The Worst Hard Time Analysis

For hundreds of years women have been restricted to roles tied to the household and family, while the men have been deemed the breadwinners or sole income for the family and household. During the 1930s, the United States went through an economic crisis known as the Great Depression caused by the crash of the stock market and affected families across the country. During this time, Oklahoma, Texas, and a few surrounded states were hit by massive dust storms that swept across acres of farmland and agriculture, nicknaming this time the “Dirty Thirties”(wiki). The storms occurred because the states were experiencing a drought and the farmers were unaware of how to properly care for their land under these conditions, causing clouds of dust to surround

This shows how awful life was during the great depression and the Dust Bowl. The 1930’s were a tough time, especially for the farmers who lost theirs farms and for the many children who died from the dust. The Dust Bowl was caused by modern farming tools and the large number of unprepared and unprotected farms. It is said that "In 1931, dust from the seriously over-plowed and over-grazed prairie lands began to blow. And, it continued to blow for eight long, dry years.

These dust storms, largely due to severe drought and wind erosion, caused many farmers in the prairies to experience extreme poverty for as long as eight years. In an effort to escape the storms, starvation, and poverty many farmers and their families left their farms to look for work and food elsewhere as a means of survival. Migrant workers on the other hand were compromised by the overwhelming number of the unemployed during the depression. Largely these migrant workers worked as migrant farm workers planting and harvesting crops, moving throughout the seasons. Due to low wages, high poverty, and transient lifestyle migrant

During the Great Depression a Midwestern phenomenon called the Dust Bowl affected many lives of newly settled Americans throughout the Great Plains region. Otherwise known as the “Dirty Thirties”, a storm of dry weather caused farmers and villagers to abandon their homes in hope to survive the deadly threat of the storm. The Dust Bowl was a big contributing factor to the Great Depression agriculturally, and economically. During the 1930’s America suffered extreme temperatures. A drought forming across all farm lands due to failure of successful crop rotation cause dust to form.

Also known as the dirty thirties, The dust bowl years were the years that dust storms greatly damaged thousands of homes, lives, and the economy. Originally the Dust Bowl was the name given from the Great Plains region, consumed by the so called drought in the 1930’s. Many who had gone through the Dust Bowl; pointed fingers at the dought, little did they know that The Dust Bowl originally was caused by heavy mechanism, and heavy mechanism came from farmers over doing farms. The Dust Bowl was held responsible for the dust storms in parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Looks like the grim reaper had other plans. Many colonists died in Jamestown, Virginia due to lack of fresh water amestown colonists experienced a drought in the first few years before the indians helped them, (Document B). They experienced drought from about 1561-1576,(Document B)This statement proves they had drought (which means lack of water). Settlers in Jamestown called winter the “starving time” because so many died due to

Drought is a very serious loss. It is logic if farmers cannot produce as they did once, then, what is everyone supposed to eat? This is not just about not having money to eat, this is about not having enough aliment to feed everyone. Therefore, we can assume that people got ill, and in addition to that, they did not have enough money to cover expenses such as hospitals bills and medicine. Daniels, P. tells about John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath, which describes the situation of the regions affected by the “dust storms”.

The drastic drop in population, created a dramatically increase in wages, a fall in food supplies, change in medicine, and an undetermined mindset of religion. As food prices began to drop, and the need for food supplies decreased, landowners where finding it more and more difficult to make ends meets. These effects led to an end in the once great manorial system of Europe, and adapted peasants from farmers to the urban life. Doctors treating the disease soon became infected, and killed off most physicians treating this disease. This caused an awakening in the medical field, as physicians where viewed as a failure.

This not only weakens the family unit and their morale, but mirrors the degradation of the land during the drought. This example of foreshadowing in an intercalary chapter forces the reader to think critically about both the effects of the drought and the status of the Joad family throughout their

Another big factor of the Dust Bowl was the drought. The National Drought Migration Center that is in Nebraska said: "Many crops were damaged by deficient rainfall, high temperatures, and high winds, as well as insect infestations and dust storms that accompanied these conditions" (University of Nebraska). Nebraska was hit hard by the dust storms and was and is still a big farming community, the drought feed the effects of the Dust Bowl hugely, with high temperatures, dying crops, insect problems and of course the giant dust storms. These things made it extremely hard to live there and to farm, this drove people out for the land looking for new work and frankly, a less dusty place. The drought made it hard to go to school, to make dinner, it made people sick and combined with the over plowing of the topsoil it made dust storms unforgettable to

In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck portrays the hardships workers faced during the Great Depression. George Milton, who is one of these workers, struggles to achieve his dream. George dreams of owning his own ranch, however the Great Depression and his relationship with Lennie make it a difficult endeavor. George dreams of living on his own ranch where he can be self-reliant

The rise and fall of the Populist party all started when farmers from all over the nation gathered together and addressed some common problems that they were facing. Farmers were stuck in a bad economic cycle. Prices for their crops were falling, and unfortunately farmers often had to mortgage their farms so that they could buy more land and produce more crops in order to “flourish”. There was very little suitable land to farm and cultivate and banks were foreclosing on the mortgages of farmers who could not make the payments on their loans. Moreover, the railroads were being taken advantage of farmers by charging excessive prices for shipping and storage.

New Historicism and The Grapes of Wrath The sun disappeared, next crops disappeared, then the people disappeared. Consequently, cause of everything disappearing, is because of the Dust Bowl which occurred in the 1930s caused people to flee from their homes to a state which they were not familiar with. In addition to, the Dust Bowl affected 75% of families due to the drought. For the most part; the Dust Bowl hit the farmers, due to a little rainfall and high winds the farmers could not grow any crops.

Because of the little money the farmers were making many were forced to leave and find work elsewhere. One-fourth of the people who lived in the Dust Bowl left the region. Many of them had skills beyond farming, and when they didn’t find work they suffered extreme poverty.(UXL Encyclopedia of Weather and Natural Disasters. Ed. Amy Hackney Blackwell and Elizabeth Manor.)(p223-225).

In a vicious circle, their farm machinery increased their output of grain, lowered the price, and drove them even deeper into debt. In 1890, many farmers lost land due to mortgages. Farmer then began sharecropping in order to survive. Water scarcity and over-used land made it hard for farmers to pay local taxes.