Context

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