Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck In 1937, author John Steinbeck wrote the novel "Of Mice and Men" which was based on the Wall Street crash and how it affected the American people. This was the first novel written by an American writer describing their own culture. The novel is based in Soledad (California), which means a town of loneliness. American writers at that time were mostly writing stories and novels based on European culture and history. Steinbeck decided to show the world what affects the Wall Street crash had on America and the lives of its people. Edgar Hoover decided to create the American dream after he realised how the Americans were living and how deep the impact of the Wall Street crash was to the people. Edgar Hoover's idea was to have: "Two chickens in every pot, Two cars in every garage and each person has his or her own shares. Everyone can be rich and ought to be rich". Steinbeck however, philosophised about the American dream and came to the conclusion that it would work for some, but not for all. This was the idea behind his novel, as he knew that it would appeal to the American public as well as other countries. He had other negative feelings towards the dream. He saw the American dream as nothing more than a cultural philosophy that people used as a symbol of achieving a "Reachable Heaven" or an "Ideal Life". George and Lennie are the main characters of the novel "Of Mice and Men", and Steinbeck shows us the effects of the Wall Street Crash and the lives of the masses in two simple characters. George and Lennie are migrant workers, people who were forced to travel from job to job so they can survive. They always travelled together to look for jobs. The reason that they did travel together was because they were related to Aunt Clara, which was their only family member left. Another reason was George saw Lennie and he knew that Lennie would not survive in

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