History Of And Mice and Men
Author:
- Written by John Steinbeck in 1937
- The setting is in the Mid-Depression Era in America
- Much of Salinas, California (where he grew up) is part of the setting of the book
-
Historical Events at the Time:
- 1929: Financial Crisis
- 1931: Banks and Factories close, Framing collapses
- 1933: Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes president
- 1936: The ‘New Deal’ (support for unemployment)
- 1937: Of Mice and Men is published
The Great Depression:
- On October 29 1929, the stock market crashed which triggered The Great
Depression, he worst economic collapse in the history of the modern industrial
world.
- It spread from the US to the rest of the world, lasting from the end of 1929 to the
early 1940s.
- Banks failed and businesses closed which left 15 million Americans unemployed (one
quarter of the workforce)
- The Depression also led to a drop in the market price of farm crops which meant in
order to make the same amount of money farmers needed to produce more crops.
The Dust Bowl:
- The increase of farming on the Great Plains states caused the soil they had to erode
- A erosion as well as the seven year drought which occurred in 1931 turned fertile
grasslands into a desert like region.
- During the Great Depression economic and ecological forces brought many rural and
poor agricultural workers from the great plains states (Kansas, Texas etc.) to
California
- Hundreds of thousands farmers headed to California due to the states mild climate
which promised a longer growing season and with soil favourable to a wider range of
crops, it offered more opportunities to harvest. But this wasn’t the case.
Why is the title: Of Mice and Men?
- It was inspired by a poem written by Robert Burns which stated: ‘The best laid
schemes o’ mice an ‘men/ Gang aft agley. This means that no matter how hard or
well we plan for something, our plans can often fail to become reality, or worse…
they can go terribly wrong.
- Though the story is fictional it is deeply rooted in historical fact.
Author:
- Written by John Steinbeck in 1937
- The setting is in the Mid-Depression Era in America
- Much of Salinas, California (where he grew up) is part of the setting of the book
-
Historical Events at the Time:
- 1929: Financial Crisis
- 1931: Banks and Factories close, Framing collapses
- 1933: Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes president
- 1936: The ‘New Deal’ (support for unemployment)
- 1937: Of Mice and Men is published
The Great Depression:
- On October 29 1929, the stock market crashed which triggered The Great
Depression, he worst economic collapse in the history of the modern industrial
world.
- It spread from the US to the rest of the world, lasting from the end of 1929 to the
early 1940s.
- Banks failed and businesses closed which left 15 million Americans unemployed (one
quarter of the workforce)
- The Depression also led to a drop in the market price of farm crops which meant in
order to make the same amount of money farmers needed to produce more crops.
The Dust Bowl:
- The increase of farming on the Great Plains states caused the soil they had to erode
- A erosion as well as the seven year drought which occurred in 1931 turned fertile
grasslands into a desert like region.
- During the Great Depression economic and ecological forces brought many rural and
poor agricultural workers from the great plains states (Kansas, Texas etc.) to
California
- Hundreds of thousands farmers headed to California due to the states mild climate
which promised a longer growing season and with soil favourable to a wider range of
crops, it offered more opportunities to harvest. But this wasn’t the case.
Why is the title: Of Mice and Men?
- It was inspired by a poem written by Robert Burns which stated: ‘The best laid
schemes o’ mice an ‘men/ Gang aft agley. This means that no matter how hard or
well we plan for something, our plans can often fail to become reality, or worse…
they can go terribly wrong.
- Though the story is fictional it is deeply rooted in historical fact.
