Research and Character Analysis

In the book "Of Mice and Men" it takes place during The Great Depression. During these times economy in America dropped, stock market dropped, and lots of people go unemployed. There we also lots of itinerant workers scrambling for jobs. In the book George and Lennie are the itinerant workers traveling from one job to another trying to make a living. And because during these times a lot of business owners were loosing employees and business. Most of them got stressed, causing them to become a little more strict because of low consumer spending, like Curley. 

TERRERRC
Lennie 

Lennie, gentle but rough. Lennie is a large man that is very strong physically, but not intelligently. In the book "Of Mice and Men" as Lennie talks about a dead mouse had he says,"'...I pinched their heads a little then they was dead." Lennie has no intention in killing a mouse he just likes to pet them. But if he squeezed it's head a little, he killed it. Sometimes Lennie may not know his own strength. Another part in the book, he gets into a fight with Curley, the bosses son. One of their friends says,"'Looks to me like ever' bone in his han' is bust.'" After just squeezing Curley's hand, he crushed every bone in his hand. Lennie is overall has a gentle personality but when is comes to strength, he dominates. 

Lennie is also not the sharpest knife in the drawer. George says this about Lennie,"'Oh! I ain't saying he's bright. He ain't.'" Right here it explains that Lennie isn't that smart. He is better at using his body more than his brain. In the book it explains how when Lennie was younger he was kicked in the head by a horse, but in reality, he is mentally challenged. In the beginning Lennie often forgets what George tells him, like when they went to get a job, George tells him to not say anything but he still does. But Georges intentions was to prevent Lennie from saying anything that will jeopardize them getting the job. In conclusion, Lennie is a mentally challenged guy that is very strong.  

The Great Depression

The Great Depression is when America's economy dropped and created an economic downturn which  started in 1929 and lasted all the way to 1939. There were steep declines in the industrial output because consumer spending and investment dropped. People started spending less and this lead to piles of unsold goods. Farmers didn't have enough money to harvest their crops which meant they had to leave their crops to rot leading to piles of unsold goods. Piles of unsold goods are bad for businesses and its workers because if nothing is being brought, no money will be made. Along with the drop of consumer spending, banks also lost a lot of their money. Investors demanded cash from the banks and led to many closed doors of banks because they lost a lot of money. In conclusion, The Great Depression led to rising numbers of homeless in the streets of America and many unemployed citizens.

After 1935, America started to get back on its feet. There were programs and institutions that helped people get there life back together after The Great Depression. During years 1935-1943 the WPA help 8.5 million people get permanent jobs. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) built dams and hydroelectric projects to control flooding and provide electric power to the Tennessee Valley region of the South. During the spring of 1933, after showing signs of recovery, America's economy continued to improve throughout the next 3 years. Along with the job increase, The Great Depression helped America become even more employee friendly. In 1935 Congress passed a Social Security Act which insured safety. Also, after The Great Depression industrial production started to rise, creating a reduced unemployment rate that was even lower than what it was before The Great Depression. In conclusion, The Great Depression was not all a bad thing.

Of Mice And Men Vocabulary

Cesspool:
Definition: an underground container for the temporary storage of liquid waste and sewage
Sentence: You would not want to fall into a cesspool because it's full of liquid waste and sewage.
Quote: "We... we was diggin' a cesspool." (p.20)

Relish:
Definition: to enjoy or to savor greatly
Sentence: During the last performance of "Peter Pan", the cast relished every moment of the show because they would never perform it again.
Quote: "'The guys said on the account of the nigger's got a crooked back, Smitty can't use his feet.' He paused in relish of the memory." (p. 20)

Aaron and Rhysa

A Coney Island Life - Final

As we all know it, life is short. We as people feel the need to live out our life to the fullest, which is true, but we shouldn't waste it either. Life will go by really fast and if someone spends it on useless things, they won't be able to accomplish the things they wanted to. In the poem, Weil seems to be comparing his life to Coney Island which was a carnival in New York City. Along with the literal meanings of the carnival, Weil connects different aspects of the carnival to something deep inside. In "A Coney Island Life" by James L. Weil tells one to not waste their time on hopeless dreams before times up because once the time comes one shouldn't have regrets.


In this world no one should have regrets.  He comes off by first comparing his life to a roller coaster, "On rollercoaster ups and downs." If taken in the literal sense, he's is on a roller coaster that goes up and down, a normal thing a carnival would have. But looking deeper into it, the roller coaster resembles his life. He's saying life is like a roller coaster, there is going to be good times and not so good times. And throughout the rocky ride, we should hold on tight to what matters most, so they don't slip out of our grasps because if we don't we might regret the important things we let go of. Although life is a bumpy roller coaster, the point of it is to have a good time. He calls life a rollercoaster because it can be a fun but scary thing, so enjoy the ride but focus of what needs to be done. It's fun to let go of the handle bars, but sometimes it's better to hold on.


As the poem goes on, he then writes, "And seen my helium hopes break skyward without me," here he talks about how his hopes and dreams, comparing them to helium balloons. In the literal sense he let go of his balloons and they float towards the sky. But however in the figurative sense the balloons represent his dreams, how they were always up in the air and not for sure. That he can no longer can be accomplished because he has let go of them. That is because all this time he focused on the wrong things, and now he has regrets. He can no longer accomplish his goals because something is pulling him down, preventing him from grabbing onto his dreams again. That something he cannot prevent is slowly dragging him away. Walking around, holding those balloons close to his heart. Those balloons were something he could always look up to for encouragement, but now as they slip away they only become a burden.


Towards the end,  he states,"I take perhaps my last ride," and from there it seems as if he is slowly exiting this world because every roller coaster comes to a stop eventually. He then says,"How many more times round I have to catch that brass-ring-sun, before the game is up." As the poem comes to an end, the last statement truly points out that as the roller coaster goes round and round, he starts to realize that he doesn't have much time left, that death is slowly creeping on him. He may have had fun on this roller coaster, taking a care-free trip, but he now comes to realize that his his chances of achieving his unaccomplished dreams and slowly vanishing. His regrets starting to creep up on him.


Life is like a roller coaster, fun and scary but eventually needs to come to an end. It is something one only get to experience once. Don't waste it on dreams far out of reach. Life will be full of those ups and downs like roller coasters and hopes like helium balloons, so make sure your focused. A "Coney Island Life" by James L.Weil is trying to tell us to make smart decisions, but also have some fun, and in the end, try not to have regrets.

Metaphor Poem - Final

No one reads a diary

but the author

No diary is out in the open

rather hidden instead

No diary shares its secrets

only to those who are close 

Diaries hold lots of knowledge

lots of secrets 

lots of feeling

lots of answers  

lots of meaning 

You can practicially trust a diary with anything 

Although sometimes diaries will be read

 by someone other than the author

Diaries have hard covers

to protect them from frauds

those who are not close only get the surface

but valuables get to read every page

On each page there's a story

My stories

Stories of untold

regret and sorrow 

but also sympathy 

and compassion 

Stories of untold loves 

and the unknown

Stories of the lost 

and of the broken 

...my life stories

I am the diary

The keeper and holder of the unknown hidden in the diary

I'm also the author of the diary

The writer and controller 

The diary is the author, the author is the diary

and this diary belongs to: Aaron Quillopo

Unit 4 -5 Sentences