The Great Depression is represented by the fact that George and Lennie and most of the workers have no stable home, are very poor, and have jobs that do not last long.
The story is set during the Great Depression, and George and Lennie are itinerant farm workers. This means that they cannot get one job where they can stay. They are essentially homeless. They live on the ranch where they work while they work there, and then they move on when the job ends. It was a common plight for migrant workers.
George and Lennie never have any money. They get paid barely enough to live on and move on to the next ranch. They admit this to Candy when the group fantasizes about owning some land of their own someday.
Candy interrupted him, "I'd make a will an' leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, 'cause I ain't got no relatives nor nothing. You guys got any money? Maybe we could do her right now?"
George spat on the floor disgustedly. "We got ten bucks between us." (Ch. 3)
George mentions that he should have fifty dollars at the end of the month. He knows that the job will not last long, so they should save their money, but at the same time he likes to take the money into town to blow off steam occasionally.
The Great Depression has a big impact on the story, because it leads to George and Lennie's lifestyle of never having a place to call their own. They feel disconnected and lonely, and dream of having their own land and a home. It is the American Dream, and it is withheld from them by the economy and the fact that they are on the bottom rung of the social ladder.
No comments:
Post a Comment