The 1930s in American history was an interesting period that merges strife with everlasting hope. John Steinbeck's literature takes a snapshot of this time with realistic circumstances appropriate for the time. Of Mice and Men reflects the Great Depression Era by presenting the storyline in the agricultural setting of 1930s California, describing the hardships of migrant field workers, and mentioning the dreams and goals of various characters.
The United States felt the reverberating effects of their failing economy during the 1930s. The decade of the 1920s was a period of a newfound “freedom” in which urban populations discovered leisurely activities, women proved their power and equal rights with the emergence of flappers, and the American economy flourished since the exports outweighed the imports. Americans increasingly used credit, which was backed by only their trust in the government, to purchase and pay off mortgages. However, this amounted to the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Suddenly, many citizens lost their jobs, homes, and money held in the banks. A majority of Americans were living under the poverty line, and they were desperate to make a living in order to support their families. The federal government attempted to aid those in need by presenting President Roosevelt’s New Deal program which featured the establishment of several government relief efforts. Nevertheless, the New Deal program was not enough to assist all of America, especially farmers and those living in rural areas. (Bernanke) (Cullis) (Shindo)
The Dust Bowl emerged as one of the hardest hit areas during the Great Depression. Years of drought and overuse of soil left the ground of the Great Plains dry and barren. This caused years of unproductive har...
... middle of paper ...
...2011.
Dickstein, Morris. "Steinbeck and the Great Depression." South Atlantic Quarterly 103.1 (2004): 111-131. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 6 Mar. 2011.
Hearle, Kevin. “John Steinbeck.” Twentieth-Century American Western Writers: Second Series. Ed. Richard. H. Cracoft. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 4 May 2011.
Reith, Duncan. “Futile Dreams and Stagnation: Politics in Of Mice and Men.” The English Review. Nov: 2004: 6+ Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 4 May 2011.
Shillinglaw, Susan. "Introduction." Of Mice and Men. 1994: Print.
Shindo, Charles J. "The Dust Bowl Myth." The Wilson Quarterly. (Vol. 24). .4 (Autumn 2000): p25. Literature Resource Center. Gale. New York Public Library. 6 Mar. 2011 .
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books, 1937. Print.
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath, The Moon is Down, Cannery Row, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men. New York: Heinemann/Octopus, 1979. pp.475 - 896.
Natural conditions contributed to the cause of the Dust Bowl. During the year of 1936, North America was dealt an extreme am...
McElvaine, Robert S, ed. Down and Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the Forgotten Man. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1983.
Hayashi, Tetsumaro. A New Study Guide to Steinbeck's Major Works, with Critical Explications. Scarecrow Press, Jan 1, 1993
At the core of understanding the Dust Bowl is the question of whose fault it was. Was it the result of farmers tilling land beyond what the environment could bear, or is it just a natural fluctuation in the atmosphere? These questions have intrigued historians and started a new evolution of theories. The Dust Bowl grazed across the Midwest of the United States, destroying the ecology and agriculture of the United States and Canadian Prairies"1.
In the book Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s the author, Donald Worster, makes the argument that the Dust Bowl was a mostly a direct result of farmer’s methods and misuse of the fragile plains environment. However, there were many other largely contributing factors to the Dust Bowl. While the farmer’s methods played a role, other factors such as economic decline, unusually high temperatures, an extended drought accompanied by and economic depression, and the resulting wind erosion were all factors that help explain The Dust Bowl.
The View of American Society in the Depression Years in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
As America tumbled skyward into the 1930s, the country also stumbled earthward into a cataclysmic depression. Farmers all across the country mewled out in agony as huge swarms of flinging dust particles flew amok and disfigured cropland. The dust squirmed itself into houses, barns, and the lungs of innocent people, infecting them with what came to be known as a dust pneumonia. Farmers suffered harshly from the annihilation of their farms due to the soil flying about. It impaired animals, crops, houses, and their families’ health. Horrifically timed, this explosion of catastrophic grime helped the Great Depression terminate America economically; proving the storm to be the wickedest environmental crisis to strike North America. This was the squall that gave the American 1930s the nickname the “Dirty Thirties”, the dust bowl had emerged was not to evaporate until about ten years later. The dust bowl is simplest described as an agricultural nightmare, wreaking havoc from 1930 to 1941on plantations of Midwest America. Ironically, the very people who suffered from the gale caused this calamity onto themselves. The cause of the bowl is blamed to be large scale famers overproducing too many crops, stripping the topsoil of farmland. Not all the weight of the blame rested on overproduction of course, but also a combination of drought, torrid temperatures, and trivial, yet vitally significant prairie fires also played roles in causing the bowl. These events caused the soil to become frail, loose, and subject to passing winds above the land, creating one colossal horde of dust. Clearly, the cause of the dust bowl was overproduction and various factors, resulting in demolished farmland all across North America, proved the dust bo...
The Dust Bowl was "the darkest moment in the twentieth-century life of the southern plains," (pg. 4) as described by Donald Worster in his book "The Dust Bowl." It was a time of drought, famine, and poverty that existed in the 1930's. It's cause, as Worster presents in a very thorough manner, was a chain of events that was perpetuated by the basic capitalistic society's "need" for expansion and consumption. Considered by some as one of the worst ecological catastrophes in the history of man, Worster argues that the Dust Bowl was created not by nature's work, but by an American culture that was working exactly the way it was planned. In essence, the Dust Bowl was the effect of a society, which deliberately set out to take all it could from the earth while giving next to nothing back.
In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck brings out the themes of Lonliness and companionship, and strengths and weaknesses through the actions, and quotations of the characters. Irony and foreshadowing play a large roll on how the story ends. Lennie and his habit of killing things not on purpose, but he is a victim of his own strength. George trying to pretend that his feelings for Lennie mean nothing. The entire novel is repetitive in themes and expressed views.
The daily struggle of the working class, fear of loneliness and the reality of putting all your energy into plans that fail are the different themes relating to John Steinbeck's novel, "Of Mice and Men". The characters depicted by the author are individuals who are constantly facing one obstacle after another. The book illustrates different conflicts such as man versus society, man versus man, man versus himself and idealism versus reality. The book's backdrop is set in the Salinas, California during the depression. The two main characters include two men, George and Lennie. Supportive characters include a few ranch hands, Candy, Crooks, Curly, Slim and Carlson.
The classic novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck has resonated with readers for generations. Steinbeck’s poignant use of literary elements highlight the negative aspects of the human condition. His use of foreshadowing, imagery, and symbolism assist in outlining these issues.
Spangler, Jason. “We’re on a Road to Nowhere: Steinbeck, Kerouac, and the Legacy of the Great Depression” Studies in the Novel Vol. 40, No. 3 (Fall 2008): 308-327. JSTOR. Web. 30 May 2014.
Scarseth argues that “Readers may object to the book’s presentation of low class characters, vulgar language, scenes suggestive of improper sexual conduct, and an implied criticism of the social system. . . Furthermore, these features are necessary in the book.” Scarseth continues to argue that they are “accurate, precise reporting,” because they represented the time, place and environment of the era in which the novella was penned. Written in 1937, Of Mice and Men is the story of two migrant workers who came to California to fulfill their dreams. While the intentions of these two men seemed noble, they were unable to achieve the goal of purchasing land for a myriad of reasons. The first and most difficult challenge they faced was the effect of The Great Depression. Like many of...
Steinbeck portrays to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of his argument; how the Great Depression affected individuals and their own American Dreams. Steinbeck uses allusion to show the reader that “ the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry”, Archetype to show the prejudice attitudes towards each group of people during the great depression, and lastly foreshadowing to hint to the readers what will happen throughout the novella. Through the use of these devices Steinbeck is able to capture the image of the “American Dream” and portray how certain characters were truly