Of Mice and Men

1. Of Mice and Men Ruben

2. When the Wall Street stock market crashed in October 1929, the world economy was plunged into the Great Depression. By the winter of 1932, America was in the depths of the greatest economic depression in its history. • Between 1 and 2 million people travelled the country desperately looking for work Of mice and men - • ‘Between 1 and 2 million people travelled the country desperately looking for work’ this is what happened to George and Lennie. Wall street

3. Causes of the Depression: The main trigger of the Depression was the Wall Street Crash, but other factors also helped to create the Depression out of the Crash. • Import duties - Import duties discouraged trade, which harmed the economy. The reduction in trade particularly hit the shipbuilding and railway industries if there was no trade, there was no need for transport. • Savings - when there is unemployment and uncertainty, people cut back on spending and save 'for a rainy day'. This then makes businesses go bankrupt and causes the unemployment they feared. • Unemployment - unemployed people have no wage and cannot buy things, which causes more businesses to go bankrupt and creates more unemployment. • Outdated practices - British heavy industry was out of date and labour-intensive. When orders dried up, the only way they could cope was to lay off workers. • Many children were deserted and left homeless during the Depression Of mice and men • Didn’t have much savings. The great depression

4. America had lent huge sums of money to European countries. When the stock market collapsed, they suddenly recalled those loans. This had a devastating impact on the European economy. • The collapse of European banks caused a general world financial crisis. • As early as 1926, there were signs that the boom was under threat - this was seen in the collapse of land prices in Florida Of mice and men – • George and Lennie didn’t have any money or food. • Also their dream was that they were going to get their selves a ranch with different coloured rabbits. With the price of land dropping, then maybe George and Lennie can afford for a ranch. Economy

5. The American Dream is the hope that in the United States of America, anyone can become rich or famous if they work hard and try their very best. • Many migrants, people who come to America from other countries, come to America because they hope for a better life. America is attractive to migrants, because often there is more freedom to become rich or famous than the country that they leave. • With American Dream is also meant to live free and equal with all other people in the USA. • The American Dream is also a main theme in the book by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men. The two friends George and Lennie dream of their own piece of land with a ranch, so they can "live off the fatta the lan'" and just enjoy a better life. But the symbolism shows this is futile due to the fact that it will never happen, and that they end up shooting Lennie in the back of the head, like Candy's dog. The American dream

6. A migrant worker is someone who regularly works away from home, if they even have a home. • The United Nations' use of this term overlaps with 'foreign worker'. In the United States, the term is commonly used broadly to describe people who move frequently to find work or, more narrowly, those who earn low wages performing manual labor in the agriculture field. • Migrant workers are often forced into poor situations. Of mice and men • George and Lennie work • The men (George and Lennie) have travelled all round the country, which shows that they work away from home. Migrant worker

7. The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms and droughts causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian and also the Chinese area prairie lands from 1930 to 1938 and also in some parts through the 1940s. They caused devastating damage to many people's lives. It was caused because the soil blew away into the air and reduced visibility to a few feet. • During early European and American exploration of the Great Plains, the region in which the Dust Bowl occurred was thought unsuitable for European-style agriculture; the region was known as the Great American Desert • During the drought of the 1930s, without natural anchors to keep the soil in place, it dried, turned to dust, and blew away with the prevailing winds. • Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to leave their farms: In 1935, many families were forced to leave their farms and travel to other areas seeking work because of the drought. Dust Bowl conditions fomented an exodus of the displaced from Texas, Oklahoma, and the surrounding Great Plains to adjacent regions. More than 500,000 Americans were left homeless. Over 350 houses had to be torn down after one storm alone. The severe drought and dust storms had left many homeless, others had their mortgages foreclosed by banks, and others felt they were left no choice but to abandon their farms in search of work. The Dustbowl

8. The 1930's were a turbulent time for race relations in America. • Racism during the 1930s remained a very real threat to the safety and opportunities of African-Americans in the United States. • Blacks were treated badly, very badly. Blacks had to walk on the opposite side of the road to white people, they were often hung, beaten and lynched for punishments and false accusations. They had to call white children "Sir" and "ma'am" and had to ride in the back of public transport. Of mice and men • The theme of abuse shown towards Crooks through the novel is not only the verbal and physical mistreatment towards him as a human being, but the cruelty towards him through forced isolation and treatment as if he were an animal. “Give him hell,” to those that isolate him. “A guy needs somebody to be near him’ he whined. ‘ A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody, don’t make no difference who the guy is, long he’s with you. I tell ya. ‘he cried’ I tell ya a guy gets to lonely an he gets sick.” Race and racism

9. A stereotype is an idea or belief many people have about a thing or group that is based upon how they look on the outside, which may be untrue or only partly true. • In the 1930s, the role of women in the workplace did not change very much. In 1930, about 11 million women were employed; and by 1940, 13 million women were employed. This is not considered a significant increase. Women's wages were lower than men's and most women worked in domestic service. Seventy-five percent of professional women were either nurses or schoolteachers, which remain traditional roles for women. Of mice and men • “In the 1930’s, women did not work” this quote tells us about Curley’s wife because she doesn’t work. • Curley's wife is akin to how all people of the 1930s were seen. Steinbeck presents characters who are locked into the roles they play through the denial of dreams. Women (their status and stereotypes)