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Great depression effects on americans
Economic effects on america during the great depression
What was the impact of the great depression on society
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During the great depression, the midwest underwent a long drought. Exposed dry earth swept away with the wind and caused huge dust storms that prolonged the dry weather. With the lowered selling prices and the lack of crops the farmers had some major economic trouble. In Black Blizzard and John Steinbeck 's Grapes of Wrath, the literature develops the ideas of the poor distribution of wealth within the populations and the social aspects of people of different economic class. Social differences arise in the wealthy, the employed, and the unemployed throughout this period of hardship.
On October 24, 1929, also known as ‘Black Thursday’, one of the greatest economic and social crisis in the United States of America begun. On that day more than 12 and half million shares of stock were sold, which was triple the usual amount. Next, over the following 4 days, the stock market prices fell 23 percent. Afterwards, the Americans had to face suffering and obstacles for the next 10 years. In 1933, the unemployment had risen from 3 percent to 25 percent of nation’s workforce and those who were able to keep their jobs faced harsh reductions in wages.
The tone of chapter 11 in John Steinbeck's, “The Grapes of Wrath,” is sympathetic, sad and hopeless. His word choice and syntax show how the sad houses were left to decay in the weather. His use of descriptive words paints a picture in the reader's mind. As each paragraph unfolds, new details come to life and adds to the imagery. While it may seem unimportant, this intercalary chapter shows how the effects of the great depression affected common households.
From our textbook we are able to learn the base information of the depression and migrant workers. The document provides a deeper insight with first hand views on the mistreatment of workers by wealthy landowners. First hand photographs allow a real view of how the impoverished migrant camps actually looked. The photos, along with Steinbeck's firsthand observations and genuine concern for the human suffering that was taking place allows for students to be further engaged into the topic. Our Texbook, Give Me Liberty, describes how the depression transformed American life.
In the book, American Exodus: The Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California, James N. Gregory attempts to change readers perspective of stereotypes created by artist during the Great Depression, such as those created by John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and Dorthea Lange’s photograph of the “Migrant Mother”. In his book, Gregory “takes us back to the dust bowl migration” to reveal that there is more to Oklahoman, Arkansan, Texan, and Missourian immigrants than economic hardship. He focuses on regionalism, and an “Okie” subculture that was created due to the high rate of migration to California. Gregory sets out to prove that they also had a mass effect on Californian culture and social patterns. Using extremely efficient primary
While an open form of dialogue emphasizes a connection and openness of situation it also lacks a specific aspect that can make it hard to understand. This lack of information is balanced with the Joad family whose interactions give more depth to Steinbeck’s representation of the Great Depression. The balance between a broader and specific description and portrayal of experiences create a more complete story that has a better chance of connecting with the
In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck describes a pair of Depression-era children as they rush “immediately to the candy case” inside a diner, staring at the sweets “not with hope or … desire, but with a kind of wonder that such things could be” (51-52). This heartbreaking image of two poor boys staring at candy in awe elicits empathy because it implies that their parents are struggling to provide for them and that they have never eaten candy due to the hardship and poverty they were raised in. Similarly, Steinbeck elicits empathy in “The Harvest Gypsies” as he chronicles the unsanitary living conditions of California migrant workers during the 1930s. One family’s rotting tent is “full of flies … buzzing about the foul clothes of the children” and a baby, “who has not been bathed” for days (41). The image of flies swarming around the tent evokes empathy for the workers, who have to endure the pests on a daily basis, because it suggests disease, poverty, and feelings of disgust and hopelessness.
John Steinbeck, in the novel, Grapes of Wrath, identifies the hardships and struggle to portray the positive aspects of the human spirit amongst the struggle of the migrant farmers and the devastation of the Dust Bowl. Steinbeck supports his defense by providing the reader with imagery, symbolism and intense biblical allusions. The author’s purpose is to illustrate the migrant farmers in order to fully exploit their positive aspects in the midst of hardships. Steinbeck writes in a passionate tone for an audience that requires further understanding of the situation.
In John Steinbeck’s book; Of Mice and Men, we follow the story of two migrant workers named George and Lennie looking for their next place of employment. In this paper the reader will be given a synopsis of the story, and in addition there will be a brief biography of John Steinbeck that will tie into the book Of Mice and Men. There will be reasons given to why the book was challenged and reasons why the book is still challenged presently. The reader will also learn about the timeline and players involved in the challenging Of Mice and Men. This paper will additionally have three examples from the text that contribute to the books controversy.
In this essay, I am going to look at what ways the Great Depression affected the American people with examples from John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. Available jobs and high wages had been
Even though the Great Depression was a time of hardship for every citizen, no matter color, age, sex, or amount of wealth, certain groups were discriminated against more than others. Even though Steinbeck’s characters, Candy, Crooks, and Lennie, each experience deliberate discrimination to single them out from the separated migrant workers, they allow hope to slip in. But loneliness to some extent, leads to
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.
During the Great Depression, migrant workers worked for an average of $2 per hour, or less than 15 cents at the time. Women, the elderly, and non-white workers worked for even less. Of Mice and Men takes place during this time, and follows a cast of characters that all fit this low pay, long work hour struggle of migrant workers. Furthermore, the author of the story also faced these struggles, growing up in the Salinas Valley in California. The author, John Steinbeck, writes Of Mice and Men for the purpose of displaying the struggles of migrant workers and minorities during the Great Depression, as shown by his use of symbolism.
In The Harvest Gypsies, Steinbeck also describes decreasing morale in the displaced farmers as he says “the dullness shows in the faces…and in addition there is a sullenness that makes them taciturn.” The difficulty of finding adequate work to support a family during the Dust Bowl was extremely high—and as the work was competitive, these farmers implicated the work ethic that began at the beginning of the 20th
In this passage, Steinbeck, the author of Mice and Men, illustrates the conflict that life for a migrant worker is arduous. Migrant working has people surviving paycheck by paycheck in places that may not be hospitable or comfortable. After being fired from their jobs in Weed, George and Lennie have reached their newest “home” where Lennie doesn 't get a good first impression. Lennie states “This ain 't no good place. I wanna get outa here” (Steinbeck 33).
