Of Mice & Men: Blog 5

Chapter 5 Response

Lyrics Pertaining to a Sorrowful Death, Loneliness, or Prejudice:

(Verse 3)

“My nephew died in the car I bought
So I’m under the belief that it’s partly my fault
Close my eyes and squeeze, try to block that thought
Place any burden on me, but please, not that, Lord
Time don’t go back, it go forward
Can’t run from the pain, go towards it
Some things can’t be explained, what caused it?
Such a beautiful soul, so pure, sh*t
Gonna see you again, I’m sure of it
Till that time, little man, I’m nauseous
Your girlfriend’s pregnant, the lord’s gift
Almost lost my faith, that restored it
It’s like having your life restarted
Can’t wait for your child’s life to be a part of it
So now I’m child-like waiting for a gift to return
When I lost you, I lost it

(Chorus)
Lost one, let go to get one
Left one, lose some to win some (Colleek, I lost one)
Sorry, I’m a Champion
Colleek, you’re a champion
You lost one…”

The Lyrics: Lost One by Jay-Z(ft. Chrisette Michele)

Lyric Response:
I chose this song because it has a lot of similar meaning behind to "Of Mice & Men." In this verse it is talking about Sean Carter's (Jay-Z's) nephew dying in a car that he bought for him, and how he feels it's partially his fault. It also talks about how one day he'll see him later on in life. It also expresses how much he is a gift of god, and how much Jay-Z feels about him to right a song about it.

Written Response:

It seems like this chapter is based on the “blame game.” The majority of the characters are always blaming somebody for something. &The main person guilty of it is George. Every little thing that Lennie does is his fault, even if it wasn’t anything that bad. In all of the blaming, it’s really no ones fault. It’s kind of like things happen for a reason.. &I guess they surely did happen. Lennie can’t truly be blamed for anything he does. For one he is flickin’ mentally deficient. What do you really expect him to do? It ain’t like he’s gonna actually think about what he’s doing, and execute the thought. &Even though George knows he isn’t too bright, he still blames him harshly. For someone who has known Lennie for a while he should know Lennie’s disabilities, and abilities. The way George acts towards Lennie is as if he doesn’t even know him at all. It’s as if he’s avoiding the fact that he is disabled, and treating him like a normal human being, which I think is hurting him in the end. &Boy did he get hurt.. Curley’s wife asked for every little thing that she did. I know she’s so lonely, but if you know the rules abide by them, and bend them in a way that you please yourself, and your husband (hint-hint.) Don’t actually leave your house and go to the Barn, or other places on the ranch. That’s just asking for trouble. It’s only asking for trouble because 85% of the time she comes off as she knew Curley wouldn’t be in either of the areas she looked when she claimed to be looking for him. That’s total bull what she tried to pull. It may have worked on some of the characters but for me as a reader it surely ain’t working. Just like she couldn't make herself believe that Curley's hand got stuck in a machine. You as a wife should know where your husband is, and if you don’t you leave him be and wait ‘til he get home. ‘Cause you parading around in other peoples abodes is not even necessary. It ain’t like he moving or something, so why do you need to know where he is if you know he’s going to comeback home to you in the first place. So, what I infer from her actions is a major flirt, and or slut. She is just so pretentious while “looking for Curley” it’s not even funny how hard she tries. Curley.. What is he blamed for? That I’m not really sure, but he might be blamed for trying to act all tough towards George. Yeah, he was in the wrong and I bet that ‘til this day the actor that played Curley would say that Curley would not admit to his insipid actions, that he can be blamed for. Not to be repetitive or anything but the only thing that I can think George could be blamed for is being so harsh to Lennie knowing his disabilities. I go over not being repetitive 'cause I established this thought earlier when I was explaining what Lennie could be blamed for. No one is ever innocent, my dear. You may not be guilty, but sometimes your charged anyway. That's the thing that happens a lot in this book. You may not of done it willingfully or even did it all, but for some reason your guilty as charged. &There's no ands, ors, or buts about it. The book and the movie are like two different stories. The more, you pay close attention to the scenes and the pages you see differences. Like the last couple of pages in the book goes more in depth about how George killed Lennie, but it never goes over why. In the movie he just killed him and walked away with Slim, that's it, nothing else. Also the nigger situation the book goes more into the racist situation, while the movie excludes it and put more "umph" into the act of loneliness. Why is that? Well, I think you asking the wrong person. There are so many answers to that question, and the majority of them would all be wrong. But, what I think is that racism was still a little shaky back in 1992, and who would really want to waste there money on a movie based on racism? Something that some people still can't get over today. Yeah, we not slaves anymore, but there's truly more to it than it seems. Like Crooks freedom that he supposedly has isn't even there. It's like he's still a slave. He's always getting bossed around, and even though the book doesn't show an example of when the boss gets mad he lays all his anger on Crooks, it sure does inform us, though. &Even though they say these aren't slavery days think about it, if your black, and your boss is white, and you have white co-workers. You get bossed around, and one little screw-up and you could be fired, but the white folk they could do whatever the please as long as they get their jobs done, ain't that some bull. Either way you put it, demonstrate it, or see it. Crooks is still somewhat a slave. &By the way for this last part, NO RACISM INTENDED.