“My life now depended upon my finding work, and I was so anxious that I accepted the first offer, a job as a porter in a clothing store selling cheap goods to Negroes on credit.” (179) Another evident hunger in Richard was his hunger for money. Without his income, his family could often not make the rent and they would have to move. This put enormous amounts of pressure on Richard to be able to get enough money for the rent. “’I’ve no money. I’m going to work.’”(176) In this quote, Richard shows how desperate yet determined he is for money to help his family and survive.
In addition unemployment rates were high and pension rates decreased; making life hard especially for the middle class. Many men left their families and travelled across the country to find work and support their families. But life was harder for black men as they were seen as savage animals and were not wanted; reflecting the hardship of coloured men in the 1930's. The title 'Of Mice and Men' was taken from a famous poem written by Robert Burns. ...read more.
During the Great Depression many working men became migrant workers. This means they had to travel from place to place to find work. Sometimes men were able enough to make enough money for their dream job, while others were not. John Steinbeck uses a circular plot structure in Of Mice and Men to show the dead end existence or working men during the Great Depression. In the story the main characters are George and Lennie.
Awakening out of the American Dream Our lives are rooted deep within the promise of the American Dream, but for many people, this dream never achieves reality. The current trend in economic recession and enormous unemployment rate parallel those of the Great Depression of the 1930s when the lack of available jobs forced a large population of workers out on the street. Despite the economic woes, many people still find themselves holding on to the basic hope of the American Dream and continue to fight for what they believe in. The characters George and Lennie in John Steinbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men” epitomize this human struggle to hold on to the American Dream while they face the reality of life. Due to Lennie’s mental problem, both he and
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is based on these events; Great Depression, Dust Bowl, and the New Deal. The main character Tom Joad comes back from prison only to find an abandoned barren farm home. His family was hit by the Dust Bowl and they had to leave with no profit coming in. These events put everyone in hard economic times, even fictional characters. The Joads, characters in the novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, are put through struggles because of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, but become stronger because they are able to survive.
Due to the Great Depression America was made a very dangerous place for many different types of people. These types of people include George and Lennie, who are working class itinerants seeking a job on a ranch to gain enough money to make a living. Throughout their time at the ranch they come across a number of different dangers, and others who are also in very difficult and dangerous positions because of how they are seen in American society in the 1930s during the Great Depression. Curly is seen as an immediate danger to both George and Lennie due to his aggressive personality and his important ranking in the ranch. He is a professional 'Lightweight' Boxer and as he is physically quite small he makes himself seem bigger by wearing a Stetson hat and high boots giving him a more powerful and influential look.
This portrays that he is confident around women and is not scared of curly even though he is the boss’s son. Curly’s wife does not mind as she craves for the attention of the other men as she doesn’t receive it from her own husband. Another good quality slim posses is the understanding of friendship, When George tells Slim that him and Lennie travel together, Slim seems abit shocked , “Maybe everybody in the whole damned world is scared of each other’’ This conveys that there is a problem in society in those days and people find it hard to travel together due to a lack of trust so that’s why ‘’scared of each other’’ is said. Slim possess the knowledge of knowing what is wrong with society and understands it so that’s why he doesn’t find George and Lennie travelling together a bad thing. That could have been one of his roles In the novel to critise society because people are only known to travel together or don’t have anyone to travel with.
Of Mice and Men Setting On a broader scale, it’s important that the action takes place during the Great Depression. Accordingly, the people that populate this novella are mostly all poor and desperate for work. Because of the poverty and general tough times caused by the Depression, the characters have good reason to be suspicious and distrusting of each other, feeling that there isn’t enough food, money, and work to go around. If you wanted to think creatively, this air of distrust and isolation is central to the American Depression and seems to be a set piece in this work. The friendship between Lennie and George seems all the more remarkable set against this backdrop, and the end of the friendship means that distrust and isolation will
In the novella Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, there are many characters who feel both lonely and hopeless, but are still in search of a light. He or she has a chance to fight and win their biggest dreams, so there should be no reason to back down from a huge purpose to have hope and happiness. During the Great Depression, men and women have been moving everywhere in a search of a single hope that can have a meaning in his or her life. People have been through a lot
The enormous unemployment disrupted family structure as it forced the male provider shamefully into bread lines. This readjustment of household work struck tension into millions of families, desperately trying to survive poverty and hunger. President Roosevelt's New Deal, contributing a roller coaster of hopefulness and misery could not fill every gap the Depression widened. Needing an escape and a sense of control, these disappointed families turned to any (inexpensive) relief and entertainment society could give. Thus, Hollywood industries picked up where the New Deal fell short.