John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ Essay

John Steinbeck was born in 1902, in Salinas, California. He was the deuce-ace eldest of the four children born, scarcely was the only male in the family, besides his father. He graduated from Salinas postgraduate School in 1919, and attended Stanford University, but leaving without a degree. He was employed in the line of descent as a sales clerk, farm labourer factory worker. Later, in 1925, he became a complex body part worker in New York. He wrote his first novel, Cup of Gold, in 1929. During the period of the 1930s, he produced most of his eminent novels such as To A God Unknown, Tortilla Flat, Dubious date, Of Mice and Men, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath.The themes of his books can all be classified as social novels transaction with the economic problems of rural labour, but there is also a streak of worship in his books, which does non always agree with his matter-of-fact sociological approach. After 1935, his novels moved to more serious fictio n, often agonistic in its social criticism. The novels are mostly set in remote farms or by the general rustic country side. He died in New York City in 1968, and his ashes lie in the tend of Memories Cemetery in Salinas.Part 2 Exploration of the setting of Of Mice and MenThe context of this novel in the primary(prenominal) focuses on a small working ranch in the Salinas Valley of Northern California, sometime during the 1930s. It starts beside a stream, close to the Salinas River, a few miles south of Soledad. The four major settings are the clearing by the pond, the bunkhouse, trends room and the barn. The action occurs over a period of four to five days and in only four specific locations a wooded area next to the Salinas River, a bunkhouse on the ranch, the unchanging hands room on the ranch and the main barn. The tight structure of setting, revolving around whizz locations and continuous timing, almost makes the novel seem like a play. It takes place during the Great f eeling, hence the main characters seem poor and desperate for work. Steinbeck had chosen the area of Soledad because in Spanish, it means loneliness, and therefore adds to the essence of Steinbecks story which tells us of how to part-brothers go to find work.Part 3 Historical ContextThe Great Depression (1929-1939) * Was a time of extreme hardship for people in Australia * Was caused by the stock-market crash on groyne Street, 1929 * Before this happened, unemployment issues in Australia was already at 10% * After the crash, unemployment in Australia more than doubled to 21% in mid-1930, and reached its peak in mid-1932 when almost 32% of Australians were out of work.Migrant Farm Workers * In the wee 1930s thousands of desperate workers across America migrated to California * California advertised an abundance of fertile land, and legion(predicate) migrants were agriculturists * Because the massive drought had encompassed the Great Plains, many farmers abandoned the land * Califo rnian farmers produced mostly fruits and dairy products, but the central valleys of California were poorly irrigated The American Dream * Is essentially an idea that suggests anyone living in the US can succeed through hard work and has the potential to lead a flourishing disembodied spirit * Was created in the 1600s, by immigrant workers on farmsPart 4 Meaning of the titleThe perfect schemes made by smart organisms (mice and humans) often go wrong because they were not thought out thoroughly. The failing schemes leave postal code but grief and pain, but in the end, it promises joy.