Of Mice and Men

1. Of Mice and Men Pre-reading notes

2. Author: John Steinbeck • His work focuses on the outcasts of society—the poor, the demented, the uneducated and the rebellious. • Steinbeck was described as “lonely, frightened, insecure, and incapable of relating to other people.”

3. John Steinbeck • Steinbeck wrote many books based on his early experience growing up in the Salinas Valley, California. The Grapes of Wrathin 1939, for which he received a Pulitzer Prize • Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.

4. Why Of Mice and Men? • The title of the novel comes from a poem by the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759 - 96): • “The best laid schemes o' mice and menGang aft agley [often go wrong]And leave us nought but grief and painFor promised joy!”

5. The setting • Of Mice and Men is set in the farmland of the Salinas valley in the 1930s, where John Steinbeck was born and which he knew all his life.

6. The Great Depression • The novel takes place in the 1930s • During this time, the country was suffering an economic depression caused by the stock market crash of 1929 and a serious drought that greatly affected the midwest agricultural region.

7. Americans suffered from poverty and homelessness

8. The Midwest agricultural region was turned into a virtual desert

9. Millions were forced to become migrants, leaving their homes to find work in other parts of the country

10. Migrant Workers • George and Lennie are some of the last of the migrant farm workers. Huge numbers of men traveled the countryside between the 1880s and the early 1930s harvesting wheat. • They earned $2.50 or $3.00 a day, plus food and very basic accommodation. • During the 1930s, when there was very bad unemployment in the United States, agencies were set up under the New Deal to send farm workers to where they were needed. George and Lennie got their works cards from Murray and Ready's, one of these agencies.

11. Migrant workers waiting for work cards

12. Conditions were difficult for migrant workers

13. Theme #1The American Dream

14. The American Dream • The term was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America which was written in 1931. He states: "The American Dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.”

15. The American Dream • For the American society as a whole the idea of the American Dream ended with the Wall Street crash of 1929. • However the dream survived for individuals. Thousands made their way west to California to escape from their farmlands in the mid-West.

16. George and Lennie dreamed of their “little house and a couple of acres.” • The growing popularity of cinema was the last American Dream for many, Curley's wife was one: “Coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes.”

17. Theme #2Alienation

18. Almost everyone in the story is lonely or alienated. Most are focused only on survival • However, George and Lennie have a bond—they travel together and watch out for each other

19. In a society where the necessity to make enough money to survive comes first, the very need for friendship becomes a mystery • Therefore, George and Lennie are often viewed with mistrust by the other characters.

20. Many characters suffer from alienation • Candy is alienated because of his age and physical disability. • Curley’s wife is alienated because she is the only woman on the ranch and her husband is cruel and unloving. • Crooks is alienated because of his race.

21. Theme #3 Economic Injustice

22. The cruelty unleashed by the Great Depression led to economic injustice. Workers’ rights were nonexistent and people were left to fight among themselves for work. • Workers were at the mercy of landowners, who reaped the benefits from their labor.

23. Workers, desperate for jobs, toiled at poverty-level wages and often lived in sub-standard housing. • Many farmers and ranchers reaped the financial benefits of the cheap labor force.

24. Your task • Your assignment is to create a collage using images and words from the internet and magazines to illustrate the historical context or one of the main themes of Of Mice and Men.

25. The collage • In a good collage, every bit of white space is covered. • You should overlap items and not paste them on in straight rows. • Try to get a good combination of real pictures, illustrations, words, phrases, and cartoons.

26. Choose from one of these topics: • Alienation or loneliness • Economic injustice • The plight of migrant workers • The American Dream • The Great Depression

27. Good Luck!!