Language in Of Mice and Men

Analyze the unique language of 'Of Mice and Men'! Explore dialect, idioms, and jargon.

Of Mice and Men was written in 1937, and the characters have their own dialect (a particular variety of language typical to a specific time or place).The language used in the book is also known as vernacular (a nonstandard dialect spoken by a lower-status group).Often times, characters:--Use incorrect grammar--"...says we was here when we wasn't" (23)--Abbreviate words letters out with an apostrophe--"gi'me that mouse" (9)--Use double, or multiple, negatives--"Well, we ain't got no ketchup" (8)--Combine words--"gonna be sick" (3)--Swear a lot!Why do you think they speak this way? These characters also often use idioms (expressions or figures of speech whose meanings are not meant to be taken literally. ex. "Kick the bucket").These idioms only truly make sense in a particular place or during a particular period of history.See how many idioms you can match below. Flapper Mouth Get canned Get fired In hot water In trouble Jail bait A young girl, sexual temptress Live offa the fat of the land Live on what you can grow and make Shove off Leave Get up a stake Save up some money Gives a hoot Cares about Flat bust Broke money Whing Ding Cool Guy best Here are some more idioms of speech from the book. See how many you can match. Pitchers Movies Shows He's pretty handy! He's good at fighting Ants in his pants. Angry up Baloney Nonsense Got the eye Flirtatious I'm game Willing to Get sore at someone Get mad at someone Get licked Beat Up lose a fight Bustin' a gut Working hard Tart A flirty woman There is also a lot of jargon (words or phrases specific to a certain job or specialty).Can you guess what some of these words or phrases mean? Bucking Barley filling, lifting, carrying, and transporting barley bags after the harvest Swamper Janitor Candy Wagon bus or truck Bindle personal belongings, bundled in a blanket case Thrashing Machine a machine used to beat and separate the grain from the rest of the plant Jerkline Skinner a worker who drives the mule cart and holds a whip line to the mules Stable Buck a worker who takes care of the mules and the horses in the barn Cultivator a machine used to plow the field for planting Of Mice and Menwas written in 1937 during the Great Depression. During this time, the United States was a very segregated country. We've already talked about the discrimination and violence black and brown Americans faced during this time period.The n-word was also used very prominently in a derogatory way during this time. We will come across this word in our reading of OMAM. Please watch this video Talk titled, "Why it's so hard to talk about the N-word" by Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor.(The video is 19 minutes long. But, you can speed it up by clicking on the gear in the bottom right-hand corner if you'd like, just make sure you can hear and understand her.) I agree with Professor Stordeur Pryor in her belief that we shouldn't say the n-word out loud in class. Why does she believe this? Why should we not say it out loud in class when reading this book? When characters in this book use the n-word, what do you think that says about the speaker using the word? When black characters are referred to using the n-word how do you think that makes them feel?