JOHN STEINBECK

An American Writer

John Steinbeck

The most important author of the Great Depression

Nobel Prize motivation: “for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception”

Biography

Milestones

WRITER

"Of Mice and Men" (1937)

"The Grapes of Wrath " (1939)

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The Great Depression

U.S.A. (1929-1945)

On Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929,the stock market crashed, triggering the Great Depression. It spread from the United States to the rest of the world, lasting from the end of 1929 until the early 1940s. Banks failed and businesses closed: this led to more than 15 million Americans (one-quarter of the workforce) being completely out of work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk5vMPMQ__w

The title of this novella is taken from Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse", which reads: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley". (The best laid plans of mice and men / Often do not go as expected.) The author refers to the fact that plans made by men often have a bad outcome: they sometimes bring nothing but sorrow and suffering. Steinbeck’s novel presents his vision of the world: men's lives are unpredictable because events are ruled by mysterious forces that no one can control.

The story is set during the Great Depression period (the ‘30s) in the United States: more precisely, in a ranch in California.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Mice_and_Men