Of Mice and Men Essay Oppression is a common theme throughout Of Mice and Men.

Various characters are oppressed throughout the book in many ways. Your job is to determine, after reading the book and watching the movie, what you believe is Steinbecks hierarchy of oppression. To do this, think of the groups which are oppressed throughout the book (women, AfricanAmericans, the elderly, the mentally challenged, etc.) According to your interpretation of the book, describe how each group is oppressed, how Steinbeck shows this oppression, and rank the level of oppression for each group. For example, if your ranking is: 1. The elderly are oppressed the least in the book, then 2. The mentally challenged, then 3. Women, then 4. African Americans most You need to prove that in your essay with evidence from the book and movie. As you write paragraphs on individual groups that are oppressed, be sure to use quotes from the book and movie to support your answer. Focus on how characters treat one another and choices Steinbeck made to show oppression (Example: Curleys wife never had a first name in the book.) As you consider how to rank the groups, factor in whether some characters, even though theyre oppressed, have more freedoms than other characters. (Example: Cand y, as an elderly man, is oppressed, but he stays in the bunkhouse with the other men. You could argue he is less oppressed than Crooks, who has to stay in his own room, isolated from the others). Your essay should be between 3 and 5 pages, typed and double spaced, in 12 point, Times New Roman font. The rough draft is due ________. The final draft is due ________. We will spend time in class working on introductions, thesis statements, and rough drafts. Please see me if you have questions.