The Great Depression was a period in the 1930’s when America was in a state of economic collapse. Poverty and unemployment were common, thus, leading to large amounts of migrant workers. The novel by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, is set in the times of the Great Depression. Steinbeck had abandoned the romantic view of mankind s occupying a special place in nature or that man is guided towards special ends. He did not see man as special or particularly cared for. Of Mice and Men reflects this philosophy. The characters experience loneliness, are unhappy with this state and desire empathy. For various reasons the characters in the novel experience loneliness. These reasons include differences in gender, as is the case with Curly’s wife, who just wants someone to talk to but is suspected of having ulterior motives. Crooks feels lonely because he is looked down upon because of his skin colour, whilst Candy feels lonely because of his fear of being useless and unwanted due to his disability. Differences in social class also lead to the characters feeling lonely, especially the workers...
In the novel, Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck used George and Lennie's relationship and the theme of hope to point out the loneliness in the novel. The novel starts off and is set in Soledad which means lonely. At the beginning they get a job working on a farm together. Lennie is a little retarded and has great physical strength that isn't too controllable. As they work from ranch to ranch, Lennie relies on George for guidance and help. Rather than wasting their earnings, they try to save it in the hope of buying a place of their own. While working at one ranch they meet a worker named Candy who tries to help them financially. Before their dream can be fulfilled, Lennie kills the wife of the boss's son. As the novel concludes George must kill Lennie for his own benefit. Later Lennie goes into town and abandons his dream by spending his money.
Mother Theresa once said, "Loneliness is a man's worst poverty." Without friends and companions, people begin to suffer from loneliness and solitude (Dusenbury 38). Loneliness is an inevitable fact of life and cannot be avoided, as shown prevalent through each of the characters in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Each and every character in this novel exhibits loneliness. Lennie was isolated for being mentally handicapped, Candy was isolated for being old and disabled, Crooks was for being black, Curley's wife for being a woman, and George for having to care for Lennie and being unable to socialize with others because of Lennie's consistency of getting into trouble from town to town.
‘Of Mice and Men’ was written by John Steinbeck and published in 1937. The story is based on migrant workers in California during the time of the Great Depression. The Great Depression was caused by the Wall Street Crash in America which effected many business and banks many of which became bankrupt. This resulted in mass unemployment, inflation and economic migration from the city to the countryside. Steinbeck wrote this novel to show what life was like for low-paid, poor workers and to show how the Great Depression effected American people. He represents what life was like for many unprivileged people in 1930s America: migrant workers, women and black Americans.
alone just to try make some money. This was a very bad period in the
Born 1902 in California, John Steinbeck grew up in a hard time for America. The Great Depression hit in 1929, leaving thousands of American people jobless, homeless, and poor. Along with this, the Dust Bowl occurred in 1931, which also killed and starved thousands. During this time period, many people did not have a home, and moved from farm to farm in order to feed themselves. John Steinbeck was one of the hundreds of thousands of migrant farm workers during this time. All of Steinbeck’s books are based off of American history, and migrant farm workers in the eyes of the people. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses the characters Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife to contribute to the overall theme of loneliness.
The great and famous author john Steinbeck once said, “All great and precious things are lonely.” In the Steinbeck book Of Mice and Men, many of the characters show their loneliness in many different ways. Candy, Curley's wife, and Crooks all show perfect examples of how they are lonely. The characters in of mice and men show that loneliness is a problem that must be overcome in order to live a happy, fulfilled life.. all three of these characters know what is feels like to be lonely.
“‘A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is… I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick,” (Steinbeck 73). In this statement, Crooks, a character in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, divulges what effect loneliness can have on a human being. In the novel, the two main characters escape to a ranch where they must face the conflict that seems to follow them. Set in the 1930s during the Great Depression, Steinbeck brilliantly portrays the loneliness and suspicion that was common during the time. Much like in everyday life, we can see the way in which loneliness drives people to become isolated, crave companionship, and refuse to express emotion.
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.
The Great Depression was the period after the stock market crashed (1929). Everyone lost all the money that they had and belongings that were once worth lots, became worthless. Accompanying the Great Depression, was the Dust Bowl. Due to farmers planting the same crops on the same patch of land year after months with no rain, dirt and dust was easily picked up from the ground by wind. This dirt was like a hurricane, but more destructive. People were poor and food was scarce. People resorted to eating dirt and even the once rich were forced to live in shacks in what were called “Hoover towns.” John Steinbeck wrote many books taking place during this time. One of his pieces, Of Mice and Men, is about two migrant farmers, George, a smart, kind
Of Mice and Men was published by John Steinbeck in 1937. The novella is set in Salinas, California during America’s Great Depression which lasted from the Wall Street Crash which began on October 1929 and lasted up to 12 years later when World War II began. The result of the Depression was a lack of secure jobs, which resulted in an increase in the number of travelling workers. The novella of Mice and Men tells us the story of George Milton and Lennie Small two displaced migrant labours that move from place to place for new work.
The book “Of Mice and Men” is a novella written by John Steinbeck. It was set during The Great Depression in the 1930s. The two main characters are George and Lennie. They both travel together and have their dream of owning their own Ranch. Out of the many themes in the book, Steinbeck portrays Loneliness greatly throughout the novella. Some of the characters who feel isolated are George, one of the protagonists, Crooks, a black worker on the ranch, and Curley’s wife. Loneliness is the result from lack of companionship and is an emotional response to isolation.
Throughout the end of the 1930s The Great Depression sent the world into an economic slowdown. Thousand poured money into stock as the market roses vigorously throughout the 1920s. Reaching its peak in 1929 the market crashed and millions went into panic. Americans spread the economic down fall to the rest of the world, resulting in a world wide crisis. More than 20 percent of Americans were unemployed or struggling to keep work. In the novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates the hardships of migrant workers through The Great Depression, and with the use of imagery, symbolism, and allegory Steinbeck uses the characters to represent a larger group. This is shown strongly through the main characters; George, and Lennie, as well as
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.
In the novella, Of Mice and Men, there are several characters that are affected by loneliness throughout the story. One of these characters significantly affected by loneliness is Curley’s Wife. She is affected by loneliness because Curley has never been kind to her and does not spend time with her. This is the reason why she always tries to talk to the other guys at the ranch. Another character that is affected by loneliness is Crooks. Crooks is a lonely character because he has to live in a barn by himself because of being African American. He is affected because he occasionally snaps at innocent people (Lennie). The last character that is affected by loneliness is Candy. The reason Candy is affected because he has a disability and can never
Is there a level of understanding that characters have in the development of this story. The author John Steinbeck was born in February 27, 1902 in the Salinas Valley. He was the only boy of four children. He had a middle class family that lived in a small community. The Salinas Valley would later be the location of many of the short stories and books he published. Both of his parents believed in showing their children culture and often went to San Francisco to see theatre. His family also had a lot of options of books to read at home. Steinbeck went to Stanford University there he majored in English, but he didn’t get a degree. Steinbeck was wedded three times in his life the last time was to a woman named Elaine Scott and that lasted until the death of Steinbeck. He died in 1968. The common emotion felt by most of the characters in Of Mice and Men is loneliness. Being lonely is something none of the men wants to happen and the men being lonely are extremely symbolic. The men don’t want to be by themselves. Neither do they want to be left behind by society. Steinbeck wanted to show how life was during the Great Depression. Steinbeck showed how people remained affected by the misery and what people had to do to make it through the tough times. He showed how people had to make decisions not just for themselves but for the well-being of others.