Connecting Farm Life in the 1930s with Of Mice and Men and Worker's Rights

I would first like to explain what kind of farm work George and Lennie participate in throughout Of Mice and Men. To buck barley is to pick up grain, put it in a large bag, and load it onto a truck. A bag of barley typically weighed 75 pounds or more before it was considered full enough to load up during the 1930s. Therefore, it would take two men in most cases to buck barley on ranches like the one that George and Lennie work on in Of Mice and Men. The thrashing machines, as well, that several characters mention in the novella are machines that are used to separate the grain or seed from the straw of plants like barley and wheat. (C-MEngish 10) Ranch work like this is hard, grueling work that these men had to do for at least 8 hours a day; and it was the typical kind of work that traveling workers like George and Lennie who lived during the time period in which Of Mice and Men was written searched for.

George and Lennie’s story is set during the Dust Bowl, a time in which thousands of people migrated to California for work because their own crops were ruined and their families were starving. The migrant workers who went after farm work were treated fairly poorly. They were paid by the amount of product they picked over the course of a day, which usually amounted to approximately a dollar a day (Mass Exodus from the Plains). For a better understanding of just how little these workers made during the 1930s, earning a dollar a day during the time period is the equivalent of earning thirteen dollars a day in 2015 (Dollar Times). After the 25 percent take-away for shelter, that would leave a person in 2015 ten dollars a day. Even if you worked seven days a week every week, that would only leave you with 280 dollars a month. It’s nearly impossible to survive on that little money. Thus, migrant workers received very unfair wages during the Dust Bowl.

Of this earned money, as well, migrant workers had to pay a quarter of it to be able to live in poorly kept shacks like the workers in Of Mice and Men live in. These shacks typically did not have floors or running water (Mass Exodus from the Plains). Therefore, George’s complaints about the condition of his bed in the novella are only a small glimpse into what living in one of these cabins was actually like.

Although many people were so desperate for money during the 1930s that they would put up with the poor work conditions, some people took a stand. In my next post, I will talk about the strikes that occurred during the Dust Bowl.