The Theme Of Dehumanization In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men dives into the lives of two men, George and Lennie, who try to escape the atrocities of the Great Depression, all the while dealing with their experiences of alienation and loneliness (“John Steinbeck (1902-1968)”). John Steinbeck is an author renowned for his novel, The Grapes of Wrath, but his novella Of Mice and Men is what first put him on the writing scene (Bloom 8). After leaving college, Steinbeck went on the road and worked as a factory hand, as well a ranch hand. Working among the ranch hands gave Steinbeck’s writing an authenticity that could not be matched. Because of his experiences, Steinbeck took his knowledge of the plight of migrant workers and minorities and put it into his characters to depict the common man’s struggles. Through the agency of his characters, Steinbeck depicts the themes of dehumanization, and alienation and loneliness in order to portray the harsh reality of living during the Great Depression. John Steinbeck was a man who told the stories of the lives of the common people (McArthur 9). Steinbeck grew up in a small agricultural community in California (Bloom 7). As a young boy, Steinbeck grew an unmatchable appreciation for …show more content…
Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men during the time that as known as the most creative time in his career. Steinbeck’s novella depicted the lives of a dwindling society of migrant workers. In the year following Of Mice and Men’s publication, the nation 's grain industry was replacing manual labor with machines. Soon, farm workers, much like George and Lennie were disappearing. “During this time he was becoming increasingly concerned about current social and economic problems in California, and he published three successive novels about farm workers…” (Bloom 52, 51, 53, 52). Writing in the Great Depression era influenced Steinbeck’s writing