In 1962, John Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in literature for his "realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception". Personally, though, Steinbeck feared the prize usually spelled the end of a writer’s career.

Of Mice and Men

In 1937, John Steinbeck published his novel, Of Mice and Men. It was about two migrant farmers during the Depression era, and their desire and struggle to own their own land in California. Many schools in the United States read this book at some point, yet it's ironically also one of the most banned books in American libraries and schools as well. It is challenging to read and has been criticized for the language it uses and the picture it creates of mentally disabled people. Although, sure enough, John Steinbeck didn't write the book looking to get attention and shock the people that read it. He wanted to prove that in order to fix problems between people, you have to help them understand each others lives. Steinbeck quoted, "Try to understand men, [for] if you understand each other you will be kind to each other." This was the author's purpose behind the novel. Many people also believe that Steinbeck was inspired the greatest during the time of the Depression, because he wasn't afraid to write about the harsh reality of the era.

Migrant Farmers Depression Era: The Life of Migrant Farmers

The Great Depression was an extremely hard time for farmers because it was one of the most devastating agricultural disasters in history. The decade of the 1930's was especially difficult. It began with a bunch of natural disasters, including hail that destroyed wheat crops and tough years of drought. Families that depended on their farms suffered greatly and lost a lot of hope during this time period. Because of the stock market crash, prices of crops dropped extremely low and many farmers lost their farms completely. Farmers couldn't sell their crops for as much as it cost to grow them. Some farmers thought protesting was the solution to making prices of crops raise again. There were many high tensions in the United States because of so many families struggling to make a living. The Dust Bowl was a time of severe dust storms caused by drought in the Great Plains in the 1930's. Millions of acres of land used for farming was destroyed. Oklahoma was probably affected the most, and a lot of the farmers there were forced to migrate to other places. California was a popular place for these people to migrate to, because conditions were better there. But because these farmers didn't exactly own land, they were forced to go from farm to farm picking the different crops for very low prices. Although this type of living wasn't very "ideal", it was better than living in the places that suffered the drought. These people became as "Migrant Farmers", and famous author John Steinbeck was known for writing about what it was like to live their lifestyle. 

Life During the Depression

The Great Depression

The Great Depression was the longest and most severe economic crisis in the United States that began in 1929 and lasted for about 10 years. It's believed the Depression began with the stock market crash on Wall Street in October 1929. Stock prices continued to fall, and most people lost their jobs and homes. Banks lost everything and were forced to close. By 1933, 11,000 of our 25,000 bank failed. Things continued to get worse with an extreme drop in peoples' item and production demands. This resulted in a drastic drop in unemployment. In 1932 the unemployment rate was 12-15 million people. Just 3 days after the stock market crashed, investors had already managed to lose over $5 billion. Near the end of 1929, stock prices had fallen another $11 billion. Banks that had money in stocks lost everything and big factories were forced to close. Many people were unsure of how to handle the situation, because at the time things were only getting a lot worse with no clear skies for miles and miles in the future. 

Learn About the National Steinbeck Center!

http://www.steinbeck.org/

John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California in 1902. He began going to college at Stanford University, but was never able to graduate. When John was 23 years old, he went to New York looking to become a free-lance writer. These were people that were hired to come into an office for a couple hours, and if you wrote at least 3 good articles, the local newspaper would hire you. Steinbeck didn't succeed though and eventually returned back to California. He started writing and publishing stories. His first novel, Cup of Gold, was written in 1929. Steinbeck really became known among the public when he wrote Tortilla Flat in 1935. This humorous novel eventually won the California Commonwealth Club's Gold Metal. John Steinbeck was famous for writing novels about problems with rural labor, and many believe he found his strongest point was writing novels during the time of the Great Depression, where he was inspired the California Dust Bowl, and the struggle among migrant farmers.