The story of Of Mice and men takes place in John Steinbeck’s birth town Salinas, a town in California close to the Salinas River and Salinas Valley. Being born and raised in an agricultural society managed by Capitalism, Steinbeck witnessed the effects it had on the working class. Jay Parini, the writer of John Steinbeck – A Biography, tells us that John Steinbeck sifted through his whole life, all of his experiences, while writing this book. So of course when Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men it easily assumed that he was greatly influenced by his own experiences and personal interactions with migrant laborers. (Parini) Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men during a difficult time in American history: The Great Depression. The Great Depression had a major impact on American society. Roughly thirty three percent of the workforce became unemployed (Nash) and some, like George and Lennie, were forced to travel around the country in …show more content…
You were either a proletariat or a bourgeoisie, there was nothing in between. George and Lennie, as well as the other workers, work eleven hours a day in poor conditions, without ever questioning it. They knew exactly what they were going to get themselves into because of the Capitalist style way of life. Before Gorge and Lennie arrived at the ranch, they knew what the conditions would be like, how the boss would be and what type of job they would be doing. They had experienced it many times before that and they knew exactly how it would be at the ranch. “Tomorra we´re gonna go to work. I seen thrashin´ macines on the way down. That means we´ll be bucking grain bags, bustin´ gut.” (Steinbeck)Just by taking a quick glance at the machine, George knows that Lennie and him well be working hard and long. But with the communist way of life engraved into their soul, it just seemed like another day at
‘Of Mice and Men’ was written by John Steinbeck and published in 1937. The story is based on migrant workers in California during the time of the Great Depression. The Great Depression was caused by the Wall Street Crash in America which effected many business and banks many of which became bankrupt. This resulted in mass unemployment, inflation and economic migration from the city to the countryside. Steinbeck wrote this novel to show what life was like for low-paid, poor workers and to show how the Great Depression effected American people. He represents what life was like for many unprivileged people in 1930s America: migrant workers, women and black Americans.
Also, Atwell stated, “A reading of these particular things they want to overcome, suggests that Steinbeck...is...making a very…pointed critique of certain aspects of what it is like for many people to live in California, and by extension, American society… Of Mice and Men is a critique of the plight of… the landless, poor, and agricultural workers”(3). George and Lennie relate to this group of Americans the most because they like to dream for a better life to escape from the cold bitter
In 1929, tears swept the nation and gloom bestowed itself upon a once happy place. The Great Depression had started. People lost everything ,so many became migrant workers. Of Mice and Men, a classic novel written by John Steinbeck, emphasizes many sad themes, but gives us a good insight on what life was like in the 1940’s for many people. Although there are other themes, rootlessness, loneliness, and poverty are extremely prominent throughout the novel in many characters.
‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck was written during the Great Depression in America in the 1930’s. During the Great Depression there was a great job loss which resulted in men becoming migrant works. This was particularly hard for black Americans because back then discrimination against black people wasn’t abolished yet; they were segregated from the white people which meant they couldn’t find work. They were treated very poorly and were considered one level up from animals. Steinbeck had a good knowledge of the life people were living back then because he had the experience of living and working at a ranch in Salinas where his story is based. The story begins by describing the scenery in a lot of detail; he describes it in such a way
“Of mice and men” happened during the Great Depression, it was set in the farmland of Salinas Valley, where John Steinback was born. The novel began in the countryside, the ranch was based on Steinback’s experience. This novel indicates how the author utilised the characterization to show how worst the social condition was during the Great Depression. Firstly, Steinbeck’s description of Crooks reveals the division in social status between people due to their races.
Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, portrays a glimpse of the hardships many went through while living and working under the pressure of an independent life, who desired comfort, happiness, and riches through their “American Dreams”. The struggle in finding the key to a pleasurable life during “The Great Depression”, was a period of gloom, discrimination, and the beginning to a rise for dreams. Steinbeck’s supposed depiction of the serene ranch lifestyle, shows how they impacted their life as a whole, and what it led them to believe for the future. From social exclusion to the idea of marginalization, this story of the unbroken bond two friends share, describes how at times, we may not achieve what we always looked forward to, but
The novel Of Mice and Men was written by John Steinbeck as a novella or a book that could easily be adapted to a play. Knowingly or not, within his book, "Steinbeck creates a world where people are prevented from being their true selves, and in the rare instances when they reveal a more authentic self, they face negative consequences"(McMurray). Elizabeth McMurray has written a literary criticism to prove this thought process and in my opinion, her essay was correct. The way the book was written, including setting and dialogue styles, proves that the characters in the classic novel are playing characters similar to actors in a play, rather than acting as themselves.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck illustrates the downfall of two solitary men who have only each other to be liable upon. The greatest tragedy in this story comes from straightforward certainty that Lennie is left alone with Curley's wife in light of the fact that Curley's wife is the genuine scoundrel in Of Mice and Men; only she causes the inconvenience that prompts Lennie's demise. Numerous of George and Lennie’s struggles originate from things they cannot control, such as Lennie’s mental illness and the way that both men are stuck in the deadlock quest for rustic work in 1930's America. In his novella, Steinbeck analyzes the distinctive ways that men and ladies express their supremacy, whereas the men in his story depend on the power
According to George, he and Lennie face a situation similar to that of real farm workers in the 1930s. Of Mice and Men connects to the lives of migrant farm workers in the 1930s because George and Lennie’s lives are realistic, which is shown when George describes to Lennie what the lives of these workers are like. Of Mice and Men’s expression of the racial and gender divides, economy, real estate, and the lives of migrant workers in the 1930s show how it is influenced by the culture and society surrounding its author, John Steinbeck. Specifically, the racial divides of the 1930s are shown
A setting of vital importance in the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck is the Great Depression of the nineteen thirties. It describes the story of two companions working on a ranch in California. John Steinbeck, was born and raised in rural California near where the story is set and when he was young he worked on a ranch enabling him to draw on his own experiences of ranch life and the types of people that worked on ranches. All the characters in the story have many features common to people who lived during the Depression further improving the believability of the characters.
Jobless, homeless, and unable to support themselves, many farmers during the 1930’s moved west in search of better life. In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, readers observe how dreams keep people motivated; especially through tough times. Steinbeck’s characters George Milton and Lennie Small, search for work in the struggling agricultural market of California. Although there are many hardships that the men face, both George and Lennie have a dream that they are determined to accomplish. Despite Lennie’s lack of social boundaries and the hardships of the Great Depression, it is the dream that they have together that keeps them motivated.
The novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ written by Steinbeck was set in America in the 1930s, when the Great Depression was happening, as a result of the Wall Street Crash in 1929. Many people were affected by this catastrophe, especially farmers who lost their jobs and were forced to leave their homes and travel to other areas with more money, such as ‘Golden California’ to find work on ranches because of economic depression, poverty and social inequalities. Steinbeck based his novella on the American dream because he knew that during that era,
1. Steinbeck’s life experiences influenced him when writing Of Mice and Men. For instance, Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, which is about thirty minutes away from where the novel takes place in Soledad, California. The novel took place during the Great Depression being that Steinbeck was in his thirties at the time of the Depression. "I was a bindlestiff myself for quite a spell. I worked in the same country that the story is laid in. The characters are composites to a certain extent. Lennie was a real person. He's in an insane asylum in California right now. I worked alongside him for many weeks. He didn't kill a girl. He killed a ranch foreman. Got sore because the boss had fired his pal and stuck a pitchfork right through his stomach. I hate to tell you how many times. I saw him do it. We couldn't stop him until it was too late,” said John Steinbeck.
John Steinbeck was born on the 27th of February 1902 in Salinas, California, where he lived a comfortable life and went to college for a degree in literature. But he dropped out of school and worked as a manual laborer without a degree. Of Mice and Men is a novella about two men going around the country looking for money to get their dream farm and end up on a ranch where they stay for a weekend before tragedy strikes. The two characters names were George and Lennie. George “was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features”(Steinbeck.2). Lennie, on the other hand, was his exact opposite. Lennie was a big man with a shapeless face and wide sloping shoulders. Just like Of Mice and Men, many of Steinbeck's works dealt with subjects he was interested or were familiar from his younger years. Of Mice and Men is about the struggling laborer class during the great depression which he had experience with from his days as a manual laborer. Another book would be the book in which many critics consider his best work, The Grapes of Wrath(1939), which is also about the labor class trying to make a living in the Great Depression. Growing up his family was very religious, so it can be seen why many of his books were based off the bible to some degree, though when he went to college he became less religious. Some critics have said that in the book Steinbeck does not believe in the American dream and can be seen in some aspect of his books. Steinbeck was
The novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck is set in America in the 1930’s and it describes the lives of migrant farmers as they go from farm to farm looking for jobs. It also shows the loneliness of the characters and the hard work that they put in. The main characters of the book are Lennie, a man-child, and George, a small man but very powerful character that takes care of Lennie in their journey. Also when they get to the farm they meet the bosses wife who is very lonely and looks for company in the workers. Steinbeck uses characterization to bring his characters to life using various techniques.