The effects of great depression toward agricultural working class society in 1930s America in John Steinbeck's of Mice and Men

ABSTRACT

Studying literature is not only studying the works of an author but also the society in which the works are created, for the author is the member of society, so through a literary work, an author had viewed the events surrounding him or her. On the other word, literary work is a picture of human’s social life or the mirror of society. Novel is one of literary works in the form of prose. Novel consists of many pages; novel summed in hundred pages and novel is written by the author to describe the reality of life.

The researcher chooses Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck because she wants to dig up more about the effect of great depression toward agricultural working class in America in the novel not discussing how social class stratification is formed as what the previous researchers done.

Based on the background of the study above, the problems of my studies are: What are the effects of Great Depression toward Agricultural Working Class in America as portrayed in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men? and How does John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men reflect the real condition of agricultural working class society during Great Depression in 1930s America). And after reading the story, the researcher decides to analyze the novel by using sociological approach, The function of this method is to show the fenomena in the social life that reflects in the novel in order to find the differences and similarities event both in the novel and in the real life.

Based on the researcher’s analysis, the condition of Agricultural Working Class during Great Depression in 1930s is a kind of social problem in America, from the very beginning, John Steinbeck sends the readers to the situation that portrayed the Agricultural Working Class condition who move from ranch to ranch for finding a temporary job, ; landless and homeless, bad treatment from the boss as the own of the capital, low wages, nomadic life, loneliness, and racism. After comparing the condition of Agricultural Working Class in Great Depression era as portrayed in the novel and as reflected in the real life of American Economic Condition in 1930s, the researcher then concludes that the novel truly reflects the condition of Agricultural Working Class during Great Depression in 1930s America which has been captured by John Steinbeck in his Of Mice and Men.