Black Tuesday John Steinbeck Analysis

During the ominous day of October 29, 1929, many people had a great darkness looming over them which started in the form of the Stock Market Crash. This date later became known as Black Tuesday. As the stock market continued to deteriorate, around 400 banks shut their doors in the faces of people. According to Document 1, poverty became rampant as the unemployment rate rose to a staggering 20 percent by 1932. Millions of people became homeless and many were forced to reside in Hoovervilles, which were shantytowns in which people lived in extreme poverty. Many of these residents were minorities, such as African-Americans, people with emotional problems and the elderly. In 1939, an author named John Steinbeck wrote a social commentary based on the social injustice which was directed toward minorities at this time …show more content…
Instead of people helping their parents and grandparents, they would leave them to fend for themselves. Due to most people fending for themselves, the elderly were forced to do the same. Unfortunately, due to their age and fragility, they were unable to find jobs, and those with jobs were either replaced by younger people or they were doing menial tasks. They were represented by Candy in Steinbeck’s novella. He was an old swamper who was missing his right hand from an old accident.
African-Americans were another group which was doing terribly in the America during the Great Depression. According to Document 2, 50% of blacks were unemployed in 1930. The African-Americans suffered more than the whites, since they had their jobs taken from them. They were represented by Crooks in Of Mice and Men. Crooks was an African American who was quite intelligent but was always hunched over due to an old injury. This crippled him and represented how the African-American community was crippled in the United States at the time. Despite him being intelligent, he is still treated as inferior due to his