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"Black Tuesday"- Stock Market Crash
The event that marked the beginning of the Great Depression. At this time, stock prices hit their lowest point and the American economy lost billons of dollars. The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck takes place during this time period. -
George and Lennie look for jobs.
In the novel, George and Lennie travel around the country and try to find jobs working as ranch laborers. At this time in history, finding work was very hard because of the increasing unemployment rates during the Great Depression. -
George and Lennie meet Candy.
When George and Lennie arrive at the ranch, they meet an old man named Candy. Candy shows them around and introduces them to the other workers at the ranch. Although the other workers discriminate Candy because of his age, George and Lennie immediately befriend him and she that Candy is a good person. -
Lennie and George find jobs at a ranch.
George and Lennie arrive at Tyler Ranch and receive jobs and living arrangements. It is very important that a George and Lennie keep these jobs for as long as possible so that they can eventually save up for a house. Their dream is to have an easier life where they would not have to travel around in order to live. -
George and Lennie meet Curley.
At the cabin where the ranch workers stay, a man named Curley, the ranch owner's son, introduced himself to George and Lennie. He questions the men about where they came from and why they travel together and notices that George always speaks for Lennie. At that moment, Curley decided that he has a problem with Lennie. -
Lennie and George meet Curley's wife.
One day at the ranch, Curley's wife, a very lonely young lady, comes into the cabin and asks the men if they had seen Curley. According to the other workers, she would do this often in order to get attention from the men. George makes sure to warn Lennie to stay away from Curley's wife so that there is no trouble that will get them fired. -
Lennie meets Crooks.
After working at the ranch for a while, Lennie enters an isolated cabin that a black man named Crooks resides in. Crooks is also discriminated against at the ranch because of his race and has become very lonely because of it. So when Lennie interrupts Crooks, Crooks does not want to talk to him at first, but eventually warms up to Lennie. -
Curley confronts Lennie.
One day when Curley walks inside the cabin, he believes that Lennie is disrespecting him and begins to beat up Lennie. George then told Lennie to fight back and when Lennie did, Curley was injured very badly. The other workers decide to help Lennie and George by forcing Curley to keep the encounter a secret so that Lennie and George will not get into trouble. -
Lennie's encounter with Curley's wife.
While Lennie was in the barn by himself, Curley's wife approaches him and starts to talk to him. Although Lennie was warned by George to stay away from Curley's wife, Lennie has a weakness for soft things and when Curley's wife let Lennie touch her hair, he couldn't help himself. When Lennie started petting her hair too roughly, Curley's wife tells him to stop and when he doesn't she begins to scream. This scares Lennie and while trying to get her to quiet down he ends up strangling her to death -
Lennie is shot.
When George and the other men find out that happened in the barn with Lennie and Curley's wife, George tells Lennie to run and hide until George find him. They then go to tell Curley what occurred and he sends out a search to kill Lennie while George was also going to Lennie before they find him. When George reaches Lennie, he decides to shoot Lennie because he realizes that Lennie cannot live in that society with his handicap.
