Social Conditions in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Social Conditions in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

"Of Mice and Men" is set in California, America in the 1930's. As a

result of the First World War and the Wall Street Crash of the late

1920's, America had been propelled into a state of Economic

Depression. John Steinbeck successfully shows the impact the change in

economy had on people's lives, through the various characters in the

novel "Of Mice and Men" and especially the lives of George and Lennie.

The Great Depression altered the existence of the majority of the

working population of America. Many men would travel long distances to

obtain work, and John Steinbeck illustrates this through the

characters of George and Lennie. George and Lennie are itinerant

workers who have travelled three hundred miles from Weed to Salinas to

work on a ranch. Itinerant workers jobs were not secure, as many would

only work on a ranch for a month, and leave as lonely and desolate as

when they arrived.

The social conditions had led to companionship being so unusual, that

two men travelling together was a rare sight and the pair were

frequently judged. On their arrival at the ranch the Boss assumes that

Lennie is being used by George, so George can make more money. Once

corrected by George, the Boss replies, "Well, I never seen one guy

take so much trouble for another." John Steinbeck shows us that unlike

George and Lennie, the characters in the novel are all forced into a

life of loneliness by the social conditions in America in the 1930's.

The impact of the social conditions still greatly affected George and

Lennie, in many ways they had next to nothing, but unlike the majority

of t...

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...t George's

freedom and therefore he cannot find a wife or other friends, due to

Lennie. John Steinbeck illustrates how much Lennie relies on George,

after the death of Curley's Wife George even has to end Lennie's own

life for him.

John Steinbeck shows that in a time where social instability and

loneliness consumed America, socially, being normal was still hugely

important. Men separating themselves from their feelings, to try and

numb the loneliness were not rare. Not having a friend was usual;

therefore, very few could understand the impact that your friendship

could have, or the impact of it no longer being there - especially if

you had just killed your friend yourself. After George killed Lennie

Carlson still cannot understand the value of a friend and says, "What

the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?"