1. “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck
In today’s lesson you will learn about the social
and economic context of the novel. This will help
you to understand the plot, characters and
theme more fully when we begin reading the
novel.

2. Published in 1937

3. The Great Depression
• In 1929, the Stock
Exchange Crashed.
• People panicked and
withdrew their money
from the bank.
• This caused the economy
to collapse.
• This period of history
has been called The
Great Depression.

4. This picture was taken in America in 1930.
What does the picture tell you about what was happening in the USA at the
time?

5. Put yourself in their shoes...
What might have motivated these men to advertise themselves in this way?

6. A picture paints a thousand words.
Why do you think the photographer was inspired to take this picture?
What point do you think he is trying to make?

7. Migrant workers
As men tried to
find work, they
had to move
from place to
place, taking
anything that
was available.
Often it was hard
labour.
Try to describe a migrant worker’s
experience at this time.
Some left their
families behind
and sent them
money and
others took their
families with
them, sleeping
anywhere they
could.

8. We are going to watch a number of clips from films set during the
Great Depression in order to develop a good understanding of the
context of the novel we are about to read.
Causes of difficulties Difficulties faced by
faced by American
American people
people
The ways people
responded to/ dealt
with these
difficulties

9. Clip 1 – It’s a Wonderful

10. Clip 2 – ‘Oh Brother Where Art Thou?’

11. Clip 3 – Annie the Musical
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0bOH8ABpco

12. Clip 4 – Cinderella Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlbHzcH4VJY

13. What have we learned?
Write a paragraph explaining the difficulties
faced by the American public during the
1930s and what the consequences of these
difficulties were for American society.