Research Connections to "Of Mice and Men"

       The setting of "Of Mice and Men" really connects and relates to The Great Depression. During The Great Depression, Farmers working on their crops didn't have enough money so they had to abandon their crops which leads a lot of unsold goods.", companies struggled to make money and many did not have jobs. George and Lennie were apparently fired from their last job and had to abandon that ranch and were due work on a different ranch. They also didn't have a lot of money with them, they only had ten dollars and cans full of beans. "After 1935, America started to get back on its feet. There were programs and institutions that helped people get their life back together after The Great Depression." George and Lennie have been dreaming about their dream life on a ranch like having a little house, a couple of acres, some cows and pigs, and a vegetable patch. They are determined to have their dream life and to work hard towards it. Even though the chapters from 1-3 don't make it certain that they will be able to reach their goal, it makes it clear that they've been working towards getting their lives back together and to get back on their feet.

       Lennie, as it says in the book, isn't that bright of a person and seems to have to be directed most of the time which kind of points out that Lennie may have an intellectual disability (mental retardation). "The person would be slower to learn other skills like acting around other people". In chapter two, when Curley went into their cabin/room, he kept pressuring Lennie to talk and answer his questions. Lennie didn't know how to act around him so he just kept quiet and had George to do the talking. "The person will have more trouble learning and becoming an independent person depends on how big the disability." Lennie also seems to be slow in learning on what to do, he's not very quick on making decisions so George usually has to instruct him on his actions. Lennie also doesn't does not have much confidence in himself as an independent person, even though his size may seem intimidating, he's mostly dependent on George. The book describes Lennie as a dumb, not bright, and clueless person, that causes a nuisance most of the time, but that he's also a hard worker who never has the means to harm anyone or anything.

Mental Retardation

        Mental retardation also known as intellectual disability is a condition diagnosed before age 18. "Someone who has an intellectual disability will have trouble learning and functioning in everyday life." The person won't be able talk or write like other people their age. The person would be slower to learn other skills like acting around other people and getting dressed. The person will have more trouble learning and becoming an independent person depends on how big the disability. "An injured brain or a problem prevents the brain from developing normally because of intellectual disabilities." These problems usually happens during the baby days or before it was born. It's either the baby doesn't get enough oxygen, it's born way too early, or gets a serious brain infection. The main problem is the difficulty of understanding and thinking which can impact their social and practical skills.

If you think you have Mental Retardation(Intellectual Disability), you should be getting these symptoms. These things aren't that noticeable sometimes until your kid reaches a certain age. It could also appear during infancy. So some symptoms of this disorder is talking late or having trouble walking, difficulty remembering things, and behavior problems or tantrums. Sometimes there can also be other effects like seizures, vision problems, and mood disorders, like autism. Things that can help with this disorder is that there's special education for free through the public school system. This also includes preschoolers. For babies and toddlers, they have early intervention programs to work with parents to write an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). It includes speech therapy, family counseling, nutrition services, physical therapy, or training with special assistive devices. When helping a child with this disorder, getting the child involved with activities and talk to other parents that have children with the same situation is good way to help them out.

Bibliography:

"Intellectual Disability (Mental Retardation): Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments." WebMD. WebMD. Web.16 Feb. 2016.

"Intellectual Disability (Mental Retardation) Symptoms." Psych Central. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

"What Is an Intellectual Disability?" KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Ed. Mary L. Gavin. The Nemours Foundation, 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. <http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/birth_defect/mental_retardation.html#>.

"Psychology Today." Mental Retardation. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. <https://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/mental-retardation>.

Vocab from Book w/ Angela

Quote: Pg. 25, 3rd Paragraph (Britney)
"His glance was at once calculating and pugnacious."
Pugnacious Definition:
Showing an expression that shows eagerness or desire to argue, fight, or quarrel.
Pugnacious in a Sentence:
In every meeting, there's always that one pugnacious member of the group who won't agree to anything.

Quote: Pg. 23 (Angela)
"We... we was diggin' a cesspool."
Cesspool Definition:
A container underground that stores sewage and liquid waste temporarily. They're also called dry wells.
Cesspool in a Sentence:
My sister accidentally dropped her bracelet in a cesspool and asked our Mom is she can get it out, but she said it's too late because her bracelet is most likely dirty now.

I AM A PET DOG GRAPHIC CARD

"A Coney Island Life" 2nd Draft

       Life hands you opportunities everyday, and we have the choice to accept it or deny it. When it comes to opportunities deciding whether you're going to do something or not, the thought "if you don't reach your hand out at that moment, there won't be a next time" runs through your mind. Opportunities may seem like a thing to always accept, but there's always something holding you back, and it's the fear of the opportunity not resulting in the way you want it to. In the poem "A Coney Island Life" by James L. Weil, it is telling us that we should take advantage of the opportunities that come to us because our goals and dreams aren't achieved through doing nothing. He makes it focus on what life will take us to if we had no courage to attempt anything, and that it's better have regrets after doing something, rather than not doing anything and regretting it, but also the fact that it doesn't always go as expected.

       Every single person's lives does not run smoothly. There are times when it does run smoothly but most of the time it goes through an obstacle every now and then. In Weil's poem, he mentions, "On roller coaster ups and downs".  In this line, Weil explains life for everyone in general. We're all on the same roller coaster that's filled with opportunities that will go through difficulties and achievements. Everyone has a point where they're at the highest at accomplishing their goals and dreams, and a point where they're at the lowest at reaching goals. After that line, he then states, "And seen my helium hopes break skyward without me". It refers to the difficulties and achievements he has made in his lifetime and the times when his hopes and dreams weren't considered achievable. This part of the poem makes you realize that you may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. From that point of the poem until the end it, clearly states that once his "big dream" didn't go the way he wanted, all of his achievements went to the back of his head as if it didn't matter anymore. These two lines that were mentioned somewhat relates in a close matter. They both focus on having to work for the opportunities that come to you and to work for what you want that opportunity to result in, no matter any sudden circumstances. But these two lines reminds us to also keep in mind that things don't always go the way you expect them to. It also helps us to realize that we have power over our mind and tasks, not outside events, and that you can't really wish for an easy life, but to have strength to endure a difficult one in order to make that opportunity worth something.

       Whenever there's a goal, it's obvious that we have to work for it. Weil states, "Now arms filled with dolls I threw so much for" Weil refers this to working incredibly hard at your goal, and unfortunately not reaching it. We all have the mindset full of expectations waiting to happen, and the only way for the "expectations" to happen, we have to make it happen. We all work hard for something we truly want to achieve or have, and we all would get deeply devastated if it doesn't go out well. And because of his lost hopes and dreams, Weil then states, "I take perhaps my last ride on this planet-carousel", meaning that he was planning to completely give up on his dreams because his failures got the best of him. At times, failures can be big enough to convince you that you can no longer achieve anything you set your mind to. The reason why people give up so fast is because they tend to look how far they still have to go, instead of how far they have gotten. We are all confined by walls we build ourselves, only our words matter, so if you say to yourself that you think you can no longer achieve something, you're obviously going to believe yourself. This line refers to everyone, because everybody comes to a point in their life when they want to quit, but it's that actions you do at that moment that determines your future and the outcome of the opportunity you took.

       At the very end of his poem, Weil then states, "How many more times round I have to catch that brass-ring-sun before the game is up". This is the main line that has to be focused on, because throughout the poem he's been stating all the troubles he's been through, and this line clearly explains that even though his difficulties were big, he was still planning achieve his goal and dreams. This helps us to train ourselves to put our hopes and dreams as a bigger image in our mind, and to forget all the reasons why our goals wouldn't work and believe the one reason why it will. Being paralyzed by the fear of failure influences us to discard the fate of opportunities that come to us. Weil's poem greatly shapes us to never let the mistakes and disappointments of the past control and direct your future. Regret is always the outcome of every opportunity, dream, hope, and goal that you throw away and give up on. Our choices upon working for our opportunities should not reflect our fears, but our ambitions. Only you have the power to bring yourself to where you want to be later. Every achievement we have accomplished was not by a matter of chance, but the matter of choice -- the choice to either continue working for goals or to give up on our goals. Our dreams aren't something to be waited for, but to be achieved through our opportunities.

Vocab Sentences