Illustration of a man's hands holding a small rabbit

Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck

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Of Mice and Men Reading Guide

by Wesley Matlock

  • Released July 18, 2022
  • Literature subject
  • 36 pages
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Grade Levels

Grade 10

Grade 11

Grade 8

Grade 9

Excerpt

After reading this novel and using this guide, you should be able to identify and give examples of the major themes the author explores, describe how the author’s use ...

About

We’ve designed this eNotes Comprehensive Reading Guide for you to use in numerous ways to give you different approaches to understanding the novel.

 

Reading Guide:

  • The Reading Guide is organized for a chapter-by-chapter study of the novel. Reading Guide pages may be approached individually and completed at your own pace.
  • Reading Guide pages may be used as pre-reading activities to preview the vocabulary words you encounter in reading each chapter and to acquaint you generally with the chapter’s content, or they may be used to check your reading comprehension after finishing a chapter.
  • Reading Guide vocabulary lists include words from the novel that vary in difficulty.

Essay and Reflection Questions:

These questions vary in degree of difficulty. Some questions require higher levels of critical thinking; others engage you with less challenging inquiry. All can be engaged with either individually or in conversation with your teacher and classmates.

 

After reading this novel and using this guide, you should be able to

  • identify and give examples of the major themes the author explores

  • describe how the author’s use of dialect and imagery strengthens the narrative for the reader

  • analyze the exploration of mercy killing versus accidental killing as it transpires in the novel

  • identify the unique forms of loneliness that several of the characters experience

  • identify and explain the importance of at least three symbols in the novel

  • analyze and discuss the meaning of the novel’s title

  • give three clear examples of how foreshadowing is employed to heighten the suspense in the novel

  • analyze the imagery that Steinbeck utilizes, particularly in the early part of the novel

  • relate some of your own hopes and dreams to those of the characters

  • scrutinize the decisions of certain characters and the events and circumstances that lead them to make these decisions

  • compare and contrast how people with intellectual disabilities are treated in the United States at the present time versus at the time of the novel