Of Mice and Men

1
Of Mice and Men

• By John Steinbeck

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John Steinbeck

• Born and raised in Salinas area, the setting of
  this and other stories.
• Attended Stanford, left to find work.
• Did some work on a company owned farm.
• Moved to NYC to work in journalism fired
  because he was too subjective.

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The Salinas Valley
Salinas Valley still called The Lettuce Belt.
Soledad home to large farms to this dayas well
as a prison.
Monterey once housed a tremendous fish canning
industry, setting for Cannery Row (now a tourist
zone).
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Events in History at the time of the story.

• The Great Depression over 30 of US workers
  unemployed.
• The Dust Bowl Midwest US ravaged by dust storms,
  farms destroyed.
• Most farms owned by large companies,staffed with
  seasonal, migrant farm workerssound familiar?

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Life of a bindlestiff

• Migrant workers carried beds and belongings in a
  bundle.
• Most Hispanic, Asian. OMM focus is on white
  worker.
• Average wage about 2.50/day, or about 600/year.
• Workers lived in bunkhouses.
• Most lived job-to-job, many spending earnings on
  bars and brothels instead of saving.

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Women in Depression era camps

• Treated as property, little freedom
• Confined to domesticity
• Roles changing
• Right to vote comes, so does opportunity

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Mentally Disabled

• No tolerance. General public frightened.
• Marriage disallowed segregation and
  sterilization common (a practice later adopted by
  Hitler).
• Rights not granted until 1975, 1990, and 1997.
• Lennie an exception due to Georges presence.

8
Racial Tension and Vigilante Justice

• Segregation was still a function of life in
  California.
• Racially motivated lynching common.
• Mob violence high, vigilante groups common.

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Sources

• Steinbeck dropped out of Stanford, worked on
  ranches and farms.
• Robert Burns poem To a Mouse. The best-laid
  schemes o' mice an 'men Gang aft agley,

Structure

• Play format 3 acts of two chapters
• Objective tone like a newspaper
• Takes place across three days

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Themes

• Idealism vs Reality
• Alienation, loneliness, and poverty
• Race and Racism
• Class conflict
• Mental Disability
• Loyalty
• Friendship