1. John Steinbeck Of Mice & Men

2. FACTS ABOUT JOHN STEINBECK Born: February 27,1902; Salinas, CA Graduated from Salinas High School-- Attended Stanford University-- 1919-1925 Of Mice & Men published – 1937 Died in New York, December 20,1968

3. Setting By Salinas & Soledad, California on a ranch in the mid 1930s

4. Structure Of Mice and Men, with its highly restricted focus, is in a novel-play form, which combines qualities of each genre. The story is essentially comprised of three acts of two chapters each. Each chapter or scene contains few descriptions of place, character, or action. Thus, the novel's strength lies in part in its limitations. Action is restricted usually to the bunkhouse. The span of time is limited to three days, sunset Thursday to sunset Sunday.

6. About Of Mice and Men When John Steinbeck published Of Mice and Men in 1937, the world was in the grip of the Great Depression. Americans were out of work, breadlines were common, and the future looked grim. In California, there were economic and social problems that increasingly concerned Steinbeck and provided material for three novels about agricultural workers. By the time he wrote Of Mice and Men, the itinerant ranch hands were beginning to be replaced by machinery, and their way of life was fast disappearing.

7. Of Mice and Men is a dark tale, a parable of men journeying through a world of pitfalls and brutal, inhumane experiences. Their dreams seem all but doomed, obstacles block their ways, happiness appears to be an impossibility, and human handicaps affect their hopes. The power of John Steinbeck's vision is that we, the readers, enter this world and are drawn into the journey of these two men — Lennie and George — and we witness their dreams, their hopes, and their courage.

9. Terms Bindle = a load carried on one's back, a bundle Euchre = a card game Graybacks = lice Hoosegow = prison Luger = A pistol popularly associated with use by German forces Skinner = a worker who drives mules Swamper = a helper who mops the floors & cleans Booby hatch = an institution for the mentally ill. Cat house = a house of prostitution.

11. Characters * Lennie * George * Curley * Curley’s Wife * Candy * Slim * Crooks * Carlson * Whit * Aunt Clara * The Boss

13. Themes Loneliness Alienation Meanness Temptation Choices Friendship The American Dream