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Social effect of the great depression on the American society essay
The affect of the great depression
Themes of mice and men
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In this novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck focuses on the loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930’s which was also in the Great depression time. One of the most important things in the life is to have a friend, without friend’s people will would be very effected by loneliness and different moods like in this novel, not everyone in the novel has the same relationship and a great friendship like George and Lennie’s. Of Mice and Men is the story about lonely men who travel from ranch to ranch and they do not connect with other ranch hands. This novel will show you how the great depression effect a lot of people moods and how it talks about the friendship, characters and setting.
John Steinbeck makes the characters all different and
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For example, George does not tell Lennie he loves him, but instead he knows what Lennie loves and talks about and tell stories about rabbit farms to keep his Lennie excited and happy. Also, in the book there is a woman who is Curley’s wife and she cannot show how bored and over she is in her marriage, so instead she hides from Curley whenever she can and hangs out with many of the other men she meets. One last character is Candy. Candy cannot admit that he is attached to his aging dog, so he makes plenty of excuses or tries to change the subject when the other men bring it up and talks about putting his dog out of its misery. The characters hide their strongest feelings while they work and show different feelings of what they don’t feel. This is what the Great Depression would do to you if you lived in …show more content…
In the United States, the Great Depression began soon after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment dropped, causing steep declines in industrial output and rising levels of unemployment as failing companies laid off workers. By 1933, when the Great Depression reached its nadir, some 13 to 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half of the country’s banks had failed. Though the relief and reform measures put into place by President Franklin D. Roosevelt helped lessen the worst effects of the Great Depression in the 1930s, the economy would not fully turn around until after 1939, when World War II kicked American industry into high gear” (History.com). This shows what the charters had to go through around this time and how it was so hard to keep a job and simple be happy with life. This caused so many problems through everybody in their relationship with each other and their family and
In the Roaring Twenties, people started buying household materials and stocks that they could not pay for in credit. Farmers, textile workers, and miners all got low wages. In 1929, the stock market crashed. All of these events started the Great Depression. During the beginning of the Great Depression, 9000 banks were closed, ending nine million savings accounts. This lead to the closing of eighty-six thousand businesses, a European depression, an overproduction of food, and a lowering of prices. It also led to more people going hungry, more homeless people, and much lower job wages. There was a 28% increase in the amount of homeless people from 1929 to 1933. And in the midst of the beginning of the Great Depression, President Hoover did nothing to improve the condition of the nation. In 1932, people decided that America needed a change. For the first time in twelve years, they elected a democratic president, President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Immediately he began to work on fixing the American economy. He closed all banks and began a series of laws called the New Laws. L...
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a novel about loneliness and the American Dream. This book takes place during the Great Depression. It was very difficult for people to survive during this time period. A lot of people hardly survived let alone had the necessities they needed to keep relationships healthy. Of Mice of Men has a common theme of disappointment. All the characters struggle with their unaccomplished dreams. The migrant workers, stable buck, swamper, and the other men on the ranch had an unsettled disappointment of where they were at in their lives. George and Lennie, two newcomers to the ranch, aren’t like the other guys. They have each other and they are the not loneliest people in the world. Lennie has a dream though he wants to own a farm with plenty of crops and animals one day. The only problem is his blind curiosity of people and things around him. George wasn’t justified for killing Lennie because Lennie was innocent and never got the chance to find out what he did wrong.
John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character.
"In other periods of depression, it has always been possible to see some things which were solid and upon which you could base hope, but as I look about, I now see nothing to give ground to hope—nothing of man.” (Calvin Coolidge) The Great Depression was a period with high inflation and unemployment, where millions of families lost their savings and their livelihoods. During this time many men moved out west to become ranch hands, one of the few jobs available. Many of these ranch hands were fueled by a false dream, to one day own a piece of land, and start a family. Of Mice and Men is a story set in this historical era and tells the story of two unlikely companions, George and Lennie, who work from job to job to survive only to meet an unfortunate end. Using Symbolism as represented in nature, material objects, and character traits, Steinbeck explores the theme that despite the best efforts of man, sometimes the cruelty and overwhelming power of fate is too strong.
excited one. He now has hope of doing something and it came from the "dream
During the era of the Great Depression in the 1930’s, many people lost their jobs and became very lonely. This was around the time when John Steinbeck released his famous book about these “bindle stiffs”. The book was called, Of Mice and Men. Loneliness is one of the major themes of this novel. Several of the characters in the book are alone. In this novel, John Steinbeck shows how being alone affects different characters. Each is affected in a different way. Throughout the novel, the theme of loneliness is mostly expressed in the important characters of Candy, Curley’s wife and Crooks.
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.
I have been analysing the novella ‘Of Mice and men’ by John Steinbeck, which was published in 1937. Steinbeck wrote the novel based on his own experiences as a bindle stiff in the 1920’s, around the same time when the great Wall Street crash happened, causing an immense depression in America. Throughout the novel he uses a recurring theme of loneliness in his writing, which may have reflected his own experiences at this time. This is evident in his writing by the way he describes the characters, setting and language in the novel.
The power of novels can allow readers to learn significant lessons about humanity and life experiences. Steinbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men” set in Americas great depression of the 1930’s, explores the human need for company and the impact of loneliness. This is shown through the characters experiences of power and powerlessness on a barley ranch in California. Steinbeck shows his readers the need for compassion in times of cruelty, emphasised by the desperation of the era which the novel is set.
When Richard was young he would always be the person to help out. But as he became older and more feeble, his capabilities were not as they were before. This was difficult for Richard to cope with because other people would reject his help, but this did not stop him from accomplishing his dreams. The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck contains the character Candy, an old ranch worker who lost one of his hands in a farm accident. Like Richard, Candy is old and disabled and faces problems with people discriminating against him. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses dialogue to characterize Candy as a neglected, misunderstood idealist.
The Great Depression was the longest lasting economic downturn; lasting from 1929-1939. Not long after the stock market crash of October 1929 the Great Depression followed, this sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. Consumer spending and investment dropped dramatically over the next few years. This caused steep declines in industrial output and rising levels of unemployment as failing companies laid off workers. By March 1930, more than 3.2 million people are unemployed. By November 1930 New York City streets were crowded with unemployed people trying to make money by selling apples for five cents a piece, called Apple-Sellers. According to American Experience, the inequality of the rich vs. the poor, merged with the non-stop production of goods and the rising personal debt of many citizens, things could no longer be supported. President at the time, Herbert Hoover, underestimated how serious the situation actually was and called it, “a passing incident in our national lives.” and was certain that this would pass within the next 6...
In his novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck depicts the essential loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930s. He illustrates how people are driven to find companionship. There were so many moments of loneliness and sadness throughout the novel, including many deaths. Following the deaths, they were very unexpected making the novel more intense and latch onto it more.
Following the decade of economic prosperity and peace of the Roaring 20’s was the 1930’s which is commonly known as the Great Depression, an era of distress and instability that played an effect on altering the social, political, and economical infrastructure of the United States. Before the Great Depression, the United States was a representation of a consumer-driven society, with people loaning money from banks, in order to pay for luxurious items, they could not afford. However, in 1929, the stock market crashed, resulting in the nationwide closures of multiple banks and marked as the begin of turmoil for Americans. With the burden of the nation on the backs of all Americans, the meaning of life was changed and people waited day by day for the government to act and steer the nation back on the track for economic and political stability and progress, to be a
The Great Depression is known as the greatest time of recession in American history. Many factors contributed to this hard time. With the stock market boom in the 1920’s, our country was filled with optimism for the future. Although there were signs of problems to come former President Herbert Hoover was just as convinced as the nation that they were only going through a rough patch and would be back on their feet in no time. That was until the stock market crash of 1929, which marked the beginning of the Great Depression. The stock market crash led to bank and company failures. Many people became unemployed and had to leave their homes. Families also had to move away because of the drought that caused dust storms and ultimately the Dust Bowl. Soon enough, thousands were migrating to find jobs elsewhere. Eventually when former President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected into office, he presented America with “The New Deal,” the plan that would save America and bring the nation up and out of the recession.
"Were born alone we live alone die alone. Only through love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that were not alone” Orson Welles. In this novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck focuses on the loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930’s. One of the most important things in the life is to have a friend, without friends people will suffer from loneliness like in this novel, not everyone in the novel has the same connection and special friendship like George and Lennie’s. Of Mice and Men is the story about lonely men who travel from ranch to ranch not really communicating with other ranch hands. Candy, Crooks and Curley’s wife all were lonely and dealt with their loneliness in different ways.