Of Mice and Men Project s1

Of Mice and Men Project October 2011 The Great Depression

Of Mice and Men: set on a ranch in California during the Great Depression of the 30s, the title referred to “the best laid plans” from “To a Mouse” written by Robert Burns. Steinbeck’s original concept for the work was for it to be a play with each chapter designed as a scene and each scene limited to a single space. After the book was greeted with awards and accolades, the novel was produced as a play and received critical acclaim as well. Steinbeck wrote it after becoming involved with California’s social and economic issues.

In the 30s, California was a state with problems due to the Great Depression and labor concerns on the docks, packing fields and sheds. The strife was caused by the change in farming techniques which depended more on machinery and less on workers. The migrant workers suffered with unemployment, poor wages and lack of food. The mostly white single men who followed the harvest had no leadership or representation, but during 1933 the Cannery and Agricultural Workers Industrial Union organized them and led strikes. Broken up by the summer of 1934, the fall of the union led to vigilante activity and ultimately the hiring of 175,000 workers just to get the crops in on time. Most of the workers were eventually used for WWII efforts and the problem was more or less resolved with the war effort requiring labor to support the war.

“Of Mice and Men:John Steinbeck: 1937.” Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen.Vol. 1. Detroit: GALE, 1997. 240-52. Print.

“Of Mice and Men.” Movie Titles Stills Collection. 10 March 2009. Google Images. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

Databases that are most useful for your topics: ABC-CLIO: American History: Use the search window or check out the eras page to find a wealth of information related to your topics. You will have to read some articles to narrow down some of the topics, but the information is great. Highly recommended.

Encyclopedia Britannica: The Great Depression article has 24 pages of information, and contains links to many of the topics included on your list. You can use the links within the articles OR use the search window to find useful facts on your topic. There are some videos and lots of images available as well. Don’t overlook this source!

Facts on File- use the American History or if your topic is related to women, use the American Women’s History database. Another excellent database for your topics. Remember to use the tabs at the top to find information and images. The images are very useful for using in projects- the works cited is included in the article. GALE Virtual Reference Library (KPHS eBook collection) Our eBook collection is best used with an advanced search, choosing keyword in the pull-down menu. After you get your results, if you narrow your search to Topic overview, you will get much better results. This is very useful for sports and the Great Depression and the other topics associated with it, such as farming methods, music, photography, and movies. **U.S. History in Context** Trial subscription only good through Nov. 25th. Let me know if you like it. Use the advanced search feature to get exactly what you are looking for but make sure to change the pull down menus to Keyword. If a password is required, use the one on your database sheet for Gale Virtual Reference Library.

WEBSITES

Lone Star College Kingwood offers valuable websites on American Decades off of their research guides page. The links within each decade are valid and reliable sites. There may be an occasional broken link, but for the most part the websites provided are great for research purposes. Check them out:

Lone Star College Kingwood American Cultural History: Decades 1930s Lone Star College Kingwood American Cultural History: Decades 1920s PBS Riding the Rails series PBS Surviving the Dust Bowl Federal Writers Project Voices from the Thirties United States History Historical Eras Monterey County Historical Society Steinbeck Chronolgy

Books with topics of use for your project:

Farrell, Jacqueline. The Great Depression. 973.917 FAR Farris, John. The Dust Bowl. 978.00 FAR Time-Life Books. Hard Times: The 30s. 973.0917 HAR Mast, Gerald. Short History of the Movies 791.43 MAS Milner, E.R. The Lives and Times of Bonnie & Clyde B PAR Randolph, Blythe. Charles Lindbergh. B LIN Hanson, Erika. The 1920s. 973.915 HAN McGowen, Tom. The Great Monkey Trial. 344.73 MCG Siskind, Aaron. Harlem Photographs 1932-1940. 779 SIS Roensch, Greg. The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping. 345.73 ROE Blumenthal, Karen. Six Days in October: 332.64 BLU the Stock Market Crash of 1929 Lewis, Tom. Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made the Radio 621.384 LEW Spirn, Anne Whiston. Daring to Look: Dorothea Lange’s 331.7 SPI Photographs & Reports from the Field. Kuehner, Karen, comp. The Harlem Renaissance. 810.8 HAR Davis, Barbara J. The Teapot Dome Scandal. 973.091 TEA McElvaine, Robert S., ed. Encyclopedia of the Great Depression. 973.91 ENC Blocker, Jack S. American Temperance Movements: 178 BLO Cycles of Reform. 178 BLO