Of Mice and Men: Context Flashcards
Summary: The American Dream
The idea that America is a land of opportunity where anyone can make something of themselves.
Summary: The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl
1) The stock market crashed in 1929 and the Great Depression lasted through the 1930s.
2) Thousands of people lost huge sums of money as share prices fell.
3) The results were high unemployment, poverty and lost opportunity of personal achievement.
4) A series of storms made the situation worse, creating a ‘dust bowl’ where crops could not be grown.
Summary: Migrant Workers
1) Migrant workers travel from job to job, farming or physical labour.
2) They were often exploited and poorly paid.
3) Workers were alone which made them resourceful sometimes, but often protective of themselves, they might be unwilling to create bonds which would break.
4) They could be hired and fired easily and had little or no rights.
5) There were no jobs for those who were too old to be useful.
6) They could not save money, so would have found it difficult to have a family.
Summary: Racism
Whites were seen as superior. At the start of the 20th century, blacks were segregated from whites in society and violence was common. Things started to change in the 1930s but there was still a vast difference in rights.
Summary: Women in the 1930s
1) Seen as possessions e.g. Curley’s wife.
2) Women had low status and few opportunities.
3) It was a patriarchal society.
Summary: Heirarchy
1) There was more men than jobs so those at the top could take advantage of those lower down the scale.
2) The bosses could pick and choose from the job market.
3) There was no system of looking after the vulnerable in society.
Summary: John Steinbeck
1) Worked as a migrant worker himself - understood what their life was like.
2) Said the theme of the novel was ‘trying to understand each other’.
Summary: The American Dream
The idea that America is a land of opportunity where anyone can make something of themselves.
Summary: The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl
1) The stock market crashed in 1929 and the Great Depression lasted through the 1930s.
2) Thousands of people lost huge sums of money as share prices fell.
3) The results were high unemployment, poverty and lost opportunity of personal achievement.
4) A series of storms made the situation worse, creating a ‘dust bowl’ where crops could not be grown.
Summary: Migrant Workers
1) Migrant workers travel from job to job, farming or physical labour.
2) They were often exploited and poorly paid.
3) Workers were alone which made them resourceful sometimes, but often protective of themselves, they might be unwilling to create bonds which would break.
4) They could be hired and fired easily and had little or no rights.
5) There were no jobs for those who were too old to be useful.
6) They could not save money, so would have found it difficult to have a family.
Summary: Racism
Whites were seen as superior. At the start of the 20th century, blacks were segregated from whites in society and violence was common. Things started to change in the 1930s but there was still a vast difference in rights.
Summary: Women in the 1930s
1) Seen as possessions e.g. Curley’s wife.
2) Women had low status and few opportunities.
3) It was a patriarchal society.
Summary: Heirarchy
1) There was more men than jobs so those at the top could take advantage of those lower down the scale.
2) The bosses could pick and choose from the job market.
3) There was no system of looking after the vulnerable in society.
Summary: John Steinbeck
1) Worked as a migrant worker himself - understood what their life was like.
2) Said the theme of the novel was ‘trying to understand each other’.
