Assignment:

Think about the ways society asks that you 'behave.' In what ways do you feel torn between the expectations of others and your own? When faced with peer pressure to confirm, how do you react?

Society as Dictionary.com describes it, 'is a highly structured system of human organization for large-scale community living that normally furnishes protection, continuity, security, and a national identity for its members.'
Rather simply, society is where we live. This is why we consider our own selfish greed for the progress of the society as a whole. And as life is a game there are some rules to follow in order to win. And 'behaving' ourselves could possibly count as rule number 1.
There are many situation where I find myself getting pulled in two directions, my own desire and and the expectations of the society. It could be when I try to take minor decisions of my life, or when I try to take some very important decisions of my life. But there is always the expectation of the society that comes between the decision I make for myself. It could be some minor things like wanting to wear a certain type of dress, but that particular type of dress could be considered as a 'inappropriate' dress. Or it could be some very important decision that could change the rest of my life, like the carrier I want to choose for myself, but my parents not being happy with my decision. And besides, keeping up the expectation of the society is something that we deal with, in our everyday-life. It could the way we behave in our class. I could be the way we talk to our friends, it could be anything we do in the society!
Peer pressure could be considered as one the major problems in a teenager's life. He has to face the expectations of his society, his friends. He has to take the most difficult decisions of his life as that could change his entire life. Smoking, drinking, taking drugs are some major problems that a teenager faces these days. And as bad as it sounds, most of them are done due to peer pressure. I personally don't usually drift away in peer pressure. I think I have the ability to control myself, and my thoughts, before I take any decisions that could harm my life. This helps me make good decisions even while facing peer pressure.

My American Dream

America is the land of dreams. Immigrants traveled a long distance from their mother-country in a completely new land, just to accomplish their dream. Like in the book, 'Of Mice and Men', by John Steinbeck, George, Lennie, Candy, Curley's wife and many other lived their life with one hope and one desire; to live upto their American dreams. And its not only the people in 1900's that had American dreams. The American dreams have certainly changed over the years. What the first immigrants envisioned no longer holds true for modern day Americans. But the basic goals remains - love, happiness, success, freedom. People of all the ages living in America have dreams and will always have them. And happiness is the ultimate dream. America is the land of opportunity, where people expect their dreams to come true, but as bad as it sounds, only a few are successful to accomplish their dreams.
I too have an American dream. A dream that has pulled me far away from my mother country to America, the land of opportunity. A dream which sometimes gives me hope, and at the same time makes me depressed. I force myself to work hard in order to make my dream come true, and at the same time when I think how much more I have to do, makes me depressed. Among the million other dreams that people have, the one that I am going to talk about is a small little dream. My American Dream...
I have this little dream of living a peaceful, happy and successful life. As any other typical American dreams, it holds up a goal of, love, happiness, success, and freedom. I want to have a professional job and earn money just enough to make me happy. as they say, too much money destroys happiness. I would have a nice house for my family in nice and peaceful neighborhood. We would have a car, or probably two. I would try to save my money to buy a nice sports car, like a Lamborghini Gallardo. We would have a nice huge back-yard, with a couple of pets. What kinds of pets? Well that depends on the choice of our children. I would live an independent and peaceful life!
Although I would be enjoying my life in the U.S., I would never forget my mother-country. I would always respect my country and my family. In my retirement, I would probably visit Nepal (my mother country) and open some kind of a non-profit organization. It could be an organization established in the villages to improve the living standard of the people there. Or it could be a organization for charity. But whatever it would be, it would show my respect and gratitude to the country that has made me what I am right now, and what I would be in the future!!!

Interpreting Meanings

Crooks said, "I was born right here in California. My old man had a chicken ranch, 'bout ten acres. The whites kids come to play at our place, an' sometimes I went to play with them, and some of them was pretty nice. My ol' man didn't like that. But I know now." He now knows that he is different then others. He was born different, he is black. He now knows that he was not supposed to play with white kids. He was supposed to be home, helping his old man with works. He now knows that he was and is a born-slave.
Crooks says that everybody wants land but nobody gets it, they keep thinking about it, but never fulfil their dreams. This could be an execption for Lennie, George and Candy because, they have almost everything planned. They just have some little things to accomplish before they actually fulfill their American dream.
Curley's wife said that she didn't like Curley, but she still married her. It could be because she got interested in Curley's money and his wealth. She could have realized that after the boss of the Ranch died Curley could own the Ranch. Or it could also be her personal reason. She might have thought that she would be free if she married. She might have thought that if she left her house and got away, then she could be free from all the mandatory compulsions of her lady.
Crooks said, "Remember what I said about hoein' and doin' odd jobs? Well, jus' forget it, I didn't mean it." I don't think what he said is true. I think that he really ment it when he said it, but later as Culey's wife threated him about the something, he seemed to change his mind. It could be something that would crash down hes reputation even after he goes somewhere, so he might have decided to stay there and hold the secret as a secret as long as he can.

Of Mice and Men

Interpreting Meanings:


11. George tells Slim that he used to play jokes on Lennie but that he finally stopped. What does this indicate to you about George character?
This shows that George is worried about Lennie, he cares about Lennie has some deep relation with Lennie, almost like brotherhood. It shows that no matter how tough he looks or his vocabulary sounds, he has a kind heart.

12. Slim remarks that Lennie is "jes like a kid." Is that description accurate, in your opinion? Support your answer with reasons.
Yes I think this is right. Lennie has some mental problems, which makes him act like a child. When George and Lennie were in the Weeds, Lennie saw a girl wearing a red dress, so he just wanted to touch that dress. But the outcome of the act was different then what he expected. He girl screamed out, and he got nervous, making him hold on the dress harder. This is a act of a child. No adult would have done that.

13. Carlson assures Candy that he can shoot Candy's old dog without feeling any pain and demonstrates how he would do it. What does this scene reveal about Carson's character?
This shows that Carlson is a cold-hearted person and doesn't feel the emotion Candy is being drowned in. He doesn't really care how Candy would feel, he just wants the dog dead because it stinks. It was Candy's dog that he was talking about, but he didn't care.

14. Slim protects George and Lennie after Lennie's confrontation with Curly. Why do you think he does this? What does this suggest to you about Slim's character?
This shows that Slim is a person who could be trusted and can be called as a friend. He protected George and Lennie from being kicked out form the Ranch. This is a huge gesture of friendship. It didn't matter to him whether George and Lennie stayed with them or not, but he saved them.