Embedded Files
What do you know about the historical and cultural context surrounding John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men?
What do you know about the historical and cultural context surrounding John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men?
In the 1920s the American economy was booming but it went bust in 1929! The 1930's saw America face economic depression, poverty and social inequalities, all of which are evident in the novel Of Mice and Men.
Boom! Low inflation, low unemployment, low interest rates!
Bust! The American stock market crashed leading to unemployment, homelessness and poverty. A rise in mechanisation led to land agricultural labourers being driven off the land. In search of work, many migrated west to California. California began to fill up with refugee camps.
Drought and over farming began to reduce the amount of fertile land. Land owners started to go bankrupt and banks began to repossessed - banks began to collapse!
Narrator Andy Kershaw explores what life was like for 1920s migrant workers and the autobiographical nature of John Steinbeck's novel. Rolling Californian landscapes and acoustic country music accompany a reading from the opening of the novel. 'The Golden State' is summarised as a place where fortunes are made and where the American Dream can come true to encapsulate the spirit of the novel and the naivety of its protagonists. A summary of the isolating nature of migrant work and an insight into life in America in the 1920s is given. We hear factual evidence about the life of John Steinbeck and the autobiographical nature of the novel, including a statement from Dr Susan Shillinglaw from the Center for Steinbeck Studies. The novel's title, origins, and how it summarises the hopelessness of man's situation are examined.
THE DUST BOWL:
Contrast with images of the Salinas Valley and the Gabilan Mountains!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zgdr82p/revision/2
Click on the link above and make notes!
Of+Mice+and+Men+– Context.pdfBASIC POINTS WE EXPECT TO SEE IN YOUR ESSAY
BASIC POINTS WE EXPECT TO SEE IN YOUR ESSAY
Title of from Robert Burns poem ‘To a Mouse’ - “gang aft agley” - plans often go wrong
1920S ‘boom time’ in America - low inflation, low employment, low interest rates - people enjoyed a high standard of living
1930s America was a time of economic depression, poverty, social inequality
Great Depression (1930s) - American stock market crash in 1929/ thousands invested and lost money/ banks were forced to shut down - millions unemployed
Farmers were hit badly/ many forced to leave home and move to another area - typical to find men travelling looking for work
Increasing mechanisation drove labourers off the land
Drought in the 1930s combined with over farming created the ‘Dust Bowl’ wherein farmland became desert like and unsuitable for crops
Steinbeck himself worked on ranches whilst at university
The novel is part of Steinbeck’s ‘Dustbowl Trilogy’.
OMAM is set on a ranch in California and although this is fictional, Weed and Soledad are real places.
America Dream - an important part of American’s cultural identity
The Declaration of Independence - “all men are created equal…” the American Dream meant different things to different people but the
Franklin D Roosevelt elected President in 1932 created new optimism with his ’New Deal’ that three aims of relief, recovery and reform.
Hollywood in the 1920s boasted a multi million dollar industry - films were developing colour and sounds and film stars were becoming famous and earning fortunes
1930s America was racist and Crooks’ experience is typical; racist language was common, segregation existed and racist violence, such as lynching, was common.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse