Travels with Of Mice and Men

A Novel Journey with a look at Documentary Expression and Thirties

America

Introduction During the 1930’s, author John Steinbeck was

concerned about the plight of migrant workers, namely those in California–his home state and the setting for many of his works.

His novel Of Mice and Men, published in 1937, tells the tale of two transient farm workers. Like many others during the economically hard times of the 30’s, the protagonists are rootless men without possessions or hope.

He then published The Grapes of Wrath, a novel that follows a family from Oklahoma displaced by the Dust Bowl. They travel to California in hopes of finding work; they have been dealt a double blow–the Depression and the Dust Bowl.

Introduction - continued Steinbeck was not alone in his desire to

“document”–albeit through fiction–the hardships that the people of the time were experiencing. The federal government set up many agencies that created jobs for the millions of unemployed Americans.

One agency, the Farm Security Administration, was charged with “documenting”–through photography–the experiences of the people. The FSA sought to document with photographs what they knew would be a critical time in the history of the United States.

Unit Overview

Our unit will include: An in depth study of Of Mice and Men. A look at The Grapes of Wrath. A WebQuest project on Documentary

Expression in Thirties America. By the end of the unit, you will have completed and submitted a paper that documents—in writing and through photographs—a social, political, and/or economic outcome of the Great Depression.

Topics to ExploreThe Great Depression

Life Stories“I Remember…”

Dust Bowl1930’s description and picturesVoices of the Dust BowlNew Deal

Farm Security AdministrationPhotographs by… Dorothea Lange Walker Evans