What does the novel 'Of mice and men' tell you about the
Way of life and social attitudes at this time in America?
'Of mice and men' was set in the 1930's which was during the time of the Great Depression where there was high unemployment and harsh poverty. This novel explores several themes that are relevant to attitudes in America at that time and deal with issues such as The Depression and its consequences, the American dream, racism, discrimination and the treatment of women that bring about loneliness.
The main characters in this novel are George and Lennie who believe in the American dream thinking that if they work hard enough they will one day have their own land and a house to live in. Due to the Depression many workers had to travel around searching for work. They were paid low wages as they were unskilled, but many hoped to one day realise the American Dream, however, very few were able to achieve this and as such there is much loneliness in this story caused by this itinerant lifestyle: 'Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world.' Many of the characters suffer from loneliness including Curley's wife who is treated badly by her husband who never spends any time with her and beats her, Curley mentioned he kept his 'glove fulla Vaseline'.
There's several racial comments in this novel and Crooks who is black becomes isolated as none of the white guys on the ranch want to be around him, he's banned with playing games with them and is called a 'nigger'. Discrimination is another topic that is common in the story for old age, disabled and women as they are only seen as raising children or being used for sex.
The characters show that it is set during the depression because some of them have dreams, this is called 'the American dream', which took place during the depression. The American dream was used to give people hope. They also show that it is the time of depression because they are all usually unhappy and sad, and there are a lot of arguments and fights. There are many areas of the book that shows how the Great Depression has taken its toll on the characters. When Lennie wants ketchup for his beans, George says "There's enough beans for four men," Lennie watched him from over the fire. He said patiently, "I like 'em with ketchup." "Well we ain't got any," George exploded. This shows despite their friendship they are still vulnerable to worthless arguments that are unnecessary but still happen because they are under great pressure caused by the depression. This further emphasises the fact that they are labourers. The men that worked on the ranches were migrant workers, they did not carry much about them apart from the bare essentials. The reason for this was that, as they were moving, sometimes to other states in order to find work, they did not want to be lumbered with more than they could carry easily. Also it could simply indicate that they could not afford any ketchup. That would have been a luxury and at times like these, luxuries were in short order. Further still, it says that the mattresses that were used by the ranchers were merely burlap sacks filled with straw. This shows that comfort was not an issue during this time as burlap was canvas, which would have been very rough and uncomfortable. Again, this could simply indicate that the owner of the ranch could not afford anything better as money could have been in such short order, which could be a sign of depression. Another example of Depression and unhappiness is when Candy's dog gets shot. "Got no teeth," Carlson said. "He's all stiff with rheumatism. He ain't no good to you, Candy. An' he ain't no good to himself. Why'n't you shoot him Candy?" Later on Carlson shoots him in the back of the head. This shows us that life in the 1930's was unpleasant and not many people knew the meaning of true friendship. It also shows us that people that lived in that time were very selfish and didn't care about other people's feelings.
Way of life and social attitudes at this time in America?
'Of mice and men' was set in the 1930's which was during the time of the Great Depression where there was high unemployment and harsh poverty. This novel explores several themes that are relevant to attitudes in America at that time and deal with issues such as The Depression and its consequences, the American dream, racism, discrimination and the treatment of women that bring about loneliness.
The main characters in this novel are George and Lennie who believe in the American dream thinking that if they work hard enough they will one day have their own land and a house to live in. Due to the Depression many workers had to travel around searching for work. They were paid low wages as they were unskilled, but many hoped to one day realise the American Dream, however, very few were able to achieve this and as such there is much loneliness in this story caused by this itinerant lifestyle: 'Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world.' Many of the characters suffer from loneliness including Curley's wife who is treated badly by her husband who never spends any time with her and beats her, Curley mentioned he kept his 'glove fulla Vaseline'.
There's several racial comments in this novel and Crooks who is black becomes isolated as none of the white guys on the ranch want to be around him, he's banned with playing games with them and is called a 'nigger'. Discrimination is another topic that is common in the story for old age, disabled and women as they are only seen as raising children or being used for sex.
The characters show that it is set during the depression because some of them have dreams, this is called 'the American dream', which took place during the depression. The American dream was used to give people hope. They also show that it is the time of depression because they are all usually unhappy and sad, and there are a lot of arguments and fights. There are many areas of the book that shows how the Great Depression has taken its toll on the characters. When Lennie wants ketchup for his beans, George says "There's enough beans for four men," Lennie watched him from over the fire. He said patiently, "I like 'em with ketchup." "Well we ain't got any," George exploded. This shows despite their friendship they are still vulnerable to worthless arguments that are unnecessary but still happen because they are under great pressure caused by the depression. This further emphasises the fact that they are labourers. The men that worked on the ranches were migrant workers, they did not carry much about them apart from the bare essentials. The reason for this was that, as they were moving, sometimes to other states in order to find work, they did not want to be lumbered with more than they could carry easily. Also it could simply indicate that they could not afford any ketchup. That would have been a luxury and at times like these, luxuries were in short order. Further still, it says that the mattresses that were used by the ranchers were merely burlap sacks filled with straw. This shows that comfort was not an issue during this time as burlap was canvas, which would have been very rough and uncomfortable. Again, this could simply indicate that the owner of the ranch could not afford anything better as money could have been in such short order, which could be a sign of depression. Another example of Depression and unhappiness is when Candy's dog gets shot. "Got no teeth," Carlson said. "He's all stiff with rheumatism. He ain't no good to you, Candy. An' he ain't no good to himself. Why'n't you shoot him Candy?" Later on Carlson shoots him in the back of the head. This shows us that life in the 1930's was unpleasant and not many people knew the meaning of true friendship. It also shows us that people that lived in that time were very selfish and didn't care about other people's feelings.
