Prompt: Evaluate Steinbeck's tone in the novel, Of Mice and Men.
State: This command term asks the writer to identify the topic, term, definition, etc. that best satisfies what is requested in the prompt. For instance, if the prompt asked the writer to state the author's tone, the response might be, "The author demonstrates a lugubrious attitude." Since simple identification is the easiest portion of the answer, it is lowest on the hierarchy of thought. That is why multiple choice prompts are easier. The test taker is only stating the answers, not describing why they were chosen, explaining why they were "true," analyzing their wider significance, or evaluating their relative position within set of values.
Describe: This command term requires that the writer go a step further and detail the characteristics that make the stated answer correct. For instance, if she wrote that "The author demonstrates a lugubrious attitude," she might follow that up with, "which is implied by the fates of his characters. George felt he had no choice about whether or not he should let Lennie live, because he knew that Curly and the others would make his friend suffer. After Lennie's death, George became just like the other ranchers: lonely and crestfallen. This implies the author's depressed nature, his despair about humanity."
Explain: Yet again, "explain" asks the writer to raise the bar. Here, she must explain why the stated and described answers are congruent and appropriate. Therefore, to the above answers, she might add the following: "An idyllic ending would have had George, Lennie, Candy and Crooks moving out to a ranch together. Candy's dog may have lived out his natural life, providing his master with a loyal companion during his later years, and Lennie would have tended his rabbits. Steinbeck, however, had a different attitude about humans that he disseminated throughout his plot. Despite their best efforts to avoid trouble, trouble found them - in the form of people like Curly. The author implied that human nature dictates such heinous tragedies - some people want to see others suffer, whether we like it or not. Sometimes, life is unfair, and often with tragic consequences. Lennie's death and George's sense of reclusiveness cement the author's grave tone in readers' minds." Notice that one way to explain is to provide an antithetical position and refute it.
Analyze: Up another notch, there is analysis. This is where the writer looks at the explanation and then extends the answer beyond the text, extrapolating the earlier data to other portions of the novel or even to the world outside of the text. Continuing from the above responses, the writer might continue as follows: "Steinbeck's discourse about humanity pervades the text; his predilection towards cynicism towers over the entire tragedy like a bank of cumulonimbus clouds smothers a beauteous summer evening. Two unlikely friends had developed a sturdy and poignant bond amidst the decay of the Great Depression. Thus the seeds were sown for a tale of courage, heroism and fortitude, but Steinbeck could not leave it at that, for he knew the world was not always that kind. Neither Lennie nor Curly could avoid their natures, insinuating that many humans are likewise weak when opposed by their instincts. The author dangled the dreamy vision of a farm before us, just as that sun peering through the mountainous clouds teases us with visions of a pleasant day. When the torrents ended, many lives were left in ruins; thus Steinbeck revealed his intentions: when mankind's backs are against the wall, they often revert to their base and depraved natures."
Evaluate: This level requires the most thought and writing skill because it asks for the most independent thought. The writer must place values on the text, determining its relative worth from her personal perspective - thus, "e-'value'-ate." Rolling forward with the above examples, the writer may continue thusly: "John Steinbeck enmeshes readers in the tragic tale of George and Lennie, and he convincingly supports his position that human nature frequently rears its sadistic side. However, his snapshot of humanity is less than panoramic. It is invariably true that humans are capable of titanic and horrific sadism; however, there are more Slims than Of Mice and Men suggests, so one's perspective on human nature need not be quite so bleak. For instance, Viktor Frankl told a much different story about our nature, though from a viewpoint of a thoroughly different milieu. Frankl watched as many of his loved ones were murdered by the Nazis in the death camps of the Holocaust. In the midst of one of the most tragic events of history, Frankl noticed how many of those who were living the lives of the condemned would, instead of giving up or being self-serving, reach out to their fellow prisoners and offer solace, assistance, even their very own lives. Frankl concluded that people have what he called a "will to meaning," that they want, more than anything, to have their lives mean something in the grand scheme of the cosmos. Unlike Steinbeck, Frankl was able to see the glorious potential in human nature, and he did so under direr circumstances than most Americans of the depression era could comprehend. This is where Steinbeck falls short: Certainly there are tragedies that befall us, but within the human spirit is a magnanimous capacity that has been known to overwhelm tyranny and heartache. There is no question that Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is an important, even a defining work of American culture, but he leaves out the human potential for majestic, unselfish transcendence of our primal natures.
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