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John Ernst Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck was born Februrary 27, 1902. He grew up in Salinas, California which he used as the setting for Of Mice and Men. -
World War I begins
As a result of a serb assassinating Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, major military conflicts occurred. Due to alliances, many other world-wide countries became involved in the war as well. -
World War I ends
The fighting of World War I has ended. The Triple Entente is victorious and the Central Powers are unhappy with the outcome of the war. -
Treaty of Versailles
When the Treaty of Versailles was signed June 28, 1919, the war was officially over. The Central Powers were forced to pay war reparations to the Triple Entente and accept blame for causing the war. This angered the Central Powers which was a factor that led to the cause of World War II. -
Stock Market Crash/Great Depression
On this day, the stock market crashed from people selling their stock. Many people feared that the price of the stocks were going to drop significantly and therefore sold thier stocks. People were selling their stocks faster than they could be bought which caused the stock market to crash. This was an immediate cause of the Great Depression. -
Unemployment
From the time the Stock Market crashed on Black Thursday in 1929 to 1933, unemployment reached 25% in the U.S., 16% in the U.K. and 30% in Germany. -
Lennie and George travel together
Lennie and George during this time are travelling along the Salinas River toward their next job on a ranch in Soledad. On the way, Lennie finds a dead mouse that he wants to keep to pet, but George won't let him keep it. Also, the night before George and Lennie reach the ranch, George tells Lennie about their dream, owning a farm and tending animals, again and where to go if he gets into trouble. -
Goerge and Lennie arrive at ranch
The next day, George and Lennie make it to the ranch. They are greeted by Candy, an old man who lost his hadn, and shown around the ranch. They also meet the other men on the ranch including Curley, a controlling man, and his wife, a lonely woman. Goerge tells Lennie not to talk and stay out of trouble if he wants to tend the rabbits on their farm when they can buy it. -
After the work day
After the men have completed their work on the ranch, Lennie wants George to ask Slim if he can have a puppy that he later tries to take out of the barn. Carlson tells Canday that his dog smells and is too old to work and that he could put it out of its misery and kill it for him. Reluctantly, Candy agrees and Carlson kills Candy's dog. Curley appologizes to Slim for thinking that he was with his wife, but the other men mock him and Curley starts a fight with Lennie who breaks Curley's hand. -
Crooks' room
The next evening, Lennie is on his way to see his puppy, but ends up talking to Crooks in his room. Lennie, not allowed to talk about the plan to buy the farm, tells Crooks about it anyway. While Lennie is talking, Curley's wife enters the door and asks what happened to his hand. She does not believe that it got caught in a machine and Crooks demands that she leave. Crooks threatens to tell the boss, but Cuerley's wife then threatend Crooks and leaves. Crooks then demands that everyone leaves. -
Lennie gets into trouble
The next day, Lennie is confused why his puppy died and worrying about whether George will still let him tend the rabbits. Curley's wife enters the barn and talks to Lennie who is reluctant to respond. Lennie tells Curley's wife that he likes soft things and Curley's wife lets Lennie touch her hair. Lennie doesn't stop, grabs Curley's wife's hair and Curley's wife screams. Lennie panics and accidentally kills Curley's wife, but when the men find out, they want to kill Lennie, especially Curley. -
George kills Lennie
George, looking for Lennie, goes to the brush where he told Lennie to hide if he got into any trouble. George finds Lennie and Lennie wants George to tell him about the farm they are going to buy. So, George tells Lennie about the farm, but shoots Lennie part way through the description of their dream so that no one else could kill him. The sound of the gun draws the other men to George and Slim tries to comfort Geroge by telling him that he had to do it. -
World War 2 begins
The conflicts between the to Axis Powers and Allied Powers caused tension between the two groups and led to major military conflicts and battles. Due to the neutrality of the U.S. and mass production of wartime materials, during the first few years of the war, the United States' and other countries' economies were significantly boosted bringing the U.S. and most of the world out the Great Depression.