Naturalism as a Mirror of the 1930's

Literature is often a reflection of the time period in which it was written or, in the case of historical fiction, of the time period it is focused on. Authors will often find sneaky little ways to demonstrate the dominant characteristics of the time period by blending in details, that, at a closer glance, reveal these hidden themes.

In class, we viewed several videos (in the LitByFleming blog video bar) that gave us a look at some major events and common themes or characteristics of the 1930s. John Steinbeck certainly considered these elements when writing Of Mice and Men. In fact, it might be said, his writing style intentionally made use of naturalism in order to capture and expose some of the attitudes and characteristics of the American 1930s.


Let's see if you can make the connection! Think about some of the naturalistic elements we identified in class (Chapter 1). What aspects or characteristics of the 1930s are being demonstrated to us at those moments in the text? What do you believe John Steinbeck was trying to show us or expose about the way people, life, or society was during this time in American history? 

 
 Loneliness, hardships, burdensome are characteristics and aspects of the 1930s which are identified in the texts.  Lennie and George are lucky to be together as they both know that without the company of one another, they will both be lost.  These two men are lonely in the woods while they could be with other men at the ranch.  There were some obstacles or hardships that both George and Lennie were facing.  First of all, they had their journey which was burdensome and along the way, George was yelling at Lennie telling him what to do.  George had to take care of Lennie which must have slowed him down.  Also, walking miles and miles is tiring and difficult.  Just like these two men in our book, many others had to do the same in order to survive.  People living in the 1930s had a lot of loneliness had went through many hardships to get where they wanted.  Also, many people were ill-educated.  They do not know the proper way to talk and the only work they could do was on the fields.  Lennie and George spoke as if they were not educated and did not know how to do actual work.  They were going to work on the ranch. 
I believe that Steinbeck was trying to show us how much people struggled during this time in American History.  He showed us the two guys traveling to find job fatigued.  Even if a small thing happened, like Lennie pulling a girl's dress, they had to leave because of the life and society back then.  It was a hard world.  People were not educated, they were homeless without jobs and food.  Steinbeck was trying to show us the lifestyle that men had.  They had to travel, find jobs, and work hard to get the little money they could.  This is how life was in the 1930s and Steinbeck did a great job putting aspects of this time period into the story.
This is video on the Great Depression, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpKmfjf5tUk