In today's society, in a group or even in a family, anyone who believes they don't belong can feel "alone". Loneliness can be one of the most depressing feelings experienced. Of Mice and Men is set on a California ranch in the early 1930s. Many negative views about certain genders and races had not yet been resolved. Women and African Americans were perceived as inferior individuals to any white American male, despite the fact that the country was at the turn of the century and therefore beginning to accept all people as equal. Another group of people who didn't get much respect and were treated badly were those with mental problems. It wasn't until the 1930s that anyone who was mentally retarded and considered insane was treated with respect as an individual. Although it was hard for all Americans during this time period, their American dream like anyone else's was difficult. John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, in 1902. Steinbeck went to Stanford University in 1919, where he enrolled in literature and writing courses. until in 1925 he left empty-handed without a degree. During the next five years he supported himself as a laborer and journalist in New York City and then as the caretaker of an estate on Lake Tahoe, working continuously on his first novel, Cup of Gold (1929). He published two California novels, The Pastures of Heaven (1932) and To a God Unknown (1933); he also worked on stories later collected in The Long Valley (1938). A relentless experimenter throughout his career, Steinbeck changed course regularly. Three powerful novels of the late 1930s focused on the California working class: In Dubious Battle (1936), Of Mice and Men (1937), and the book considered by many to be his best, The Grape... middle of paper. .....this is the feeling of individualism and how lonely people became during the Great Depression. Men are trapped in a series of relationships that function as destiny/Americans will continue to dream, the nation will live out the true religious belief that all men are created equal. [Reith 3]List of works citedReith, Duncan. “Futile Dreams and Stagnation: Politics in Of Mice and Men: American novelist John Steinbeck has sometimes been criticized as sentimental. Duncan Reith reveals the dark political pessimism behind his novel about ranch life during the Great Depression, Of Mice and Men. The English Review, November 2004: 6+. Literary Resource Center: Web. November 29, 2010. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id-GALE%7CA125878389&v=2.1&u=klnb_kanstlib&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w Gale Document Number: GALE |A125878389 Steinbeck, John. “Of mice and men”, 1937