Stock Characters

Lennie is a stereotypical 'sidekick', he is big and sort of dumb, but very strong. Despite being stupid, he has good intentions.

George is a type of character seen in many stories with two friends as the main characters, as he is a small yet intelligent man.

They both form the stereotype duo group of small vs. large and smart vs. stupid. They are a preset group.

American Dream

John Steinbeck starts off the chapter by portraying two people who were average for their time, yet wish for a better future. He makes the characters want a barn to share, as well as many animals. They would live of the fat of the land, showing that they wouldn't need help from others, because they would be in a good enough social class.

Candy is the responsible one out of his pair, and his dog heavily relies on him to survive and simply get around.

In the latter pair, Lennie is like Candy's dog, in the sense that he is very dependent of George, because he is unable to act on his own.

Lennie and Candy's dog are both "non-important" and it is explained that they are easily replaceable.

George and Candy both feel that they have a responsibility to take care of their partner, no matter what is wrong with them, and accept their deaths reluctantly.

Mercy killings

King George V was given lethal doses of morphine and cocaine by his physician to speed up his death.

Action T4 was when the Nazis euthanized 70,000 handicapped people.

Jack Kevorkian was a doctor who offered assisted suicide to many people. It would have to be the only justifiable mercy killing because it was the only one with the consent of the person to be killed.

I personally think that Candy's dog should have been shot because he was suffering and couldn't move much anymore. His life was not a very active one.

Einstein Letter

Professor Einstein,

It has come to my attention that you have begun work on nuclear technologies, and have developed theories on how to weaponise uranium. I have speculated about the possibilities of such weapons, and the results are almost definitely negative.

The bombs that could be created would use up a large amount of energy, and would unleash it on not only soldiers, but the radius of damage would also extend to civilians.

While it is true that the Germans are conducting experiments similar to those performed by American scientists, they may not be anywhere near the weaponisation of such materials, and might simply be trying to use it as a source of energy.

Although it may seem dangerous and unethical, if any other group participating in this war successfully creates a weapon out of these rare earths, it could possibly destroy an entire country in a very short matter of time.

Therefore, I believe it to be beneficial in the long run to further our knowledge and develop new technologies with uranium.

Sincerely,

Mr. Marc Wofford

SSA Proposal

One of the three themes I am willing to explore is, and I don't know exactly how to phrase this, but why she wrote about this exhibit of the heart has to do with her own life when she was in psychiatric wards. Somehow I was thinking I could relate to the rest of her life as well, and her background, living in New Zealand. She doesn't seem to reflect much about her depressing and surprising past at first sight, and I would like to explore the similarities that are actually there.

Another thing that stood out to me, and might be worth exploring in depth, would be the scene in which the teacher is scared about the snake. During that whole time, the narrator doesn't explain much personal emotion. She does however describe the other peoples emotions very vividly, as if she was lost herself, but could understand others better than she could herself.

In the short text, she mentions a train that she has to catch, but instead of arriving early, she tries to fit in as many other activities as possible, before she goes. I was wondering whether it was because she was reluctant to ride the train, or really interested in the topics being displayed. I might want to research more about this topic if I am to do it, because I don't have a completely clear picture of what I should think of it.

Albert Einstein's Letter to Roosevelt

Immediate
Duty
Destroy
Permanent
Entrust
Compromise
Developments
Private persons
Cooperation
Attached

All of the words above mainly suggest secrecy and anonymity, as well as extreme ruin and progress.
Words like "entrust" and "compromise" suggest a plan of some sorts, especially when the word "private", as in  persons, is in the context. "Cooperation" also makes me think of plots and a battle in which more than one are needed.