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Itinerant Workers

Farmers were usually less affected than the rest of the population during depressions because they were able to grow their own food; however, during the Great Depression, there was also the Dust Bowl – drought and dust storms swept across several states in mid-west America. This resulted in crops being very poor in these areas, which was coupled with falling prices for food. Small farmers were affected particularly badly by these conditions. Many small farmers were in debt because they would borrow money from banks to buy seeds and then pay back the loans when the crops came in; during the Dust Bowl, farmers could not pay back these loans and could also not afford to feed themselves and their families. In worst case scenarios, this led to banks repossessing farms, making the farmers and their families homeless.

As a result, many farmers migrated to California to look for work, as this state was perceived to have spare land and a lot of work. However, because so many people moved to California (an estimated 1.3 million), work was not so easy to find. Ranch workers like George and Lennie often moved from one place to another looking for work, as jobs on ranches would be temporary and seasonal. Wages for men like these were low and jobs were scarce, so the lifestyle that they lived was very insecure. Without work, people would have no way of supporting themselves. This is why the dream is so important to George and Lennie: it would give them a sense of safety and independence.

African Americans in the 1930s

Although all Americans were affected by the Great Depression, African Americans were hit the hardest. It is thought that by the end of 1932, 50% of black Americans were unemployed. In some cities in the northern states, white people called for black people to be fired from their jobs due to unemployment in the white communities. African-Americans received less aid than their white counterparts and were sometimes even not allowed to use charity soup kitchens.

Racism increased during the Great Depression and racial violence, which had been decreasing, rose again during the economic downturn. Although Crooks has a stable job, his character reflects the discrimination that many black Americans had to endure during this period in the USA.

The Book’s title

The title of the book Of Mice and Men comes from a poem by Scottish poet Robbie Burns in the 18^th century. The poem is written in Scots dialect:

The poem is about a mouse who builds a nest in a wheat field ready for the winter, but this is destroyed by a ploughman. The lines above mean The best laid plans of mice and men/Often go wrong/And leave us with nothing but grief and pain/Instead of the joy that was promised. This is linked to the events of Of Mice and Men because George and Lennie’s plan for happiness and safety is also destroyed, leading to pain and suffering at the end of the novel.