The Problems that Farm Workers Face Today:

Unfortunately, the problems that field workers faced in Of Mice and Men and 20^th Century America have not entirely vanished. Farm workers of the current day still struggle with unfair working conditions. There are presently between 2 and 3 million agricultural workers in United States. Those workers only earn between 12,400 and 14,900 for individuals and between 17,500 and 19,900 for families. That is below the federal poverty line. Those agricultural workers, as well, are subjected to health risks (due to pesticides), poor housing conditions, and abuse from their bosses. (National Farm Worker Ministry)

The problems that field workers face today exactly mirror the problems that George and Lennie face in Of Mice and Men: pesticides were present on George’s bed, the characters lived in a shack that was typical in the Dust Bowl, and Lennie was subjected to verbal and physical abuse from the boss’s son. These similarities show that the problem of worker’s rights is not only present in literature from the early part of the 20^th Century, but it is a problem that is present in our own lives. Of Mice and Men serves as a lens in which we can see what experiencing such terrible conditions is actually like for a human being.