1. Travels with Of Mice and Men A Novel Journey with a look at Documentary Expression and Thirties America

2. Introduction During the 1930s, author John Steinbeck was concerned about the plight of migrant workers, namely those in California–his home state and the setting for many of his works. His novel Of Mice and Men, published in 1937, tells the tale of two transient farm workers. Like many others during the economically hard times of the 30s, the protagonists are rootless men without possessions or hope. He then published The Grapes of Wrath, a novel that follows a family from Oklahoma displaced by the Dust Bowl. They travel to California in hopes of finding work; they have been dealt a double blow–the Depression and the Dust Bowl.

3. Introduction - continued Steinbeck was not alone in his desire to document–albeit through fiction–the hardships that the people of the time were experiencing. The federal government set up many agencies that created jobs for the millions of unemployed Americans. One agency, the Farm Security Administration, was charged with documenting–through photography–the experiences of the people. The FSA sought to document with photographs what they knew would be a critical time in the history of the United States.

4. Unit Overview Our unit will include: An in depth study of Of Mice and Men. A look at The Grapes of Wrath. A WebQuest project on Documentary Expression in Thirties America. By the end of the unit, you will have completed and submitted a paper that documentsin writing and through photographsa social, political, and/or economic outcome of the Great Depression.

5. Topics to Explore The Great Depression Life Stories I Remember… Dust Bowl 1930s description and pictures Voices of the Dust Bowl New Deal Farm Security Administration Photographs by… Dorothea Lange Walker Evans