Chapter 1 Quiz

5/20/2018 Chapter 1 Quiz

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CHAPTER 1 QUIZ (25 pts)

DIRECTION: Answer the questions concisely with full sentences.

1. SETTING

1.1 The beginning of the novel begins with a rich description of the physical setting. Cite

examples of three uses of descriptive language. Explain the effect on the mood of the novel

by beginning the narrative with this description. What is Steinbeck trying to suggest about

the area by the Salinas River? (3 points)

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1.2 The imagery at the beginning of the book suggests that the area is a place of peace and

rest. The specific colors, foliage, and animals that are mentioned create a respite, even for

those boys and men who beat paths to find solace under the giant sycamores. The idea that

men and boys seek this place for comfort suggests that the Salinas River is a sanctuary. (2

points)

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PASSAGE:

A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and

runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow

sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one side of the river the golden

foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan Mountains, but on the valley side

the water is lined with trees- willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their

lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter's flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white,

recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool. On the sandy bank under the trees

the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering if he runs among them.

Rabbits come out of the brush to sit on the sand in the evening, and the damp flats are

covered with the night tracks of 'coons, and with the spread pads of dogs from the ranches,

and with the split-wedge tracks of deer that come to drink in the dark.

There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by

boys coming down from the ranches to swim in the deep pool, and beaten hard by tramps


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who come wearily down from the highway in the evening to jungle-up near water. In front

of the low horizontal limb of a giant sycamore there is an ash pile made by many fires; the

limb is worn smooth by men who have sat on it.

2.1 Of Mice and Men is set during the Great Depression; During the this era, hobos traveled

across the United States, and in the evening, the hobos would settle in camps that were

referred to as Hobo Jungles. To jungle-up is to camp in an area that other men had used

or are using for the evening.

Compare and contrast the two men who come into the clearing by the river. Why do you

think Steinbeck introduces the men by describing their physical features, highlighting the

fact that one is small and one is huge? What can the reader infer about the two men based

on their descriptions? (3 points)

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2.2 Steinbeck uses animal imagery to describe Lennie, the larger man. Cite two examples of

this type of image that is used in the first few pages of the chapter. (2 points)

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PASSAGE:

They had walked in single file down the path, and even in the open one stayed behind the

other. Both were dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons. Both

wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls slung over their shoulders.

The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong

features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony

nose. Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes,

and wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear

drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely.


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3.1 Why does George tell Lennie to remember the spot where they are camping? What

might this conversation foreshadow? (2 points)

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3.2 Why does Lennie like George to tell the story of the ranch, even though he already

knows it by heart? Why does George so readily agree to tell the story, even though he has

just gotten angry with Lennie a few minutes before? (3 points)

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4. By the end of Chapter 1 there are two themes or motifs that are easily identified. Using

specific examples, describe these themes. (5 points) [NOTE: This question is an open-book

question]

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5. Define these terms:

5.1 kinda scummy = ____________________________________ (1 point)

5.2 watchin the blackboard = _____________________________ (1 point)

5.3 a crazy bastard = ____________________________________ (1 point)

5.4 live off the fatta the lan = ______________________________ (1 point)

5.5 The red light dimmed on the coals. Up the hill from the river a coyote yammered, and a

dog answered from the other side of the stream. The sycamore leaves whispered in a little

night breeze. DEFINE the figurative language here = _____________________ (1 point)


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Chapter 1 Quiz