Synthesis Essay Example: Adversity Theme in Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, and Children of the Great Depression

All throughout history people are faced with struggles and adversities. Adversity is a state of hardship, difficulty, or misfortune that one deals with in life. During a difficult  time period many people have to make sacrifices to survive. These times of hardships can cause people to lose or miss out on the things they love or opportunities, like an education or a job. In two of John Steinbeck's novels, Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, and the letters from “Children of the Great Depression”, the writing displays the sacrifices people have to make in times of adversity. The two main characters in Of Mice and Men, are forced to become migrant workers, moving around all the time, never staying anywhere long enough to call it home, to only make a small amount of money. Another piece by Steinbeck that corresponds to this is The Grapes of Wrath, in which The Joads must leave the comfort of their own home in search of work. Lastly, The Letter from Children of the Great Depression provides a deeper understanding of not only how difficult these times of hardships were for the adults but also the struggles the children faced. 

Many people have had to sacrifice their education when they are faced with hard times. Throughout the Great Depression many young boys and girls either had to be pulled out of school or didn't have the resources to attend.  In one of the many letters to Mrs. Roosevelt, a young 17 year old boy whose father recently passed, explains his struggles, “I quit school 2 years ago in order to find a job.” (“Children…” 5) A child this young should not have to sacrifice his education to become the man of the house. They should be able to finish school and go on to get a job without carrying the responsibilities at an age like this. But seeing as there is no other way to support his family and stay in school, he chose to drop out of school. Consequently, he also gave up on the opportunities of possibly getting a better job and a higher education. In another letter where a child’s education had to be sacrificed, they told Mrs. Roosevelt,“ I have no books or clothes to ware.”(Children…6) This young girl cannot go to school because of the sacrifices her family must make to keep them alive. They have to make sure they and their children are fed first which means that supplies that allow them an education are sadly not their first priority. This sacrifice has a substantial impact on her, this impact can be seen first hand in her writing where she spelled “ware” instead of wear. In Of Mice and Men it can be inferred that many of the migrant workers lack a basic education due to the fact they must take whatever job presents itself. While talking to Slim, George reveals an out of character desire for an education. He tells Slim, “If I was bright, if I was even a little bit smart,” (Steinbeck, Of Mice 40) This shows how George wants to be able to do more with his life, but he can’t because of his lack of education. He longs for the opportunity to be able to grow his knowledge and be able to do what he wishes he could with his life. Instead George works at whatever job he can get, with the thought in the back of his head knowing he could have had more.  

When times are tough and money is tight, it is common to just get a job so you can survive.

In most cases, migrant workers had to settle with any job they were offered because another job was not promised, especially during economic crises. In The Grapes of Wrath, Jim Casey is shocked at how little Tom Joads makes at his job, he tells Tom,”Fi' cents! They payin' you fi' cents?" "Sure. We made a buck an' a half.”(Steinbeck, The Grapes 5) This is a perfect example of how many people have to take whatever job they can get to simply survive, no matter the pay in comparison to others. So Tom has to take whatever he can get, no matter how little the job pays or if deep down he knows he could be getting more. He has to do this because doesn't know when the next job will come up or if it will, and that job may have even worse pay. So for the sake of security he stays at his poor paying job. While telling Lennie about their dream he exclaims “Nuts!” (Steinbeck, Of Mice 16) George calls Lennie and his dream nuts and lashes out at him with anger because he knows that is not how it is for guys like them. They don’t just get to live out their dreams with no means that can get them there.  He comes to the understanding that Lennie and him will most likely always move from place to place. He realizes that because of the sacrifice he made, he most likely will not get to see Lennie and his dream come true. In one of the many letters from The Letters of the Great Depression, a young child reveals, “My father can't hardly effort to buy us children food to eat.” (“Children…” 2) This shows how families had to find whatever job they could to put food on the table or a roof over their heads but in most cases that wasn't enough. Most children went hungry because their family didn't have enough money to feed them. Even though their father probably had to make many sacrifices to put a roof over their head and whatever food he could on the table, it still barely let his kids survive. 

When people are burdened with the stress of difficult times, they take that anger out on their relationships or the people closest to them. “Papa hates me and every time he gets angry, he takes it out on me.,”(“Children…” 3) This displays how many people take their anger out on the people closest to them. Her father probably does not hate her but what else is she to think, he takes all his anger from the outside world onto her. She has nothing to do with what happens to him or the current economic state of the country. He does this to her because he has no other way to release his anger so it ends up coming out in a form of hatred towards his daughter. “God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble.”(Steinbeck, Of Mice 12) George does not mean what he says to L.