Comparing The Great Depression In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Many of the works of the writer, John Steinbeck take place during the hard days of the Great Depression. Two of his most famous works, “The Grapes of Wrath” and “Of Mice and Men”, take place in The Great Depression. They depict hardships of finding work and feeding their family. Steinbeck expresses that in many ways in his work. John Steinbeck depicts the Great Depression by, the journeys the characters go on to find work, the poor conditions of the places they work, and the isolation of the characters. First, John Steinbeck depicts the Great Depression by sending the characters on their own journey to find work. I have read in “The Grapes of Wrath” about the journey the Joad family goes on to find the Labor Camp, when their land was taken. They went to California in hopes of finding the job they need and the money to feed the family. Another example, that I read was in “Of Mice and Men”, and that is the journey of Lennie and George traveling from farm to farm to work, so George and Lennie can build their own home and live in peace. Another part of

In “Of Mice and Men”, the characters, Crooks and Curley’s wife are the ones on the ranch that don’t really fit in. (Meyer) I have read in the Grapes Of Wrath, about Tom Joad and how he was alone after he left the prison. He was alone until he found the preacher. “From the opening dialogue between George and Lennie, to the novel’s final terrifying moments, Steinbeck’s characters talk about the isolation, rootlessness and the alienation of their lives.” (Meyer) In conclusion, John Steinbeck describes the harshness of life in the Great Depression in his novels “The Grapes of Wrath” and “Of Mice and Men”. He talks about the difficulty of life during that decade. The three main ways Steinbeck does that is by: describing how the characters go to find a job, the brutality of the labor camps, and finally, the state of isolation the character are