Of Mice and Men:

Of Mice and Men:

Social and historical context

During the 1920’s, America had been enjoying a time of great wealth and prosperity. However, in the 1930’s billions of dollars were lost in the stock market crash. America then went into a period of Depression.

The American Dream

The American Dream is the idea that America is a land of equal opportunity, where wealth and prosperity are available to all.

The Statue of Liberty symbolises the American Dream.

The Great Depression

Economic depression means that many people lost their jobs and their savings. They often had to sell their possessions to survive.

American states such as Arkansa and Oklahoma also suffered a huge drought during this time that made it very difficult to grow food and crops. This area was known as The Dust Bowl.

People began to travel to the West to find work, as California was rumoured to have lots space to farm and be fertile.

Gender roles

A man’s role was to provide for his family, or provide for himself. This would have been difficult during the Depression when jobs were scarce. Sometimes men would travel far away to find work and send money back to their families.

Although some women did work, a woman’s place was certainly in the home. She was responsible for cooking, cleaning, mending clothes and home repairs, and often on a very tight budget.

African-Americans

African-Americans did not enjoy any of the prosperity of the 1920s. Around 20% of the American population were black, but in spite of the abolition of slavery, they were forced to endure segregation, discrimination and prejudice.

Black children often received a bad education at segregated schools, meaning that the chances of them passing a college entrance exam were lower. This forced them to work in the lowest paid jobs.

In the Southern states of America the Ku Klux Klan, who kept their identities hidden under white hoods, were responsible for lynching 4,743 African American men and women between 1882 and 1968.

Even the Red Cross kept black and white people’s blood separate until 1940!