OFAM context

• Context of John Steinbeck?

  • American author, born 1902.
  • Born into a wealthy family, though worked teenage summers as ranch hand in Spreckels Sugar Ranch.
  • Loved nature in Santa Lucia range and the Gabilan Mountains.
  • Inspired by Lost Paradise, Biblical stories, Arthurian legends.
• Racism context?

  • Post 1876, Jim Crow Laws still in effect.
  • Lynching of black people for small crimes.
  • Segregation in public services.
• Context of women?

  • During WW1, women filled up male jobs.
  • Post-Great Depression, women's jobs were first to go due to male insecurity + patriachy.
  • Women with little job opportunity, forced to be housewives for financial security.
• What was the American dream?

  • Freedoms, prosperities, social mobility and success could be achieved by hardwork.
  • Stemmed from America being unclaimed land pre 1900s.
• What was the Great Depression?

  • Wall Street Crash in 1929, caused many banks to go bankrupt due to stock value decrease.
  • Due to bankruptcy, America suffered unemployment, homelessness, ect...
• What was Golden California?

  • Severe dust storms and over-farming had dried up farmland.
  • This damaged the agriculture industry throughout in 1930s America.
  • Only California remained unaffected, workers would migrate there alone to get little pay.