My least favorite character was Curley. Curley was always rude and took advantage of Lennie which I thought was never right. Just because he was jealous of Lennie size wise and because of Lennie and
George’s connection he was always making unnecessary comments. He also was very mean to his wife keeping her isolated being overly protective. He would not even let his wife talk to other man because he was so self conscious.  His insecurities had a negative effect on his personality being mean to anyone he was jealous of.

6) The ending of the book was not expected but after I read the ending I realized that many things were leading up to the ending. Lennie killing the mice and then the girls dress in weed and then killing the pup all led up to him killing Curley’s wife. All of the things that went wrong were because Lennie liked to pet soft things was the bottom line but because of his disability it went downhill. Also the fact that someone else killed Candies dog relates to how George killed Lennie. After someone else kills Candy’s dog Candy realizes it was his responsibility to do so because he was the closest. Yes George also killed Lennie because the other men would do worse but also because he had the biggest connection with Lennie and knew it was his responsibility to do so. I thought that at one point in the book Lennie would die but never thought it would be George. I always thought Lennie would feel bad because George is always complaining he had to take care of him and would go live in the cave and not know how to survive.

Jason Fisch

Jason Fisch
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Realistic Fiction
Just Right
Just Finished

1. I just finished the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. At the end of the book the two main characters, Lennie and George, are hiding in the bushes from the men who are chasing them. They are being chased because Lennie, do to his enormous size, has accidentally killed Curley's Wife. While George is trying to calm Lennie, George assures him that they will have land to call their own. After Lennie is calm, George knows that Lennie is captured but the other men he will be severely tortured. George takes it upon himself to shoot Lennie in the back of the head to spare him the misery that will come if he is caught. The men eventually reach the bushes and praise him for killing Lennie.
2. John Steinbeck is a new author to me. I enjoyed reading this book because after reading it I saw that there was a lot of foreshadowing in it. For example, when Carlson wants to get rid of Candy's dog because it's old, they shoot the dog in the back of the head. This is exactly how George killed Lennie. The author pulls me towards the book by having Lennie and George involved in a lot of drama. I thought it was a big deal when Crooks let Lennie into his room because usually they do not play together because of their race. They ended up just hanging out and talking, realizing that nothing was wrong with that. 
3. One of the themes in the book is quest for power. If these is shown between many of the characters in the book. One example of this would Lennie and George. As they go along their travels they are always looking for new ways to gain money, therefor gaining them power. Whenever they were going to different farms, they were always looking for money which would have given them the power that they were searching for. Another example would be Crooks.  Crooks was always on a search for power because he was African American. Because of this he never got the same respect that the white men. But he was always trying to get some power When he was in his room and he keeps on kicking people out, that give him a sense of power that no one else could come into his room.
4.  My favorite character would be Lenny because he is very nice and always trying to do better. When he has the mouse that he killed he is very sad that he killed it because he likes it as a pet. He also try to remember not to speak while they were meeting the boss of the ranch. He is happy that he remembered which makes him proud of himself. He is also very caring. When he does something bad he knows is bad and tries to fix it. Even though he kills Curley's wife he knows that he is done something bad and he did not mean to in the first place.
5.  My least favorite character would be Curley's wife because she is flirting with Lennie and he does not understand what she is doing and makes bad decisions because of her. The big bad decision that happens because of her is Lenny touching her hair.  this leads to Lenny accidentally killing her by snapping her neck. If Curley's wife hadn't flirted with Lenny, he would have still been alive at the end of the book because George would not have to kill him.
6. The ending was not what I expected at all. I expected Lenny and George to get money and land and live together and happiness. But instead George had to kill Lennie. Then George went off with slim in search of the American Dream.

Paige Gallagher

Paige Gallagher

Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

Realistic Fiction

Just Right

Just Finished 107

1) In the end of Of Mice and Men, Lennie is in the barn with the puppies. He is also with the puppy he just killed. Lennie is ashamed that he killed it so he tries to hide it. Deep down he knows that even if he hides it, George will find out and won't let Lennie tend to any rabbits. He throws the dead puppy across the room ashamed. As he turns away from the puppy Curley's wife comes in, quietly so Lennie doesn't hear her. In panic as he saw her he started to cover the puppy with hay again. Curley's wife starts to ask what Lennie has under the hay, but he stops her and tells her that George said not to talk to her because George thinks shes trouble. Curley's wife seems unaffected by the comment and laughs. Their conversation continues, then she asks Lennie if he wants to touch her hair. Lennie likes to touch things that are attractive to him, so he says yes. He strokes it, and then he strokes much harder and Curley's wife starts yelling and jerking her head back and forth telling Lennie to let go. Lennie is frightened by this and holds on tighter and since he is so strong he ends up breaking her neck and killing her. When Candy comes into the barn looking for Lennie he finds Curley's Wife dead on the floor, he ran out of the barn and when he came back he was with George. George took one look at Curley's Wife and knew it was Lennie who had killed her. He ran out to get the rest of the workers. When everyone was gathered over Curley's Wife's dead body, they all agreed to get Lennie and kill him. George went first and found Lennie in their hiding spot. He knew all the other guys were gonna do much worse to Lennie so he decided to put him in a safe state of mind and shoot him in the back of the head so he wouldn't feel it. After George shot him the other guys found him and Lennie who had just been shot dead, and they commended him. Slim was the only guy who saw what actually happened, all of the other workers thought George had killed him out of cruelty and out of punishment. But George did it out of love knowing that this was the most humane way of doing it. In the end he and Slim left town to travel and find a new job together.

2) This book was not one of my favorites because of the language. The language in the book could get very confusing and I couldn't make out what the character was trying to say. There was a lot of confusing dialogue that didn't make much sense to me. The book overall I didn't enjoy either. Almost all of the characters were not relatable. I like to read books where I can relate to the character and feel like I was there. In this book I couldn't picture where it was taking place or what the characters were feeling. I haven't read another book by this author, but I felt like the author was pushing me away as reader because there were a lot of sad parts. When George killed Lennie was sad and I disagreed with that fact that George may have been doing it out of love because if George really loved Lennie he would have done something for him. He could have had him run and protect him or do something other than give up and kill him. I also was sad when the workers killed Candy's dog. Even though the dog may have been old was on the verge of dying I think they should have let him live out the rest of his life and die of natural causes. 

3) One theme I notice in the book is Isolation. One example of Isolation is Lennie. With his disability of a slow mind he is isolated from everyone else. He wasn't allowed to go to town with all of the other workers. No one really wants to have to take care of him all of the time. Another character there is isolation in is Candy. Candy's dog isolates him because no one likes his dog and since the dog follows him wherever he goes no one wants to be around him. Another reason Candy is isolated is because of his hands. He lost his other hand and it makes it harder for him to work as hard. One last example of Isolation is in Curley's wife. She is isolated because Curley never lets her leave the house. She told Lennie about how she wanted to become an actress but never did and ended up marrying Curley. She is not allowed to talk to any of the other men because Curley doesn't trust her.

4) My favorite character was Lennie. He was my favorite because he was so unpredictable, you never knew what he was going to do next. Lennie was creative, he stopped by Crooks' room and tried to make friends with him even though Crooks was black. At the time black and white people weren't equal. I liked the fact that Lennie did it anyway. Another thing I liked about Lennie's character was the fact that I always felt like I was rooting for him. I always wanted him to succeed and have George be proud of him and to finally have George trust him. Even though this would have been hard to do because of Lennie's metal disability I always found myself rooting for him and wanting it to happen even if it was unrealistic. Lennie was always kind. Even though he did some bad things to animals and humans he wasn't doing it to be mean or cruel. He had a love for animals and wanted to care for them but because of his strength he had hard time doing that.

5) My least favorite character was Curley. He was my least favorite because he always picked on anyone who was bigger than him. Curley was very insecure about himself because he was very short and he picked on anyone bigger than him. One example is when he and Lennie got into a fist fight. Lennie was smiling because he was thinking about the rabbits he was going to tend to and Curley thought he was laughing at him so they got into a fight. Curley didn't actually fight him because he though he was laughing. Curley fought Lennie because he was upset that Lennie was the new and he was big and strong. I also dislike him because he treats his wife as property not as his wife. He won't let her leave the house. When she does, he spends his time trying to look for her and making sure she doesn't talk to any men.

6) The ending was not what I had expected. I thought Lennie, George and Candy were going to save enough money and buy a house together and own their farm. the plot twisted once Lennie killed Curley's wife. I had not expected it would lead to George killing Lennie. Although there were many things that foreshadowed Lennie's death. First when Lennie and George were still in Weed, Lennie was accused of raping a girl. But he just liked her dress and wanted to touch it. He didn't mean any harm. Another example would be when Lennie killed a mouse. He didn't mean to kill it he just liked the feel of it and his strength was too much for the little mouse to handle. The last example is when Lennie killed Curley's wife. he just likes to touch things that are soft or appealing to him and when he held on too tight he broke her neck. This lead to George realizing Lennie was too much to handle. George couldn't watch for him for the rest of his life.

Daniel Yang

Daniel Yang
Of Mice and Men
John Steinback
Realistic Fiction
Just Right
Just Finished 107


1. The ending of the book made me very sad and I wish that it had ended happily. Some books I wouldn't care if it ended sadly or happily, since it wouldn't change much, but this one pulled me in by the time I had read the first 20 or so pages. After Lennie had killed another small animal, a puppy this time, Curley's wife came in and started flirting with Lennie. Lennie says he shouldn't have anything to do with her but she just complains about why everyone thinks she's so bad. Afterwards, Curley's wife noticed that Lennie was trying to cover up a dead puppy. Lennie explained that he was playing with the dog and then it seemed like it was gonna bite him, so he hit it then it died. He also explained that he likes soft things so he likes petting soft animals: like the dog. Curley's wife said that she likes soft things too, she likes stroking her hair sometimes because it's soft. She asked Lennie if he wanted to touch it and he did. But then he started pulling too hard so Curley's wife started to scream. She wouldn't stop causing Lennie got scared and kept pulling harder and told her to stop. He got angry and accidentally broke her neck while trying to get her to stop. The other men found out and went on a hunt for him, George was devastated and knew that Curley was going to do terrible things to Lennie, so it would be better if he just killed him himself He went to the place that which he told Lennie to go whenever he got in trouble, and he was there. George then made Lennie imagine a happy place and shot him with Carlson's gun.

2. I thought the book started to catch my attention maybe after 20 pages or somewhere around that. I feel sad because if Curley's wife had not flirted with Lennie, she wouldn't have been accidentally killed by Lennie. If Lennie hadn't accidentally killed her, he, George, and Candy would still be on their way to the American dream. Even if Lennie had died, I was hoping that George and Candy would at least replace Lennie with Slim. It sounds harsh but that doesn't change my mind. Slim is a smart guy and could've contributed greatly to George and Candy's group. There was a lot of foreshadowing in the book that prepared me for the ending but not enough. I felt that Slim understood George that most which made it hard to choose which one of them I like most. The characters were well built and kept me reading which was one of the reasons I like the book. The only thing that I would change in this book is to end with George, Lennie, Candy, and Slim with George and Lennie's American Dream. I included Slim because he seems like a very logical and understanding person.

3. The theme of this book is "The Will to Survive" because George and Lennie keep having to find new jobs in order to reach their American dream, which is to get their own house with a farm to raise money and have each other as a family. Everyone wants the American dream so they all try to make money and survive in order to do so. No one in the story, except maybe the boss, already has a house to live in with money and a family. For example, Curley may have money and a house but his own wife doesn't even like him. They never spend any time with each other and Curley doesn't even trust her. He is constantly searching around for her and thinks she is running off and flirting with the other men, which she is. Curley may have his dad, the boss, but they didn't spend much time together in the story. Also, Candy may have a lot of money but he doesn't have a family anymore since his dog was shot due to the fact that it was too old. He doesn't have a home either so he wanted to stay at the house George and Lennie were talking about. This way he could have a family (George and Lennie), a house, and money. Everyone wants this so they have to make money and survive to get it.

4. It was hard to depict a favorite character since I liked how Lennie was very kind and how George seemed like he was very logical just like Slim. But in the end, I have to choose Slim. He seems like he has the most experience in everything and is very logical. I feel that he was the one who understood George and Lennie and their friendship the most. But it seemed like he always stayed back unless he was needed or if he was just there (like when he was chatting with George about Lennie). I wish that George had kept his American dream going with Slim and maybe Candy since he has the money needed to achieve the dream. George and Slim would make a good team because they both seem like very knowledgable people who don't make many mistakes. To me, Slim was the "savior" who comforted George after he shot Lennie and understood everyone the most. He was like a friend to everyone but they didn't know.

5. My least favorite character is Curley. He's just a small guy in the group with a short temper and has nothing but money. In other words he's like a spoiled kid with anger issues. He assaulted Lennie just because he was doing what he does best, being happy. Curley hates tall people just because he's small. That's like discrimination, you shouldn't dislike someone because they're different (or better than you at something like being tall). I also didn't like his wife either because she made the whole story end sadly. If Curley and his wife wasn't in the story, then it could've ended ended happily with George, Lennie, and Candy living in their American dream. I wish the story could've ended with them chatting in their new house with the animals and river outside that which they talked about. But Curley had to ruin it all with his short temper and his wife's selfishness.

6. The ending ended how I expected but not how I wanted it to. The reason I knew how it was going to end was because by the time Lennie started stroking Curley's wife's hair, I remembered how everything had ended when Lennie started petting something soft. But I didn't know that Lennie was going to die by George's hand since Candy hadn't killed his dog when it was going to be put down. The book was full of foreshadowing so it basically prepared you for the ending. It helped because if the ending was unexpected, it would have made me dislike the book more since I would've thought it would be a happy ending the whole entire time I was reading. I'm glad that Curley didn't kill Lennie or worse, torture him, because I actually thought that might happen, and was scared to find out. For some reason I thought that Curley might die while searching for him because maybe he might trip on something and fall in a fast flowing river or something similar to that. I don't know why, maybe it's just because I don't like him. It's sad that Lennie died but good that it was for the better and by George's hand.

Scott Nichols

Scott Nichols

Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck

Historical Fiction

Holiday

1. A lot happend in he ending of Of Mice and Men. Lennie had just killed his new puppy and was sobbing about it when Curley's wife entered the barn that Lennie was in. She tried to comfort him, and it eventually turned into Lennie feeling her hair. When Lennie wouldn'y let go, Curley's wife started screaming, and Lennie accidentally broke her neck trying to make her stop. Lennie knew he did something wrong, so he fled the scene of the crime and went to a lake near where he was. When the rest of the men found out that Lennie killed Curley's wife, the group, led by Curley, decided to kill Lennie. George, however, unknown to the rest, had stolen Carlson's Luger and planned to go ahead of the group so that he could kill Lennie painlessly and so that Lennie was happy as he died. Meanwhile, Lennie was having hallucinations of his Aunt Clara and rabbits, telling him he was no good, and he started yelling for George. George found him, and they started talking. George told Lennie about their plans to have their own house and rabbits, so that Lennie would be happy, and when George heard the rest of the men coming to kill Lennie, George stood behind Lennie and shot him in the back of the head. When the men arrived, George convinced them that Lennie had had Carlson's gun and that George had stolen it from him and shot him. Then, Slim comforted George as they left for a drink, noever to return to the ranch.
 

2. After finishing the book, I think that it was ok. It was a good book, but it could be confusing and boring, and the ending almost killed the entire story. The book had some good moments, and could be gripping, not to mention that it was a time period I've never read about, which was interesting. However, this led to a boring book with very little action or any incentive to keep reading. The book had quite little occur until the very last pages, and was almost all dialogue of random things. The dialogue was difficult to understand because of Steinbeck trying to showcase their accents, which made the reading almost painful. The characters can also be dull at times. Lennie really only cared about the rabbits, Curley was always mad at something, and Candy was frequently sad and didn't talk much. The ending was also poor and random. While the hints were there that something like what happened would happen, the ending was surprising, and not necessarily in a good way. The ending didn't really provide a resolution either. George shot Lennie, and the book ended, with no epilogue or any indication that things got better or worse for George or any of the others for that matter.

3. A theme for this book would be hope. Hope is all around the characters and affects them all in one way or another. Hope is also the driving force behind most of the characters doing anything. for example, if Lennie didn't hope that he would get his house and tend for the rabbits, he would just be a sad, disabled man with no drive or reason. Lennie's hope had an incredibly large impact on his life, and kept him alive, because if he didn't have this dream, he wouldn't be willing to work. Candy and Crooks both have the same hope as Lennie, that they will all have their own house and can dictate their own lives. However, for Carlson, his hope is much simpler. He just wants to get the paycheck at the end of the month, and live as a rancher on Curley's father's field. All the character in the novel, and hope is what keeps them going and makes them do whatever they do.
 

4. My favorite character is Slim. Slim is constantly the voice of reason among the ranchers, and will always do the right thing. Slim's responsibility can rub off on the others, and he can keep them out of trouble. Slim is noble and willing to help people, like when George killed Lennie, Slim comforted him and told him that it had to happen and it was ok. Slim, for these reasons, is essentially the leader of the group and keeps everybody together. Slim carries an authority and a sense of comfort and power. Slim is the final decision-maker and, because of his responsibility, usually makes the right decision. Slim is overall a great person, and makes sure that the right thing is always happening.
 

5. My least favorite character is Curley. He is a cruel person who is always itching for a fight, and resorts to violence to prove himself.  Curley tries to fight and beat up anybody who is larger than him, which is almost everybody because of how short he is, for no reason other than that they're bigger and he wants to prove how strong he is. Curley's violence leads to him wanting to actually torture and kill Lennie at the end of the book. Curley is also cruel and potentially abusive. Curley's wife was forced to stay in their house, and when she left, Curley would be very upset and think that she was trying to flirt with the guys. Curley is also socially insecure and struggles to have a conversation without getting angry and throwing punches.
 

6. The ending of the book was pretty poor in my opinion. I expected something of the nature of what happened, but I didn't expect George to be the person that killed Lennie. I expected that Lennie was going to have something bad to happen, like get arrested or even die, but having George kill him was unexpected, as I expected either Curley, for revenge, would kill him, or Slim, in a turn of events and Slim was secretly the bad guy. Steinbeck left many clues that something terrible would happen to Lennie throughout the entire book. For one, when Lennie felt the girls dress in Weed and was driven out of the town, because almost the exact same thing happened to get him killed at the end of the book. There were also many different parallels. For example, when Candy's dog died, Candy let Carlson do it, like how George killed Lennie, and the reason that both died was because it was the most humane thing to do.

Luke Martiros

Luke Martiros

Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

Realistic Fiction

Just Right

Just Finished 107

#1 The ending of the book was not as great as I was expecting. Lennie killed Curley's wife, and then ran off into the woods. George knew that when Curley and then other men found him, they would torture him until he died. So with the gun that George brought along with him, he killed Lennie for his own good. George felt sad that his friend had to go, but he knew that it was the right thing to do. George also knew that it would be an easier life without Lennie, because he wouldn't have to worry about telling Lennie what to do throughout the day. But George would be without his best friend so he wouldn't feel as consoled as he normally would. I thought this was a bad ending because it ended with a life being lost. George had to kill his best friend because it was better for him. It is hard to think that a death could have any positive side to it.

#2 I did not enjoy the book as much as I thought it would, but it was pretty good for a school reading book. I thought that the beginning of the book was very boring, because it was hard to focus in on anything that was happening. There was not enough going on for me to really engage in the book. But later in the book I felt like I knew a little more about the characters and the setting, so it was an easier read. Lennie and George kept me involved in the book because of their relationship they had. I thought that it was very interesting that Lennie, a man of strength, but not awareness, would become good friends with a guy who was smart, but not very strong. I didn't know that John Steinbeck was a famous author until I was told in class. His work measures up to himself, because when you analyze the book, it is amazing what he can do in 100 pages.

#3 A theme in this book is desire to escape. In notice this theme in many different places. One place I notice the theme is when Lennie, George and Candy all made a plan to escape the ranch after they had enough money. They wanted to live at their own house, and have farm animals. Lennie wanted to tend the rabbits, and George and Candy would take care of the property. They would trade to get other necessary materials, and they would be living in a good condition. After the month had ended, Lennie and George would get their monthly pay of fifty dollars, and with the rest of Candy's money, they would head off and lead their own life.

#4 My favorite character is Lennie. Lennie is my favorite character because he has the most personality. Lennie is a person that is a mix of many things. He is unusually strong, and unusually simple-minded. Lennie has a lot to say but can't put it into words to say it. Lennie's unusual strength also makes him my favorite character, because it is amazing how Lennie can become so attached to something. Lennie loves anything that is soft. He had a "pet" mouse that he kept in his pocket. He told George that he liked it because it was soft. Lennie eventually killed it because of his strength. He said he was just petting it, but since he his so strong, his pets killed the little mouse. Also Lennie killed a puppy. Lennie wanted a puppy because they were soft. So he got one, but killed it very quickly. Lennie then didn't want George to find out what he had done, so he hid it. Lennie doesn't have a lot of confidence, and he has the intelligence of a little kid. I think that it is interesting how the author portrayed a character in such a way. Lennie is also the most talked about character in the book. He has something to do with most of the events that take place in the book. If Lennie was as smart as most people are, I think he would be a dangerous person to be around. He would be dangerous, because he would be really strong, and he would have brains to put his strength to work.

#5 My least favorite character is Curley. Curley is my least favorite character, because he is very controlling. Curley never wants other men to be near his wife, so he always checks in on her. Curley also thinks he is the boss of the ranch. He feels that he has the right over most of the men and is not very nice to them. Curley dislikes anybody who is bigger and stronger than him. One time, Curley thought that Lennie was laughing at him, so Curley started punching him. Lennie obeys George, so Lennie just stood there telling George to make him stop. After Curley punched George a few more times, George told Lennie to get Curley. Lennie held on to Curley's hand until it turned white. George told Lennie to let go, and George had to get Slim's help to get Lennie to let go of the strong grip. Curley deserved it though as he was just punching Lennie for laughing.

#6 The ending of the book was not what I expected as I was reading the book. I thought that Lennie, George, and Candy were going to save up their money, and buy their own home at the end of the book.  The author foreshadowed the death of Lennie in many ways. In the beginning of the book, George and Lennie had just left Weed, because Lennie was accused of raping a girl. So Lennie and George were in the woods, and Lennie found a mouse, and put it in his pocket. George told Lennie to take the mouse out of his pocket because he was going to kill it. Lennie refused and later on, killed the mouse. When Lennie went to the barn to see the new puppies, he was petting one and was thinking about the ending the rabbits at their new house. He became frustrated, and threw the pup across the room. The pup hit the wall and was killed. Then he went to go get the pup, so nobody saw what he had done. He hid the pup under some hay, and then Curley's wife came in. They started a conversation, and that led to Curley's wife telling Lennie to touch her hair, because it was really soft. Lennie had already previously killed two things that were soft, so I had an idea what was coming. Lennie grabbed her hair, and it was really soft, so he didn't let go. Curley's wife started screaming, and Lennie freaked out. He grabbed her mouth, trying to make her stop screaming. She couldn't breath for much longer, and she died. Lennie knew he wouldn't be able to tend the rabbits, so he ran away into the nearby forest. The men then found out what had happened, so they decided to go into the woods to kill Lennie. George knew that they were going to put him through a lot of torture, so he killed him with a gun he had stolen from the ranch. All three killings led up to the death of Lennie himself.

Ryan Sliwinski

Ryan Sliwinski
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Realistic Fiction
Holiday
Just Finished(107)
1. The Ending of this book starts out with Lennie (one of the main characters) killing the wife of his bosses son. Lennie was a strong guy but also not so smart so when he started to stroke her hair and wouldn't let go she started to scream but he put his hand over her mouth and killed her by snapping her neck. After that he ran away to a place were he and his friend George had decided to meet if Lennie got in trouble again and so that is were Lennie went to. As this was happening George was playing horseshoes with some other guys but started to get anxious when Lennie didn't show up. So he went looking for him and found the dead body of the women Lennie had killed. Almost instantly he knew who had done it. So he went out and after a few minutes the others found out. The women's husband (Curley) grabbed a shotgun and they went out after him to get revenge. George went ahead to the place in the brush by the river where they had discussed to meet so he could kill Lennie before the others found him. When he arrived he found Lennie sitting right there by the river and he sat down right next to him. They began to talk and George put Lennie into his happy place in his thoughts so that he would feel good when he died. Once Lennie had reached that place George put the gun up to the back of Lennie's head, pulled the trigger and he was dead. The other guys finally arrived and found Lennie dead and George sitting there right next to his friend with the gun thrown away. Slim one of Georges friends from the ranch where they worked came over to George and said "A guy got to sometimes"(107). He said this to try and comfort George. They both then got up and went up to the highway to get a drink.
2. I didn't like the book at all. I feel this way because everything went by so quickly, like how they were sitting on the river bank talking then they were at a ranch then a woman was killed and then it was over. I was also not interested in the storyline of to men that walk to different jobs every month and then get there $50 and leave. Foe this book to be interesting to me it would have to have a lot more action in it and maybe a few plot twists to keep the reader interested because it was very predictable to know what was coming.
3. One theme that I noticed was overcoming weakness. I noticed this when Lennie and George overcame there weakness of not spending all there money when they got it and saving up for the shack and acre of land that they wanted. I also noticed that Lennie couldn't over come his weakness for touching pretty this and soft things which in the end defeated them when Lennie killed Curleys wife and forced George to kill Lennie.
4. My favorite character is probably Lennie. This is because he relates to me in many ways. One way he relates to me is that he is a big and strong guy and I am big and strong so that helps me relate to him on a more physical level. But also we relate somewhat on an intellectual scale like how we are both not quite as smart as everyone else and that can make us feel bad. But I do realize that he has a mental disability which does make him more challenged to be smart and as for me I can be smarter if I worked at it.
5. My least favorite character is Curley. This is because he is so uptight about everything especially his wife and what she does. Also he was such a jerk to Lennie when he started to hit him just because he was bigger and stronger than he was.
6. The ending was partially what I expected and partially not what I expected. One thing that I thought was going to happen and did happen was that I thought Lennie would end up blowing it and screwing up there chances at happiness. And he did that by killing Curleys wife and not allowing them to buy a house and some land of there own. But the one thing that I didn't see happening was that I didn't think that George would end up killing Lennie if he did do something bad. I only thought that when Lennie did something bad that they would just run away again like what they did at Weed when Lennie started to touch the lady's dress.

Alex Martiros

Alex Martiros
Of Mice and Men 
John Steinbeck
Realistic Fiction
Holiday
Just Finished 107

1. The ending of the book in Of Mice and Men in my opinion, was terrible. So what happened, was Lennie had just killed his new pup with his brute strength and he is just looking at it, knowing he has done something wrong and thinking to himself that because he has done this, George won't let him tend to the rabbits on the farm they might have one day. While he is busy being mad at himself, Curley's wife slips into the barn. George has told Lennie to not have anything to do with Curley's wife, because he knows she is a bad influence and can cause a lot of trouble. Lennie, being dumb and not understanding these things, doesn't even hear her until she comes in. She sits beside him as talks to him. She ends up so close to Lennie she was just a few inches away. Lennie tries to tell Curley's wife that he isn't to have anything to do with her, but she wont listen, and she abuses Lennie's weak and childlike mind. She talks to him about her past, how she could have grown up and become a great and famous actress in Hollywood. The she asks Lennie why he is obsessed with rabbits, and he starts telling her how he likes how soft they are. Curley's wife starts telling him that her hair is very soft and she brushes it lots. Then she places Lennie's hand on her head, and he starts stroking it. Sooner or later, Curley's wife thinks that he will mess it up, so she starts struggling to get away from Lennie and his tight grip. She starts screaming and Lennie puts a hand over her mouth. Lennie doesn't get the danger of the situation and shakes her, promptly killing her by breaking her neck. Lennie holds her in his hands and knows hes done something awful. He half buries her in hay and runs to the brush George told him to return to if there is ever any trouble. Later on, Candy comes looking for Lennie and finds Curley's wife. He calls George and George is, for a second, struck dumb. But then he figures it out and knows he has to tell the others what has happened. Curley is the most upset of them all and immediately figures out it was Lennie. Everyone is all set out to go look for Lennie and Curley and a few others are bringing guns, hoping they will have a chance for their bullet to meet its target.  George tries to convince Curley not to shoot Lennie but he doesn't listen. Curley is so full of hate for Lennie that all he wants to do is revenge his wife's death by shooting him dead. So off they all go. Now the novel goes back to Lennie's point of view and he has just arrived at the brush where George tells him to wait if there is any trouble. he starts thinking about how mad George will be when he gets there, and suddenly an old woman pops into Lennie's mind and starts talking to him. It is Lennie's conscience telling him how he has done something very wrong. It's his old aunt Clara and she is lecturing him on what he has done wrong and how mad George will be. Then his conscience changes form into a rabbit, and the rabbit starts telling Lennie that he has done so badly that George is gonna beat him, and leave him alone. Lennie gets so frightened at the thought that he starts calling George's name out loud, and George himself runs through the brush. Lennie wants it to be just like the old days with George yelling t him and saying ho easy it would be for him to take his money and leave but he doesn't. And Lennie wants to hear all about it, to try to have it be as normal as ever, and have George tell him that they are different than the other guys, but George isn't into it. Then George starts telling Lennie all about the place they are going to have with rabbits and cows and all sorts of things. Meanwhile Lennie takes out a gun an studies Lennie's head. He put Lennie in his happy place, and then.... shoots Lennie dead. The shot is heard from the other men and they come crashing through the clearing right as George throws the gun as far away as possible. Slim immediately seems to grasp the situation and what has happened, and sits next to George. Slim tells George it was the right thing and a few other words of comfort. Curley wants to know just how George has done it but George just nods and accepts Curley's story for him. Slim helps George to his feet and offers to buy him a drink. They walk down the highway and leave Curley and Carlson wondering what the heck is going on with those two. That's the end of the novel. 
2. How I felt about this book is that it was a terrible ending. The book to me was confusing because of the southern language and also the beginning of the book was hard to understand. One reason the author was pushing me away as a reader is because the plot of the story does not appeal to me. I like happy, sappy endings where the characters get what they want and the live happily ever after. This book was a confusing end especially about the reason why George killed Lennie. I didn't understand the point of even writing a story like that. The main character gets killed, and the other main character just walks away. I am new to this author, and I don't like the topics that he writes about. It was also kind of a boring book, with almost no action, or big surprises, because there was so much foreshadowing. That is why I really dislike the book and I hope we don't have to read many more of his books. 
3. A theme in this book that I have noticed so far is survival of the fittest. I have noticed this theme throughout the book, and it refers to almost all characters. George and Lennie, Curley and his wife, Candy and his dog. I also noticed that in each twosome relationship, there is a weaker character and a stronger character. Like for Lennie and George, George is the stronger character. In Curley and Curley's wife's relationship, its Curley who is stronger. And in Candy and his dog's relationship, it is Candy who was stronger. Most of the time, it is based on who has enough smarts to survive, who knows to keep the money, and not spend it all. The theme is also survival of the fittest, for example, when Lennie and George run away from Weed and make all the way to the new farm they are planning to work at. It takes a lot of wits and courage to do that, and not everyone could, especially in those days. Another reason why it is survival of the fittest is because especially in Candy and the dogs relationship, it is the basics of who is fittest and healthiest to survive. Even though Candy was older, the dog couldn't take care of himself because he was sick. Survival of the fittest is one of the most fitting themes for this novel. 
4. My favorite character is George. He is my favorite character because I think he is not only tough, but kind and thoughtful and a hard worker. For all those years, he has been providing for Lennie and himself. It would have been so much easier for him if he just left Lennie and went on his own but he doesn't. He is trustworthy and has a caring, good heart. Even though in the end he kills Lennie, he is still protecting Lennie, keeping him from greater harm. George did his duty until the end. Another reason for why I like George is because I think he perseveres a lot and always tries to create a better life for himself and Lennie. He helps Lennie out of that situation in Weed and makes sure that they find a new job and are able to keep healthy and have enough money. He knows that he wants to try and have that farm that they always dream about, so George doesn't just blow all the money on beer or liquor, even though I bet he would really like to just go out and drink all he wants sometimes. He has a greater responsibility between the two people and I think he handles it quite nicely. 
5. My least favorite character is Curley. He is my least favorite character because he is mean and cruel to his wife, and he is very insecure. He does not like people who are bigger than him and he is unsure that he can keep in control. I don't like how he treats his wife either. I know that the times are dated and that is how many people treated their wives, but I still think it was extremely unfair. Another reason why he is my least favorite character is because I think he has to be mean and push everyone around is because of he feels insecure about himself as a person, and he feels like he isn't as big, or as strong as Lennie, or some of the other guys, and that means to him that he needs to boss people around, so he thinks he is in charge. I really dislike people who think they are the boss and what they say is the rule, so you could see why I dislike Curley so much.
6. The ending to me, stunk. Sure, it had a couple of unexpected twists, but I still think the ending ruined the entire book for me. I thought Lennie and George were going to get their happy ending along with maybe Candy and everyone else would kind of just fade away. The last 2 chapters completely caught me off guard. I knew that Curley's wife was going to be bad news, but I always thought it was just going to be that Curley maybe caught one of the guys kissing her or something. I never expected her to die. Another reason why I disliked the ending was because there were so many questions left unanswered. What happened to George and Slim? Did they move on to a different farm and a better life? Or did they stay on the farm and become drinking buddies? And what happens to Curley? Does he remarry? Does he bury his wife and actually grieve for her? And Candy. does he ever get a new friend? Th ending left too many things unanswered, and I really, strongly detested the ending. My final opinion of the book is that it was good until the ending, and then the book got ruined. There could be so much more to it, but unfortunately for readers like me, the book felt like it was the first in a series that I would not be continuing.