Compare the ways poets present the idea of power in Hawk Roosting and one other poem.

Power is represented through using different techniques in Hawk Roosting and Flag. Both writers use language techniques to show power. In Hawk Roosting, there are many words connected with altitude such as: ‘top’ ‘buoyancy’ ‘flight’ ‘upward’ ‘high’ ‘fly up.’ We usually connect height with increased status / power. The Hawk acts as an overseer, or dictator, holding power over everything below it. The frequency of these words reminds the reader that the hawk is a symbol of power. The word ‘buoyancy’ is particularly obscure but the hawk talks about how it is of ‘advantage’ which reinforces how height equates to power. Flag, suggests that the actual flag it talks about is a symbol of power which, through patriotism, unites and controls a body of people. Each stanza uses repetition to suggest that the flag is powerless. However, ironically, it then goes on to talk about the effect that it has. ‘It’s just a piece of cloth / that dares the coward to relent,’ here coward and relent are examples of emotive language. The effect of this is to reinforce to the reader the emotional control that the flag and what it symbolises. Hawk Roosting also uses repetition. ‘It took the whole of Creation to produce my foot… Now I hold Creation…’ The poet is reinforcing how Creation has formed the hawk and the tone of this section seems to strengthen this argument as the hawk is full of ego and seems proud that he is ‘God’s gift.’ Now he is in control of ‘Creation’ he is effectively playing God. Often the poet seems to suggest that the Hawk is a symbol for another figure, perhaps a political dictator. Flag’s form, with three regular lines in each stanza, suggests the blocks of colour in many country’s flags. Alternatively it could look as if the stanzas are waving in the wind, with the slightly shorter second line. Every stanza starts with a rhetorical question, which provokes the reader to thinking about the theme. ‘How can I possess such a cloth?’ This suggests that the cloth has an inherent power, and represents a greater power than the narrator. The rhyme scheme of the Flag (ABA) gives a definitive rhythm to the poem, aided by the repetition in line 2. For example, ‘breeze, cloth, knees,’ the rhyme reinforces the end of the third line, which is where Agard gives his message about the power of the flag. Generally the tone of this is mixed, asking the reader to decide whether they believe the flag is of significance or not.

Character Quotes for Of Mice and Men - Crooks

Crooks scowled, but Lennie's disarming smile defeated him.  A guy needs somebody- to be near him." He whined, "A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. 
“I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads . . . every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ’em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.” Crooks is so named because of a crooked back caused by a kick from a horse. Crooks is the stable hand who takes care of the horses and lives by himself because he is the only black man on the ranch. Along with Candy, Crooks is a character used by Steinbeck to show the effects of discrimination. This time the discrimination is based on race, and Crooks is not allowed in the bunkhouse with the white ranch hands. He has his own place in the barn with the ranch animals. Candy realizes he has never been in Crooks' room, and George's reaction to Crooks being involved in their dream is enough to cause Crooks to withdraw his request to be part of the dream. Racial discrimination is part of the microcosm Steinbeck describes in his story. It reaches its height in the novel when Curley's wife puts Crooks "in his place" by telling him that a word from her will have him lynched. Interestingly, only Lennie, the flawed human, does not see the colour of Crooks' skin. Crooks also has pride. He is not the descendent of slaves, he tells Lennie, but of landowners. In several places in the story, Steinbeck shows Crook's dignity and pride when he draws himself up and will not "accept charity" from anyone. Crooks also displays this "terrible dignity" when Curley's wife begins to tear away at his hope for the dream farm. Crooks is not without his faults, however. He scares Lennie and makes up the story of George leaving him. Prejudice isn't simply a characteristic of the white ranch hands or the daughter-in-law of the boss; it is a human characteristic, and Crooks needs to feel superior to someone also. That he becomes part of the dream farm is an indication of Crooks' loneliness and insecurity. He, like Candy, realizes that once he is no longer useful he will be "thrown out." Where, then, can he find some security for his future? The dream farm of Lennie's seems to be the place. Crooks promises to work for nothing as long as he can live his life out there without the fear of being put out. Like all the others, he wants a place where he can be independent and have some security. But there is no security for anyone in a prejudiced world, least of all a black stable hand with a crooked back.

Character Quotes for Of Mice and Men - Candy

Candy is "a tall, stoop-shouldered old man …. He was dressed in blue jeans and carried a big push-broom in his left hand." His right hand is simply a stump because he lost his hand in a ranch accident. Now the owners of the ranch keep him on as long as he can "swamp" out or clean the bunkhouse, because there was no retirement and pensions in that time, so when he stops working he will have no source of income therefore cannot be able to survive in the world – linked with the survival of the fittest. Candy gives Steinbeck an opportunity to discuss social discrimination based on age and handicaps. Candy represents what happens to everyone who gets old in American society: They are let go, canned, thrown out, and used up. Candy's greatest fear is that once he is no longer able to help with the cleaning he will be "disposed of." Like his old dog, he has lived beyond his usefulness. Candy and his dog parallel the relationship of George and Lennie. Like Candy's dog, Lennie depends on George to take care of him and show him what to do. Candy, like George, is different from the other ranch hands because he has his dog as a constant companion, someone devoted and loyal to him. When the unfeeling Carlson suggests that Candy's dog be put out of its misery, Candy abdicates the responsibility to Carlson. He tells George later that he should have shot his dog himself, foreshadowing George's decision to take responsibility for Lennie's death and "be his brother's keeper." Candy also plays a significant role in the dream, providing the money needed to make the down payment. Because of Candy, the dream almost becomes real. Candy's down payment causes George to believe that, perhaps, the dream can be realized. But none of them count on the tragic meeting between Curley's wife and Lennie in the barn. Even then Candy still thinks he can have his safe haven, a place where no one will throw him out when he is too old. The dream is so strong in him that he pleads with George, to no avail, to have their farm despite Lennie's death. “The old man came slowly into the room. He had his broom in his hand. And at his heels there walked a dragfooted sheepdog, gray of muzzle, and with pale, blind old eyes. The dog struggled lamely to the side of the room and lay down, grunting softly to himself and licking his grizzled, moth-eaten coat.” Throughout the novel, there is the difference between the two of them. Even in the description there is a parallel of the description of the dog and the "Curley's like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he's mad at 'em because he ain't a big guy." (Page 26) Candy is basically the old "swamper" on the ranch who knows just about everything about everyone. He provides George with all the information he needs to know about most of the people on the ranch and gives the reader insight to their personalities as well. Candy's sort of like a narrator in the beginning of the story in the sense that he helps to explain the ranch hands. "You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn't no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody'd shoot me. But they won't do nothing like that. I won't have no place to go, an' I can't get no more jobs." (Page 60) This is basically Candy realizing that he's weak and not really important to anyone on the farm; he has no more power than his dog, who was shot, had. Much like his name, Candy is a sweet person and a nice thing to have a round, but he is in no way, shape, or form vital to life. In this context, Candy is trying to convince George to allow him to go with him to the dream ranch because, not only does Candy have the $350 to put the down payment on the farm, but he's willing to work there since no one is going to help him, and (in all likelihood) he's going to get fired soon. "I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog." (Page 61) This was one of the most important quotes that Candy made. It foreshadowed the end of the story, which was that George would shoot Lennie instead of letting a "stranger" (the other ranch hands, namely Curley) do it. This quote foreshadows this due to the parallelism that is drawn between the relationship of Candy with his dog and the relationship of George with Lennie.

Short Stories - Analysed quotes!

The 100% Perfect Girl ‘To tell you the truth, she’s not that good looking, she doesn’t stand out in anyway, her clothes are nothing special, the back of her hair still bent out of shape from sleep.’ The group of three builds up details of how the narrator sees the girl. For him, she is ‘nothing special,’ despite the fact in the title he calls her the ‘100% perfect girl.’ This reinforces the fact that it is a chance meeting of fate which puts the distant lovers together. ‘One beautiful April morning in search of a cup of coffee to start the day, the boy was walking east to west while the girl intended to send a special delivery letter was walking west to east but along the same narrow street.’ This is repeated from the beginning and remind us of what they have been through, in the circular narrative. This is not particularly realistic, but the use of simple language like ‘One beautiful April morning’ and ‘the boy was walking east to west,’ seems like it belongs to a fairytale. This suggests that the writer really wants to talk about the themes of love and fate. ‘Yes, that is what I should have said to her.’ The narrator is relating this story to his friend and the majority of the story is what ‘should have happened.’ The flashback is so long that the reader starts to believe it happened, rather than it being a sad story. This at the end, reminds us that is a story being told to us, with little consequence. ‘This was something sure to be crammed full of warm secrets like an antique clock built when peace filled the world.’ The writer uses a number of strange images in the story. This simile compares her letter to a clock. The narrator also has secrets (the story of how they were together) which he hopes is in the letter. He compares it to an antique clock filled with peace because it seems mysterious and appropriate to somewhere you’d keep your secrets and lost love. The Darkness Out There ‘Are people who help other people just not very nice looking?’ The rhetorical question gets the reader to think about the themes of the story: are beautiful people always good? Are nice people always the ones we expect? This gets us to start forming an opinion at the very beginning of the story. ‘The boy said, ‘I’m not going near that old bitch again.’ This is after Mrs Rutter tells her story, the language used to describe her changes from being positive about the lady to her being an ‘old bitch.’ Mrs Rutter tells them with pride about her actions which Kerry finds hard to stomach and so he uses derogatory language to describe her. ‘People couldn’t remember what her name was, exactly, she didn’t live around here anymore. Two enormous blokes, Gypsy type blokes.’ Sandra, now she’s grown up, has stopped worrying about witches in the wood. However, she is prejudiced and believes there are ‘Gypsy type blokes’ in the wood, based on a story about a rape which is very vague. Language like ‘couldn’t remember’ and ‘exactly’ show that it may not even have happened, but the wood has become the symbol for fear and evil. ‘Kerry Stevens, that none of her lot reckoned much on, with his black licked-down hair and slitty eyes. Some people you only have to look at to know they’re not up to much.’ Sandra makes this snap judgement about him based on his appearance. This is ironic as he is the moral one in the story and he helps people in the Good Neighbours club because he wants to, not for Sandra’s selfish reasons. The way she describes him makes him seem neglected ‘with his black licked-down hair’ or even foreign ‘slitty eyes’ which also tells the reader about her racism.

Top 3 Quotes with Analysis for Conflict Poems - Part 1

Flag ‘It’s just a piece of cloth / that brings a nation to its knees’ The middle line of each stanza is repeated throughout the poem. This reinforces Agard’s message that the physical item of a flag is relatively insignificant, ‘just’ is the key word here. However, symbolically the effect is detailed on the third line of each stanza. This line ‘brings a nation to its knees’ could either mean the effect of the flag is to inspire allegiance and so everyone is doing the same thing, or to suggest subjugation. The repetition of ‘n’ sounds reinforces this message, by showing that this phrase is significant. ‘that makes the guts of men grow bold.’ The emotive language of ‘bold’ shows how the poet feels a flag will change the emotional state of those it comes into contact with. A theme throughout the poem is the changing states that a flag creates, especially on men. The word ‘guts’ is often associated with bravery and that soldiers have ‘fire in their guts’ for example, which is the connotation Agard is playing on through personification. ‘Just ask for a flag, my friend / Then blind your conscience to the end.’ In the last stanza Agard decides to change the rhyme pattern he’s used throughout. The poem ends on a rhyming couplet. The reason he does this it to give it a memorable closure. He uses direct address ‘my friend’ to address the reader and to ensure his point has maximum effect. Despite talking about the effects a flag has on people, he concludes with a fairly negative point, that patriotism allows you to ignore the moral consequences of war. The word ‘blind’ suggests a physical disability has been inflicted. Out of the Blue ‘The depth is appalling. Appalling / that others like me / should be wind-milling, wheeling, spiralling, falling.’ The word ‘depth’ tells us how the poet feels about the expanse of air and horizon, followed by ‘appalling' we are left with no doubt that he feels terrified by the choice he might have to make. The word is then repeated, but seems insufficient to describe the severity of this horrific experience. It is followed by a group of dynamic verbs, with the writer emphasising the ‘-ing’ to fit the rhyme scheme and downward rhythm of the poem which also mirrors the victims’ plight. ‘Does anyone see a soul worth saving?’ The rhetorical question asks the reader to act as judge to decide who should be saved. Obviously this is an impossible task to do. There are emotive words, such as ‘soul’ which are used deliberately to connect with the individualism of the mass of people who are also trapped in the twin towers. ‘The heat behind me is bullying, driving / but the white of surrender is not yet flying.’ Here the heat is personified by Armitage to show the force with which the people in the twin tower are faced. They have to decide whether to be consumed by the flames or to jump. The image of the white of surrender is a metaphor, comparing the stereotypical sign of surrender with the mentality of those in the tower. Mametz Wood ‘The wasted young, turning up under their plough blades.’ The juxtaposition of the ‘wasted young’ reinforces how the bodies of the dead young soldiers are being brought to the surface. The adjective ‘wasted’ suggests the narrator’s view point on the sacrifice of war. ‘A chit of bone, the china plate of a shoulder blade, / the relic of a finger.’ The chit is a receipt for something, here it acts as a receipt for someone’s life. In another metaphor the fragility of the remains is compared to a china plate, while the idea of the bone being a relic gives the found remains a religious / spiritual significance. Sheers in these three images suggests that the ‘wasted’ life was precious, valuable and fragile. ‘like a wound working a foreign body to the surface of the skin.’ In this simile, Sheers uses alliteration to reinforce this point with ‘wound working.’ Throughout the poem the earth has been represented as a literal body itself, here it is healing itself through the rejection of the bones of the soldiers. The ‘surface of the skin’ is the earth of the field. The Yellow Palm ‘I saw a Cruise missile, / a slow and silver caravan, / on its slow and silver mile.’ The repetition suggests not only the pace with which the missile is headed for them, but repeating silver also gives it a beauty which is incongruous for a weapon. This also sounds like a nursery rhyme rather than imminent danger. ‘Down on my head fell the barbarian sun / that knows no armistice.’ The poet uses personification in a metaphor to compare the sun to a barbarian. Our associations with the word barbarian suggest that the sun here offers no protection and is as indifferent to the events in the poem as the narrator seems to be. In each of these stanzas there is a consequence of war – in this stanza it is the never-ending cycle of the sun rising on conflict without ‘armistice’ or surrender. ‘Armistice’ is a particularly evocative word as it is often connected to WW2. - Form and Rhyme The 6 regular stanzas allow us to go on a journey ‘down Palestine street’ with the poet. He allows us to examine events, but offers us no comment on them. This is reinforced with the simple ABCBDB rhyme scheme, which is also reflected in the fairly simple language. The writer uses a point of colour in each stanza, ‘lilac stems’ or ‘yellow palms’ to construct his stanza around and to appeal to our sense of sight.

English Revision

Here's a link to a great revision site for your English exams from the mighty Geoff Barton.

GCSE English Literature - Of Mice and Men

Model Theme-Based Answer

Do you agree that all the characters in “Of Mice and Men” are seeking companionship more than anything else?


It is human nature to seek companionship, and Steinbeck is keen to emphasise that his characters are ordinary human beings, many of them on the lower rungs of society. They have little status, few possessions, no savings, no home, and little control over their own destinies. It is this ordinariness which makes us sympathise with most of Steinbeck’s characters.

These are mostly men who travel from place to place seeking work. They have no job security, and no real prospects of securing a long-term job or a place to call their own. As a result most are lonely, but unwilling to admit that they are, and unable to express their sense of loneliness in an articulate manner.

Their lives are also complicated by the presence of one woman, Curley’s wife, who is attractive, unhappy, and desperate to find somebody to talk to. She expresses her loneliness in anger when on Saturday evening she is forced to seek the company of Crooks, Lennie and Candy,
“ ‘ a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep – an’ likin’ it because they ain’t nobody else.’ “
She insults all three at the same time as she is willing to accept their companionship, even if it is only temporary and short-lived.

Candy finds companionship in his old dog, although it is now smelly and unable to work, rather like Candy himself.
“ ‘I been around him so much I never notice how he stinks.’ “
He resists the pressure from the other men to have the dog shot, and turns sadly to the wall when it is shot.

He is quick to listen in to George’s and Lennie’s dream, and grasps a way to become part of it, offering the only thing he has, his savings. For a brief period of optimism, he believes they can fulfil the dream together and he can once again find purpose, friendship and independence.

Crooks has become so accustomed to his loneliness that he appears to resent an intrusion into his private space, even if it offers companionship.
“He kept his distance and demanded that other people kept theirs.”
He is an outsider even more than the other characters because of his colour. He lives with constant physical pain, which Steinbeck intends us to interpret as an emotional pain as well.

Given the chance of companionship with Lennie, he cannot resist the opportunity to inflict pain on Lennie when he senses Lennie’s vulnerability.
“ ‘S’pose he gets killed or hurt so he can’t come back.’ “
If he has to remain lonely, he is jealous of Lennie’s friendship and tries to wish it away, if only to let Lennie see how fortunate he is to have a good companion.

Slim comes closest to accepting and making the best of being single. He is more independent than the other men by virtue of his skill and status as a jerkline skinner. He invites and earns their trust, for example encouraging George to tell the story of his relationship with Lennie. In this way he gains a kind of detached companionship.

George and Lennie have found a kind of companionship which is not entirely one-sided. It gives George a sense of authority over Lennie, but also teaches him to care for and protect Lennie because of all the troubles Lennie has caused them both.
“ ‘Made me seem God damn smart alongside of him.’ “
Although to begin with George enjoyed playing jokes on Lennie, he has learnt a sense of humility from Lennie’s gentle reactions to being outsmarted.

In return, Lennie, although a constant burden to George –
“ ‘ if I was alone I could live so easy’ “ –
is extremely loyal, as Crooks nearly finds to his cost when he threatens their friendship. Lennie also recognises deep down that he complicates George’s life, and that he has done things wrong.
“ ‘I done another bad thing.’ “
even if he is incapable of anticipating when things will go wrong.

Steinbeck uses the ending of his novel to emphasise just how alone his characters are. Those with most to lose, because they have a relationship which has stood the test of time, are bought to a tragic end. Lennie dies with his dream ahead of him over the river, while George is left to mourn his companion in the knowledge that he took the impossible decision to end Lennie’s life for Lennie’s own sake. The only character who understands what George has lost, and why he had to execute Lennie, is Slim, the one person who is at least in part happy in his singleness.

GCSE English Literature - Of Mice and Men

Model Text-Based Answer

Re-read pages 90-91, where Lennie crushes Curley’s hand. What does this extract tell you about a) Lennie b) Curley c) the way the story might develop?


The extract begins with Curley, uneasy about his wife’s loyalty and suspicious of Slim in particular, pestering Slim with repeated ill-judged questions. When Slim rejects his questions, Carlson is quick to join the attack, openly insulting Curley:
“ ‘You’re yella as a frog belly.’ “

The way Candy “joined the attack with joy” emphasises just how unpopular Curley is with the ranch hands, something Curley must sense. In a place of work where all the men see themselves as equals, in status and poverty, someone who assumes a superior status as Curley does is quickly resented.

Suspiciously jealous of his wife, and belittled by the treatment he has just received from three of the ranch-hands, Curley sights an easier target in Lennie. He reacts to the taunt of cowardice,
“ ‘I’ll show ya who’s yella.’ “
and sees an opportunity to prove his toughness by tackling the biggest man on the ranch. His response is typical of these working men, for whom words do not come easily, whereas actions are a natural part of the hard life they lead outdoors.

Lennie, on the other hand, is only a man of action when he is directed closely in what to do, for example bucking bags of grain, at which he excels. He is completely oblivious to the tension around him, for in his idealised world people and animals live in harmony and peace. He is remembering details of the ranch he and George dream of owning, “smiling with delight.”

Curley, typically insensitive, misinterprets Lennie’s smile as a further attempt to humiliate him in front of the other men. His attack is brutal and calculated, “balanced and poised”, in much the same way as he hunts Lennie down at the end of the novel. Hurting Lennie becomes a way to prove himself when he has been unable to scare Slim, Carlson or even the old man, Candy.

Lennie’s response to the attack shows how right George is when he claims, at several points in the novel, that Lennie doesn’t act out of meanness, a desire to hurt others. Lennie is terrified by the violence of Curley’s assault: he is “too frightened to defend himself,” his hands useless at his sides. He is not a natural fighter like Curley.

Lennie is entirely dependent upon George to guide him, repeating George’s name and appealing
“ ‘Make ‘um let me alone, George.’ “
He is compared with a frightened animal, his hands like “paws” and his voice a lamb’s – “bleated”. Having few words to express himself, Lennie simply repeats his plea,
“ ‘Make ‘um stop, George.’ “

Lennie’s reactions are slow too. George has to yell his instruction twice. The way in which he looks about him, and his big face, add to the sense of Lennie’s helplessness to act independently. Having been given the instruction, Lennie has no notion of acting on his own, so merely holds on tight, crushing Curley’s hand.

George is fully aware of the danger Lennie presents, and rushes over to free Curley. Lennie’s strength is such that, intensified by his terror of Curley, he instantly crushes Curley’s hand. He is so strong that George is compelled to slap Lennie repeatedly in the face to force him to release Curley.

The episode is concluded when Steinbeck emphasises Lennie’s naturally gentle disposition by having him say to George
“ ‘I didn’t wanta, I didn’t wanta hurt him.’ “

This extract describes both the comradeship which exists among the working men on the ranch, and the threat to harmony which an outsider like Curley can pose. It prepares us for the hatred which Curley nurtures for Lennie as a result of his public humiliation, being robbed of the one attribute he felt he had, his capabilities as a fighter.

It demonstrates just how much Lennie depends upon George to rescue him from the troubles he finds himself in, and warns us that Lennie will always be liable to do unintentional damage to those he meets.

It gives George a reminder, if he needed one, that he will constantly have to rescue Lennie from scrapes, that Lennie’s dependence upon him will always hold him back, and that, as he finally admits at the end of the novel, all their dreams will be destroyed by Lennie’s inability to think or act for himself.