This document provides background information on John Steinbeck and his novel Of Mice and Men. It summarizes that Steinbeck was inspired by his upbringing in California and experience working with migrant workers. Of Mice and Men is set during the Great Depression and focuses on the friendship between two migrant workers, Lennie and George, as they dream of owning a farm together despite the difficulties of their time period. The document provides historical context on the Great Depression and explains why Steinbeck's novel continues to be taught in schools.

1. Of Mice and Men
• A novel by
John
Steinbeck

2. John Steinbeck
• Born in Salinas, CA in 1902.
• His father was a government
official and his mother was a
teacher. They encouraged
him as a reader and a writer.
• During summers, he worked
as a hired hand and fruit
picker, nourishing his
impression of the California
countryside and its people.

3. Steinbeck was fascinated by the human
condition.
• He drew from the
people and places
around him for his
stories.
• The plight of poor
Americans during the
Great Depression was
the source of his
Pulitzer Prize winning
novel, The Grapes of
Wrath (1939).

4. Steinbeck was inspired by the
strength of working people.
• The heroes in his novels are
the hardworking poor.
• Steinbeck believed in the
dignity of all people, and
often criticized the wealthy
and powerful for exploiting
their workers.
• Because he fought for the
poor and criticized the rich,
Steinbeck was often
accused of being a Socialist
sympathizer.

5. Time Period: The Great
Depression
• 1929 Stock market crash
caused the U.S. economy to
come to a grinding halt.
• 1 in 4 people lost their jobs,
and household incomes
dropped by 40%. People
couldn’t afford to buy goods so
businesses went bankrupt.
• Banks foreclosed on homes
and farms, forcing people into
homelessness, with no help
from the government like we
have today.

6. People lost faith in the
“American Dream.”
• Many hardworking people who
had owned their own homes
found themselves in bread lines
and shantytowns.
• Thousands left home to find
work. The journey was difficult
and dangerous; many lost family
members to disease and
starvation.

7. The Dream of California
• Displaced families left the Dust Bowl of the Midwest and shanty
towns in big cities to find a better life in California.
• Fliers were distributed to employment lines advertising jobs and
good wages as fruit pickers on the West Coast.
• As thousands rushed to find work, the jobs became scarce,
immigrants were despised, and many found themselves worse off
than before with no money to return home.

8. Our novel: Of Mice and Men
• Setting: a ranch in
Soledad, CA during the
Great Depression.
• The boss is a rich man
who hires men to work
his ranch.

9. Lennie and George
• Two “bindle-stiffs”:
men who
move from job to
job and carrying
their belongings
with them.

10. Why are we reading this
book?
• In Of Mice and Men,
Steinbeck focuses his
attention on one of the oldest
issues in human relations:
people’s responsibility for
other people.
• Steinbeck is intent on getting
us to see that humans cannot
be isolated from one another,
and cannot ignore the plight of
the less fortunate.

11. Why does an author use
authentic language?
• Steinbeck uses the
language of his
time, and his
characters have the
attitudes of the
1930s.
• To a modern reader,
some words may
sound insensitive
and even racist.

12. Of Mice and Men is one of the most
frequently challenged books in the
United States.
• Every year, the book is
challenged in American
schools as appropriate
English curriculum because
of “profane language, moral
statement, and the violent
ending.”
• Every year, millions of high
school students continue to
read it and find that it is one
of their favorite books of all
time.

13. Now, a little bit about the
author…
• http://www.biography.com/people/john-steinbeck-9493358/videos/

14. Take a Stance
• Friendship is a basic human need. A
person cannot live a satisfied life
without friends.
• Having a dream, even if you will most
likely never achieve it, is an important
part of everyone’s life.