Studied by 8 people
John Steinbeck
John wrote the book in 1936
He worked on a ranch when he was 19 and used his experience to help him write Of Mice and Men
Most of John's books are about the lives and problems of working people who have to deal with economic problems
The American Dream
From about 1920 onwards, when people began to emigrate (from Europe to America) most people had dreams for their success in this new land
Many farm workers (like George & Lennie) would dream of owning their own small farm
Many women (like Curley's wife) dreamed of being discovered and appearing on TV eg. as an actress
Death Of A Dream
The American Dream lasted until the late 1920's
The death was caused by the Wall Street Crash (and this also started The Great Depression)
Farming was badly affected and so farmers dreams of freedom and independence was doomed
The dream George & Lennie and many other migrant farm workers shared would no longer be possible
The Depression
The Depression began in 1929 due to the crash of Wall Street when the New York stock exchange collapsed
Businesses went bankrupt and many people lost fortunes overnight
This didnt just affect America, but it caused a widespread of unemployment, poverty and misery in many other parts of the world
Dust Bowl (bad farming)
Caused by over farming and little rain; the topsoil became eroded and exhausted and no longer usable
This resulted in many thousands of poor farm workers moving to California
Men were considered extremely lucky to find any work but the wages were low and the conditions were not good
Migrant Farm Workers
Men would travel great distances to find work
They would receive about $2.50-$3.00 a day
The food was basic and the rooms were sometimes nothing more than a shared tent
Racism
Black people had separate rooms to white people
They were low down on the hierarchy
They were not regarded as equal and were therefore treated very poorly
Position Of Women
Curley's wife was never given a name which is significant as it shows her identity is seen only in terms of her husband
Women were not respected much at all and were only seen as property to their men and therefore they were far down the hierarchy
Women were not expected to have careers and were not taken seriously
Life On The Ranch
Life on the ranch was tough
The conditions of the ranch were very basic and worse than how Steinbeck described them in the book
You were there to work and not to be respected
Novel title
It came from a poet “To a mouse” Scottish poet Robert Burns
Translates to “sometimes even the best thought out plans to wrong and leaves us feeling grief and pain instead of the happiness we intended”
This can applied to all the character in the novel who dreamed of a better life
1930s social attitudes
When time were harsh and people are guarded what they had
Valued their privacy
Friendship were difficult
Prejudice, racism, sexism, ageism and discrimination
Carlson is a stereotype ranch worker and anyone who differs from him suffers prejudice
Steinbeck’s view on 1930
Cruel world makes people cruel
If anyone was kind to look after the disabled, it was very RARE.
Dream is what drives people to continue
Wants to show people are still kind, noble and brave like George
Why did all the character’s dream fail
All of these character were trapped by social limitation and obstacles
Note
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