What do you guys think about this?

just...utterly sad. I dare say when that book was written, such a question would have been inconceivable...:banghead:

What was said after she asked what a rifle was?

I also am curious as to what was said to the question, "What's a rifle?"

And by whom it was said.

Im also interested.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I've got to admit at first i was kinda...well... Good one.

How was her query responded to?

I remember when I was maybe 14, I had grown up with guns, mostly rifles, and I was talking to a new kid in school who had moved thier from alaska. One of his choirs was to shoot the coyotes with a .22.

I told my dad about it, and he said the kid was probably using a .22 handgun. And thats the first time it ever occured to me that .22 did not mean the same thing as rifle

Its possible the parents aren't anti, just indifferent, and don't really know the differance between rifle/shotgun/pistol/revolver/BPrevolver and consider them all guns.

To the OP - I know this is off topic, and you didn't mention it, but I couldn't, and still can't, stand Stienbeck, too depressing. Just so you know, in about 3 or 4 years, the books you have to read get a LOT better.

Chris "the Kayak-Man" Johnson

Not too unususal. I doubt if any kid that age has seen a typewriter, a record player, or even a Sony Cassette Walkman or black & white TV set.

This is hard to believe. Even if her family are anti gun, wouldn't she know from movies and television?

Most girls I went to high school with didn't know jack about guns, heck most boys didn't either. Its pretty obviously she doesn't have firearms as part of her life. However, it is odd she didn't even know what the basic concept of a rifle was.

But, if you've never been around guns, never been around someone who likes guns, etc etc then I doubt you'd know much about them.

Could be she is just extremely sheltered as well.

It's a fair question if she is from an anti house and brought up on soap opperas.

14 is pretty young, they have a lot of life to live and learn from.

Could it be the terminology? Maybe he dad has an ought-6, a long gun, a deer slayer, or something of that sort. Rifle seems commonplace to most of us, but that may not be the case everywhere.

Since i had to deal with school mates who
didn't know what a spear is,
that really does not surprise me.

I was about 18 at that time, like my mates.

Note I am in the 8th grade

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That puts you at what 13? 14? years old? And at this age one does not even know what a rifle is?

Also, how was your classmate's question responded to? Did the teacher explain to her that a rifle is a long gun, or did she not even know what a firearm is?

Here's a question to ponder for those who are shocked that the girl had never heard of a rifle.

What is Kava?

Most of you are going to google it like I did. And you probably had no idea what it was until you googled it, and more than likely you went "Huh, neat."

Point is, not everyone grew up around firearms. Maybe her parents didn't feel the need to show her the hunting rifle. Ragging on the kids or their parents is not a healthy way to promote a pro-gun culture.

No harm, no foul. The girl didn't know what a rifle is, so she asked. Isn't that what school is for? Learning?

I think you are misremembering. I really doubt she doesn't know what a rifle is. Fairly early in the story Carlson uses a Luger to put down Candy's old dog. Later, George uses the same pistol to put down Lennie. I could see a kid from a family where nobody is a gun enthusiast not knowing what a Luger is. A rifle, though? Call me curmudgeonly , but I'm not buying the story as told.

So much for violence in the media...

1. A rifle is a tool, used by governments to enforce their authority, or

2. A rifle is a tool used by citizens to replace governments mentioned in 1.

Other uses abound, of course.

wow... in my neck of the woods, even the antis kids are educated enough about guns to know that! I don't have much experience with people that don't know that much about guns, and I don't remember a time when I didn't know about guns! in general, however, I know how you feel, being in 10th grade with a bunch of "city slickers" (I have to explain the difference between a mac 10 and an uzi about twice a month, for instance! )

Not too unususal. I doubt if any kid that age has seen a typewriter, a record player, or even a Sony Cassette Walkman or black & white TV set.

Click to expand...

Because those have fallen out of general use. The rifle has not. My stepson was facinated with the concept of the rotary phone. But the concept of a cell phone is as common to him as the rotary phone was to me at his age, whereas the cell phone was nearly inconceivable when I was 7.