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John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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John Steinbeck is a famous 20th century American author whose books are still widely popular today. John Steinbeck lived from 1902-1968. He was born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California, to Ernst and Olive Steinbeck. Steinbeck released his first novel, Cup of Gold, in 1929. At first, the book did not attract much attention. Steinbeck made enough money from the sale of the book to permit him to marry Carol Henning in 1929. He was married three times in total. John Steinbeck’s first successful novel was Of Mice and Men, published in 1937. Steinbeck wrote his most prosperous books during 1935-1940. In 1962, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. He also published a popular work, Travels with Charley, in 1962. Events in the 20th …show more content…

The Great Depression started on October 29, 1929, the day the stock market crashed substantially, and lasted till the late 1930s. Twenty-five percent of American workers lost their jobs. Because of this, it became common for men to travel around from farm to farm picking up any work they could get. The two main characters in Of Mice and Men, Lennie Small and George Milton, traveled to Salinas, California, for work. It was typical for migrant workers during this time to travel on boxcar in search of their next destination. The idea of Lennie and George was derived from the experiences Steinbeck had with the migrant workers he toiled with on the orchards. He experienced that people had to do whatever they could to survive during the Great Depression. The Dust Bowl that swept many countries during the Great Depression destroyed countless farms. Lennie and George split from their families, something very common of migrant workers. People who traveled not only gave up their families, but they also gave up their roots and …show more content…

Steinbeck not only read about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, but he experienced and lived through these events of history as a young adult. In high school, he first experienced what these events were causing people to do. Of Mice and Men displays an example of the American Dream, something many people believed in during the Great Depression. The American Dream is

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"From the dusty fields of the Great Depression emerges a tale of friendship, shattered dreams, and the cruel reality of the American Dream - welcome to the world of Of Mice and Men.” Of Mice and Men is a classic novel by John Steinbeck, first published in 1937, Set during the Great Depression. The story follows the companionship of two migrant workers, George and Lennie, as they travel through California searching for work. The novel explores many traits of loneliness, friendship, and the downfall of the American Dream. Highlighting the harsh reality of life for those at the end of their social life.

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The novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck is a gripping tale of two men and their lives during the Great Depression. George Milton and Lennie Small are two migrant workers who travel together finding work. They take on a new job “bucking barley” at a ranch in central California for the ranch owner and his son. While working at the ranch they encounter Curley the ranch owner’s son and his wife, a flirtatious woman. The story reaches a climax when Lennie unintentionally kills Curley’s wife and runs back to the Salinas River just as George instructed.

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George from George Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” made the right decision of killing Lennie in the story, while other might disagree. George shot Lennie in the back of the head to save him from the suffering and humiliation from a mad and revengeful Curley. George did this not out of hate, but out of the love of their friendship. “George raised the gun and his hand shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again” (Steinbeck). George is struggling to come to terms that he is going to shoot his best friend.

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1123 Words | 5 Pages

John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men is a timeless classic. Within the novel emerges many themes and life lessons: loneliness, friendship, survival, and more. However, though these seem to be the most central ideas of the novel, none of them could have been concluded without one major element. That element is setting. John Steinbeck himself was born in Salinas, California and grew up in that fertile valley.

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429 Words | 2 Pages

On February 27, 1902 in Salinas Valley, California John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. was born to John Ernst Steinbeck Sr. and Olive Hamilton Steinbeck. He lived a modest childhood, as his father held multiple jobs in order to support the family. For a short time Steinbeck attended Stanford University, but in 1925 he dropped out to pursue his career as a writer. Later that year he went to New York to find inspiration for his first book which he would later name Cup of Gold.

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866 Words | 4 Pages

George and Lennie have a plan to live out the American Dream. Their plan is to save up enough money and buy a ranch of their own (Steinbeck 50). It shows us that even during a dark time like the Great Depression, many people

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921 Words | 4 Pages

John Steinbeck is a famous American author. He wrote many books that takes place in the Salinas River Valley during the Great Depression. His most famous book, Of Mice and Men talks about the failure of the American dream. John Steinbeck uses George, candy, and Curley’s wife to show the failure of the American dream. To begin, John Steinbeck uses George to show the failure of the American dream.

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The novella, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, has become a classic over the past several decades for its emotional appeal about friendship and heartbreak. This is where you now need to start with where/when he was born, who his parents were, describing his education & work history, personal life (marriage, children). John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California, later John died on December 20th in 1968 of heart disease.

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Since migrant workers during the great depression were often exploited by the owners of the farms they worked on because they did not own them, this scene shows a connection between the book and the crisis. George and Lennie, who are migrant workers, were able to

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In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the era of the Great Depression in the 1930’s is revealed through a simple story of ranch workers who hope to improve their lives. Migrant workers, George and Lennie, have a friendship that is based on trust and protection. The other workers lack the companionship and bond that these two men have. In the novel, the absence and presence of friendship is the motivation for the characters’ actions.

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During this time he wrote his first two novels. After he got married in 1930 he and his wife moved back to California. Finally financial success came with “Tortilla Flat” describing the adventures of drifters sharing a house in California. His next novels were “In Dubious Battle” and “Of Mice and Men”.

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• In 1919, Steinbeck left for Stanford University. • In the late 1930’s Steinbeck wrote three books, that were all about worker’s issues in California. • These three books were In Dubious Battle, Of Mice and Men, and The Grapes of Wrath. • The Grapes of Wrath was his best selling book with over 400,000 copies printed.

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In 1937, John Steinbeck wrote the novella Of Mice and Men. In the novella Steinbeck showed the audience how the Great Depression affected people, but in partially two men and the people around them. The Great Depression challenged many families in economic, social, and mental ways. The Depression affected family of all shapes and sizes, the annual yearly income for a family went from being an average 2,300 to being 1,500 yearly. The novella Of Mice and Men, it is about the journey of two men, George and Lennie, and how their lives are affected by the Great Depression.

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1699 Words | 7 Pages

Lennie and George’s dream was to own their own farm but it was hard to attain because of money issues and Lennie's disability, “But he gets in trouble alla time because he’s so Goddamn dumb” (Steinbeck 41). George was the only one who knew about Lennie’s disability and he kept it a secret because if people knew, they would have never gotten a job. People with mental and physical disabilities were discriminated during the Great Depression because they were different, which made it hard to attain dreams. There were many protests that happened during the Great Depression involving people with disabilities, people would go to relief offices and demand for jobs, but the

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The only poetry that I have ever read was if it pertained to school work. I have never just read poetry for enjoyment. There are times where I find it difficult to pick up what the poet is trying to explain or talk about in the poem and I have to read it several times to understand the meaning. Among all the poems that I have read through the chapters, one of my favorites was “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas.

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