When was of mice and men written

Americans were out of work, breadlines were common day occurrences, and the future looked grim indeed. In California, there were economic and social problems that increasingly concerned Steinbeck and provided material for three novels about agricultural workers. By the time he wrote Of Mice and Men , the itinerant ranch hands were beginning to be replaced by machinery, and their way of life was fast disappearing.

Nevertheless, Steinbeck's story captures the culture of those workers realistically and provides a vehicle for his thoughts about the common man. Of Mice and Men is a dark tale, a parable of men journeying through a world of pitfalls and brutal, inhumane experiences.

Their dreams seem all but doomed, obstacles block their ways, happiness appears to be an impossibility, and human handicaps affect their hopes. When the novel begins, we are treated to a forest scene with the sunshine on the pond and the gentle breeze in the willow trees promising that life is good. But soon after, that nature scene is replaced by a human world that contains jealousy, cruelty, loneliness, rootlessness, longing for land, and shattered dreams.

Its first production in was written and produced by Steinbeck, himself. Of Mice and Men is still widely-taught in high schools across the United States eighty years after publication, not only because it is part of the literary canon, but because Steinbeck has packed so many literary devices and complex social issues into a tiny little package.

This primary source set includes photographs, book excerpts, and documents that provide context for both events and themes in the novella.

To give feedback, contact us at education dp. You can also suggest a primary source set topic or view resources for National History Day. Primary Source Sets. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Show full overview. Leon, Indiana. The three make a pact to let no one else know of their plan. Slim returns to the bunkhouse, berating Curley for his suspicions. Curley, searching for an easy target for his anger, finds Lennie and picks a fight with him.

Slim warns Curley that if he tries to get George and Lennie fired, he will be the laughingstock of the farm. The next night, most of the men go to the local brothel. Lennie is left with Crooks, the lonely, black stable-hand, and Candy. This thought amuses her. The next day, Lennie accidentally kills his puppy in the barn. She admits that life with Curley is a disappointment, and wishes that she had followed her dream of becoming a movie star.

Lennie tells her that he loves petting soft things, and she offers to let him feel her hair. When he grabs too tightly, she cries out. In his attempt to silence her, he accidentally breaks her neck. Lennie flees back to a pool of the Salinas River that George had designated as a meeting place should either of them get into trouble.

As the men back at the ranch discover what has happened and gather together a lynch party, George joins Lennie. As he describes the rabbits that Lennie will tend, the sound of the approaching lynch party grows louder. George shoots his friend in the back of the head. When the other men arrive, George lets them believe that Lennie had the gun, and George wrestled it away from him and shot him.