Of Mice and Men Case

Mrs. English

English 10

14 September 2012

Of Mice and Men Essay

"The Great Depression of the 1930's was the most important economic downturn in the U.S. in the twentieth Century" (Life and Death during the Great Depression). In October of 1929 the stock market crashed which caused the economy to plummet. This time period was one of the most dreadful times in American History. The weak economy led to a very high amount of people that were unemployed. The Story Of Mice and Men is based on men working on a ranch in the 1930's during The Great Depression. A character in that story that is a good representation of The Great Depression is Crooks. Crooks is a man that was affected by racism, was very lonely, and was separated from his family in the 1930's just like many other Americans during The Depression.

Crooks had to work on a ranch and he couldn't be with his family. During the story Crooks says, "My old man used to have a chicken ranch, bout ten acres" (Steinbeck 68). In this quote Crooks is describing his life before The Great Depression led to forcing him to move onto the ranch and leaving his family. "The Depression changed family in dramatic ways" (Life and Death during the Great Depression). This quote shows that the economy fall harmed and affected almost every American family. Family's got affected from family members having to move away to find work, being kicked out onto the street because of debt, suicide because of a family members loneliness, and many other ways.

In Of Mice and Men Crooks displays how racism was also very present during The Great Depression. In the story Crooks is an important character because he happens to be the ony black worker on the farm. He says, "If I say something, why it's just a nigger saying it" (Steinbeck 72). In this quote Crooks explains how his word does not mean as much just because of the color of his skin. Unfortunately racism during the great depression was at its peak and was worse than at any time before it. "Because of tough times and racism in the 1930s blacks had very difficult times getting jobs" (Issues of Race in the 1930's). Because of racism blacks had an even tougher time during the great depression. During The Great Depression racism was a huge problem and almost all blacks were affected.

During The Great Depression loneliness wasn't an uncommon topic and Crooks is a fine example of being lonely. One effect on Americans that The Depression caused was loneliness. During the story Crooks stated "I tell you a guy gets to lonely and he gets sick" (Steinbeck 73). In this quote