Comparing The Great Depression In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In the 1930’s our nation’s widest economic crisis hit, the Great Depression. With the deepest and longest depression in our history. With crisis came major problems within the American people. These problems forced Americans and the government to find a way to deal with these hard times.

The America in the 1930s was drastically different from the luxurious 1920s. The stock market had crashed to an all time low, unemployment was the highest the country had ever seen, and all American citizens were affected by it in some way or another. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal was effective in addressing the issues of The Great Depression in the sense that it provided immediate relief to US citizens by lowering unemployment, increasing trust in the banks, getting Americans out of debt, and preventing future economic crisis from taking place through reform. Despite these efforts The New Deal failed to end the depression. In order for America to get out of this economic

The events of the 1930’s, or the Great Depression, did the most to influence contemporary America. During the twenties, America was at its most prosperous economic times until the stock market crashed in 1929. The stock market crash led to a dramatic decline of the U.S. economy. The decline in the economy changed Americans everyday lives. In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president and he created the New Deal to provide relief, recovery and reform. The Depression impacted America in the 1930’s in every aspect of life and still impacts America today. Although contemporary America was shaped by many events that occurred in the 20th century, America was most influenced by the 1930’s because of legislation that improved daily life

"Of Mice and Men" is a book about two men and their struggle to achieve their dream of owning a small ranch through their companionship. The two men are completely different, one being a retarded fellow (Lennie), and the other, a typical ranch hand(George) who travels with him. On the path to achieving their dream, they run into obstacles, but stick together, stressing the importance of true friendship. Steinbeck wrote this book to tell us how important it is to have a friend to share your life with.

In the 1920s, Americans were trying to figure out what was everyone’s role in society. During this time women started to take on bigger jobs then housekeeping and African Americans are finally standing up for their race. Once 1929 hit, Herbert Hoover, America’s newest president, was viewed as an ‘American Superhero’ at that time because of everything he promised society; however, America gets hit by the Great Depression leaving society in a hole. While banking systems were unstable and overproduction were leaving people bankrupt, Herbert Hoover was blaming Europe and was failing to keep society financially stable. As his presidency went on, filmmakers made film cycles and gangster pictures like Little Caesar that portrayed America’s corrupt society during the Great Depression. By the end of his campaign, Hoover was known as the worst American ever which led to the rising of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Roosevelt saw the struggling society as an opportunity to help his campaign in which he created the New Deal. America was given an opportunity that allowed them to look forward to the future. During Herbert Hoover’s presidency, America did not support the federal government, but after Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for president and promised a New Deal, they began to look more favorably on the government.

The Depression was the biggest economic crash America had ever experienced previously. Thousands of people lost their jobs, hundreds of businesses went bankrupt, and even some banks had to close their doors. It was a disaster. People lost everything, their savings were gone and their homes were foreclosed. Life for Americans was drastically changed. As if the Depression wasn’t bad enough, then the Dust Bowl happened. The Dust Bowl was the result of drought and erosion of the top soil of the land. Huge dust clouds swept through the Great Plains, suffocating its inhabitants (History.com). There were political efforts to better those two events, most of those efforts were enacted by the New Deal policies. FDR was the president at the time, and he created and pushed for the use of the New Deal policies. The New Deal encompassed the programs enacted to save homes from foreclosure, create jobs and many other helpful programs. All in all, the 30’s was an era of economic insecurity and general upheaval. By the late 30’s people were looking to the government to get the nation out of these national

The 1930’s was an era of harsh times for the American until they entered World War II. The stock market crash and dustbowl contributed to the start of the downfall of America for a period of time. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover both

In both Lee and Steinbeck’s novels, prejudice is a key theme portrayed in a variety of different forms and is used as a way to degrade and discriminate the innocent characters. Lee’s title quotation ‘mockingbird’ represents those who are victims of prejudice, which is a large amount of characters as the novel is set in 1930 America, where the only properly respected people were white, mentally stable males. This is also shown by Steinbeck who uses the hopelessness of the Great Depression to put across how people were affected in their views and lives during that time. Both novels create prejudice against black people, those with mental disabilities or health issues and women, ostracising these people was not uncommon in this period, probably because these people were misunderstood by others due to lack of communication. Both Lee and Steinbeck use these minorities to portray how far prejudice is to blame for the misery and pain which develop as the novels progress.

John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men is an extraordinary novel with unique characteristics. The novel is about an uncommon friendship between two extremely different individuals who are living and working together. This story belong to the genres tragic realistic fiction, historical fiction and drama. The linking between the novel and The Great Depression emphasizes throughout the story, which makes the novel very realistic and down to earth. The author touches on several themes such as: the unreachable American dream, the economic injustices, loneliness, friendship and people’s propensity for cruelty. In this book review, we will get into a deeper understanding of what the actual story means.

Of Mice and Men, a novel set in the 1930s Depression by John Steinback is known even to this day for being a gripping tale of true friendship. John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California to which became the setting for his fiction, including Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck’s best-known books spiral around deprived California wanderers. In spite of their conditions and circumstances they hold onto hope of the American Dream. In Of Mice and Men there’s one character that is true to himself throughout the novel. John Steinback develops the character of Slim, the prince through description of him, his lines of dialogue, and by his actions.

‘Of mice and men’ is a tale of loneliness and hardship felt by the people living in America during the 1930 's. Written by John Steinbeck and published in 1937, it tells the heartbreaking story of two ranch workers during the depression; George Milton and Lennie Small. At the time America was very poor, with a shortage of jobs so people had to travel in search of new jobs. As many people were constantly moving, lasting friendships or relationships were hard to come across. People became scared to have friendships, scared of each other making them lonely and isolated. Most of the characters lived by ‘every man for himself’; only having to care for themselves, not having to worry about others and therefore

How does the Great Depression influence the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck? The Great Depression was an acute worldwide economic depression that lasted from 1929 to 1939. The Great Depression greatly influences Of Mice and Men in many different ways. The Great Depression is the time period during which Of Mice and Men takes place, it impacts the hope and dreams of the main characters, and it sets the stage for societal values and issues in the book.

In 1962, Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for literature for his "realistic and imaginative writing, combining as it does sympathetic humor and keen social perception." The selection was heavily criticized for Steinbeck’s political stance with some even calling it a win by default. At the end of his career, the famed author returned to New York and died of heart disease in 1968. His work, however, lives on and even his memory in the California hall of fame.

John Steinbeck was born on February 27th, 1902, in Salinas, California. His parents worked as store managers and schoolhouse teachers. At the age of fourteen, Steinbeck had already developed a love for writing. He would often isolate himself in his room and create poems and stories. In 1919 John enrolled at Stanford University. Clearly college wasn’t meant for Steinbeck because he ended up dropping out in 1925. After college Steinbeck jumped from place to place attempting to find a job he could pursue. It wasn’t until he settled near Lake Tahoe that he wrote his first novel, Cup of Gold (1929). With support from his wife, Carol Henning, Steinbeck wrote twenty-seven books and won several awards for his spectacular novels. In 1962 Steinbeck was

As stated by James Meade “In the 1930’s one was aware of two great evils - mass unemployment and the threat of war.” The late 1930’s was a time of war, a time of distress and a time of loss.