Of mice and men
Of Mice and Men revision
Social and Historical context: 1930s America
Of Mice and Men is written against the backdrop of a troubled America
The Great Depression began in 1929 – lasted 10 years. Severe economic slump. Businesses lost everything meaning mass unemployment. (25% of population unemployed.)
Terrible drought lasting 10 years hit 27 states and meant farmland became a dustbowl.
Many farmers lost their land or had to sell it cheaply.
Farmers had to travel to look for work (economic migrants)
As there were lots of desperate workers, employers at ranches exploited them by offering very low wages.
Workers slept in barns known as bunkhouses.
Mechanisation meant fewer jobs.
Racial segregation a fact of life.
The American Dream
"The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.”
It basically was the belief that every (white person) in America had the right to:
Property
Education
Opportunity
Freedom
Dignity
In ‘Of Mice and Men’, this idea of the ‘American Dream’ is questioned and scrutinised. Is it really the land of opportunity and freedom for everyone, or is this all a lie or dream that will never happen?
George and Lennie’s American Dream:
Unlike others on the ranch, George and Lennie dream of escape and a different future. Lennie enjoys George telling him about ‘how it will be’, even though he has heard it many times before. George does this both in the opening chapter and the final chapter, which shows how important it is.
To “live off the fatta the lan”
To own and their own farm, living of the produce
To be their own boss
To have control over what they do and when they do it
To have somewhere they can call home.
To be free to have rabbits
Their dream represents hope of a better life. During the novel, other characters begin to believe in this dream. But does the author ultimately believe
Social and Historical context: 1930s America
Of Mice and Men is written against the backdrop of a troubled America
The Great Depression began in 1929 – lasted 10 years. Severe economic slump. Businesses lost everything meaning mass unemployment. (25% of population unemployed.)
Terrible drought lasting 10 years hit 27 states and meant farmland became a dustbowl.
Many farmers lost their land or had to sell it cheaply.
Farmers had to travel to look for work (economic migrants)
As there were lots of desperate workers, employers at ranches exploited them by offering very low wages.
Workers slept in barns known as bunkhouses.
Mechanisation meant fewer jobs.
Racial segregation a fact of life.
The American Dream
"The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.”
It basically was the belief that every (white person) in America had the right to:
Property
Education
Opportunity
Freedom
Dignity
In ‘Of Mice and Men’, this idea of the ‘American Dream’ is questioned and scrutinised. Is it really the land of opportunity and freedom for everyone, or is this all a lie or dream that will never happen?
George and Lennie’s American Dream:
Unlike others on the ranch, George and Lennie dream of escape and a different future. Lennie enjoys George telling him about ‘how it will be’, even though he has heard it many times before. George does this both in the opening chapter and the final chapter, which shows how important it is.
To “live off the fatta the lan”
To own and their own farm, living of the produce
To be their own boss
To have control over what they do and when they do it
To have somewhere they can call home.
To be free to have rabbits
Their dream represents hope of a better life. During the novel, other characters begin to believe in this dream. But does the author ultimately believe