By Harry Ballard and Luke Chapman

Migrant Workers

A migrant worker was a traveling unemployed person trying to find work. They were quite distinctive because the main material used in their clothing was denim. Because of their sedentary lifestyle they always travelled alone.

The description of a migrant workers!

Most of the migrant workers in America in the 1930s worked on farms or ranches and were paid between 15 and 25 cents per hour. The workers would spend at least 12 hours a day in the field and they were often children. They would also need special permission from their employer if they wanted to leave the state.

The Life of Migrant Workers

The overflow of migrant workers and financial effects of the immense recession caused reduced work and wages so low that even an whole family working could result in strictly insufficient pay, according to the Library of Congress. Many migrant workers lived in unhygienic environments next to irrigation ditches and moved frequently to follow crop harvests, reports the Library of Congress. Mexican Americans faced discrimination for employment, with even legal immigrants rounded up and sent to Mexico.

Overflow of Migrant Workers

John Steinbeck's inspiration was the hardships of the workers such as racial segregation and prejudice characters such as Crooks suggests that this novella is a microcosm of America in the time.

John Steinbeck’s Inspiration

Fate of the migrant workers (In this case Lennie and his poor mental health)

Lennie in his dream of escape and of having a permanent residence….

Lennie in reality….

From Chappers and Ballard!