Understanding of Mice and Men, the Red Pony, and the Pearl

Although John Steinbeck's novellas, Of Mice and Men, The Red Pony, and The Pearl are works of fiction, they provide a window on the history of the times and places they portray. Studying the historical, social, economic, and regional background of each novella is important to fully understanding each work. This interdisciplinary collection of rich collateral materials features a variety of primary documents that shed light on the background of each of these novellas--the pioneer days and life on the Western frontier, the early history of California, the gold rush, the plight of the migrant worker during the Great Depression, the problems of the homeless and the hopeless, and oppression in Mexico in the early 20th century. Documents include memoirs of mountain men and pioneers, books of travel, sociological studies, a political treatise, a journal, reports of U.S. commissions, a comic memoir, and an interview with a Salvation Army general who worked with the downtrodden during the 1930s. Most of these materials are not available in printed form anywhere else.

CLAUDIA DURST JOHNSON has recently retired as Professor of English at the University of Alabama, where she chaired the English Department for 12 years. She is the series editor of the Greenwood Press "Literature in Context" series, which includes her works Understanding Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1996), Understanding The Scarlet Letter (1995), and Understanding To Kill a Mockingbird (1994). She is also the author of To Kill a Mockingbird: Threatening Boundaries (1994)