In “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, George Milton and Lennie Small are two migrant farm workers who travel together during the Great Depression. George is a small but smart man, while Lennie is a big, and strong man. Even though Lennie is mentally disabled, it doesn't stop him from working. George always says that his life would be so much easier without Lennie, but he always refuses when Lennie offers to leave. George and Lennie share the same dream. They share the “American Dream”- to own their own ranch and animals and gain freedom. They arrive at their next ranch and a lot of trouble happens. Lennie, George and Candy, an old handyman with one hand, believe that the “American Dream” is attainable. Curley's wife and Crooks called Lennie …show more content…
“While the numbers of workers in search of work rose during the Depression,the amount of land in production decreased. Moreover, farmers who also faced economic difficulties — falling prices for their crops, higher taxes, and increased debt”(Mapes). This shows that there was not of land that was able to be bought, so George and Lennie might not even have found land to buy or a ranch to tend. “Migrant workers in California who had been making 35 cents per hour in 1928 made only 14 cents per hour in 1933”(Mapes). The Great Depression began in 1929, so this quote proves that as the Great Depression went on, pay got lower and lower. “migrant families during the Depression could expect yearly earnings of between $278 and $500, hundreds of dollars below what experts at the time estimated it would cost a family of four merely to survive” (Mapes). The income for a farm laborer in 1930 was $444 a year; by 1934, the income for a farm laborer went down to $286 a year (Derks). This shows that George and Lennie would not be able to have good lives when it came to money. “The Great Depression then began late in 1929, and unemployment soared over the next four years—to nearly 13 million workers” (Jeffries). George and Lennie might not even have found workers to work their land.
In “Of Mice and Men”, the “American Dream” of owning land is a major theme in the novella. This is because George and
In the 1930s more than 15 million American had no jobs. That is more than 20 percent of the U.S population at that time. The United States was in a bad situation called The Great Depression. There was a lot of poverty since the stock market crashed in 1929. Americans lost their money/savings.
The Great Depression lasted from 1929 to 1941 and juxtaposed some of the best and worst aspects of the human experience. On one hand, the Great Depression destroyed lives; as a result of the Great Depression, millions of people lost their jobs, their homes, and their ways of life. On the other hand, the Great Depression forced people to work together in order to survive; according to Doris Lindberg, “People helped each other.” Additionally, the Great Depression fostered a hardworking, thrifty, and tenacious character among those who survived it. Doris Lindberg is one of the survivors.
When people buy something, they usually focus on what they want rather than what they need. In the 1920’s, people were more focused on luxuries than necessities. Soon after many purchases were made on credit, money and jobs weren’t as easy to come by anymore. This time span of over 10 years was known as the Great Depression, and its effect on the hardworking people of America was unforgettable.
When the Great Depression began in the 1930s the politicians and large business owners in the state of Colorado largely believed that the calamity could not affect them. Their hubris would soon be revealed as the economic crisis eventually reared its ugly head, as conditions unique to the state actually caused Colorado to be devastated. However, government aid programs that benefitted Western states more than the rest of the country, would greatly benefit Colorado; even though these efforts would be resisted by many of the states more well to do residents. , According to our textbook when the Great Depression began most Coloradans would have denied that it was having any effect on them, “Look at the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News,
Document 9, has observed that the chart "U.S Family Income Distribution (1929)," which was the year when the Great Depression starts shows the annual income and the percentage of Ameican Families Earning this Income. If it was over $10,000 the percentage overall was 40% and below it such as $2,000 there was 60% of families lived in or below poverty. The Great Depression hurt all income brackets not just the poor. Indeed, in 1929 the wealthiest 5% of the U.S. received about 33% of income. Furthermore, in document 11, it has been proven the "The Stumbling Block" cartoon has how the farm industry was affected which led to over-production which was the problem.
They are doomed from the start because of Lennie’s fatal flaw—he is developmentally disabled and therefore incapable of bringing the dream to fruition—but his naïveté also allows both him and George to pursue the dream. Lennie’s innocence permits George to believe that the dream might be attainable: “George said softly, ’I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would.’” Lennie is the keeper of the dream; he does not question its inevitable fulfillment, he simply believes. Without this innocence, George would be like all the other ranch hands, wasting his money on whiskey and women, drifting aimlessly from one job to the
The majority of people made under 2,000 dollars a year (Document 9) which was considered the bare minimum to live off of, the buy all of the basic essentials. These people didn’t have any money to spend on luxury items and couldn’t buy on credit. During this time, some companies priced their goods at a higher price than the majority of people made in a year, like boats that were priced anywhere from 10,000 dollars to 35,000 dollars (Document 8). With nobody to buy from them, these businesses were left without a profit and began going bankrupt. An average family before the depression with two people working full time jobs only made around twenty dollars a week (Document 7).
The initial paragraphs of John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men introduces Lennie and George, two men living on the road, in search of a job. Both men have dreams of their own and depend on each other in order to achieve them. George takes care of Lennie, who is mentally incapable, while Lennie provides company to George. These men wander around hoping to achieve the American Dream. They continue to go after it, without realizing that they will never be able to obtain it.
Everyone aspires to achieve the American Dream: an opportunity to be successful by working hard. Throughout the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the American Dream brings hope for a better life for those who hold onto it. George Milton and Lennie Smalls, traveling ranch workers called bindle stiffs, dream of owning their own piece of land where they create the rules. They are not the only characters with hopes and dreams. But Steinbeck shows the American Dream is, in fact, sometimes just a dream through the hopes and actions of Lennie, Candy, and Curley’s wife.
George and Lennie, prominent characters in the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, are migrant workers—men who move from place to place to do seasonal work— who end up in California and are faced with numerous problems. Set in the era of the great depression, the story of Lennie and George, two very different men who have formed a family-like union, takes place on a farm where Lennie struggles to stay out of trouble. Having committed an unintentional, harmful act, Lennie is faces severe consequences; and George must decide to make a necessary decision which changes the mood of the entire novel. By the comparison and contrast of George and Lennie, unique characters who are very different from each other, the reader can better acquaint himself
The novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck is a gripping tale of two men and their lives during the Great Depression. George Milton and Lennie Small are two migrant workers who travel together finding work. They take on a new job “bucking barley” at a ranch in central California for the ranch owner and his son. While working at the ranch they encounter Curley the ranch owner’s son and his wife, a flirtatious woman. The story reaches a climax when Lennie unintentionally kills Curley’s wife and runs back to the Salinas River just as George instructed.
Throughout the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the theme of the unrealized dream is displayed through characters such as Lennie, George, Candy, and Curley’s wife. The unrealized dream, also known as the American Dream, is portrayed differently for a few different characters in the book. Best friends George and Lennie have a shared dream which is to have a serene farm ranch, even if it is small, with a mediocre house, a rabbit pen, and a garden where they can grow their own vegetables and herbs. They long to live independently away from rude bosses and harsh ranches. This is seen differently for a character such as Candy who only wants to keep his job even though he is disabled.
In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the era of the Great Depression in the 1930’s is revealed through a simple story of ranch workers who hope to improve their lives. Migrant workers, George and Lennie, have a friendship that is based on trust and protection. The other workers lack the companionship and bond that these two men have. In the novel, the absence and presence of friendship is the motivation for the characters’ actions.
Throughout the course of history the Great Depression affected the United States in their economy , it lasted 10 years it was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world. Lennie and George had numerous of risks in the ranches, they didn't have no one who would help them if they were sick or anything else. The author show us the good relationship of Lennie and George how they care of each other. This shows that George is a good friend but maybe this is not his decision to take care of him he feels sorry for him, I also seen in this text that Lennie receives benefits of George friendship because he is being responsible for him he takes care of him, even though he is a trouble maker George is there for Lennie.
Since 1931 when James Truslow Adams first created the phrase “the American Dream”, people believed that America continuously offered everyone an equal opportunity to be successful. John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, was set during the Great Depression. Farms were struck hard during the Depression, and the two main characters George and Lennie were farm hands during this time. They had experienced the misunderstandings of other farm hands in terms of Lennie’s mental disability, but they were trying to earn enough money to buy their own farm. The idea of this farm drove Lennie and George to keep working, and like many others during this time they hoped to achieve this dream.