In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck presents a society entirely dominated by the idea of capitalism. Explore the novel in the light of this statement.

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‘In ‘Of Mice and Men’,         Steinbeck presents a society entirely dominated by the idea of capitalism.’ Explore the novel in the light of this statement. America in the 1930s- completely torn at the hinges, socially, economically and politically.   This was of course, the monumental Great Depression. Steinbeck took great inspiration from this period,  spending time with a group of migrant workers exiled by the Dust Bowl for a San Francisco News series. He felt passionately about the in just of this situation, "They are men who have worked hard on their own farms and have felt the pride of possessing and living in close touch with the land.” From this, we can see the links between his experiences, and those within the ranch in the novel. The ranch is the man made habitat in which all the inhabitants feel
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entrapped by rules, regulations and ownership: this was, for most at that time, reality. In this setting there are distinguished areas for certain people- Curley, the Bourgeoisie lives in a house, the workers, the proletariat, live in a bunk house, and Crooks lives in cave. This segregation creates the image of finite and deliberate sectioning and stages of class—almost a labeling of conditions for the deserving and undeserving. The proletariat and entrenched in boundaries and restriction. ‘The bunk hose was a long, rectangular building. Inside, the walls were whitewashed and the floor unpainted… ‘Against the walls were eight bunks, five ...

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