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Although works of fiction, John Steinbeck's
novellas Of Mice and Men, The Red Pony, and The
Pearl are a window on the history of the times and places they
portray. Learning about the historical, social, economic, and regional
background of each novella is essential to a full understanding
of it. This interdisciplinary collection of rich collateral materials
features a variety of primary documents that shed light on 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, 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. Each section of this sourcebook contains study questions,
topics for research papers and class discussions, and lists of further
reading for examining the issues raised by the novellas. In addition,
this online sourcebook provides the user access to:
- A collection of 190 works of first-person narratives documenting
California's early years, 1849-1900, including full texts and
illustrations of journals, letters, and diaries
- A virtual tour of mining camps of the California Gold Country
- Over 300 audio recordings documenting the everyday lives
of residents of Farm Security Administration work camps in California,
1940-41
- A photo survey of over 500 images of the migrant farm worker
experience in California
- Photo collection documenting homelessness in America, 1935-1945
- Texts of over 100 union songs
- Photo tour of the Red Pony Ranch
- Biographical profiles of John Steinbeck, Ed Ricketts, Daniel
Boone, Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea, John Sutter, John Marshall,
Miguel Hidalgo, Vincente Guerroro, Benito Juarez, Porfirio Diaz,
Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, and others
- E-texts of: Diary of John Sutter; John Todd's The
Sunset Land; or, The great Pacific slope (1870); Washington
Irving's Captain Bonneville (1895); John Bidwell's Echoes
of the Past about California (1890-1891); Thomas Paine's
Agrarian Justice (1797)
- Glossary of cultural references and historical idioms from
Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, The Red Pony, and
The Pearl
- Web-based study questions
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