Of Mice and Men

WALT learn about the context in which Of Mice and Men was

written

America: Land of Opportunity

Immigrants from Europe saw it as a place of freedom, a place to begin a new life, a place for real possibilities and wealth for all.

This belief in America as a country where ordinary people could create a better life for themselves is often referred to as;

The American Dream

1929-Wall Street Crash.

•Mass unemployment and poverty because of the collapse of the New York Wall Street stock market.

The Dust Bowl of the 1930s

• Lasted about a decade

• Drought, windblown dust and agricultural decline

Workers travelling the country looking for jobs.

Men at an employment agency desperate for jobs.

OF MICE AND MEN:

J. Steinbeck

1937http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v

=I7pyXEfRArE

John Steinbeck• He wrote the book ‘ Of Mice and

Men’ in 1936• He came from Salinas, California• Like ‘Of Mice and Men’ many of

his books deal with the lives and problems of working people.

• Many of his characters in his books are immigrants who went to California looking for work or a better life.

Timeline1920’s- America is land of opportunity

1929- Wall Street Crash

1930’s- Dust Bowl America

1937- Steinbeck published Of Mice and Men

Q. How might the context in which Of Mice and Men was written have influenced Steinbeck?

To a MouseOn turning up her nest with a plough

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,

In proving foresight may be vain:

The best laid schemes o' mice an‘men

Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an‘ pain,

For promis'd joy!

But Mouse, you are not alone,

In proving foresight may be vain:

The best laid schemes of mice and men

Go often askew,

And leaves us nothing but grief and pain,

For promised joy!

Robert Burns, 1785

Extract from…

The Title• The title comes from a poem

by a Scottish poet Robert Burns.

‘The best laid schemes o’ mice and men

Gang aft agley (often go wrong)And leave us nought but grief

and painFor promised joy!’

What relevance might Burns’ poem have to the novel?

Mouse like the characters; lonely and homeless? Animals and men

not so different; both have the need to survive

Any plans left unsuccessful

Disappointed from a new start?

The American Dream fails?

Creating Parallels:

Where did they go?

• They headed west to California where the soil was good and there was supposed to be plenty of room.

Context- Of Mice and Men

What is the American Dream?

“The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to achieve the fullest stature of which they are capable of, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the circumstances of birth or position.“

Define, in your own words, what you think the term, ‘American Dream’ means.