John Steinbeck’s Inspiration for Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck brings his books to life through his first hand experience in Salinas, California. Born in Salinas, he became very familiar with the people that live and work there (Of Mice and Men 241). During Steinbeck’s life, he gains first hand experience with migrant laborers and a number of different events that influence his writing (Steinbeck, John 230). John Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men because he was inspired by the ranch he worked on, the events happening during his life, and the people in his everyday life.
Everything in Of Mice and Men is based off of Steinbeck’s experiences as an agricultural worker. He also performed journalistic investigations on farms to get every detail in
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Bindlestiffs, migrant laborers, only get hired during harvest season and frequently move from ranch to ranch (Of Mice and Men 269).
Of Mice and Men’s main characters, George and Lennie, are migrant laborers trying to (Of Mice and Men 269).
During his school career, he spent summers working at Spreckels ranches in Salinas Valley (Of Mice and Men
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The Dust storms devastated the other ranches that the bindlestiffs worked on (Of Mice and Men 275).
California takes a major part in the farming industry. Migrant workers would work from sunrise to sunset and live at a ranch until the season ends (Of Mice and Men 269-270).
The dust bowl also affects the migrant workers because of the slow in agricultural production (Steinbeck, John 1523).
In Of Mice and Men the migrant laborers are facing minimum pay for their job, just like real migrant workers in Salinas.
During the Great Depression, the same situation was affecting the real migrant workers (Of Mice and Men 275).
They would receive low wage for working all day. There would also be an abundance of workers, so they would compete for their jobs (Of Mice and Men 275).
Real people in John Steinbeck’s life influenced him through his writing.
Steinbeck’s wife is one of those people. She had an affair with one of John Steinbeck’s friends.
Once they mend their marriage, She helped him write Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck, John 1522).
Even the characters in John Steinbeck’s books are inspired by real people.
Lennie, in Of Mice and Men, is based off of a real person (Of Mice and Men