A Brief Introduction to John Steinbeck

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A Brief Introduction to John Steinbecks Of Mice
and Men
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Objectives

• By then end of todays class, I will have a
  better understanding of
• The Great Depression and the 1930s
• The characteristics of a novel
• The historical and literary context of Of Mice
  and Men by John Steinbeck

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The Great Depression
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1929-1939

• Stock market crashed on October 29, 1929
• Known as Black Friday
• While it was devastating, most people didnt
  realize the effect it would have the country
• One of the biggest problems was that there was no
  money to replenish what had already been borrowed

Consequently, many people found themselves broke
and humiliated.
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To Understand the 1930s

• one must know a little bit about

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The Roaring 20s

• The new concept of credit
• People were buying
• Automobiles
• Appliances
• Clothes
• Fun times reigned
• Dancing
• Flappers
• Drinking

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So, why was this bad?

• Credit system
• People didnt really have the money they were
  spending
• WWI
• The U.S. was a major credit loaner to other
  nations in need
• Many of these nations could not pay us back

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The Stock Market

• People bought stocks on margins
• If a stock is 100 you could pay 10 now and the
  rest later when the stock rose
• Stocks fall
• But when the stock falls, you have less than 100
  and no money to pay back the extra you owe

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To Make Matters Worse.

• People started panicking about their money, and
  investors tried to sell their stocks
• This lead to a huge decline in stocks
• Stocks became worthless virtually overnight
• People who bought on margins now could not pay
  their debts
• Additionally, the investors were simply average
  people who became very broke people.

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And Then there was Hoover.

• Herbert Hoover, who was president at the start of
  the Great Depression had an interesting
  philosophy
• Dont worry, well make it!
• So, heres what he did to help solve the problem
• Nothing
• The poor were looking for help and had no ideas
  on how to find it

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What about the People?

• Farmers felt the effects nearly
• immediately
• Prices of crops went down
• Many farms foreclosed
• People could not afford luxuries
• Factories shut down
• Businesses had to close
• Banks could not give people back their money
• People could not pay their taxes
• Schools shut down due to lack of funds
• Many families became homeless and had to live in
  shanties

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Many people waited in unemployment lines hoping
for a job.
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People in cities would wait in line for bread to
bring to their family.
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Some families were forced to relocate because
they had no money.
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Hooverville

• Some families were forced to live in shanty towns
• A grouping of shacks and tents in vacant lots
• They were referred to as Hooverville because of
  President Hoovers lack of help during the
  depression.

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And then, came the DUST.
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The Dust Bowl
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The Dust Bowl
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The Dust Bowl
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The South was Buried

• Due to severe drought and high wind storms, crops
  turned to dust. This meant there was no food to
  be sent out
• Homes were buried
• Fields blew away
• The South was in state of emergency
• Dust Bowl the 1 weather crisis of the 20th
  century

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Two Families During the Depression
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A Farm Foreclosure
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California here we come

• The road taken to California is still we
  travelled Route 66

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California here we come
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California here we come
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Tough Times
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Tough Times
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Tough Times
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Migrant Workers on the road again
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Migrant Workers on the road again
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Migrant Workers on the road again
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Then, a Hero Emerged from the Dust and Darkness

• When he was inaugurated unemployment had
  increased by 7 million.
• Poor sections, like Harlem, had a 50
  unemployment rate
• FDR initiated the New Deal

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What you MUST Remember is

• People everywhere were effected by the depression
• It wasnt until President Roosevelt took over and
  tried to put the economy back together that
  people even saw a glimmer of hope

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Of Mice and Men
a novel by John Steinbeck
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A little bit aboutGenre

• Genre is a French term derived from the Latin
  genus, generis, meaning "type," "sort," or
  "kind."
• It designates the literary form or type into
  which works are classified according to what they
  have in common, either in structure or in subject
  matter, or both.
• The study of genres may be of value in three
  ways
• On the simplest level, grouping literature into
  genres offers us an orderly way to talk about an
  otherwise bewildering number of literary texts.
• More importantly, if we recognize the genre of a
  text, we may also have a better idea of its
  intended overall structure and/or subject.
• Finally, a genre approach can deepen our sense of
  the value of any single text, by allowing us to
  view it comparatively, alongside many other texts
  of its type.

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The Basics

• Of Mice and Men is a novel a fiction narrative
  written in prose that was first published in
  1937
• Lennie and George are the protagonists, while
  Curley, 1930s society, and the cruel, predatory
  nature of life serve as the antagonists
• The story is told by a third person omniscient
  narrator who can access the point of view of any
  character in the narrative
• The story chronicles the travel of two of Dust
  Bowl migrants - George and Lenny, who is based on
  a real person.
• George and Lennie had worked on other farms, but
  had continuously been fired because of Lennys
  actions.
• They dream of buying their own land and being
  their own bosses.

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A little bit about The Novel

• A novel can be defined as prose fiction over
  50,000 words.
• Novels differ from short stories in their length
  and their emphasis on character development.
• Novels often strive to depict and interpret human
  character with one or two well-rounded
  characters.
• Commonly, the a novels purpose it to entertain
  and to give its readers a deeper understanding of
  life's problems.
• One major characteristic of the novel is realism
  a full and authentic report of human life.
• Additionally, novels have a cohesive and
  believable plot structure, sharply individualized
  and believable characters, and an inclusive
  portrayal of reality

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The Setting
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The Movie
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The Author

• John Steinbeck
• 1902-1968
• Born in Salinas, California
• Enrolled in Stanford University in 1919, but
  never earned a degree
• Steinbeck worked the fields while in college
  picking strawberries, lettuce, sugar beets and
  broccoli
• Published his first book Cup of Gold (1929),
  received first literary success in his book
  Tortilla Flats (1935)
• awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962

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John Steinbeck
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Any Questions?
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Please open your books to page one