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Migrant Farm Workers In Of Mice And Men

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In “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, George Milton and Lennie Small are two migrant farm workers who travel together during the Great Depression. George is a small but smart man, while Lennie is a big, and strong man. Even though Lennie is mentally disabled, it doesn't stop him from working. George always says that his life would be so much easier without Lennie, but he always refuses when Lennie offers to leave. George and Lennie share the same dream. They share the “American Dream”- to own their own ranch and animals and gain freedom. They arrive at their next ranch and a lot of trouble happens. Lennie, George and Candy, an old handyman with one hand, believe that the “American Dream” is attainable. Curley's wife and Crooks called Lennie …show more content…

“While the numbers of workers in search of work rose during the Depression,the amount of land in production decreased. Moreover, farmers who also faced economic difficulties — falling prices for their crops, higher taxes, and increased debt”(Mapes). This shows that there was not of land that was able to be bought, so George and Lennie might not even have found land to buy or a ranch to tend. “Migrant workers in California who had been making 35 cents per hour in 1928 made only 14 cents per hour in 1933”(Mapes). The Great Depression began in 1929, so this quote proves that as the Great Depression went on, pay got lower and lower. “migrant families during the Depression could expect yearly earnings of between $278 and $500, hundreds of dollars below what experts at the time estimated it would cost a family of four merely to survive” (Mapes). The income for a farm laborer in 1930 was $444 a year; by 1934, the income for a farm laborer went down to $286 a year (Derks). This shows that George and Lennie would not be able to have good lives when it came to money. “The Great Depression then began late in 1929, and unemployment soared over the next four years—to nearly 13 million workers” (Jeffries). George and Lennie might not even have found workers to work their land.
In “Of Mice and Men”, the “American Dream” of owning land is a major theme in the novella. This is because George and

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