The poem is about how a man (more specifically a farmer) is apologizing to a mouse for unintentionally destroying its home. In a way, the man destroyed the mouse's hope of survival since the December winds would be on its way. The man could represent the general population with high social status, and the mouse could represent the population of a much lower status. The title of the novel, "Of Mice and Men," could be referring to people with different status. Having said that, we get an idea of what the novel could be about.
Also adding on to Josh’s comparison comment on the poem by Burns and the title of the book “Of Mice and Men” By John Steinbeck:
The speaker is a farmer from the 30’s. Being a farmer, he isn’t rich or anyone important in his society, and If you remember from US History class, the 30’s is when the stock market fell, causing the Great Depression. So, being a farmer during the Great Depression it was extremely hard for him to cope with society. I came to this conclusion because the book “Of Mice and Men” was written in 1931 by John Steinbeck. Also, his passion for nature can be explained through his experiences. You would love your home won’t you? He was born in a fertile agricultural valley, so he empathizes for farmers, or those who don’t “have it all.” This poem was meant for the people who don’t see how hard it was. It was for the people who were too high up on their pedestals to even see the atrocity occurring. What was his purpose? Burns probably wanted to shed some light on the hardships farmers went through during that time period. He wanted to express his feelings, his emotions towards how hard society can be to those less fortunate. He proceeds to compare himself to mice, which are animals at the end of their food chain. The mice symbolizes the lowest of the low; the scavenger. The speaker, a farmer is essentially the same. That is how the farmer empathizes for the mice. This can be concluded by line 37 when the Burns writes, “But mouse, you are not alone.” This is where he openly states how the speaker knows what the mice are going through. There is a contrast though between the mice and men. Where men can mull over the past, consciously go through the present, and try to plan the future, mice live by instinct. They, being animals, live the present. The mice don’t think of the past, so nothing holds them back. They can’t even think about the future. They only think about the present and how they can continue to survive. The speaker states that the mice are very lucky to not have the intelligence to be able to plan, because then, they wouldn’t miss what they didn’t have in the first place. If something goes wrong, then they just move on, but if men mess up, intelligence will make them mull over their mistake forever. It’s almost like the saying, “Innocence is bliss.” You can never miss what you never had in the first place. The speaker ends up helping the mice, expressing the relationship of animals and men. This poem shows how the least fortunate are viewed in society. This book could be about the least fortunate in society helping each other, and the hardships they go through to prevail in life.
It could also be for those people who are ignorant of what was going on before in the 30's. If you think about it now, it could also apply :P Some people who are more fortunate that others sometimes choose to look the other way when something that is "bad" occurs. Of course, we alos have to consider how people's values and morals vary and differ.
What I like about the poem is the way the speaker (the farmer) talks throughout the poem. It's like as if he himself went through what the mouse went through. The way he talks is like he empathizes the poor mouse.. poooor mouse :)
I love how the speaker (the farmer) is extremely passionate about what he believes in. "Passionate," as in a euphamism of how he went about his poem. He was angry obviously about how society treats the "weaker links," according to Mrs. Griffin. I view passionate people as strong people who are not afraid to speak their mind especially if it's about writing a wrong.
You misspelled euphemism! Wait could u elaborate on that? the farmer was angry about how society treats the "weaker links"??? i know the farmer mentioned how the destruction that man has done far exceeds what he did to the poor mouse's house. i don't get how the farmer was angry could u explain alana (:
Oh, wow! That was a mistype. I’m incredibly sorry about that. It’s obvious he’s angry. I mean, what does Mrs. Griffin always emphasize? She always says to look at the diction. That’s how the farmer is obviously angry about it. Throughout the poem, he uses lots of exclamation points. Burns also writes, “I’m truly sorry man’s dominion has broken Nature’s social union, and justifies that ill opinion which makes thee startle at me, thy poor, earth born companion and fellow mortal!” You see, he is explaining to the mice about how sorry he was on how the relationships of nature and men have been ruined through men’s acts in society. He is also sort of sad about how the mice are afraid of him because the relationships of men and animals have been broken, even though they are both “earth born,” and mortal. So, he is angry about how the "least fortunate" are being treated in society.
Oh okay I get it now. I still need to get in the habit of identifying the tone of a literary work like this poem. Do you remember the three things to look for when identifying the tone?? Syntax, Diction, and? Yeah what you said is true, but I thought animals have short-term memory? Didn't we discuss that in class?
They don't have short-term memory, it's just that they live through their natural instincts to survive. They don't delve into their past because yes, they physically can't. Plus, if they did, then they would end up dying because they were too busy being depressed or filled with emotions. As I was saying, they don't have empotion because they are too into their instincts and if they don't rely on it, then they won't be able to survive.
We spent a bit of time mulling over this. Perhaps someone could add a post. That way we would get the conversation going.
ReplyDeleteThe poem is about how a man (more specifically a farmer) is apologizing to a mouse for unintentionally destroying its home. In a way, the man destroyed the mouse's hope of survival since the December winds would be on its way. The man could represent the general population with high social status, and the mouse could represent the population of a much lower status. The title of the novel, "Of Mice and Men," could be referring to people with different status. Having said that, we get an idea of what the novel could be about.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Joshua’s comment.
ReplyDeleteAlso adding on to Josh’s comparison comment on the poem by Burns and the title of the book “Of Mice and Men” By John Steinbeck:
The speaker is a farmer from the 30’s. Being a farmer, he isn’t rich or anyone important in his society, and If you remember from US History class, the 30’s is when the stock market fell, causing the Great Depression. So, being a farmer during the Great Depression it was extremely hard for him to cope with society. I came to this conclusion because the book “Of Mice and Men” was written in 1931 by John Steinbeck. Also, his passion for nature can be explained through his experiences. You would love your home won’t you? He was born in a fertile agricultural valley, so he empathizes for farmers, or those who don’t “have it all.”
This poem was meant for the people who don’t see how hard it was. It was for the people who were too high up on their pedestals to even see the atrocity occurring. What was his purpose? Burns probably wanted to shed some light on the hardships farmers went through during that time period. He wanted to express his feelings, his emotions towards how hard society can be to those less fortunate. He proceeds to compare himself to mice, which are animals at the end of their food chain. The mice symbolizes the lowest of the low; the scavenger. The speaker, a farmer is essentially the same. That is how the farmer empathizes for the mice. This can be concluded by line 37 when the Burns writes, “But mouse, you are not alone.” This is where he openly states how the speaker knows what the mice are going through. There is a contrast though between the mice and men. Where men can mull over the past, consciously go through the present, and try to plan the future, mice live by instinct. They, being animals, live the present. The mice don’t think of the past, so nothing holds them back. They can’t even think about the future. They only think about the present and how they can continue to survive. The speaker states that the mice are very lucky to not have the intelligence to be able to plan, because then, they wouldn’t miss what they didn’t have in the first place. If something goes wrong, then they just move on, but if men mess up, intelligence will make them mull over their mistake forever. It’s almost like the saying, “Innocence is bliss.” You can never miss what you never had in the first place. The speaker ends up helping the mice, expressing the relationship of animals and men. This poem shows how the least fortunate are viewed in society. This book could be about the least fortunate in society helping each other, and the hardships they go through to prevail in life.
Interesting, I never thought this poem would be meant for those people "high up on their pedestal." Now that I think about it, it is true.
ReplyDeleteIt could also be for those people who are ignorant of what was going on before in the 30's. If you think about it now, it could also apply :P Some people who are more fortunate that others sometimes choose to look the other way when something that is "bad" occurs. Of course, we alos have to consider how people's values and morals vary and differ.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about the poem is the way the speaker (the farmer) talks throughout the poem. It's like as if he himself went through what the mouse went through. The way he talks is like he empathizes the poor mouse.. poooor mouse :)
ReplyDeleteI love how the speaker (the farmer) is extremely passionate about what he believes in. "Passionate," as in a euphamism of how he went about his poem. He was angry obviously about how society treats the "weaker links," according to Mrs. Griffin. I view passionate people as strong people who are not afraid to speak their mind especially if it's about writing a wrong.
ReplyDeleteYou misspelled euphemism! Wait could u elaborate on that? the farmer was angry about how society treats the "weaker links"??? i know the farmer mentioned how the destruction that man has done far exceeds what he did to the poor mouse's house. i don't get how the farmer was angry could u explain alana (:
ReplyDeleteOh, wow! That was a mistype. I’m incredibly sorry about that. It’s obvious he’s angry. I mean, what does Mrs. Griffin always emphasize? She always says to look at the diction. That’s how the farmer is obviously angry about it. Throughout the poem, he uses lots of exclamation points. Burns also writes, “I’m truly sorry man’s dominion has broken Nature’s social union, and justifies that ill opinion which makes thee startle at me, thy poor, earth born companion and fellow mortal!” You see, he is explaining to the mice about how sorry he was on how the relationships of nature and men have been ruined through men’s acts in society. He is also sort of sad about how the mice are afraid of him because the relationships of men and animals have been broken, even though they are both “earth born,” and mortal. So, he is angry about how the "least fortunate" are being treated in society.
ReplyDeleteOh okay I get it now. I still need to get in the habit of identifying the tone of a literary work like this poem. Do you remember the three things to look for when identifying the tone?? Syntax, Diction, and? Yeah what you said is true, but I thought animals have short-term memory? Didn't we discuss that in class?
ReplyDeleteIMAGERY!
ReplyDeletesyntax, diction, and IMAGERY!
They don't have short-term memory, it's just that they live through their natural instincts to survive. They don't delve into their past because yes, they physically can't. Plus, if they did, then they would end up dying because they were too busy being depressed or filled with emotions. As I was saying, they don't have empotion because they are too into their instincts and if they don't rely on it, then they won't be able to survive.
Alana and Josh, this is a great start! Don't forget you can create a new post to keep the discussion going. Please add labels to your posts. Thanks.
ReplyDelete