History & Background Information

1902 - 1968 Place of Birth: Salinas, California Tortilla Flat (1935) Of Mice and Men (1937) The Grapes of Wrath (1939) Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in

1962

John Steinbeck and Woody Guthrie were perhaps the two most famous chroniclers of the Great Depression. Steinbeck wrote a trilogy of novels portraying the

struggle of migrant workers in California is the most enduring literary chronicle of the Great Depression.

Woody Guthrie (1912–1967 Leading American songwriter of the late 1930s and

1940s Released the Dust Bowl Ballads in 1940 inspired by the drought-ravaged region of the

American West that came to be known as the “Dust Bowl” in the early 1930s.

Migration - movement of people from place to place for permanent settlement

Drought in the plains forced owners off farms

Steinbeck’s novels depict this lifestyle

Lennie, one of the main characters in OMM has a disability.

What would life (typically) have been like for someone with a disability during this time?

What terminology is most appropriate and inclusive here?

Factories and Mills closed Manufacturing cut in half Unemployment rose from 3.2 %

to 24.9% Banks ran out of money Mortgages foreclosed Homelessness; poverty “Riches to Rags”

ForSale

Malnutrition Doubt Most severe for men, women’s

jobs actually rose Children more self-reliant Whites took-over jobs held by

minorities

Hoover: self-reliance, restore confidence, grew unpopular as conditions worsened

Roosevelt elected in 1932 “The only thing we have to fear is

fear itself” New Deal, WWII eventually helped

economy rebound

1939 - unemployment still 15% Outbreak of WWII - expansion

of national defense, stimulating jobs and growth

Federal Government expanded its role in social and economic areas

How is this storyline reflected in today’s society?

What parallels or struggles do you see people dealing with that they dealt with during the Great Depression?